Anyway, I have intended for months to post at least one of our family powwows - -several times I've started the process. You know...I was going to post:
- a list of the menu
- magazine worthy photos of the whole process
- another photo-shoot of the brunch table
- "candids" where we casually lounge and stuff our faces for the next three hours
Readying & Thinking. Dangerous Pastimes, I know!
Do you remember Pavlov's dog? Pavlov's psychological work ended up being used in schools as soulless behavioral training (conditional stimuli/response) for children, not cerebral education, like learning the three "r's". Even so, there are the exceptions (like Gaston here) who actually dare to think something through. I only mention this movie as an example, because it's what most people who have children can relate to. Gaston's brand of thinking was geared toward psychotic selfish gain--not a good thing. I would go a step farther and encourage you to read books without pictures (something Gaston detested). And I mean, at the very least, read blogs and websites that have more words than pretty pictures, besides those rectangular objects called books. Of course, parents need to be the filter of what their children read, that is what we are here for, to protect our children from material that they are not ready to tackle, or should avoid completely. In contrast, adults should be able to pick and choose what they can handle. There is a LOT of trash out there that no one needs to read.
For instance: Captain Underpants. In the real world, this guy would be locked up for indecent exposure at the very least, and the kids who "accidentally" hypnotize their principle should be soundly dealt with too. Children are being taught by this perverted author's drivel, to disrespect and demoralize adults in authority. The end doesn't justify the means dear reader. Children can learn to read and comprehend
better books. Now I would like to say that it is up to me, to tell my children why I don't like a book's content, and why it should be avoided. I don't ever tell them to avoid it because "I said so", for some children, this statement can make the forbidden fruit that much more appealing.
Even so, some children are more obedient than others, right? Besides, reading in and of itself isn't helpful unless you can comprehend what you've read. For example, my niece reads very well, and very fast, but she lacks reading comprehension. I've tested her, and she has failed miserably. Many times she was not able to explain to me what she had just read! But she is quick to point out that she gets many awards and stars for the number of books she "reads." This is modern Pavlovian "education" at work. She reads...oh yes...she reads, but only as a means to be petted, not as a means to think.
As for reading news articles, well, I wouldn't even bother with newspapers past 1920. Since then, most news outlets after that date only publish stuff that is as hard hitting, and relevant as a powder puff football game, and their fodder certainly isn't unbiased. People have the ability to reason, they have souls, and a moral sense of right and wrong. Well, that is, before the Disney Channel and public schools get a hold of us. Disney shows, for the most part, teach children everywhere that parents (adults) are stupid, and that bratty disrespectful kids are smart. Would you agree with their philosophy? As for public schools, I don't know if you noticed this, but they are prisons. I can't get in to see my child unless I get permission from the office while they are in lock down, oh I mean, during school hours.