Concluded from Sesame Street, the real danger to our children. Are you serious? Part 2...
Hmmm… Learning the alphabet, with humor. Expressing love and presenting diversity and tolerance. Compassion. Patience. Are all these qualities we want our kids to avoid today?
Yes life is jaded today. Today we teach kids to fear strangers, family members and television shows. There aren’t just monsters under the bed; they are everywhere the child goes. Kids don’t go outside and play, burning off the cookie or 3 they just had as a snack, anymore. They sit and play video games, surf the net, and listen to iPods while eating a box of whatever Sugar Bomb Pops is handy, washing it down with a liter of some name brand soda.
Kids get to watch cartoons 24/7 now. There is no mere 3 hours of animated shows after school ends and just 5 hours on Saturday morning. No kids today don’t have to wait. They have it all the time on demand. Screw patience and learning time management skills, they have 500 channels of HDTV, Tivo, DVD’s, and YouTube. Why bother going outside and interacting with others building social networks and skills. They can text message or IM people they know and don’t know.
Diversity? If you mean being able to get in touch with masses of unseen, unknown people separated merely by screen names, in a cold and emotionless medium that conveys little to no context, then I suppose they get more now.
Seriously, the issue is not that Sesame Street is fictional or filled with “limited possibilities and fixed identities”. The issue is that some are so obsessed with seeking out flaws, resolving issues with drugs (like Prozac), and avoiding the fact that kids are not miniature adults that they miss the point. Life between 2-5 should be simple and filled with love and care. It isn’t always, but do we really need to force that reality on minds that are still trying to learn the alphabet and 2+2=4?
No comments:
Post a Comment