|
Something
to Think About
Kids
Then and Now
by Gordon Francis Corbett
I once asked an experienced instructor why
today's youngsters are so immature.
She replied, "The hippies of the Flower Power
era are sending their own kids to school. Few help
with their children's homework. Many still use
drugs. In some families, the children act as
parents, but, of course, they do it poorly."
Maybe she was right. Many of today's parents put
their babies in nurseries. Many use their
television sets as baby-sitters. Many mothers work,
and are so tired at day's end that they cannot help
their youngsters with their homework. Those
children receive much less love, guidance, and
general maturation than did those of a century
ago.
Those long-ago young people spent enormous
amounts of time with, and working for, adults.
Usually, those adults were their parents, who were
raising them in their respective businesses. This
experience taught personal diplomacy, the
importance of thrift, and the value of honest
labor.
Many of these families lived on top of their
businesses. At the day's end, the parents and the
children, all dead tired, climbed the stairs to
their living quarters. Sadly, they had little
energy for homework; but the youngsters built
skills, strengths, and ethics never taught in a
classroom.
Few parents today have businesses or trades in
which to raise their youngsters, but one remedy
looks promising. More and more parents are teaching
their children at home, thereby maturing them while
teaching essential subject matter. Their offspring
emerge straighter, finer, and stronger, as their
percentage in the Spelling- and Geography Bees
shows.
Home-schooling lets parents give their children
greater maturity and better learning. For those who
can do it, what could be better?
Enrich
your life with a book about politics and current
events...
Enrich
your political & social life with a politics or
news magazine...
|