I’ve often attributed my youth obesity to my conservatism and successes. I had very few friends, spent most of my time reading and studying, and even through college, I spent my life giving my time to charities, volunteering, and generally living a life of service. I received praise for my hard work instead of being praised for doing nothing. I worked for everything I had, and I still have a lot of it because I take care of my things.
I remember when I was 10, in 1990, they were starting this “Positive Actions” program in my elementary school. They focused on us praising our peers, focusing on positives, never putting down anyone or anything. I could tell my 5th grade teachers, both in their 50s, didn’t believe a bit of the garbage they were required to shovel, but the kids ate it up. I asked my language teacher why we didn’t “do our words” (vocabulary) anymore and why we spent so little time on reading, and she said if I wanted to spend more time doing that, I could stay after school. Even in elementary school, I would stay for an hour or more after school to work with my teachers on learning.
I find now, as an adult, that children are starved for education. They are literally bored in school! My 10 year old cousin is listless and seems to be vacant of anything resembling intellect. I ask him what he learns in school, and he just tells me nothing important. When I work on my uncle’s computer or try to fix some electronics around their house, that kid is glued to my hip. He’s vibrant and wants to learn. That tells me that schools, anymore, are just daycares for these kids. They’re not teaching them squat, and that’s disgusting.
Teach him well my friend, it might be the only education he gets.
I love these kids today. There are plenty of good ones to go with the bad ones, you just have to get away from the coasts and the urban centers to see it.
Around Halloween one of my co-workers had her daughter (1st grade, maybe 2nd) at work after school and I asked her what she had learned in school that day. She said they learned about recycling pumpkins.