I was one of the millions of people watching the Super Bowl this
past Sunday. My son had a few friends over to watch the game, but
they lost interest after the first play and opted to go outside and
engage in a variety of sports.
I was one of the millions of people watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday. My son had a few friends over to watch the game, but they lost interest after the first play and opted to go outside and engage in a variety of sports.
After working up an appetite, they would come in to graze, but never paid attention to the big event. As it happened, these boys missed out on what might have been the highlight of the game for them – seeing the breast of a superstar. Since I actually watched the game, I know that the second half was better than anything in the halftime show. But to a bunch of sixth graders, glimpsing the breast of Janet Jackson would have been huge.
I was surprised to see the reaction to this incident all around. MTV’s denial that this was a planned part of the show is absurd. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake calling this a “clothing malfunction” is an insult to our collective intelligence. The most surprising reaction is that thousands of affected viewers call to CBS.
I wonder what these people say when they call the station. How many inquired about the nipple jewelry? How many complain about the nudity? How many viewers are lobbying for more bare breasts? How many people call to say that their child was watching?
Is it lost on some people that they have concluded that watching men pummel each other for three hours is harmless, but 15 seconds of one exposed breast is going to scar their child for life?
I wasn’t surprised to hear that Janet Jackson has an upcoming album. Americans are all slightly dysfunctional people with short attention spans.
It wasn’t enough for Janet Jackson to be the sister of an accused pedophile who appears on the evening news on a nightly basis. This Super Bowl ploy was a work of genius for her. I predict big sales of her next album.
* * *
I received a lot of positive response to my column last week regarding racism in our schools. I have compiled more published material written by GUSD employees in the same vein; one article comes right out and calls white students “the privileged elite.”
Well, I am going to call them on it. I want the superintendent to publicly reprimand all of the employees who are spouting this garbage.
Finally, I want to address the problem of low-performing students. When you have a baby, you are given all sorts of information on how to care for a newborn.
Most of this information is superfluous; mothers can pretty much figure out on their own how to breastfeed. Even the most challenged parent can quickly learn how to change a diaper or bathe an infant. What we need is a manual for parents of children entering kindergarten.
Parents should be told that from this point forward, every year will require effort to succeed. Homework is not a rare occurrence, it is a nightly task. Reading should be more important than television.
If your child owns a Playstation, but not a library card, that is a problem. If you are the parent of a seventh grade student who still cannot do simple addition and subtraction, you have been asleep at the wheel.
All parents of these students need to unplug the X-Box or turn off American Idol until the homework is completed and checked. This will require an investment of significantly less money than a night at the movies.
For math, you will need a cheap calculator, some pencils and paper. For the price of one new DVD, you can buy math and reading workbooks at Longs or Rite-Aid that can get your child up to speed in one semester.
Can’t afford a math workbook? Teach your kids division and multiplication with a roll of pennies or a box of crackers. A method that worked well for my kids was to divide up the fruit in our fruit bowl. Not only could they divide evenly, but the concept of “remainders” was tangible.
Parenting requires more than a two-night stay in the hospital and two hours of pushing. It requires vigilance and commitment. Achieving academic success is not difficult. It requires that you and your child sit together for at least 30 minutes per night.
If you can’t make this “sacrifice” then do the rest of society a favor – stop having children that you have no intention of raising to be productive and educated citizens.
