I have always told kids that I teach that there is a big difference between being ignorant and being stupid.
Being ignorant is okay, because it only means you don't know any better. You can always find something by researching, asking adults, or whatever. Then when you know about it you're no longer ignorant.
Being stupid, on the other hand, is knowing better and doing it anyway. That is not okay. Kids have always understood when I put it that way.
Within this past year I have added a third part to this by realizing that being an idiot is someone who is too stupid to know that they are ignorant!
The SpongeBob and Buster Bunny stories along with others prove what idiocy is. These people should know that kids don't even think in adult ways about things, but as soon as the adults bring it up the kids are all nosey about what's going on and have to find out.
A perfect example was an interview with a 9-10 year old about the Postcards' Buster Bunny. The child was asked about the show and gave perfectly acceptable answers that showed she watched the program. When the interviewer made mention about the "lesbian" characters, the child's response was, "What's a lesbian?" Duh! Why open a can of worms when you don't need to.
This is something that the parents should be dealing with, not the federal or even state governments. Parents should also be honest with everything the kids ask. I'm not saying that they should tell the child everything. Just the opposite. They should tell them what they want their child to know and also how much they believe that their child can handle. At no time, though, should anyone be denied the right to find out about things.
I've dealt with young children that asked very personal questions and when you answer them they go "Oh" and move on from there not even remembering that they asked. When the adults perseverate on a topic the kids become annoying to find out as much as possible.
The other thing that I've discovered in working with kids is that they are extremely accepting. They don't naturally discriminate against people, ideas, or concepts. They are working to put together their own ethic and they need guidance but most of all support. In doing this they allow all kinds of ideas to come to them and work them out in their heads.
The problems begin when adults tell them all the "shoulds," "should nots," and "don'ts" that they have developed and then the confusion begins for the child. "I believe my daddy but I have a friend at school that's black. My friend is nice, but my daddy says that all black people are lazy and do drugs." Quite a confusing thing for a kid.
Every adult needs to realize that they have a tremendous influence on children. If you treat them like cattle, they will act like cattle. If you treat them like human beings, they will act like human beings.
no matter what...
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