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I saw a very brief clip about this documentary on the news last night and am now intensely curious about it. Dr. Wendy Mogel whose book we are reading this month (The Blessing of A Skinned Knee) is featured in the film. I think this movie is a call to arms so to speak, for educators and parents, and even colleges to reevaluate how much pressure is being placed upon kids to achieve. It's a film about the dark side of America's Achievement Culture. I saw an interview with a student who said she is stressed out about achieving and that she can't keep spending hours and hours on homework and not getting to bed until 1:00 or 2:00 am.
On line someone said that a student's life today translates to 8 hour school days, 2 hours of sports, and 3 to 5 hours of homework, requiring students to work more hours than many jobs legally allow.
Mike teaches the 15 year olds for Sunday School and he said his lesson last week was about burdens, and bearing them well. When he asked his class what their burdens are, he said the entire class said homework was their worst burden. They told him that they have no time, and they are always so busy trying to get it done and do well, so they can get into a good school.
Mike said they feel stressed about everything, and that it's even worse when they play sports. From getting to bed really late trying to finish their homework to having to get up early for seminary, everyone in his class felt the same way. Mike said it really surprised him.
The movie looks interesting, and I was surprised and even more interested in it because Dr. Wendy Mogel is involved. I'm curious to see what kind of a reaction this receives from educators, and if it will make a difference.
5 comments:
I haven't heard of it, but it sounds interesting. Our society is weird. In some ways we are trying so hard not to hurt kids feelings, or ruffle their feathers so that they will be happy and have high self-esteem, and then on the other hand overscheduling them and stressing them out. What happened to just being a kid, with its ups and down? I just got the book club pick at the Library. No one is talking about Tiger Mother anymore though. Has book club died already? I hope some more people jump in to the conversation.
Julie,
I agree. I didn't know anything about this documentary until I saw it on the news and was surprised to see Wendy Mogel's name attached to it. I'm sure it will be interesting.
I think we'll get the hang of blogbook club as we go along. I didn't do a very good job the first time.
I wasn't sure exactly how we were going to address it all. Catte and I were talking and thinking maybe we should go question by question so there is more dialogue amongst all of us.
What do you think?
I dont' know what happened to all of our readers. But, that's ok. My friend Julie and I started our bookclub with only ourselves. The next month someone else joined, and the next month another someone. We just kept going until we had a lot of people in our ward in it. Then it became the best thing to do all month!
Laugh at this though, the first month I had to host, Julie, my friend, went on vacation, so it was only me and a stranger! I had just moved here. I could have screamed! I kept calling and calling Julie to find out where she was and she had gone on vacation without telling me!!!! Anyway, that was the beginning of our book club. So ours is just beginning and I'm sure it will get better as we go along.
At least that's what I'm hoping for.
I am dying to watch this documentary. Especially because I really do love everything that Wendy Mogel has to say. I know I don't practice all of it, but I still think she has a lot of excellent points. I wish kids weren't being pushed so hard. I think it's so sad and the title of this movie has me thinking that the point is that there may not be a big pay off for all of this hard work and loss of childhood. And then I feel that as parents we're being pulled in two different directions, toward overscheduling and too much pressure or toward freedom to enjoy childhood for what it is. I think I have it figured out, but it's hard to feel like I'm just guessing. Actually I know that I do not want to rob my children of their respective childhoods and I think that when I remember what my lifetime goals are for my children (and my dog) that I just don't believe that they need all the pressure or the overscheduling. I want my children to succeed and enjoy the things that they do. I guess the wrench is that I want my children to succeed, but when we're up against Tiger Mothers, how can mine succeed unless I become a Tiger Mother? Anyway now that I've contradicted myself right and left, I think I'd better go clean my house.=D
I don't know whaat I am.
I'm a Tiger Mother about work, and a Skinned Knee mother about protecting their childhood.
I want skinned knees and no homework, but I want talented Tiger pianists and Tigershark waterpolo players. Right now, I just want summer.
It's so warm it feels like summer so I just want school to end. I want to be a skinned knee child who gets to run outside and play as soon as the sun is up. I want to be young and agile and downstairs shooting baskets all day, and jumping on the trampoline in my bathing suit, and then jumping in the pool, and running into the house to grab a cookie or a popsicle. And then when I'm exhausted and bored I can come in the house and lay on my bed and read Betsy's Busy Summer. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Who on earth would want Amy Chau around to ruin all of that? I wouldn't.
Thank gosh mother wasn't a Tiger Mother!
Allright, Tiger Catte,
Thanks for the comment. What shall we discuss next? I
Ha,Ha Catherine....and my dog!!!
Also, I belong to my friend Cheryl's book club (Story Sorority)and she posts several questions, each as a different posts to guide the discussion a little bit, but only a few of us are still reading along. I stay with it though because it gets me to read stuff I might not otherwise. I talked to Valerie yesterday and she picked up this month's book. She doesn't want to host a month, because she doesn't blog, but I told her to pick a book and I would post for her. Not like her to be shy, but whatever....Too bad we can't sit and chat about the books in person once a month while munching on yummy treats. I bet then we would talk for hours.
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