Holy cow. Just when you think things can't get any whackier, things get whackier.
We all understand, academically as well as emotionally, that children raised in a loving family do better in life. That love often translates into doing such wonderful things as reading to your children.
But what happens if you have the audacity (gasp) to raise your children in a loving family, and the temerity to (gasp) read to them? You're being unfair to children who don't have those advantages!
So what's a good loving family to do? Rather than encourage more parents to be loving, instead parents should stop being loving because they're giving their children an "unfair advantage" over other children who may not be lucky enough to have loving parents who read to them.
Or so concludes a whack-doodle progressive "professor" (I use the term lightly) in England. Only in academia could the obvious conclusion be twisted so badly.
"I don’t think parents reading their children bedtime stories should constantly have in their minds the way that they are unfairly disadvantaging other people’s children, but I think they should have that thought occasionally," British academic Adam Swift told ABC’s Joe Gelonesi.
In his article, Gelonesi added: “This devilish twist of evidence surely leads to a further conclusion that perhaps – in the interests of leveling the playing field – bedtime stories should also be restricted.”
Don came in from the shop laughing his head off after listening to Rush Limbaugh blast this fellow to pieces. From Limbaugh's transcript:
"One wacko, one lunatic, one extreme leftist who is obsessed with this perverted definition of fairness and equality and who is determining that parents who can read to their kids at night are giving them an unfair advantage. ... All of this is rooted in the idea that nobody should be any different – we should all be the same, we should all turn out the same.
"But, of course, we’re not all the same. Every damn one of us is unique. We are not like anybody else, by design and by definition. We all have different talents, characteristics, abilities, albatrosses, liabilities, differing levels of ambition. We have differing degrees of health, genetic codes. ... Nobody’s the same. And these people always insist, nevertheless, with enforcing uniformity on everyone.
"As liberals, the answer is not to help the kids who are not in good families. They become the lowest-common denominator. They become the baseline. Everybody must be made to be like them in order for everything to be fair and equal. The natural tendency of the left is to punish success, to punish achievement, to punish anything that they believe gives an unfair advantage."
It's comforting to know that while I may have major philosophical differences with liberals, even they admit this kind of logic is, well, dumb.
Now get out there and read to your kids.
I don't like Rush Limbaugh very much, but the man has his moments, and this is one of them. Hurray for always following his personal beliefs, that is OUR God given right. We can always agree to disagree without nasty confrontations, that's what I like about being an American. A parent reading to his/her child(ren) is giving their time and their love, and even parents who may not be literate, can tell their child(ren) stories; one's they remember, or ones they make up. Children don't care if the stories are written in a book, they care their parent(s) gave up ten precious minutes of their day, just for them. Those are the memories, those ten precious minutes.
ReplyDeleteI missed something. Which liberals do you refer to when you say that "even 'they' admit this kind of logic is, well, dumb." Do you mean Limbaugh? He's no liberal! This kind of logic is exactly what separates liberal-progressives from all the sensible, fair-minded people of the world. Liberals have been coming up with far-out whacky ideas like this for many decades, with no end in sight! For example, they want us to stop giving awards just to the first three runners in a race and give ALL the participants an award. In other words, they want us all to be the same, like ants in a colony. No dreams, no hopes, no desires, no ambition to get ahead. Just be a good little ant, do your job and keep quiet. It has never worked before, and it never will, but that doesn't stop the liberal whackos. Their goal is NOT fairness and equality for all. It is a matter of CONTROL. They don't care about our welfare. They want to CONTROL us. --Fred in AZ
ReplyDeleteNo, Fred, liberals don't believe any of that nonsense in your post. Nor will we stop reading to our children anytime soon.
DeleteWow - talk about Defining Deviancy Down. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteSteve Davis
Anchorage, Alaska
Hey! I'm reading "undaunted Courage" also. GREAT read to anyone out there.
ReplyDeleteSteve Davis
Instead of teaching children to aspire to greatness the liberals want us to lower ourselves to level the playing field. It is gut wrenching to watch them.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience lately. I am a retired teacher, and was discussing year around school with other teachers. I said that I was against it because I thought children also learned from other experiences such as church and scout camp. I was congratulated on sending my children to camps, but it was pointed out that those whose parents don't or can't provide such experiences are those that need year around school. I was told that, therefore, that children such as mine should sacrifice camp so that everyone could benefit from year around schooling.
ReplyDeleteBabies who are breastfed and eat balanced meals growing up do better in life, too. Should we "restrict" childhood nutrition? Make sure every kid is required to go to bed hungry at least 3 times a week? How about prenatal and pediatric medical care?
ReplyDeleteI sugest we level his playing field by paying him MINIMUM WAGE
ReplyDeleteThat's just a whole new level of stupid right there. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteAnd the "horror" of a family that sits down and eats dinner together. Every night.
ReplyDeleteand talks to one another.
The notion posited by this professor really lays bare the chasm that divides us on this planet. I've been waiting all day to spout off on this. I appreciate the forum...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that professor doesn't understand why I don't understand his idiocy and thinks I'm an idiot for thinking he's an idiot. There's just no middle ground here.
Do we stop reading to our kids so that illiteracy is an even GREATER problem than it is now? So that EVERYONE is illiterate? So that the world is eventually full of nothing BUT illiterate idiots who just grunt and spit at each other?
Would we all be perfectly "equal" THEN?
Seems to me that this fellow just ADMITTED that what's been said by so many of us all along is true: Kids do better in life when they're raised in a loving, involved family from the get-go. Duh.
(My capital letters are just for emphasis. There isn't any other way to do that in a comment section. I'm not cyber yelling.)
Just Me
When I read to my kids, it sometimes crosses my mind that I'm giving them an advantage...AND I LIKE IT. :)
ReplyDeleteWow. It takes all kinds. This dribble is becoming mainstream. Coddled utes .. on a level playing field all getting big trophies for losing in sports. I have poured more into my youngest son with Down syndrome ... can't imagine how he'd have turned out without all the parental/teacher/extra help he's received.
ReplyDelete....we also may want to give our children the advantage of reading this "professor's" ludicrous assertion.
ReplyDeleteFor the shortfall of leaving it to the schools to teach reading lends itself to reading for the purpose of indoctrination - not reading for comprehension on all levels. This is why parents must be encouraged to read to their own children!
And nothing can beat that one-on-one of, "See here, this is where the wolf is playing on Red Riding Hood's naivete thereby leading her and Grandma into serious trouble." (Not the potential, "Let's look at the story from the hungry wolf's perspective, children. The poor creature has every bit as much right to life as you or I. Humans are just animals after all. So who are we to judge the methods this animal uses to sustain it's life? Grandma was old, after all, and past her usefulness for anything else save being a drain on poor Red and her family. Red Riding Hood should thank the wolf for alleviating her problem and invite him to the homes of other elderly so as to be of service. And she should, above all, start a family action group to subsidize hungry wolves and rid the land of pesky old folks and most especially those children who are, horror of horrors, read to by their parents!)
I've no doubt that many a homeschooled child would pick up on the not-so-subtle shaming of parents who take parenting seriously. Or just plain like to spend time reading with their children.
Quoting Mission Statement from the University of Warwick (UK) website: “To produce graduates who are global citizens”. I suspect they are unemployed graduates. That is so unfair. But there is a solution! According to Swift all of us just need to quit our jobs.
ReplyDeleteMamas don't let your babies go up to be ‘educated’ idiots.
Montana Guy
That prof needs to read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, a wonderful story about a dystopian society where everyone is equal. BUT, those with more talents/looks/you name it are "handicapped" to bring them down to the level of idiots.
ReplyDeleteBTW, it was made into a movie lately, and I'm confident in saying that the story is MUCH better, even though I didn't see the movie. The story is ALWAYS better!
Jeff in OK
Just looked that up! Looks interesting.
DeleteThe movie has some beautiful scenes in it. The way they shot it and the music is incredible. It takes license with the story but is worth looking up. It's on YouTube.
DeleteI should mention that there are actually two movie adaptations now. "2081" is the one that I love the music and cinematography to. The other one is a decent movie but lacks the visual/musical impact.
DeleteI read this and kept waiting for the "gotcha"! Seriously, it was written in such a way as to suggest satire. I even checked the date to make sure it was posted on May 1st, not April 1st. Most if not all of the comments after his article were not complementary. Thanks goodness common sense isn't dead for those of us not counted among the philosophical elite :P
ReplyDeleteRenee
One of the most delightful things about reading to children is that most of it is done while very close to one another. I remember being read to as a child by my grandmother, who passed away while I was probably under three years old. I don't remember much of anything else about her, but how big and soft and sweet she was as she read to me, she always put her arm around me. I do not remember that about anyone else in my family. Sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteProgressive here. We liberals don't claim this lunatic as ours, sorry.
ReplyDeleteI was a teacher for years and now a librarian. READ to your kids, no matter your politics!
Not so fast Anonymous at 11:15. You have a right to your own views, but not to your own facts. This guy is one of yours. Before you try to distance yourself politically from this man I suggest you read Swift’s official profile at the University of Warwick (UK): http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/swift
DeleteRenee (above), this article is not satire. Swift actually believes parents have NO FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT to confer wealth or advantage on their children. He is against school choice. He is against private schools that give unfair advantages to their students. Can you imagine his horror at the thought of homeschooling?
Progressives are the #1 threat to liberty. They love Big Government and build it because they need someone to FORCE their ways on others. As Washington warned, “Government is force”. For example, Swift and his like would unquestionably outlaw homeschooling. Families refusing to stop homeschooling would eventually face the absolute wrath of tyranny: confiscation of children, loss of liberty, property and yes, even life. Ridiculous you say? Look no further than the massacres at Waco, Ruby Ridge.
Montana Guy
I guess I must still have "libtard ears," because I didn't hear the idiot saying that we should stop reading to our kids. Just that there are a lot of things, like reading and interacting in a sane manner, that parents can do for their kids that are just as beneficial as expensive exclusive private schools and a heck of a lot more accessible.
ReplyDeleteThe things that really make me sad are:
1). Someone actually feels the need to justify the family's existence (telling me that the nuclear family remains under attack by idealistic rationalists who STILL haven't picked up on the idea that people cannot and should not be mass produced like consumer goods), and
2). Nowhere in this drawn-out diatribe did any of these highly educated wunderkids point out the simplest and most accessible solution to the sad fact that some people won't bother to take 20 minutes a night to read to their kids-- DON'T JUST READ TO YOUR OWN KIDS. Read to other peoples' kids too.
Read at the library. Read at the school (if you can get them to give up time to so frivolous and non-test-preppy an activity). Read at the playground. Read at the daycare (because I've never known a person to take the time and trouble to stay home with the kids and NOT invest the infinitesimal bother to read to them while doing it). Read to your nieces and nephews and neighbors. Read to your friends' kids.
If, of course, you're not afraid of offending someone by reading a book!
I looooved reading to our daycare kids. It was one of the bright spots in an otherwise stressful job. I used to go to the library and pick out new books every few weeks. =)
DeleteWhat truly frightens me is that it seems that it only takes one whack ed out professor for an idea to catch on. We are all ready suffering the consequences of far too many "xxxx advantage" being used as excuses for poor life choices.
ReplyDeleteSatan won't be happy until all children are conceived in test tubes, raised by women living on the dole, children medicated into obedience and stuck in prison like schools and those with ambition put into labor camps. If that sounds wacky, so be it, it's where we are headed if more people don't wake up. How else did we get to the point that so many behaviors can not be questioned, only rewarded with the hard earned money of other people?
God's blessings to you all.
sidetracksusie
Rather strange conclusions. This professor should be lobbying for ALL parents to be encouraged to read to their children.
ReplyDeleteGood day! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group?
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content.
Please let me know. Thanks
Yes of course. I welcome new readers.
Delete- Patrice