Anyway, here's the link.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A Referential Chain
This is a reference to a quote from a reprinting of an original letter to the editor of a newspaper in New Jersey. Right, newspaper. What's that, you say? Ah yes, such has become the infusion of the electronically transmitted word, ironic as I blog this...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Children are Different Nowadays--Or are They?
In listening to different radio programs, hearing the opinions of individuals, and reading various books, a consensus I am hearing is that children of today are different--than they were in the past, that is. The sources argue that it is hard to raise children in the way they used to be brought up because children have changed; thus, methods of raising them, disciplining them, teaching them, etc., should be different to adjust to the times.
I say that children have not changed--the culture has.
Yes, the problems that children have and cause today are much more severe than even as short as 20 or 30 years ago. However, drawing the conclusion that this is caused by a difference in the children themselves is erroneous. I am no doctor or psychologist or anyone else who may study behavior patterns and tendencies in children, but I was fairly recently a child, and have younger siblings and have been around friends with numerous younger siblings, and so I have observations to pull from.
Children are pliable yet resilient; they can adapt and adjust to many different situations and similarly hold up under difficult circumstances. These characteristics can also make them vulnerable: they can be easily influenced and led in one direction or another, causing far-reaching consequences in the course of their lifetimes. Also, children are different, but in another way altogether than is being argued by said sources. No two people are exactly alike, and that starts at birth. Nonetheless, these inherent differences in makeup and personality are not the sources of the rampant problems we observe today with alarming frequency.
The differences observed and referenced in these commentaries and whatnot seem to overlook the slew of inputs being foisted upon children today. Television programs, television advertisements, the Internet and all its components, good and bad, movies, music, books, schools, and numerous other subtle mediums inundate most everyone in the world, and the effects of this inundation are seen most strongly in the younger generation. Yes, parents try to "raise their kids right," but when their sphere of influence on their own offspring is limited to the time it takes to shoo them out the door, backpack in hand, to be nurtured by the state for seven hours a day, sandwiched between 45-minute rides on buses full of similarly-situated peers, and the time between their return home with "homework," possibly a meal as a family, and then bedtime, the influence they have on their children is minimal at best! Add into the equation the fact that while homework needs to be addressed most evenings, the television gets a fair workout as well, pouring messages into their eyes, ears, and minds whether they acknowledge the transfer or not.
What does this translate to?
Children are different today because of the way they are being shaped during development, not because of any difference in makeup between the children of today, those of 20 years ago, and those of the 19th century.
I say that children have not changed--the culture has.
Yes, the problems that children have and cause today are much more severe than even as short as 20 or 30 years ago. However, drawing the conclusion that this is caused by a difference in the children themselves is erroneous. I am no doctor or psychologist or anyone else who may study behavior patterns and tendencies in children, but I was fairly recently a child, and have younger siblings and have been around friends with numerous younger siblings, and so I have observations to pull from.
Children are pliable yet resilient; they can adapt and adjust to many different situations and similarly hold up under difficult circumstances. These characteristics can also make them vulnerable: they can be easily influenced and led in one direction or another, causing far-reaching consequences in the course of their lifetimes. Also, children are different, but in another way altogether than is being argued by said sources. No two people are exactly alike, and that starts at birth. Nonetheless, these inherent differences in makeup and personality are not the sources of the rampant problems we observe today with alarming frequency.
The differences observed and referenced in these commentaries and whatnot seem to overlook the slew of inputs being foisted upon children today. Television programs, television advertisements, the Internet and all its components, good and bad, movies, music, books, schools, and numerous other subtle mediums inundate most everyone in the world, and the effects of this inundation are seen most strongly in the younger generation. Yes, parents try to "raise their kids right," but when their sphere of influence on their own offspring is limited to the time it takes to shoo them out the door, backpack in hand, to be nurtured by the state for seven hours a day, sandwiched between 45-minute rides on buses full of similarly-situated peers, and the time between their return home with "homework," possibly a meal as a family, and then bedtime, the influence they have on their children is minimal at best! Add into the equation the fact that while homework needs to be addressed most evenings, the television gets a fair workout as well, pouring messages into their eyes, ears, and minds whether they acknowledge the transfer or not.
What does this translate to?
Children are different today because of the way they are being shaped during development, not because of any difference in makeup between the children of today, those of 20 years ago, and those of the 19th century.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Snow Day
Last Friday I had an experience, which, despite having grown up in Pennsylvania, with liberal snowfall a reasonably common occurrence, I had not yet run into: leaving work early due to snow.
I was at work in Birmingham, having driven up that morning as usual, and there was a buzz about the office in a way there rarely is. I could hear people chatting excitedly in the hallway and hear snippets of conversation about "...it's snowing..." and "...home early..." Being my Northern self, inured to such things as a little snowfall, I paid little attention to the hubbub, although it was mildly interesting to me as well: steady snowfall in Alabama for most any duration is a very unusual sight. Come lunch time, the snow was actually falling fairly thickly, in big, fluffy, wet flakes, collecting in a glaze on the top decks of parking garages, street-side trees, and parked cars. The streets themselves remained predominately clear, a combination of the ground not being quite cold enough to sustain collection and a steady stream of traffic through the city. As I had heard before, not a few people were speaking of leaving for home early, and some urged me to leave as well since my drive was the longest of anyone in the office that day.
Initially, I brushed the idea aside, like so much snow off my windshield, but as they continued reasoning and I pondered the situation a little more, I realized the prudence in the suggestions: as accustomed as I may be to dealing with snowy roadways, 1) Alabamians are not, 2) Alabama does not have the equipment nor resources to clear the roads of snow, and 3) the temperature was dropping, which would eventually cause the now-melting snow, without a melting agent like salt, to freeze and create potentially disastrous driving conditions. As such, I ate a quick lunch, finished the project on which I had been working through the morning, and then popped my head into the manager's door to let her know I would be heading home.
The drive home was different, to be sure: it was the middle of the day, instead of five o'clock or a little later, and so I could see much more of my surroundings. The snow fell at varying speeds and thicknesses throughout the drive, and the traffic responded accordingly. One accident had occurred a little short of halfway home, but although traffic was slowed a little, the wreck did not seem too serious and there were already emergency personnel on the scene.
Most impressively though, the snow had, as in downtown, collected on the trees along the interstate, completely altering the landscape. For those that have not seen a snow-covered treeline before, it is challenging to describe the transformation that snow causes upon its fall. I wanted to capture a photograph--as I have so many times in scenery and views similarly beautiful--but a picture could hardly do, especially one taken with my wee camera phone.
I was at work in Birmingham, having driven up that morning as usual, and there was a buzz about the office in a way there rarely is. I could hear people chatting excitedly in the hallway and hear snippets of conversation about "...it's snowing..." and "...home early..." Being my Northern self, inured to such things as a little snowfall, I paid little attention to the hubbub, although it was mildly interesting to me as well: steady snowfall in Alabama for most any duration is a very unusual sight. Come lunch time, the snow was actually falling fairly thickly, in big, fluffy, wet flakes, collecting in a glaze on the top decks of parking garages, street-side trees, and parked cars. The streets themselves remained predominately clear, a combination of the ground not being quite cold enough to sustain collection and a steady stream of traffic through the city. As I had heard before, not a few people were speaking of leaving for home early, and some urged me to leave as well since my drive was the longest of anyone in the office that day.
Initially, I brushed the idea aside, like so much snow off my windshield, but as they continued reasoning and I pondered the situation a little more, I realized the prudence in the suggestions: as accustomed as I may be to dealing with snowy roadways, 1) Alabamians are not, 2) Alabama does not have the equipment nor resources to clear the roads of snow, and 3) the temperature was dropping, which would eventually cause the now-melting snow, without a melting agent like salt, to freeze and create potentially disastrous driving conditions. As such, I ate a quick lunch, finished the project on which I had been working through the morning, and then popped my head into the manager's door to let her know I would be heading home.
The drive home was different, to be sure: it was the middle of the day, instead of five o'clock or a little later, and so I could see much more of my surroundings. The snow fell at varying speeds and thicknesses throughout the drive, and the traffic responded accordingly. One accident had occurred a little short of halfway home, but although traffic was slowed a little, the wreck did not seem too serious and there were already emergency personnel on the scene.
Most impressively though, the snow had, as in downtown, collected on the trees along the interstate, completely altering the landscape. For those that have not seen a snow-covered treeline before, it is challenging to describe the transformation that snow causes upon its fall. I wanted to capture a photograph--as I have so many times in scenery and views similarly beautiful--but a picture could hardly do, especially one taken with my wee camera phone.
Abundantly Blessed
My wife and I were getting ready to head to worship with our church yesterday morning, and I was about all dressed and ready to go when my wife requested that I change so that we might get a picture of us together in which we matched more than we were already. I acquiesced and went to alter my attire, and while standing in our walk-in closet--a much-desired feature of our new apartment as we were looking at it--and doing a bit of complaining in my mind about having to change clothes, I was struck by the absurdity of the situation: there I was in a room full of clothes with which I have been blessed, and instead of being grateful for what I had to use and wear, I had complained!
Every few months I make a point to weed out my "stuff," especially clothes. I am of simple, staple tastes when it comes to clothes, and when I find something I like, I wear it over, and over, and...well, suffice it to say that jeans can absolutely go a week without being washed, and the more they are worn and washed, the better they get. That being the case, I try to thin out my wardrobe every so often, but even when I am done, there is still an abundance of clothing for me to enjoy.
Faced with necessity, I have found I can go day to day with very little clothing variety. For five weeks in Europe, I had two pairs of long shorts, a pair of jeans, a few undershirts, and a brace of polos. In that situation, where it was understood that everyone in the group had the clothes in their bag and not much else, the repetition was expected. I wish it were that way in "real life"--where the home and workplace are. I could make it that way, but as much as i like to tell myself I do not care what people think of me, I still find myself pondering in the morning before heading to work, "when did I last wear that shirt with those pants and this sweater? Has it been long enough where I could get away with running a repeat?" Instead, could I not simply wear, cheerfully and gratefully, what comes to hand, thankful for what God has provided for me?
Every few months I make a point to weed out my "stuff," especially clothes. I am of simple, staple tastes when it comes to clothes, and when I find something I like, I wear it over, and over, and...well, suffice it to say that jeans can absolutely go a week without being washed, and the more they are worn and washed, the better they get. That being the case, I try to thin out my wardrobe every so often, but even when I am done, there is still an abundance of clothing for me to enjoy.
Faced with necessity, I have found I can go day to day with very little clothing variety. For five weeks in Europe, I had two pairs of long shorts, a pair of jeans, a few undershirts, and a brace of polos. In that situation, where it was understood that everyone in the group had the clothes in their bag and not much else, the repetition was expected. I wish it were that way in "real life"--where the home and workplace are. I could make it that way, but as much as i like to tell myself I do not care what people think of me, I still find myself pondering in the morning before heading to work, "when did I last wear that shirt with those pants and this sweater? Has it been long enough where I could get away with running a repeat?" Instead, could I not simply wear, cheerfully and gratefully, what comes to hand, thankful for what God has provided for me?
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