Random WTF Thursday
I took the Princess to see Prince Caspian last night. The movie held up amazingly well on the second viewing, and I amused myself by spotting CGI, looking for the indicators that the centaurs were people on stilts, and taking notes on Ben Barnes, since he looks so very much like what Tristan d’Arcenne looks like in my head. (Especially during the temptation scene. Whoo. *fans self*)
So that was a good time, and the Princess loved it. She’s still talking about it this morning. We had the discussion about hubris, and about how war is a horrific waste. God, kids are COOL.
So, random Thursday. Which means a bullet list, since I’ve got a serial to revise and Weasel Boy to work on.
* Speaking of Weasel Boy, I’ve broken 35K and got everyone to their first kiss. SCORE.
* Over at FFF, there’s a discussion about teen protagonists and immortal love interests (more specifically, teen girl protags and immortal, much-older love interests.) I am kind of squicked out by that dynamic in a YA unless it’s handled pretty carefully. But I also remember being fifteen and wanting very much to date men twice my age from books I’d read. (Like Harlan from Anne McCaffrey’s Restoree, for example. Or Mr. Rochester.) I’ve always been attracted to people much older than I am, mostly because they have a greater chance of being mature and a lesser chance (statistically speaking) of young bullsh!t. So I can see why the books mentioned in the thread are popular with teen girls–who are, let’s face it, the majority of the YA audience. Which leads me to wonder:
* What are the stats on when boys stop buying books? I’ve noticed that boys and girls tend to buy (or ask for) books pretty evenly until the 14-16 age group, when girls pull ahead and women tend to be the largest consumers of books. So what stops the boys from buying?
* And now for the first thing that righteously torques me off today, the right-wing pundit flap over Rachael Ray’s fricking scarf. GOD. The stupidity of conservatives apparently knows no bounds. They’re barking about this crap because they can engage their base this way–and that’s the sad thing, that there is a significant portion of the population who will view this as News and who will send Ray hatemail calling her a terrorist.
Those of us in the reality-based community, however, will just shake our heads at how stupid Michelle Malkin has proven herself to be AGAIN, only this time over a stupid paisley scarf.
* And now, for the grand prize, the Thing That Makes Me So Mad I Can’t Even See Straight.
The banished child is 5-year-old Alex Barton, who is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning type of autism. Not uncommon to his condition, Alex has had some behavioral issues and as a result, spends a lot of time in the principal’s office.
After returning to Ms. Portillo’s classroom after a recent visit with the principal, his teacher decided to punish him with humiliation. She had Alex stand at the front of the class while his fellow students listed off what they didn’t like about him. After informing him that they found him “disgusting” and “annoying”, the class was instructed to vote on whether or not Alex should be allowed to stay in the class. By a 14 to 2 margin, they voted him out. Parentdish
HOW IN THE HELL DID THE TEACHER EVER THINK THIS WAS APPROPRIATE? (By the way, those two kids who voted not to kick him out of class are more mature than their so-called teacher.)
Now, kids are kids, and kids are cruel. I remember elementary and junior-high and high school, and I KNOW kids are cruel. Adults are supposed to have better impulse control and rationality, but apparently this teacher has none. It was the teacher’s job to keep things sane in the classroom, not to turn it into a f!cking Survivor episode. I am JUST BOGGLED.
The thing that hurts my heart is a quote from the mother, saying she’s heard her kid–already having a tough time because of Asperger’s, which is no picnic–repeating “I’m not special, I’m not special,” over and over again.
GodDAMmit. If we spent a fraction of what we spend on “defense” (i.e., killing people) on education instead, we’d be able to attract the best and brightest to teaching jobs–people who would presumably have better impulse control, people who are less likely to scar a FIVE-YEAR OLD for LIFE by treating him like a piece of meat on a “reality” show.
Jesus. Can you imagine your kid–who you’re already dealing with significant emotional issues with, as a result of Aspergers or something similar–being treated like a reality-TV spot? Can you imagine your kid coming home crying and repeating “I’m not special”? Can you imagine how sick and furious and hurt and terrible you might feel? How you must beat yourself up because you weren’t able to protect your little one when he was–five years old, for Chrissake–put up in front of a crowd of his peers, as if he was a “class enemy” in Mao’s China, and yelled at for a considerable period of time? Five years old–THIS IS KINDERGARTEN, FOR GOD’S SAKE! Not a television show!
That “teacher” needs to be severely disciplined. There’s still a chance for her to say, “I was wrong” and to teach the other kids in the class that the way to deal with people you have problems with is not humiliation and the rampant abuse of power. (Christ, maybe someone could teach the Bush Administration that.) She could, for example, apologize to the kid she’s wronged and his family, and spend a while talking with her class about why she was wrong to do what she did. She could invite the kids to think of better ways to handle whatever problems they have with the little guy they just emotionally maimed.
It’s a damn ugly world when teachers treat their classrooms like those frocking “reality” shows–and this is yet another reason for me to home-school my kids. At least here I’m certain they’re not being emotionally abused.
In case you can’t tell, this seriously curdles my nurnie. I feel for that little guy and for his mother, who sounds just about at her wit’s end. Personally, I think firing and the revocation of a teaching license is too good for the “teacher” who allowed, encouraged, suggested, and presided over this. I’d like to grab that “teacher’s” lapels and give her a good shake and a smack upside the head to boot.
But that would be the sort of behavior I’m taking issue with, wouldn’t it? It wouldn’t be very adult of me. So, erm, I’ll settle for blogging. And for inviting discussion. Dear Reader, what do you think?
