Thursday, April 22, 2010

Schools or the Parents

So here's the latest in Oh My God moments this week. Teaching 3rd graders about sex education. They say the reason for this being taught so early is because 80% of ninth graders are sexually active. Is this happening bacause of the bombardment of information that our children have accessable to them? Is it because we as adults are desensitised? Or is this just another thing that us as parents are passing on doing with our kids?
Ok first thing, 80% of ninth graders are sexually active. I thik before we take this statistic seriously some of those little boys that were asked need to be stuck on a lie detector. You know what I'm saying.
So let's go with about a modest 65% of 14 year olds are actually having sex, (that sound worse when you say 14 rather than 9th grader) if these kids are informed of what can happen and how to protect themselves then that's all you can do, unless your not adverse to home schooling and spending every waking minute being a voyeristic parent with the "Nanny Cam". Teenagers are going to do the most defiant thing that they can find so be willing to talk to the kiddies about the intercourse. You could make a game of it, see if you can gross your kid out before giving yourself a stroke. Could be quite the race. A majority of parents are too uncomfortable to have "The Talk" so their little hormone filled offspring are running around with no information and not enough of a set to actually buy the condoms or to ask the doctor about birth control. So what have we learned? If you don't want to be a grandparent helping teach your grandkid to walk right before you take your daughter out for her first driving test, then suck it up and start teaching your kids how to act like responsible adults.
This brings me to my next point are we to easy going on what our little ones little ears and eyes are being filled with? Do we not think that those little sponge brained 3 year olds can understand when something bad is on T.V? There have been certain instances in which I realized that my 2 year old has started to pay attention and has gotten really good at imitating. That scares me a little.
I think in all honesty that it might be a really good idea for all of the parents to stop complaining when the schools actually step up to the plate and start the education that you should start with your child. To teach your children how to be responsible and informed, to decide what's best for them and make decisions based on valid teachings and being able to have an open and honest dialoge with either of their parents. I would want to know what my kids teachers are saying to them at the very least so that I can decide whether that's what I want my child to hear. Or even to solidify the original teaching. I want to know that I have given my little one all the tools he will need to go out and be a good man. I also want him to hear it from me.

That's all I've got for today
Kisses.

Monday, April 19, 2010

The lost art of conversation

So lets call this what it is, a lost art. Communication has become one of the hardest things to accomplish even under the best of curcumstances. Now we have to battle against Text messages, BBM messages, voicemail, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, and numerous other portals that have to be checked on such a frequent basis that we could lose our minds. I prefer the good old fashioned way you sit down you look at a person and SHOCKING!!! You talk! This is our most elusive forms of communication the "conversation" it's like the unicorn form of communicating. Stunningly beautiful when you achive it, but many don't believe it exhists.
I do have to say also in the defense of tech talkers, there is an efficiency to it but without emoticons how do you express the emotions? You live only in the flat black and white world of text, your thumbs bleeding from those tiny little buttons and the frustration of hitting send by accident. How did we get to believe that we are so busy that we can spend 2 hours a day returning emails or sending them when you could pick up the phone and talk for 2 minutes and express what you really want to say with emotion and feeling. I don't even understand why some cell phones have an actual phone to it, it never gets used so why have it. It's like when you walk into some ones office and they have their cell right next to their office phone, is the land line art? What purpose does it serve? It doesn't.
My child will learn to converse it is necessary to survival in my family, you don't chat, you might as well be wall paper. I grew up in a house where everyone got a chance to speak, but you had to have a valid and well thought out arguement to hold the floor. If not some one could swoop in with an "Interesting, but what about this?" and as quickly as you had it, it was taken away. The beautiful part was you had to actually listen to what the other person had to say so that you could get your spotlight back, and let me tell you my family talks fast so either pay attention or get really used to sitting there with a really confused look on your face. We would go through about 10 topics in about 2 hrs after dinner, some people would fall of in to sub-chats as I call them but I always liked to stick with the big dogs. The people who got SUPER passionate about what they believed and they had lots to back it up. It never really was an arguement so much as a battle royal for verbal supremicy. I miss doing that so much.
It's hard not to feel socially stagnated in a no talk zone. I have caught myself striking up conversations with strangers just to get a fix, older people are the best they'll talk for hours.
I will close with this, I do see the hypocrisy in typing my rants and yes I can appreciate it as a bit humourous but all people know that your feelings have to come out some how, so if you can do it in the way that you want you better get it out in the best way possible, uninterupted.

Lots of love and respect to you. Now go find some one to talk to.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Free Speech vs. Tolerance

In a city like Ottawa we have to wear our politicly correct hat all the time. Well mine is coming off, I would just like to preface by saying I am not classified as any strict political type. I believe that all veiws are relevent and necsassary to our society and culture.
Ann Coulter sparked great debate among all when she was requested to "tone it down", by the president of Ottawa U. This in my opinion was done on his part to ensure possibly her safety and to ensure her message would not be misconstrued as slander. No such luck, She decided to set off a slanderous bomb, for lack of a better term. Her email to the Ottawa Citizen was the beginning of the end of her stay in Ottawa. I will not quote her plainly because I do not wish to hear what she said again.
After these protests and debates over wrong and right, who is and who isn't?
No one, I beleive this is no longer the great debate of free speech it has turned into a question of tolerance. Do we have it or not?
When you have the fortune of living in a country that has social programs, free lunch programs in schools, good shelters and soup kitchens, and assistance for all. That would dictate a generous and responsible society. Many would disagree with me, Taxes are high, school systems are down, no art grants. all valid arguements. I agree we are the cultivaters of art and fitness in this country. Now how many art programs are available in say Uganda Or Haiti. How many of you live in a leaning piece of cardboard against a wall to house you and your 3 children because your husband was killed by a solider for not getting out of the way fast enough. Do you think that woman should not merit any kind of help to get out of a situation that is not of her doing, should her chldren suffer and starve to death because their father didn`t get off the street when told.
This never would have happened here, this is in my mind the reason our tolerance needs to rise. We have high awareness and we have compassion and we are the first in to help out when the going gets tough.
There are though those who feel in the right to say that they feel bullied into this ¨mulit-cultural¨ society. I don`t feel bullied I feel as if it is something that enriches our cities schools and businesses. I do agree there are some who when given the chance will abuse the system, don`t be too diluted we do it ALL the time and feel it in our right because it`s our country. Well I say Ok thet is your issue with the welfare office. they have hotlines call it in if your such a concerned citizen. People like to talk but they have no action. For them Shut it!
Back to the tolerance in our society you have the right, no the privledge to speak your mind the one thing you must bear in mind, so does everyone else. Deal with it. You feel so bullied go to a country that some of these people came from and see why it is that their here now. I don`t know many people who would up root the whole family to move across an ocean or contient just because they had a bad week. I say this is free country and you are free to leave if you feel so hard done by, just do us a favor drop us a card before you go infront a firing squad ( yes they still have them in some places) for running that mouth.
I have had, do have, and always will have friends of the ¨multi-cultural¨ back grounds. I am proud of the fact that I don`t always agree with what they say or do but I have tolerance for their right to do it.