[thechat] Jan 18 peace march

Martin Burns martin at easyweb.co.uk
Tue Jan 21 16:39:01 CST 2003


On Tue, 21 Jan 2003, Erika Meyer wrote:

> Martin wrote, then Adrian responded:
>
> >>  I do *not* want him at age 16 months start to learn that McDonalds is
> >>  the axiomatic place for children to go to.
> >
> >then educate him otherwise... if you think he'll be shielded from
> >branding and marketing messages for any length of time, you're
> >kidding yourself... it's your job as a parent to frame it properly
> >and to guide his decisions...
>
> Adrian, some of us think schools should be one of the places where
> children are taught BY EXAMPLE which is the strongest way that
> children learn.

Indeed, if I thought school (and more so, nursery) were simply a place
where Morgan was put to let Lucy and I go to work and teach academic
stuff, I'd be much less supportive of the concept.

Education in the broadest sense...

> Basically, I guess it comes down to we have to tell our kids we are
> living on the fringes of society because we don't think McDonalds is
> appropriate nutrition and we don't think Coca Cola is a healthy
> drink.  We really aren't so much on the fringes, it's just we haven't
> been as heavily brainwashed as the mainstream.

+1. But what do I know - I'm the one with a child in cloth nappies...


I think I've mentioned - my 5 yo nephew insists on going to McDonalds, but
once he's there, he doesn't know what to do. He's been brainwashed by the
brand: he's a child therefore should want to go to McDonalds, but doesn't
know why.

> Those of you who think we're trying to keep our kids "pure" are
> missing it.  (If I was like that she'd be at monessori or waldorf
> school or homeschooled).

*cough*Steiner*cough*

When we move, Morgan will be in a Montessori nursery.

> Should we be selling the kids porn at school?

Better porn than militarism.

Cheers
Martin

--
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie




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