i made daal today! and i made it with split peas! same thing really, consistency-wise. yeah, i'm uber creative like that.
and i ate waaay too much food: i will now list for your reading pleasure:
no breakfast cuz i wanted to sleep in
daal with carrots and onions and rice
small raspberry tart
2 small pieces of lemon cake with dollops of creme fraiche
some more daal with rice
3 slices of walnut bread with comte cheese
1 more slice of walnut bread with daal
no dinner for me je me suppose!
today the kids were really bratty and that's my justification for eating a lot. plus the daal is really yummy. it makes me really wish i had kept a diary when i was in middle school so i can go back now and read it and remember what it was like to be that age and try and learn a language. i'm pretty sure i wouldn't sass the french assistant if we had one. i remember being a good child. i think it has to do with the levels of discipline declining severely in today's (western) youth. if parents instilled more fear into their kids to do better in school or else, they'd pay attention. fear is a good motivator and i think it should be used cuz at 12, your child is not going to fully understand how handy english will be one day. no matter how much explaining you do.
i've been thinking about parenting a lot and i remember a calvin and hobbes strip where calvin was in shock at how there was no test for his dad to become 'dad.' it's a bizarre idea but maybe it's one that should be looked into. there are too many miserable people in the world so why create more if they're just gonna end up disillusioned, disheartened, stupid and unmotivated?
i keeed. a little. where this is coming from: i recently learned that most of the kids in this area who go to the school i teach at come from broken homes with very low incomes. the parents of these kids were underachievers themselves and now they work in agriculture seasonally and drink the other half of the year. they smoke and cuss and generally give their kids crap all the time. they also show up at school every now and then and give the teachers crap too. and this i don't understand. if my life sucked and i had a child, i would do everything in my power to make sure my child's life wouldn't suck. and that includes scaring the bejeebus out of it, if that's what it took to get it to study hard and get good grades! i'm fairly sure this isn't a radical thought, i just wonder why the parents out here let their kids be like them. surely that can't make them proud parents to see little versions of themselves.
or is it that? it could be that the parents don't think they have it all that bad, or may even think that they got it good. and so they don't see the point of working any harder for anything more when they're content with their lot. and this is the idea they pass on to their little elodie or bastien that it's ok to just get by cuz french social security is great!
i wonder if i'm being too harsh or even unrealistic about it all. at any rate, these are just some thoughts i thought i'd pen (type) down before i did the dishes and took a shower.
craving: a back cracking massage
currently listening to: whatever you like- t.i.
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boo hoo... I had a comment and the computer ate it!!!
ReplyDeletePeople from a lower socio-economic background don't have the opportunities, knowledge or inclination for self development. Especially if they are more focused on more important matters like if they have enough food for breakfast tomorrow. But you are right, those with social security, have a nice safety net to fall back on whenever they want.
Parents should definitely take a class on child rearing as there is so much to know and learn. I'm surprised more often than I'd like at how little parents know and sometimes, how offensive they can be. Their children don't stand a chance if someone else isn't there to provide the services and resources they require.
As for the use of fear, I think children are naturally a little bit afraid of their parents. The parents don't have to try very hard if they set boundaries for their children and discipline them when necessary.
I also think people should take a course before getting married. But that is an entirely different topic.
I think I've said enough.
a course before getting married, i love it!
ReplyDeletethanks for your input ilam!
i realy do hope you're wrong about parents from lower socio-economic backgrounds having less inclination for 'betterment' especially when it comes to their kids. what about all those movies and dramas about parents sacrificing so much to make sure their kids have a chance at a different life? true it's fiction but it has to be based on some part of a reality, right? or am i being naive?
rude parents are tough, i hear stories from the teachers i work with and i am astonished.
meha's a lucky girl :)