Hello All,
Here's something I've wondered about lately and never thought
of the correct forum to discuss...
Have you ever thought about the current generation of K-4
level students who readily accept obvious fantasy as reality?
A friend who teaches 4th grade calculates that about half her
class accepts Santa Claus.  What is the source of this?  My
instincts tell me that the opposite could be true with the
graphic prime time news depictions and exposure at an earlier
age to some of the harsher realities of life.  Also, the ever
younger perpetrators of serious crime and younger pregnancies
lead one to believe kids are attempting to grow up faster than
ever.  I suppose much can be explained by assuming that the
reality of consequences is missing, but the knowledge to
perform is readily available.
I distinctly remember just one student in my 1st grade class (mid
1950's) who still believed in Santa Claus.  I remember it,
because we agreed as fellow students to not pop her bubble and
just kept mum.  The reason I'm even bringing this up in this
conference is that I believe there must be some impact on
educational issues regarding this phenomenon.  Are we, as
products of post-WWII, feet rooted-in-reality characters,
missing something here in our approach to this age group?  Are
we basing our priorities and parallels on factors beyond the
"leap" that the current generation can handle?  What do you
think?
Regards,
-=Craig=-
craigclu@bigfoot.com
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 þ wsOMR 1.20b þ Abandon the search for truth: settle on a good fantasy
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