Living in a "like" Society.

 

Living in a “like” society

I’m not sure that I actually belong in the world/society I live in. By belong I mean I kind of don’t fit in mainly due to the fact that I have great difficulty if “belonging” to a multitude of different “social apps”(is that what Instagram/twitch/X/Whatsapp/Facebook/LinkedIn/ ad nauseum are known as?)

Everything I come across needs me to “like” and I feel so out of it if I don’t… an article comes across my desktop and it has 397 “likes”- and I read it and am quite neutral about it so don’t really “like” it. Is there something wrong with me?

What does it mean to “like” something?

Used as a verb I am told it means as follows:

• To feel attraction or pleasure in something or someone
• To want or wish to have something
• To do well in something
• To electronically indicate approval of something, such as a social media post
• To feel inclined or disposed
• To prefer or wish to do something

I see the 4^th bullet seems to tell me that if I “like” a post on social media it means I indicate approval of it. 397 people approve of the post I have referred to. Approve? Really? Or have we simply reached the point where we automatically click on “like” as a matter of course? I tend to think the latter.

If 397 people like what I have written do they also like me? My ego needs it!

Any chance we can include an “unlike” somewhere?

The unseemly veneration of political leaders

I am not an American, nor a citizen of any of the major countries of the world… but I have visited, stayed, taught, and held leadership positions in a number of them.

I respect the country of my birth- no I do not love my country (even though I donned a uniform and fought like many others in so-called preservation of it). I do not understand how one deems a country to be loveable. I love my wife, my children…

And so? Your point pray do tell dear sir!

Leaders of countries, politicians (yes presidents/prime ministers and similar ilk) are employees of a country. They are placed in positions of power by the people. Hence the people being their employers. Nothing more nothing less!

Yet I read too often of politicians who are viewed in glowing terms, even revered! What nonsense!

It was Harry S. Truman 33^rd President of the USA who apparently said the following: “Show me a man that gets rich by being a politician and I’ll show you a crook.”

How do we manage to speak of country leaders almost in the same tone as that of the Mother Teresa’s/Mahatma Ghandi’s/or perhaps even Martin Luther King? They are certainly not altruistic, self -sacrificing, servant like beings. They are human! Filled with the same foibles as you and I.

It is time we stopped venerating them. The leaders of my country are not truly interested in alleviating the lot of the poor (even if their speeches say so)- or raising the living standards of all, or making the access to medical practices easier for all. They are in power to stay in power and to ride generally roughshod over anyone who stands in their way.

Make a country great again! Was any country ever great? Oh yes perhaps once Rome was… but that was then.

 

Enough!

 

Enough!

I have been in Education for almost 50 years… if I include my own initial schooling then indeed I move beyond 60 years. As a Headmaster/Principal/Director in 3 countries over the years and a teacher/lecturer and leader I now need to say enough is enough!

Education CANNOT be reactionary! We cannot be speaking about how to fix things in schools/classrooms/districts/countries when what we ostensibly are preaching about fixing should never have been broken. Educational leaders (and here I include the teacher in the classroom) know what works. The list of “how to’s” is endless but all I read and hear is the modern world bewailing the same things that have been echoed since time immemorial. We use a multitude of excuses to cover up inadequacies… Insufficient funding/too many in a classroom/no support from the so-called upper echelons/and and and!

A teacher… is a teacher! She/he knows how to teach… what is needed to take a child from almost infancy to adulthood- and this is what is needed from teachers/educationalists/Principals/Headmasters/Directors/District Heads. Get on with the job and stop bleating. Follow in the footsteps of those who have taken young people from nothing to greatness while teaching under a tree or only having the basics with which to work.

Teaching… being an educator is a calling… and if you do not know what this means then get off the bus now! You are not going to become a wealthy yacht owner with two homes in the Bahamas and a Lamborghini in the driveway as a teacher. But you are going to be far, far more wealthy in who and what you are and have achieved with those who have sat at your feet and prospered. ( and NO I am not suggesting that an honest days work does not deserve and honest days wages!- this may be another debate for another day!

Our world needs dedicated teachers with dedicated support people. If you are a Principal/Headmaster/District Head, get off your rear end and support the people who are actually doing the job of teaching in the classrooms of the world. That is your job! Not to sit and enjoy the comfy office and the fancy coffee! You are a servant of those in the classroom! Not the boss!

I have said enough for now.

The soon to be physically dysfunctional society

 

The soon to be physically dysfunctional society

Some time back I commented on the need for proper, well- structured education to begin in the Pre-School arena.

Allow me to expand on this.

I am seeing more and more little ones unable to cross their midline. More and more unable to do things which need fine motor skills. More and more already in the early years of their little lives with eye problems.

And the reason for the above?

Children being supplied with tablets/computers and phones almost before they can walk. Parents who are so focused on themselves (why have children I ask myself?) that it is easier to get the kids out of their hair by letting them immerse themselves in the digital world.

So let me provide a few early parenting rules: (if you are considering having a child then READ- If you already have a little one, then READ:

FROM BIRTH

1.       Talk to your child- Sing together/read with her /him. The earlier the better.

2.       Introduce good music to your child (No NOT rap etc.- That’s NOT music)

3.       Play with your child ( yes- you are not too tired after a day at work- if you are, see a doctor!) By the way… the onus to do these things does not rest with one of the parents- Both are responsible.

4.       Playing includes: (as the child grows older so these skills will develop- they will not though develop if the child has been deposited in front of a tablet/computer/phone.

a)        Sitting and cutting out pictures with your child (no not looking at video’s/television).

b)      Using playdough to make sculptures. (No you do not have to buy playdough- make your own using flour- google will help you and your child will love making the dough as well.

c)       Pasting pictures to form artwork.

d)      Drawing on paper (not on the walls!)

e)      String beads

f)        Eating with a spoon (use different sizes) Yes messing is part of the growing up process!

g)       Get dad to cut different blocks of wood so that different structures can be created.

h)      Paint pictures with fingers/paintbrushes (when a little older)

i)        Pick up sticks

j)        Play outside in the rain/mud/water- Allow their immune systems to become strong!

k)       It is not just a teacher in a classroom who needs to tell your child to sit up straight- you do too!

The above begins as early as possible.   I have listed but a few activities that will allow children to avoid sensory deprivation and to be able to be properly physically active.

So when do I advise you to provide your child with access to the digital world?  
If you are doing all of the above with your child then a tablet/computer can easily form part of the process, but NOT (personal view) before the age of 2 or 3. Under strict control and not being allowed to sit for hours playing games. You brought her/him into this world, now raise her/him. Do not abrogate your responsibilities and devolve this onto a remote world. Let them explore the digital world with you in control.

A child does not need a cellphone with internet access until they are in High School!