The Electric BabysitterOctober 24, 1984Copyright © 1997 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
In this academically oriented age, there is a wonderful aid for working mothers. It is an excellent device for the feeding of young minds. Many things can now be taught by a machine which previously were only taught by parents. These things include English, values, correct behavior, and prudence. The English of today's society is absorbed by the children, primarily from this device. Words such as "ain't," and the use of double negatives have been deeply impressed on the minds of today's youths. Such English has never before been so effectively taught. The values learned by today's youth are of a unique sort. Never before have values been so firmly embedded in children's minds. The values of today are sexual freedom, lying, killing, opposing authority, and sloth. There has never been such an effective teacher of sexual freedom and lying as the modern soap opera. Killing, opposing authority, and sloth have never been taught so well and effectively as by the cartoons. Correct behavior is taught very effectively by one cartoon and one comedy. The cartoon "Heckle and Jeckle" teaches children to lie, cheat, and steal. These things have never been taught so well. The comedy trio, Mo, Curly, and Larry, teaches children to hit, slap, and poke at their friends. They also teach children stealth and lying. These fine standards of behavior were not taught so well at any time before the coming of the Three Stooges. Prudence is best taught to the youth of our generation by such cartoons as "The Roadrunner," "yosemite Sam," and "Tom and Jerry." These fine cartoons are wonderful teachers. They teach our children to jump off cliffs, to play "chicken" with sharks, to shoot their playmates, to swallow explosives, and to drop boulders on others. Such displays of caution and lessons in care have been sadly neglected until very recently. By this point, the reader ought to have noticed that the electric babysitter is the device commonly known as the television. This device, as has been illustrated in this paper, is a wonderful teacher of proper English, good systems of values, correct behavior, caution, and care. The children of this generation have been taught these things very effectively by the television. It is to be hoped that these teachings will continue and increase for many years to come. Please View and Sign My Guestbook © 1998-2000 Debbie Fletcher, joiya@tcia.net
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