I am definitely not an expert in educational questions and looking back at my own childhood it seems it would fulfill most criteria of what children today should be kept away from. A few weeks ago I bought a book for my Godchild. I didn’t read it myself and had to trust the seller that it wouldn’t ruin his childhood and that by reading the book he would grow into a respectful, smart and empathetic adult one day. I imagined how if I had a child I would teach it to be passionate about books, arts, people, nature and not play with the Iphone. I thought about all the great things you can explore together and then I suddenly remembered how I grew up. Don’t get me wrong I have had a great childhood with a mother who has managed the unmanageable and achieved more than any person I know personally. But she was a single mom, in the beginning of her twenties, studying psychology in a country and language that wasn’t hers and with no family member closer than 4000km. And that meant quiet often, that when I didn’t spend time in school or in after school care (Hort) I spent a lot of time in front of TV.
Waking up early to secretly watch Schlümpfe before school, after Hort any possible Sitcom, from Denver Clan, to my beloved Bill Cosby show (I actually believe I was partly raised by them), to Roseanne. Spending all Saturdays watching Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, A-Team, anything that was produced in the States from the end eighties to beginning of the nineties. When I would be alone and frightened I would switch to commercials, they would calm me and give me the feeling the world is ok and Kinder Schokolade and Martel will take care of me.
Now the question is what went wrong or what went well despite all this. Since I am eighteen I don’t have a TV anymore, I read quiet a lot, I’d say I am engaged, morally not completely corrupted, I care for others, my attention span is in ok shape and my eyes are not squared. I do have an obsession with movies and film history but don’t ask me what Kelly and Brandon from Beverly Hills 90210 have to do with Passolini or Bergman, or Bodyguard and Tele 5 with Hitchcock and Kazan. I haven’t thought about it enough but there are definitely some open questions about education, maybe I should just ask the lady from the bookshop.