I hit the jackpot this year with this little piece of magic: Beowulf vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Let's take these two guys and pit them against each other and see what happens. Before I read this I had to explain what WWF is and who "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is. Too bad internet was down and I couldn't show a YouTube video!
I keep wondering to myself how much to expose these kids to. In my mind, if I can open their eyes to something here, in this safe classroom, then all the better for them when they return to their home countries. Therefore, I have no problem tossing a picture of this scary wrestler dude standing in a ring in nothing but his man-panties for all my kids to see. I take time to explain a piledriver and body-scissors (the kids kinda gaped at me a little when I asked if any of them wanted to show us how they were really done) so they can see how ridiculous it all is.
Something I struggle with is knowing where the line is. At what point am I explaining and exposing them to too much? Is there a line? My kids in the states catch almost all of Shakespeare's sexual humor, and my kids here catch almost none of it. Do they need to know? Am I doing them a disservice by leaving them in the dark about this? I don't want them to leave naive, but I don't want to over expose them either ... I'll leave all the over-exposing to "Stone-Cold."
What do you think?
Keep up the good work Cindy.
ReplyDeleteCMc
Definitely a hard question...somewhere along the line you'll always run into things you haven't been exposed to. Since you're on the topic of wrestling it brings to mind how my first class of first graders had to teach me what "the worm" was. Definitely wasn't in tune with the world of wrestling. It's a hard call! Some of those things it's definitely good to learn in a safe environment...others, one could probably go their whole life without knowing and be all the better for it. Maybe you have wisdom to discern the line!
ReplyDeleteWOW, what a dilemma. Isn't it sad that there is so little innocence out here.
ReplyDeletedidn't know you blogged - but then it doesn't surprise me. you should, more...
ReplyDeleteso, obviously, this is way after the fact, but thought i'd throw out my two cents.
about that particular question I keep three principles in mind as i teach children and teens, particularly my own:
1. by God's grace, i'm growing my kids to be winsome ambassadors and they must first know Who they are representing and then seek to understand those to whom they are representing Him... thus they cannot be ignorant of the world in which they live.
2. biblically, we are all to be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil...
3. by modeling discernment in what you choose to teach, you begin teaching your students the value of discernment as well as showing them how to discern.
as a parent of a kid who thoroughly enjoys your class (most days) - i'd say when in question, err on the side of innocence and naivete because ultimately, that privilege and responsibility to teach discernment belongs to parents...