I liked the way the story of the second grader with chemo-therapy was used to illustrate the author's point in 'Creating Frameworks for Possibility'. It made me remember the way Adam Sandler illustrated basically the same point in 'Billy Madison' when they all take a field trip and when they all had to return to the bus, Billy's (Adam Sandler's) little 4th grader friend was hiding in the corner. When he confronted Ernie, he told him that he couldn't get on the bus because he had 'peed his pants'. So, then, Billy Madison, who was as cool to the 4th graders as any other fully grown adult/comedian could be, decided to put water on his pants, too, thereby making Ernie 'cool'. It was at that point that the curator of this field trip says this:
The final chapter for this book was very fitting. Most of the chapters were about breaking schemas and creating new positive scenarios from them. The schemas in this case being the mindset behind fear, competition, and struggle. These factors all can work very counter-productively against human progress, understanding, tolerance, and development. My Dad used to have a name for when someone in our household of 6 kids would do something selfish like, not wrap up the loaf of bread after using it, or polishing off the last of the milk without telling anybody...or worse, leaving a thimble-full of milk just so they wouldn't have to be the last one to use it and have to report its absence. He would say 'looks like the ME-bird has been here....meeeeeeeee!!!...meeeeeeeeee!!!' as he would flap his arms slowly. Of course, we would all just laugh and block out the message behind it, that is until we got older. Now, a family is much like a microcosm for mankind in general. When we consider other people and their needs, we can truly advance ourselves as far as being an effective, sensitive, and considerate human race.
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Brian:
ReplyDeleteInteresting connection between Billy Madison and the chemotherapy story. I hadn't thought about it. However, I love your story about your dad's ME-bird.
When I was little and I wanted to go somewhere. I would say, "Dad can we go to the store." And my dad would to say, "What's this we 'stuff'? Do you have a mouse in your pocket or something?" Which translated to him teasing me, but the answer was usually, "No."
I said all of that to say, yes, I completely agree with your comment on family being a microcosm of life. My dad was teaching me that I wasn't going to always get what I wanted, when I wanted it and most of the time I will have to tell myself 'no' and to make do or be 'satisfied' with what I have. Yet, I always knew I was loved and I still do. Just as your dad was teaching you things with his ME-bird, too.
That "me" bird can be ugly! This is typical of today's culture and especially what our students experience. Most parents of today's students do not put the "WE" or "OUR" into family, therefore it has almost gone away. If the parents would quit the focus on me/I our students world would be a better place for all of "US."
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