homeschool curriculum | homeschoolers | character trait

Garbage In Garbage Out

I am reminded of an expression used in describing the usefulness of computers in the early days. It still applies, not only to the information we put in and get out of computers, but also to the imformation we put into and get out of our minds.

We live in a time when children have paraded before them both physical and mental foods that at best contain little or no nutrition and at worst are potentially injurious to their health.

I grew up in the 40′s and 50′s when candy, soda pop and potato chips were readily available for first time, but there was little in the way of advertising, certainly as we know it today. TV was still in its infancy, movies were something you saw once an month or so and families were still eating reasonably well balanced meal together.

Pornography and violent entertainment available to children was almost non-existent, certainly in form it is availale today and in the small town that I grew up in. Still I don’t remember making a lot of good choices about what I put in either my body or mind.

The only thing that kept me from a lot of really bad choices was a lack of imagination and opportunity. Today, young people are being fed a constant diet of mental and physical food that leaves little to the imagination. From music to books to TV to movies to interactive games to the internet young people are exposed to information in the form of ads and entertainment designed attract their attention and dollars, but not necesarily to improve either their mental or physical well-being.

While as homeschoolers and parents you have some control over  your children’s exposure to these forms of information, it is imperative that you arm them with the emotional, social and thinking skills necessary for them to be able to exercise the self-control essential to their happiness and well-being.

For  suggestions on how to do this I invite you to visit our web pages for homeschoolers and essential character traits.