09/09/22 Grif.Net - School Woes
b...@grif.net
My first-grade grandchild corrected me as I was reading her my favorite children’s book, “Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat”. (It is also the favorite of cartoonist Gary Larson who is my age and raised on that story). The 1948 classic calls this grumpy neighborhood nuisance a “stupid” old bear. I just read the text (with sound effects, of course) and never thought of this as a “bad” word.
“Grandpa, we were taught the first week of school NOT to use the “S” word.”
Now, I do NOT cuss in front of the kids or use vulgar or hurtful words. The “F” bomb won’t cross my lips, nor other pejoratives I grew up with. But I had not heard about any “S” word.
“What is that?” I innocently asked.
“My teacher said we can’t call anyone or anything stupid.”
I immediately changed it to “silly” old bear. Noticed a year later as I bought 3 new reprints – one for each of my grown children to store for reading to another generation – that the publisher ALSO changed “stupid” to “silly”.
I thought this would settle the child down, but the next day she came by our home saying, “On the playground today I got called the ‘G’ word,” she sobbed.
“OK. Let’s calm down,” I said, kneeling beside her with no clue what the “G” word was. “Now, exactly what were you called?”
Between sobs she blurted, “He called me a G g g g - jerk!”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
"Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!"