Last week, I watched a 1957 episode of Leave it to Beaver. Its funny, sometimes those old television programs have some good points to make.
Beaver made friends with Chooey, a boy from South America who speaks Spanish. Eddie, in his usual way, thought it would be funny to teach Beaver to say something to Chooey in Spanish -- something like "you have the face of a pig". Of course Chooey got upset and ran home crying. As is always the way with sitcoms, they worked it all out, and it had a happy ending with Beaver and Chooey playing together again.
As Beaver's father came in to tuck him into bed, he asked "Dad, do you think I'll think its funny to do things like Eddie does when I get in High School?" Dad says "What do you think?" And Beaver, with the innocent wisdom of a child, says "If that's what I will think is funny, I don't think I want to be in High School." And Dad smiles and says, "I think you'll be ok, Beaver."
I know, its just a sitcom, but there's an innocence in children asking questions, and finding their own answers, in their own way. It shapes them into the adult they're going to be.
Art Linkletter used to say "Kids say the darndest things..." and I think that's very true!
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