Oh, Deary,...AGAIN?!

This guy is just a peach, isn't he? I wrote about him once before, back in February of 2013, when he wanted to get rid of libraries. He ended up changing what he said a bit later on, in November 2013, suggesting free e-readers to all poor people as an alternative. Here's the link to that if you're interested: 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10450529/Terry-Deary-Give-poor-people-free-e-readers.html

More recently, Terry Deary (author of the Horrible Histories series) is touting his opinion about schools being a waste of time...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10763819/Horrible-Histories-creator-Terry-Deary-says-school-is-a-waste-of-time.html

(Sigh)

At this point, I'm beginning to think these little news articles are his way of getting his name (and books) noticed. What's the old saying? 'Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all'? Perhaps he has a buddy who's a journalist because I can't figure out why Deary's opinion matters enough to have articles written about him. 

I won't address all the ignorant things he said about education and teachers. I think he should just play some Pink Floyd and get over himself. You know, he should play 'Another Brick in the Wall' loudly and sing along. He would feel so much better, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U&feature=kp

I will, however, address his suggestion for an alternative to schools... 

Does Mr. Deary even know history?! I'm beginning to think not. If he did, he'd realize that his horrible suggestion about returning to the past when people were slotted for one type of job and were mentored to never be more than they (or their families) imagined they ever could be is outdated and ridiculous.

Here, let me remind you (and Mr. Deary), how things used to be...

Men: If your father was a lord, you became a lord. If your daddy was a blacksmith, you became a blacksmith. If your daddy shoveled horse manure, you shoveled horse manure. If your father became king, you became king. (And, yes, while it may be "good to be the king," very few ever were.)

Women: If your mother was a lady, you became a lady. If your mother was a cook, you became a cook. If your mother was a maid, you became a maid. If your mother became queen, your father used you as a pawn to strengthen his kingdom by choosing your husband for you. (Not quite as good as being king, eh?)

While I realize that Mr. Deary's suggestion about mentoring would not have to be limited to "the family business," and I realize we no longer live in archaic times,...his idea that young children know what they want to be and could, therefore, choose their mentor and path in life is ridiculous and short-sighted. (And don't even get me started on allowing the adults in their life to choose their path for them.)

Let me tell you what I know...

Sadly, I know that our education system is broken. There are many things wrong with it. I should know, I'm a teacher. I should also tell you, I came to the game late. This is my seventh year of teaching middle school, and I am almost fifty years old. I didn't begin my path to becoming a teacher until I was almost forty. I had lived other lives previously - careers where I was always successful and always enjoyed my work. For the greatest part of my working life, I was in mortgage banking. So, you see, I've lived and worked outside of education. I chose to go to college later in life and become a teacher after I saw the need for good teachers in our schools. I thought I could help. 

Here's my point: how could I have lived and enjoyed the variety of jobs I've had without options? All my work experiences have made me a better teacher, and I wouldn't have wanted to be a teacher my whole life. What would my life have been like if I had been mentored to only do one thing, with no other options, based on what I wanted to be when I was young? 

I mean, let's think about this, when I was...

Six? I wanted to be a princess.

Eight? I wanted to be a horse trainer in the circus.

Ten? I wanted to be an artist - a painter.

Twelve? I wanted to be a singer.

But wait...

Deary does mention something about children being mentored for what they have a natural talent or ability to do. OK, well, let's go with that. Surely, I had some natural talent in my childhood that could have helped me choose a path to a successful job I would do for the rest of my life, right?

Let's see,...natural talents when I was young...

I could build a decent fort out of some blankets, chairs, and a few odd pieces of furniture.

I was really good at playing in the creek and catching crawdads.

I had a talent for making the best out of any situation.

I was good at finding things.

I was runner-up in a metric poster contest in elementary school, so I guess I could say I was good at being creative and making good puns.

I was in student council, so I would say I have a natural talent for leadership. (Gee, do you think that means I should be king?)

OK, OK,...so you get my point. This is a point that, obviously, Mr. Deary is ignoring. I say 'ignoring' because I find it hard to believe he could be that ignorant. Believing someone is ignoring something so glaringly obvious is better than believing they are actually that ignorant, don't you think? (You're welcome, Mr. Deary.)

All of that aside, let me tell you another title that fits me best: student. I am a very good student and passionate about learning. I truly am a life-long learner. If you noticed the list of things I wanted to be and the things I found I had a talent for, I found those things out from my experiences in school. 

Awww, come on! Even the princess one? The circus?

Yes, even those. I learned to dream because my teachers read us stories, told us tales, and made us believe we could be anything we wanted to be. 

Artist?

Absolutely. I remember my middle school art teacher, Ms. Adams, who encouraged my love of drawing and painting. To this day, it still makes me smile when I think of the ink art project I did that she was so proud of. I no longer have it, but I remember what it looked like down to the last detail, and I remember her words of praise.

Now, through all my years in public school, was every teacher a good teacher? No. To be honest, though, most were. I loved my teachers. They weren't perfect, they were human. Sometimes, when they made a mistake, it made me realize I could make a mistake, too, and it wasn't the end of the world. They were good to me. My former teachers are a big part of the reason that, when I saw there was a need in education, I stepped up to the plate and hoped to pitch a good game. 

If Mr. Deary's educational experience was horrible, I'm sorry for him. It does not, however, excuse him for intentionally "poisoning the minds of children" (his words, not mine). Shame on him. Personally, I think he's just a miserable man who enjoys spreading his negativity to young children and prides himself on it. 

It makes you wonder, doesn't it? I mean, since he's so 'gung ho' for everyone to have an individual mentor to encourage them on their life's path. Wouldn't you just love to have this guy be your mentor? Can you imagine him molding a young mind? I shudder to think.

Enough said on Mr. Deary

And his life that seems so dreary.

We will leave him to himself

And hope his books stay on the shelf.

I'd Be Leery of Terry Deary

Have you heard about this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/feb/13/libraries-horrible-histories-terry-deary

I had not heard about it until my friend, Laura, posted the article for me to read. While I read the article yesterday, I decided to mull it over in my mind. You  know, be reasonable and not call this guy...well, any number of descriptions come to mind - none of them are pleasant. I think it adds insult to injury that he is an author of children's books. I'm sorry, do children have jobs and earn money to buy his books? Is he aware HOW many children have NO books at home because their parents can't afford them? 

Help me out here, please. Is this man (and society, in general) really unaware of how many poor people there are out there? They don't live in the deepest jungles of third world countries either. They live right here. By "here" I mean in and around the edges of "middle-class" America. Everybody doesn't come home to warm milk and cookies from a mom who read them bedtime stories when they were little and who also spent all night standing in line for them at a bookstore to buy them the latest copy of whatever children's book is making some author very rich (that author is obviously not Mr. Deary, whose money whining makes me weary).

You would be shocked if I told you how many children in my own area do not grow up with books in their homes, whose parents can't afford books, and whose only resource is our little public library (and, yes, it really is little, but quite cozy...and the ladies are very kind and helpful. You know, something else children need to encourage them to read.)

To hear Mr. Deary (whose money woes make him teary), people who utilize the public library are nothing more than moochers. Freeloaders. I mean, come on, you can understand how he feels - right? This guy has poured his blood, sweat, and tears into becoming a writer of children's books so he wouldn't have to get a regular job like the working stiffs whose incomes the author wants spent on his books. Hmmm, interesting, don't you think?

Perhaps, just perhaps, if Mr. Deary (who should be renamed "Dreary") spent more time writing interesting, action-packed, original children's books instead of just hitching a ride on the writing trail by regurgitating history in a form that children will swallow,...maybe, juuuust maybe,...he might get all the money those rich parents used to spend on the Harry Potter series. Annnnnd, maybe,...just maybe...he might get a movie deal and become a big deal like J.K. Rowling (who, by the way, was once a single parent who had to live out of her car...and was one of those people who would have needed a public library to read a book or let her daughter read a book).

So, Mr. Deary (whose foresight must be bleary), here's my advice. Either become a better writer or get a working stiff's job like the rest of us. Maybe, if you're lucky, there will be an opening at a public library...

for a janitor.

Jerk.

(A very special thanks goes out to Dr. Seuss for my rhyming skills. I must also thank my mom, who introduced me to Dr. Seuss. She seldom had time to read to me because she was so busy being the single-parent of three children and a "working stiff" (and I use the term fondly),...BUT she always made sure I had books. She bought them on a payment plan where one came in the mail now and then, but I eventually had the whole Dr. Seuss collection. I loved that collection with all my heart. I don't know how many times I re-read those books over the years. I can still quote almost every book. My mom also made sure we had encyclopedias in our home - also bought on a payment plan. She gave me something else special that added to my love of reading when I was a child, but that is a story for another day...)