A Teacher's Review of Epidemic



Chapter One "Stricken Children, Stricken Families"

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Chapter one of The Epidemic: The Rot of American Culture, Absentee and Permissive Parenting and the Resultant Plague of Joyless, Selfish Children is packed with useful tidbits and fascinating observations. I am looking forward to the "map" which the writer says will follow in the later chapters and will guide moms and dads toward a great family life and our culture to avoid "the epidemic".



When I started reading the first chapter, I thought this book may not be what I thought. The focus on school shootings and major crimes did not seem to be applicable to my fourth grade classroom or the parenting classes of elementary aged kids school kids.



Then Shaw started to apply similar signs and symptoms to kids and their parents. The author's list of harmful factors in our society such as the lack of relaxed family time, the disposal of traditional ideals, media saturation and consumerism(page xii) started to become recognizable within the families which I work with and within my individual family unit.



I have never forgotten taking a parenting class when our kids were young. The classes concentration on raising children who responded to parenting and were also "other centered" was criticized by a few of our friends as well as family with whom many of us shared tips. The idea that infants have to have our admiration as well as awareness and yet not run our lives was foreign to many-even two decases ago. Even though many of us did not realize it at the moment, we were challenging "the epidemic".



Although I normally become flooded by the complexness as well as sheer size of the difficulty, I really do like the author's belief that our youngsters can and do respond to parenting and there is hope. The kids in our schools these days are a product of a system that needs to be transformed. The report of procedures that "skew" a child's emotional development on pages 20-22 is a starting place with regard to turning around the epidemic. It appears to me that the list could have been said positively (which may still be to come) as procedures which assist a child in positive development.



Overall I was in agreement with most of the practices outlined. It's fascinating to me though that the last parenting practice listed, "failing to talk things through" was described as it was. Shaw said that "direct, honest, and complete communication should be the constant characteristic of your relationship with your child" (page 22). Even though "direct, honest and complete communication" should be the norm with more mature kids, I view this kind of sort of sharing as part of the problem when applied to younger children. Mothers and fathers should run the home and be willing to make decisions. Kids should not need to be involved with every decision.



Shaw's reference to moral milestones, cultural standards, as well as behavioral barometers(page 25), excites me to keep reading and learning. I am looking forward to applying these lessons as I work with students, mothers and fathers, colleagues, and my own kids.

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