The age of innocence (continued)

Despite yesterday's discussion, we are not watching Les Miserables tonight.

A parent's job is never ending weighting benefits vs. harm, thinking and re-thinking, deciding and changing your mind. Which I did, I changed my mind.

It's not because of discussing and understanding the adult issues. Would that be a book, I'd have no problem reading it with my son. But it's a movie, and the movie is very graphic. Way too graphic for my extremely easily scared child. Talking about death and poverty is one thing, seeing it on the screen is another. Would he have not been so easily frightened and not tend to taking things very seriously, we would watch the movie. But you have to be constantly in tune with what your child needs or does not need. What is beneficial for one child is harmful to another. More than occasionally, my son comes to me at night because he had a nightmare. He does not need another one.

I was taking a child development class last semester, for which I needed to write a few papers. The class was all about theories that different scientists had about child psychology. In virtually every paper I wrote, I said at the end: "The theory is good, but you cannot apply it to every child. Every child develops differently. Some kids develop according to one theory, some to another, and some just don't fit any." I wonder if the professor noticed that pattern in my papers. On my final paper, she wrote that "she enjoyed having me in the class because I always challenged the theories." I don't challenge them. I just don't find them particularly useful.

I am taking another class now, a child education curriculum. When the teacher asked today: "What do you hope to learn in this class?", I said: "how do we take a curriculum, which intended for a group of children, and apply it to each child as an individual." Tough thing to do in school. I know, because for 4 years I've been struggling with teachers to accommodate my son's special math abilities. I am meeting with his new teacher later this week to discuss this, and I have no hope for success.

I've tried 3 Blockbuster stores to find "Master and commander", but without success. So, no movie tonight.