An Almost Cute Story

 

In my first 5^th grade class at Havergal College School this last week, I taught the partner clap Head and Shoulders. One of the verses is:

 

“Milk the cow, baby, 1, 2 3

Milk the cow, baby, 1, 2 3

Milk the cow, milk the cow, milk the cow,

Milk the cow, baby, 1, 2 3.”

 

At the end I asked, “So who milked a cow today?” One child raised her hand. “Really?!” I asked. And all the girls chimed in, “Yes, she lives on a farm!!” Then I said, “Okay, who else milked a cow today?” The whole point was that this was a song created by rural kids and it reflected their experience. So we can sing their song, but also update it and make new verses about the things we tend to do each day. That can mean “read a book, go to school, play guitar, cook a meal, ride the bus, etc.” but of course, most think of “text your friend, baby 1, 2, 3…” So it is.

 

But lots of kids (remember, we’re in urban Toronto) kept insisting they had milked a cow, so I finally said, “Okay, if you want to me to believe you, you have to bring in a photo of you milking a cow.” We left it at that and went on with the game.

 

Three days later, the same class came back and one of the girls ran up excitedly and said, “Look!” In her hand was a printed photo of her milking a cow!!! Thinking it may have been the girl who lived on a farm, I told her I was so impressed that she actually had milked a cow and was so touched that she went to all that trouble to take and print a photo to prove it to me. She had a big smile on her face and just as we were about to begin class, she confessed:

 

“Well, actually, it was AI.”

 

Aaargh!!! On one hand, I still was impressed that she went to all this trouble from my casual remark about bringing in a photo. That showed both a sense of caring and a mischievous streak that I like in children (and adults). On the other hand, here we are, where kids are given fake substitutes for the real deal. 

Also depressing is this growing sense than none of can trust or believe anything, even with visual evidence right in front of our eyes. And what was a harmless prank for a child can also be a supremely dangerous manipulation (see the movie Wag the Dog) by people who do not have our best interests in mind. 

 

Like I said, an almost cute story. There is some charm about the mischievous kid side of it, but great concern about what it implies. So again:

 

AARGH!!!