MORE GAMES

A recent comment from an adult reader: I just read your blog and I would NOT read book three of the trilogy, if I were you. It is very disturbing and I think you would hate it. So, I personally do NOT think you should read it. It bothered me a lot and was not pleasant. Just let your granddaughter tell you about it.

Makes me wonder what young children and young adults are thinking and feeling when they read and see the images of childen killing each other? Is this entertainment for them? Are some adults being too protective, or have  video games conditioned the child’s emotional responses?

Surprisingly, for me, there are some video goodies for the older children.  Maria Montessori, I’m sure, would not recommend video games for the young child under five whose absorbent mind is still active, creating his world from all the beautiful sights and words around him. Who needs such images in their dreams and developing consciousness?

Research by Douglas Gentile, Ph.D, reveals that video games can have both positive and negative consequences on our brains besides being entertaining.  I’m not sure playing Wii tennis with my grandsons influenced my brain or increased my skills but it was a relational and fun activity and it possibly improved my periphery vision. Studies of social games showed that they can be beneficial; but games with violent content tested harmful, encouraging players to act out what they played in real life.

For me, the question is, what is the child missing or failing to notice as their fingers click away, their eyes absorbed on the screen or gadget in their hands? Is he or she in denial of the joy of natural life around them or the opportunities for work or caring for another in their environment? Have they made their bed?

        (comment below or email: connie@montessoritheory.com)

THE GAMES

I didn’t find the movie entertaining. While viewing, I analyzed it, questioning Suzanne Collins’ message; but the showing of her thoughts on the huge Blue Ray screen was pretty gruesome—Ted used the word, 'gory'. I definitely prefer such violent forms of sacrifice, if at all, be contained in the words of novels for adults who need to think of the ‘dystopian’ message and have the freedom in their minds to imagine how it affects them personally.

Watching the masses of people enjoy the sacrifices--young children killing each other—was not what Jesus had in mind for our young people or families when he was crucified . . .perhaps what  Homo Fabers would have considered entertainment, but not parents and educators with intelligence. Maria Montessori would be rolling over in her grave if she knew of the number of young children and adults at the theater, lined up, some sitting on the floor, waiting to rush in with their cola and popcorn.

The games played in the movie remind me of some video games I’ve watched the children play.  More about that next week—I need a nap. My dreams were disturbing last night.    

HUNGER GAMES

The movie is in town this week and to be honest with you, I’m totally excited—can’t wait for Friday, probably Saturday, to come. Ted is going to see it whether he likes it or not. He’s the one who is the political complainer in our house. He has not read the books as I have, nor had a sixteen-year-old granddaughter question his understanding of ‘dystopian’ stories. I had to check the dictionary for that word, a word opening my mind to the possibility that Suzanne Collins has a serious message for all of us in her saga of violence and sacrifice. She deals with societies’ development of classes, the rich verses the poor, and the danger of our tendencies to be always on the move.

I think Maria Montessori might relate the Hunger Games trilogy to a stage of humanity’s history of the survival of the fittest, a period in time when mankind’s brain was evolving to a realization of what is essential in life. The author’s protagonist, Katmis, honors the love of family above the usual romantic desires of love. The story reminds us of the necessity to hold on to our traditions in spite of our rapidly changing cultures and diversity of natures.

Maria writes of the six stages of man’s developing brain and our struggle to survive in a world of diverse intelligence and cultures. As Homo Concors, she says, we are striving to share our knowledge with the whole world; as Homo Politicus, we argue, discuss, and vote to hold onto ways that make us feel secure. It doesn’t happen overnight.

I think the movie, Hunger Games, is going to shake-up many adults. I hope it’s felt deeply by young and old and stirs their minds to appreciate that we live in a country where we can discuss, argue, discern, and vote for our political choices. Let us be thankful.

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PEACE FINDING

I’m not finding much peace this week, working on taxes. I wonder what Maria did about taxes in her day . . . my next research project. Ted and I do our own taxes working with Turbo. Every year, I swear we are going to have someone do them but frugal Ted talks me out of it. The questions are endless, besides all the new terminology. I feel like the IRS, the government,  is robbing me of peace. They want to control my life, my wealth, my property. I feel angry.

I turn and pet my puppy, scratch her neck behind her ears. She is so peaceful and content with her life—a simple life. I want to live a simple peaceful life. Like a puppy?  No. I’m an intelligent responsible person wanting to be treated by society, by my community, by my government, as an intelligent human being. “They’R Us”, I tell myself which means I’m responsible for how I’m controlled, how the larger units treat me. The more I participate intelligently in my government, in society, the more peace I will find

A child lives within this same predicament. The more they can participate freely in the creation of their world, the more they are allowed to act out of their inherited intelligence fulfilling their desires, then the happier and more peaceful adult human being they will be and the saner society’s tax forms will become.
                                   (for sharing, push comment, then publish; or email: connie@montessoritheory.com) 

BLOGGING

I wonder what Maria Montessori would have to say about blogging. I think she would have marveled at the speed of wireless communication. Perhaps as a scientist, she would not be totally surprised. Maria's work was to observe change in life. She expected change and waited patiently for it to happen in children's, in people's lives. She knew that the life of a child and others, given the right environment and consideration, would develop marvelously, like a budding rose or blooming cactus.

Maria Montessori worked for peace. She experienced wars and violence in her lifetime but she didn't believe they were necessary. She recognized a life of peace in the child and believed that all humanity had a birthright to live out their life in peace. She was not afraid of man's acts of war and understood why they happen. Her work was to observe beginnings, discover why they happen, and to create ways for mankind to change, to correct their misgivings and to appreciate who they are and how to discover reality.

Maria would be excited about our capability to educate the world with wireless energy, yet may be overwhelmed with the task of educating all the teachers and parents. My book, Montessori--Living the Good Life, is an effort to awaken educators to once again believe in peace--in the home, the schools, and in society.
                        (comments may be sent to: connie@montessoritheory.com)