This is what you would call an object lesson
My lovely daughters are both teenaged, which is to say that they are by now quite convinced that their old man is a tedious fool, hopelessly out of touch with what matters the most in today's world. Well, to qualify that: with what really matters. The usual example for that would be computers, but as I've mentioned before, they have grown up with the reaction of "if a computer fails in the house, call Dad". And when I say, "call Dad", I mean that quite literally - the voice goes up to that register they had ten years ago, and they point at the offending screen and scream, "DADDEEEEEE!!" This is followed by, from an engineering standpoint, the least descriptive error report possible, and a corresponding demand, such as "THE INTERNET IS BROKE AGAIN! FIX IT!!"
What really matters isn't such stuff, because that's covered. What matters to them is things like Justin Bieber, and knowing that, despite the evidence to the contrary, he at least allegedly has a pair of stones.
Anyway, DD#2 is currently talking on Facebook with a Russian boy. He's got something of a mistrustful view of the United States, and my daughter is showing a bit of patriotic gumption and attempting to debate him on the matter. I learned this because she began asking me questions about world history, and sounding a bit shocked by the answers, such as, "The Soviet Union was our ally in World War II??" And then she would stare at the screen and gulp and try to think of something to write after making a complete fool of herself. She did know this while taking history in school, but the idea of actually retaining any of this knowledge, say, over the summer, is a new concept.
Now I just got asked, "Tokyo is in Japan, right?" *sigh* Still plenty of time to develop some degree of worldliness. I hope.
What really matters isn't such stuff, because that's covered. What matters to them is things like Justin Bieber, and knowing that, despite the evidence to the contrary, he at least allegedly has a pair of stones.
Anyway, DD#2 is currently talking on Facebook with a Russian boy. He's got something of a mistrustful view of the United States, and my daughter is showing a bit of patriotic gumption and attempting to debate him on the matter. I learned this because she began asking me questions about world history, and sounding a bit shocked by the answers, such as, "The Soviet Union was our ally in World War II??" And then she would stare at the screen and gulp and try to think of something to write after making a complete fool of herself. She did know this while taking history in school, but the idea of actually retaining any of this knowledge, say, over the summer, is a new concept.
Now I just got asked, "Tokyo is in Japan, right?" *sigh* Still plenty of time to develop some degree of worldliness. I hope.