When my oldest son was in kindergarten, I was stamped as a weird mother because as an excuse for one afternoon`s absence I wrote on the note for the teacher: ”My children and I observed the phenomenon of the birth of our four kittens.”
For me birth provided an important lesson in reproduction, and the development from the first day to the age of 8 weeks furnished interesting lessons in the psychology of animal behavior. Since all the kittens ended up with names originating in Greek mythology, I also took the opportunity to introduce that subject to my children.
For 20 years, while raising four children, our home was a happy, secure and stimulating place without television. There seemed to be no need or desire. My aim was to instill excitement and challenge my children to explore, discover and learn as much as possible daily. Books and magazines were in disorderly manner in practically every nook and cranny. Despite financial struggles, I did not pursue a career. I fully enjoyed motherhood. I grew up in Austria during the post-war years-of course, without television.
When I came to the United States in 1958, I sought friends who preferred conversation to television. I always felt, and still do, that television in the home ”disconnects” family relationships. My conviction grew as I compared my children`s creativity and academic curiosity with that of many of their playmates. When the children were of school age, the Latin School of Chicago took over where I had left off.
There were many diversions other than TV. Constructing an incubator that maintained steady 38- to 40-degree temperatures and correct humidity to hatch healthy chicks was a science project in our home that all the children vividly remember.
I also have memories of a spring day when three caterpillars found on a milkweed plant were transported carefully on little hands from the nearby forest preserve to the boys` bedroom. For days the children were busy supplying their ”roommates” with fresh milkweed leaves. They were amused to discover that the eating habits of the caterpillars varied greatly: No. 1 ate neatly, No. 2 munched sloppily, and No. 3 moved back and forth between leaves. How exhilarating it was to watch their excitement at the spinning of the chrysalis and the emergence of perfect monarch butterflies about two weeks later!
An excursion to the grocery store was undertaken by bicycle or wagon. A
”STOP” sign on the way and the words ”IN” and ”OUT” at the store entrance reinforced beginner lessons in reading. Inside the store the children practiced math skills as they counted peaches and apples into bags. Why cherries were in season in early summer and oranges in winter offered a basis for discussion of climate. Comparing the sale price with the regular price helped mastery of another math concept and budgeting.
Teaching children can take place anywhere and anytime. When heating water to the boiling point, a kitchen can serve as a simple chemistry lab. Observing bustling ants in the yard can be an introductory lesson in sociology.
I believe that no television in the home put them in the forefront among their peers. Ursula, 16, was among the top students in her sophomore class at Latin School and was offered a $10,000 scholarship to Culver Girls Academy in Indiana. She has accepted, hoping to improve her equestrian skills to satisfy the requirements to join the Culver Black Horse Troop in the 1989 Presidential inauguration parade in Washington, D.C.
Siegfried, 19, is an honor student at the University of California at Berkeley, planning to major in biochemistry. A month-long research course on the Atlantic Ocean during summer, 1985, and month-long research in the jungles of Panama in the summer of 1986 cemented his deep interest in field research. In spring, 1988, he will participate in a semester-long field research course in the tropical rainforest of Northern Queensland, Australia.
Fritz, 12, acts like a man around town. As a high honor student at the Latin School, he is channeling his academic interests towards a career in aeronautics. His experience last spring at NASA Space Camp deepened his desire.
Heidi, 21, who was born blind and at 3, based on test scores, was judged doomed for the dungeons of society by Chicago public school educators, is emerging as a sensitive classical pianist under the guidance of Chicago Symphony pianist Mary Sauer.
Had I given in to the pleas of Fritz` teacher while in 4th grade at the Latin School, things would not have turned out quite the same. I was invited for a special parent/teacher conference only to be asked why Fritz never seemed to know what happened on television the night before. It was also recommended that I give him an opportunity to catch up with television programs during the summer vacation. I was glad to see this teacher leave her post at the end of the school year on her own choosing.
There was a ”kind” neighbor who felt sorry for our family and presented the children with her outcast black-and-white television.
Peer group pressure never seemed a big issue. The children had a home where they felt secure, and most important, no television set interfered with communication among them.
My children were always welcome and liked at other children`s homes because they sat quietly in front of the screen, happily returning home to be part of the family`s enthusiasm and excitement about ”living” life instead of ”watching it go by.”
To test my hypotheses, for Christmas, 1985, I brought a television and VCR into our home. They have not changed our lifestyle! They are seldom turned on. The children have disciplined themselves to make valuable choices with their time.
When I ask my older son for his opinion about growing up without television, he readily offered his view: ”A child watching television doesn`t have to think, because his images are created for him. His time spent watching is occupied passively instead creatively. When he plays, he regurgitates the television images, and his play is practically laid out for him. To the observer, it may seem as though the child is creative, but he actually imitates the persons seen on television. Rarely will he search to bring out what is uniquely him or experience the triumphant feeling that goes with creating-doing something that nobody has shown or taught him. Present-day television is systematically debasing our children`s ability to reason.”
Raising my children with television seems to have been one of my greatest accomplishments in life. And it wasn`t difficult.
