Xref: utzoo news.groups:15672 alt.kids-talk:73 Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucsd!helios.ee.lbl.gov!lbl-csam.arpa!antony From: antony@lbl-csam.arpa (Antony A. Courtney) Newsgroups: news.groups,alt.kids-talk Subject: Re: You're Not A Kid! Message-ID: <4468@helios.ee.lbl.gov> Date: 15 Dec 89 17:44:32 GMT References: <1989Nov17.032939.11435@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <1222@mondo.omni.com> <1989Nov26.043958.771@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <6352@hacgate.UUCP> <4389@helios.ee.lbl.gov> <846@disk.UUCP> <452@althea.UUCP> <33190@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> Sender: usenet@helios.ee.lbl.gov Reply-To: antony@lbl-csam.arpa (Antony A. Courtney) Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley Lines: 72 X-Local-Date: 15 Dec 89 09:44:32 PST In article <452@althea.UUCP> eddjp@althea.UUCP (Dewey Paciaffi) writes: >I would like to see a newsgroup where kids would be able to post with other >kids, and not have to be annoyed by the adults who like to "make believe" >they are children. Perhaps that's asking alot. But wait!! I _AM_ a kid! honest! I just turned 16. In article <33190@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> marie@ernie.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Marie desJardins) writes: >Hear, hear! If this is going to be a forum for "real" kids then I >think the older "kid wannabes" and near-adults (like Antony) should >pipe down and see if we can't encourage younger kids (let's say in >the pre-high-school age frame) to speak up. Maybe I'd understand this if my posts were somehow interfering with the natural flow of discussion that was occuring here. But There aren't any other kids posting.... >The rest of the net is >available for those who want to have intellectual discussions. The implication of this is that the discussion here should NOT be intellectual. BOY, __THAT__ would be a shame, wouldn't it?! That a young person might actually have the ability to _THINK_ and might not fulfill your image of what and how kids should talk and interact! >Anybody as articulate as Antony and the other alleged kids who have >been posting here can certainly find a forum for their views >on just about any topic. Would you people listen to what you are saying?! The implications of this are pretty shocking. Yes, I can maybe be described as being articulate. And yes, a few of my accomplishments are sometimes more than people have come to expect of the rest of the people my age. SO?! I don't consider myself ABOVE people my age. I'm just like any other kid. I enjoy talking with and making friends with people my own age. And I enjoy discussions on the issues affecting people my age. What you are suggesting is that because I am articulate and intellectual[sic], that I somehow don't belong with the rest of my peer group. This is exactly the attitude that ends up getting passed on to your children. In this country, kids who do well in school and kids who are smart and kids who don't talk a certain way are shunned. The kids who are popular in schools these days are frequently the ones who are not particularly smart or articulate. Kids see this. And a fair number of SMART kids make the unconscious or conscious decision to not pusue any intellectual ventures (computers, sciences, math, etc.) because it may alienate them from their peer group. Kids are supposed to STRIVE to be articulate and should strive to exploit the capabilites of their brains. And kids who achieve this should be REVERED, not alienated. This is NOT me fishing for compliments. _I_ don't need them. This is a certain amount of anger towards the attitude you have. And then adults wonder why there is an ALARMING illiteracy rate.... Attitudes like yours don't help... antony -- ******************************************************************************* Antony A. Courtney antony@lbl.gov Advanced Development Group ucbvax!lbl-csam.arpa!antony Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory AACourtney@lbl.gov