Disclaimer, and my "words of wisdom" for students
In 1999, while interviewed on TV by the Knowledge Network, I
was asked for my
opinion on Prof. Crawford Killian's views that boys were "majoring in hackey
sack"
rather than applying themselves to studying, and that they should be trained
in U.S.
Army styles of boys-only schools where they would be shouted at and asked
to shut up.
I replied that we would be doing a disservice to boys if we tried to shape
them along
those lines, and that we should not rob boys from spontaneous qualities such
as
sensitivity and humanity. I also said that we should get away from
gender-based prejudices
and encourage each child along the lines of his/her ability, regardless of
whether
it fits in with traditional stereotype or not.
One free-lance reporter in a neighbourhood newspaper, who does not seem
to have heard the
program properly, somehow confused my statements with Prof. Killian's
and accused me of
"boy bashing", when I was actually defending the right of boys
not to be bashed or treated
roughly. I write this to set the record straight, for those
who might come across any published
misquotes of that interview.
I take this opportunity to thank my (predominantly male) students and colleagues
for
many years of fruitful interactions, and to spread my "words of wisdom" which
SCWIST
asked me for some time ago, and which apply to both men and women, boys
and girls:
Time is your most valuable resource- it is the material from which life is made.Don't squander it in pursuits that are not truly yours, or in any kind
of negativity. Develop your spirituality. Love and respect yourself so
that you can genuinely love and respect others. Dream. Dare. Imagine. Never
give up. Aim high, even impossibly high- good by-products will come out of
trying.
Veronica Dahl