I found the DVD of this documentary in the children section of the library. We really liked it. It’s wonderful to see different expressions of ecstasy, surprise, confusion, or relief in the face of the children after they (mis)spelled their words. We also enjoyed watching the parents interact with their chidren during preparations and after the competition.
The six and four years old also really enjoyed the movie. Incidentally I just bought a children dictionary for them last week, so they followed along with all the spellings.
ariapn Family
She claimed this is original. She wrote it in about an hour while asking me for spelling of some of the words. I tried to stick to her writing as close as possible.
a Little Bat
once upon a time
There was a Bat
who was Flying
aLL night
That He sleeps aLL
day Long one day
some thing changed
He was sLeeping
in the nightTime
and playD aLL day
Long
anD He DiD That
EvEry Day That
LittLe Bat srue
Is Funny
I think that Bat is
sure changed
His LiFe
The End
ariapn Family
Of course this applies broadly, but as far as I’m concerned this is a really poignant point on children. Still on his opus magnus, The Muqaddimah:
“Severity to students does them harm. This comes about as follows. Severe punishment in the course of instruction does harm to the student, especially to little children, because it belongs among the things that make for a bad habit. Students, bondsmen, and servants who are raised with injustice and arbitrary force are overcome by it. It causes them to feel oppressed and results in inertia. It makes them indolent and induces them to lie and be insincere. That is, their outward behavior differs from what they are thinking or feeling. This is because they fear that if they tell the truth, they will be punished and will suffer tyrannical treatment. Thus, they learn deceit and trickery. This becomes habitual and part of their character.
“They lose that attribute that accompanies all social and political organizations and gives people their humanity, namely, the ability to protect and defend themselves and their homes, and they in turn become dependent on others for this. Indeed, their souls become lazy and lose the desire to acquire the virtues and qualities of good character. This, in turn causes them to fall short of their human potential and never realize their humanity. As a result, they revert to the ‘lowest of the low’. This is what has happened to every people who have come under the yoke of tyranny and learned through it the meaning of injustice. This can easily be proven by simply looking at anyone who is not in control of his own affairs and has no authority on his side to guarantee his personal well-being.”
ariapn Family