When I was about 10, I was having a girlfriend over the spend the night. Dad came back and interupted us and told me I had to come watch something on PBS (a death sentence to a 10-year-old). I whinned but he would not relent. Dad didn't make my friend come watch but I had to go for an hour and watch The Miracle of Life. I am sure I was mad the whole time, and this was in the days before it was common to record and watch later. But looking back I really respect my Dad for making me watch "that kind of stuff" all my life. PBS became a major part of my life growing up, of course it was one of only 3 stations we got but even if we would have had the hundreds of today I know Dad would have made it a priority to watch this kind of programming with me.
Now that I am the parent I know my kids will suffer the same fate as I. They will be forced to watch The Miracle of Life, Cosmos, and now Planet Earth - and I am sure many others. Thank you Dad for helping me appreciate life and the beauty that is science. I will remember you every time I pass this on to my kids.
3 comments:
I caught the ocean part of Planet Earth and was facinated. It's strange, the world is huge and yet I still run into the same six strangers every time I grocery shop. :)
SO facinating, beautiful, mesmerizing. I feel the same way and have been watching/recording them.
BUT
in every episode were parts I COULD NOT watch. I just do not do well with animals having their flesh torn off. For that reason I wonder at what age these shows are suitable for children. I cannot imagine Sydney being able to tolerate it either, but by age 12 or so maybe she could decide whether she could stomach it or not? I was happy to have TIVO'd the shows. I could race right past the prey parts with my remote. I tried hard to watch the prey scenes...felt it was my duty to do that, but I cannot watch them.
However in the ocean, it's not as hard to watch animals and their prey.
Weird huh?
I remember borrowing episodes of Cosmos from Dorothy and your dad encouraging me to watch and learn. That was near the end of highschool for me and when I was actually getting interested in active learning. That encouragment was valuable.
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