Rosie O'Donnell on track

Rosie O'Donnell is not one of my favorite people. I won't waste your time telling you how offensive I find this woman. But today on GMA she shared some wisdom that astounded me primarily because of the source. Rosie said that in raising her four children she does not allow them to watch television or play with computers. I wanted to shout hurray for someone who shows some sense in these matters.

Every educator knows the potential of the aforementioned tools, but we know that in many homes, far too many homes, children are allowed to watch television with absolutely no controls or restrictions. Television is used for babysitting so that the adults can go about their business without worrying about them. Just watch daytime television and then nighttime television and you can see that children are being exposed to foul language, immoral behavior, and disgusting ideas presented on talk shows.

One of the great problems parents face is how their children use computers. Access to the internet allows them to go places that no one should go and get onto chat rooms where no one should be and see and do things that are horrendous. Many of the games available for computers are designed to show a person how to repeatedly kill and conduct themselves in violent behavior. Thus children are being trained to kill. No wonder we are having so many assaults in our school system from children. They have been in training for years and now they can see if what they did in cyberworld can be done in the real world.

It was a sad moment when I felt I had to outlaw computers in the classroom. I would have been extremely glad to have a computer when I went to college. I had professors that were loaded with information and I was not able to get down all the information. I dreamed of a school where students could do exactly that. But it didn't take me long to see that the students were playing games and using IM to communicate with each other in class.

The straw that broke the camel's back came when I was lecturing on the death of Jesus. Girls with computers on the far sides of the room were having a giggly good time while I am talking about death. I even reprimanded them, but they continued on. I knew that others were playing games. You could tell that by the glazed look they had as they stared at the computer screen totally oblivious to the class. At that point I said I would not allow computers in the classroom.

So thanks, Rosie. You have invoked some wisdom that is badly needed. I pray that people will listen and unplug their televisions and introduce their children to books and play outdoors.