TV Show Humiliation

You're Not Smarter Than A 5th Grader, Are You?

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

Q: Dear April Masini,

I've been watching the new show, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, and it's humiliating me! Not only have I barely been able to get a single question right, but I have a 5th grader who doesn't know any of the answers either. Now I feel like a completely stupid adult who is doing a horrible job at raising her child. I still have no clue what a rhombus is! Are fifth graders supposed to know all of these answers? The kids on the show just seem so smart and perfect!

Sincerely,

Older And Dumber Than A 5th Grader

A:

Dear Older And Dumber Than A Grader, 

 

Don't worry! You and your child are not dumb, but I'll fill you in on why the new show, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, is making you feel like you are.

Not your average 5th graders

First of all, most fifth graders do not know what a rhombus is. In case you haven't taken a look at national test scores lately, our kids are not doing all that well -- and the ones who make television show cuts make it for a reason. Rhombus inculcated children are there to humiliate adults on national television -- and if you haven't tuned in to your magic box lately, you should know that humiliation is the new black. You only have to watch Jerry Springer and see the chairs and the fists fly when secrets about infidelity are divulged to learn what makes a show big money. Humiliation. Don't believe me? Check out the nauseating things people eat on Fear Factor, Road Rules, and other such shows only to regurgitate with a camera on the front row recording it all for prime time -- or close to prime time.

Entertainment today is about humiliation, and if you're dumber than a pint-sized elementary school kid, you may make a network some money. 

 

Know what's important

Should we change what we are teaching fifth graders (all that geometry and those fun facts about the stars), since we all seem to do fine without it?

What schools are teaching children is less important than teaching them the process of learning. Lots of times adults forget that it's not the content they're learning that's important -- it's the process by which they're learning. If they learn how to learn then it won't matter if they choose to spend their lives in fashion design or orthopedic surgery -- they will be successful because they know how to process the information that is important to their chosen lives.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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