Kids sometimes say the darnest things

I got to help with a fun project at work yesterday. We are putting together a videotape for a surprise birthday party for the university’s president who is turning 60. We had to go to an elementary school and interview children on what it is like to be 60 years old, what the world was like 60 years ago, etc.

We talked to children from kindergarden through third grade. At first we were very excited to talk to the youngest ones. But maybe it’s because they were too shy or we were not phrasing words correctly, but the youngest of all hardly answered any questions and they just kept saying “I don’t know!” A small girl would only say “you are a bad, bad boy!”

The ones we had the most fun with were the 7-8 year olds. They were willing to talk, think and theorize. It was almost a unanimous decision that anyone over 25 should not have a birthday party because they are old. But if we are going to have a party for the president, then we might as well have cake and ice-cream. But not for him, those things aren’t good for old people. One kid said that 60 year olds should only have roast beef for their birthday. Another one said that it should be meat-loaf.

Several of them wondered what the world was like 60 years ago, with no electricity. They couldn’t call their friends, there was no music (because that also runs on electricity), no Chuck E Cheese, no TV and no computers. A boy suggested that the only thing they could do for fun back then was cutting down trees. But what if they lived in a place like Hays, KS where there really aren’t that many trees? Then they got to dig holes.

One boy was extremely concerned with the fact that he was missing his recess and one girl looked at me suspiciously when I spoke in Spanish to her because I don’t have dark skin.

Posted by david at 10:45 am | Permalink |

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