It used to be that when you called someone a Star it
meant something. It meant that they had reached a level of fame or
accomplishment in their field. Think of Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig in baseball or
Cary Grant and John Wayne in the movies. We knew a star because they did
something that stood out above the normal. That being said I take exception to
the new show NBC is touting that they call “Stars Earn Stripes”. To call Todd Palin a ‘star’ is ludicrous. Dean
Cain is a fine journeyman actor but I don’t think he is a ‘star’. And the other participants are not what you
can call the best in their fields. The exception is Gen. Wesley Clark who was
once the commander of NATO. I’m guessing that he’s in it purely for the money
and is laughing all the way to the bank.
I once heard the phrase that he who praises everyone
praises no one. If Todd Palin qualifies as a star how do we classify Michael
Phelps. People who are famous for being famous, think Paris Hilton or the
Kardashians, did nothing to earn their fame. They rode in on the coat tails of
family fame or notoriety. Conrad Hilton built a chain of hotels and Robert Kardashian
was a well thought of attorney. The fact that they were at the top of their
field should not make their progeny celebrities.
When my niece and nephew were kids and we would talk to
them about movies and the actors who appeared in them we told them that some
actors were stars and some stars were actors BUT not all actors were stars. Spencer
Tracey was an actor who was a star too. John Wayne was a star who acted. Frank
Faylen, Thomas Mitchell and Edgar Buchanan were all fine actors and none of
them were stars.
Stars had qualities the put them above the rest. We have
diminished the term STAR when we apply it to people who have done nothing to
earn the title. Please folks Lets be sure someone deserves title before we
apply it to them.
That’s my rant for the day. You may now return to your
normal activities.
Reminds me of classroom teaching, my favorite rant venue. I taught little kids 6-9 year olds. At that age, they're so excited about learning that most of the time they'll do anything, and do it enthusiastically, if it's presented in a way that piques their curiosity. They're driven to learn. Of course, that can be effectively squelched by criticism, failure, and humiliation, which are all too common in schools. But it can also be stamped out by praise and unwarrented accolades. Doing their daily work is not grounds for oooohs and aaahhhhs and stickers and smiley faces and ribbons. The work, if it is meaningful and appropriately challenging, is its own reward. Acknowledgement is good, probing for understanding is good, suggesting a possible extension is good, but no cartwheels, please.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one of those curmudgeons who grouses about education being all namby-pamby and more worried about self-esteem than learning. I AM concerned about self-esteem. But I do think that self-esteem comes more from accomplishment and independent thinking, than either outside praise or especially from stamping papers with big read F's to "teach them a lesson!"
Uh-oh. Is my Montessori Teacher showing? End of rant.
OMG.......you don"t think todd is a star? I have been saying for years that reality shows(and facebook)are the end of civilization as we know it.
ReplyDeleteIf eveyone had turned the tv channel when this crap first started showing maybe we would not be innundated with the kims,paris,the freaking palins and lets not forget that paragon of virtue snookie...
Would like to rant some more but I'm too broken up about Kristen(talk about star power..lmfao..Stewart and Robert Pattison...