The Lost $100 Gift Card and the Tears of an 8-Year-Old

One time my 8-year-old son won $2 from his grandpa for a tackle he made at the football field.  When he got home, he took off his football equipment and went to play.  He left the $2 on the floor.  I told him to take his money up to his room.  He said okay, kept on playing and forgot.  I reminded him 10 minutes later, and he still didn’t do it right away and forgot again.  I reminded him a third time and told him that if he had to be reminded again, he would lose the money. Ten minutes later, he lost the money.  I was angry and he cried about the money he wasn’t getting back.

The dry face of an 8 year old

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Iowa Children Learn About Racism

Iowa schoolchildren in Ms Elliot's class circa 1968

This is the full, streaming video of a classic Frontline documentary about an Iowa school teacher who on the day after MLK was assassinated in 1968 decided to teach her class of 8-year-olds a harsh lesson about racism.  She decreed to that blue-eyed kids were better than brown-eyed kids and that they would enjoy privileges in the class, at recess, and in the cafeteria. The brown-eyed children were forced to wear collars. Not only did the classmates turn on each other but the “superior” kids started performing better in classroom exercises while the “inferior” kids slumped.  It is an amazing tale, and suitable for anybody young or old to watch.

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