Monday, September 23, 2013

Out of the Mouths of Teens: Jaden Smith's Wisdom

 ה' חול המועד סוכות תשע"ד

Yes, I'm late commenting on this. Internet connectivity issues at home. What can I say, but I think that this is still worth posting.

There is much more than you might think to this September 5th Tweet from Actor and Singer Jaden Smith ("The Karate Kid"), the son of entertainers Will Smith ("Fresh Prince of Bel Air" "Men In Black,") and Jada Pinkett-Smith ("A Different World" "Matrix" II and III, "Madagascar").

(Tip Credit: Yahoo! OMG)

Some might just blow it off as some typical rebellious, teen angst, blowing off some steam, expressing frustration with school.

It sure wouldn't be the first time.

But, is that really what Jaden Smith was trying to express here?

I don't think so. Jaden's parents have taken quite an interest in their children's education, not the sort of thing you hear everyday associated with Hollywood celebrities. Although, there certainly are some. The Smiths funded their own private school, the New Village Leadership Academy. I have no idea whether I would have agreed with its philosophy and approach or not. But, that doesn't matter. Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith did. They did the research and fortunately had the means to provide the education which they wanted for their children, and not necessarily what their public schools would have provided.

And so, it would not surprise me, if Jaden Smith had been given some exposure to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, American public schools do not provide what all American parents would choose for their children, if they had that choice.

Regardless of Jaden Smith's motivation behind his tweet, maybe some Americans (and Israelis!) will wake up as a result it, and think about the possibility that maybe, just maybe, those government-funded, public schools around the corner do not necessarily have our best intentions at the route of their purpose, but rather,...indoctrination of our young citizens into well-behaved "sheeple" who won't cause any problems for the powers that be.

1 comment:

Devorah Chayah said...

Very insightful - for you and Jaden.

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