The Child Factor

1. Comprehension Check

1. Why does O’Reilly ridicule Pattie Pollard Ash’s behavior?

2. Why did the superintendent of the Boston public schools issue a certain statement?

3. Why does O’Reilly attribute the name “a talker” to the lady on the plane?

4. Why did the author have to devise a special system of punishment when he worked in Florida?

5. How can the principle of stick and carrot be implemented in parent-child relationship?

6. Why does O’Reilly strongly advise against trying bribery in this relationship?

7. When does “Children of the Damned” time come?

8. What is one of the most effective tools for developing awareness?

9. When did the author develop the ability to step back and analyze the situations?

10. Where should we find examples helping us to reinforce the idea of unacceptability of copying other people’s behavior pertaining to alcohol and drug abuse?

11. How did the day-to-day activity of the author’s parents come into clash with his notion that they “were basically clueless in the child-raising arena”?

2. Discriminate false statements from the true ones. Justify your choice by relevant information from the section

1. Depression-era generation had a tremendous taste of power and strong belief in their unlimited possibilities.

2. Only vegetarians thought that they were going to change the world.

3. The ego-boosting of rebellion was replaced by the conformity of the workaday world.

4. Neither O’Reilly nor his sister ever refused to do their homework.

5. Dealing with teenagers might be easier if you were a Rockefeller.

6. Children’s egocentrism can be paralleled with that of Hollywood celebrities.

7. Even toddlers should know the magic of the printed word though the habit to read can be quite pricey.

8. You shouldn’t be concerned with what your children read.

9. The establishment leaves no stone unturned to make us think ourselves.

10. Don’t abstain from criticism if you are not satisfied with your kid’s choice.

11. If you want to prepare your child for a history exam it is advisable to take him to the movies to see a historical film.

3. Fill in the gaps

1. The ---------- of today’s childhood include ----------- dates, private lessons, electronic ---------, theme-----------, ---------clothes for play and school.

2. If you are a no-show, your child’s ---------- will be in -----------. You’ll be -----------by other parents because they do realize its true value.

3. Life would be one long journey of ------------ and self-gratification.

4. When the children are being used to ----------- a positive self-image for a boomer parent, their --------- and feelings will be taken very seriously.

5. There’s got to be a middle ground between my father’s bullheaded ------------ and the permissive --------- of many boomer parents.

6. The author believes that ---------- punishment should be the last resort.

7. Disciplined, --------- teenagers do not spring out of the air: they are developed from disciplined -----------.

8. A person will never succeed in the world if he can’t formulate logical ---------- thoughts.

9. No one told me that stripes and checks -----------.

10. Behaving in public includes such things as opening doors for the elderly, giving the ---------------- to coming out doors, saying “excuse me”.

4. Discussion Points

1. Can O’Reilly’s term “Golden Age of the Child” be attributed to Russia?

2. Why did children “conveniently step in to fill the void” for some disappointed baby boomers?

3. The author stipulates the necessity of finding the middle ground between autocracy and overpermissiveness for raising happy, productive adults. Do you couple with it?

4. How can children “settle a heavy dust layer over your golden years”?

5. What is your attitude to corporal punishment?

6. Do you agree that only a person of strong authority can be a good parent?

7. What is the role of reading in shaping a personality?

8. Do you side with the author’s position that logical and cogent thinking can be taught? What is the best strategy for it?

9. Educational establishments are designed only to teach conformity and the basics, according to the author. Does this radicalism undermine the integrity of the education, devitalizing it ?

10. Can people be really born self-destructive?

11. Briefly enumerate the points of O’Reilly’s parents’ manual, providing the list with your personal comments.