Curious George Does Not Have a PhD

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Remember a few posts ago when I promised 'more to come' on the whole truth of animal instinct vs human will? Well, here it is...

Some mornings as I clean up the breakfast dishes or work on my blog, I allow my littles to watch a Curious George episode on our local public television station. We are very careful in our home to make tv the exception and not the rule, but on those occasional mornings I am encouraged that we still have some good options to choose from.

I should not have been surprised, however, when the influence of our culture would step in and defile an innocent child's program. After the 15 minute episode, there is a 2 minute spot of 'reality tv' where children of their peer group (preschoolers) do a project that relates to the show. This is all well and good...except for the intro stated by a little girl or boy at the beginning of every show. I'll never forget hearing it for the first time... "George is a monkey and he can do things you can't do".

Allow me to just insert the following before continuing the story...The Curious George program is all about how George 'saves the day'. He is dealing with humans in the middle of a city where he lives. He uses a rational thought process (not instinct) to figure how to do something (not animal related) that no one else in the show (humans- who are shown as very nice and loving, but give up easily and frankly aren't very smart) could do and thus, is the hero of the show. Which, in essence, isn't horrible...until immediately followed up with, "George is a monkey and he can do things you can't do". If the show portrayed animals in their habitat and then stated this... I wouldn't think twice... it's the idea that George lives where you live, around the same people you're around, and he can do things you can't do (because he's a smart monkey and you are just a human). Okay,now to continue...

I quickly ran into the room and turned off the tv. Then to the amazement of my children I began ranting and raving about how special they are and how they are created in the image of a Holy God and that allows them to think, create, and imagine! There is nothing that George can do that they can't! They still sat looking bewildered, but finally nodded their heads and continued playing with their toys.

As a homeschooling mommy of a four year old, I know that repetition is the best way to teach him to learn and retain. Our local public tv station knows that too- Repeat this fallacy twice every show, every day, every week, and every year. Lather, rinse, repeat. We must be so careful not to let our culture infiltrate our children.

For the record, I would really like to know what George can do that my children couldn't do...

Remember...this is why we go to the zoo and watch them on the other side of the glass. A little monkey will only 'evolve' into an big monkey...and I assure you he will never get a PhD.

A.