How I Talked to My Son About Penn State, the Aurora Killer — and Bad Guys in General
When should we shield our kids from the news and when should we help them understand it? I asked the mom friends. And then I sought out an expert opinion.
"Why are they carrying away Joe Paterno's statue? He's the greatest coach in all of college football!" That was the incredulous, albeit naive, exclamation of my almost-10-year-old son as we sat in a crowded Rochester Hills restaurant for dinner on Sunday night. On an overhead television, the channel was tuned to ESPN. In previewing Monday's NCAA ruling against Penn State, the newscasters were showing, over and over again, footage of the statue being removed. To my son, they were removing the symbol of a hero. Right then and there, it was too chaotic to talk to him about it. Besides, his tacos came a minute later. That was good, because I needed time to consult the experts. I sent an email to a few mama friends the next day. "What are you…
johnsopensky
5:30 pm on Monday, July 30, 2012
I hate to disabuse you of the idea but Joe Paterno is not, was not, a bad guy. He is not, you may note, available to defend himself. I don't want to go into a full blown defense of his reputation--there's been a media tsunami since a chink was spotted in his reputation--but let's just be practical. Do you think that a guy who survived at a Division One head coaching job--most guys get fired after… more ›