Dickensian Workhouse

I think PBS is missing a perfect opportunity to create a ratings bonanza and help all the mothers in America. I watched over the last couple of years as PBS showed us how it was to live at the turn of the century , and how hard it was to be a member of the idol rich. Isn't time, they educate America's children by showing them how good they have it? I think so. And to that end I propose:

DICKENSIAN WORKHOUSE.

Ok... Maybe this thought has come to me from at the end of a long week filled with whining, lazy and ungrateful children. But ultimately I believe the idea has merit.

Just imagine...

Wearing rags might make a kid want to take better care of their clothes
Eating gruel might make a kid appreciate being occasionally being asked to eat something green or foreign
pounding rocks and untwining rope will make a kid realize how little work they are actually being asked to do!
An hour being locked in the scold's bridle for chattering or arguing or whipped for stealing extra food or playing might make a kid appreciate the privilege of being able to talk on the phone or go the fridge for a snack.

Some of the children could be sent out to become apprentices and find out how much harsher that treatment was. Girls could be taught sewing and cleaning so they could go into "service" as a maids.

For some reason, I am liking this idea more and more... ok.. we will skip the parts of sexual abuse and complete malnutrition and cholera. But for a week or two this would be an excellent lesson.

The only thing that I ask, is if PBS picks up this idea that they come and get my kids first! As that too much to ask? I don't think so.


It certainly makes summer vacation with the occasionally chore look much better!

A chamber pot would make a kid appreciate the cleanliness of a modern bathroom and maybe the respect to keep it clean.