Kid Nation--Anyone Watching???

[Dee4707]

I watched last night and I rather enjoyed it. One of their rewards was to choose between a TV or more outhouses. They only had one for 40 kids. One kid said I sure hope I don't have to pooh because it is really stinky. Yikes, I can only imagine.........whew!!!

BTW, the chose the additional outhouses. The little kids were saying...we want the TV.

One kid left because he was so homesick. While sobbing, he said I'm only 8, I think I need to be older to be here.

Dee

 

[Ptichka]

I've watched parts of it. One good think that (I hope) can come out of it is showing modern America that children really do rise up to challenges when treated appropriately. Treat a teenager like he's 8, and you'll get very infantile behavior. Treat a 12-year-old like a person who can think for themselves and handle responsibility, and they can surprise you.

This is rather a sore point for me, because of my experience of coming to this country at age 12. One of the biggest shocks was how the school treated me like a little child as opposed to how my (much tougher) school treated me in Russia. I remember being particularly offended in 8th grade when teacher was giving me excessive praise for reading Remarque's trilogy of All Quiet on The Western Front/ Road Back/ Three Comrades. Somehow, her attitude (which came from a very good place) showed me that she really didn't expect me to enjoy literature like a mature person would. I don't know if this is making any sense at all, just saying that it can be really beneficial for adults to see what kids can do for themselves!

 

[sillylionlove]

I did watch it. I was distrubed by it yet extremely facinated by it at the same time!! I will probably be tuning into it the whole time it's on.

I felt bad for that kid. I was happy that Sophia got the gold star because she deserved it.

 

[Jhar55]

I watched and kind of liked it and hope the kids learn lot about the real life being out there.
The choice between outhouse and Tv my thinking was there's no electric out there where they gona plug it in at. And when they went running after the jackrabbit i thinking there goning to get bit by a snake. And Sophia dancing to earn enough money to buy the bike and then wins the gold star. :thumbsup:

 

[heyang]

I thought Sophia's, Mike's (?? the kid who got them all to listen and let the council try to organize them), the town council's parents should all be proud of their kids. The 6 of them really stepped up.

The only parents who should be ashamed are the one's of the 2 older boys were bullying and graffitting. I might be more forgiving if one of them was the one who lifted the kid onto the wagon when he had the muscle spasm.

I think this show will show that kids should not be underestimated. The kids will also learn that life is difficult, experience the differences between the have and have-nots (since there are 4 different pay scales), teamwork, etc - a lot of stuff they'll need to get through life.

The kids appeared to be so supportive of each other in general. They really tried to help the 8 yr old get over his homesickness and stay, but they didn't taunt him as a baby (well, at least, not based on the clips.)

I wonder how separating the group into 4 districts will play out. Red are the wealthy and earn $1 for doing whatever they want. Blue are the merchants and get 50 cents for running the stores. Yellow are the workers and get 25 cents and are responsible for preparing all meals (btw, the team consists of mostly the younger kids.). Green are the laborers and earn 5 cents for cleaning the latrines, etc. The teams were divided up by the town council of 4. The jobs were assigned based upon a competition.

I was so happy that the blue team (the one with the 2 obnoxious older boys) did not get 1st place.

Just want to mention to those who have not watched that the gold star is worth $20,000 and one is to be given by the town council to the person they feel deserves it the most. Sophia won because she took charge of the cooking for the 1st couple of days and taught herself to cook by reading the cookbook. In addition to the star, she got to make a phone call home. When she saw the bicycle in the shop, she decided she had to have it and danced in the street for anyone who would contribute towards the $3 for the purchase (She's on the green team and only had a nickel to her name.)

 

[Ptichka]

I wonder how separating the group into 4 districts will play out.

To me, it seems rather artificial; I'd rather have seen the kids work out for themselves what kind of work pays more or less. The groups serve to create more excitement for the TV audiences rather than make the experiment more interesting (IMHO).

 

[heyang]

To me, it seems rather artificial; I'd rather have seen the kids work out for themselves what kind of work pays more or less. The groups serve to create more excitement for the TV audiences rather than make the experiment more interesting (IMHO).

I did find it interesting how each council member decided who they wanted in their district and there is a need for teams for the competitions.

I think I'd be interested in seeing them shuffle the 'jobs' after a couple of weeks. For example, have the red team suffer a fall in fortunes and make them laborers instead. Have the merchant class be successful enough to become the affluent, etc. Then you can see how the kids react to a change in fortunes.

I remember reading an article a long time ago. A teacher divided the class into blonds vs brunettes. She made the blonds the 'superior race' for a week and observed blonds turning away from their brunette friends. Then, she reversed that thought the following week and found that the brunette's turned on the blonds and this was even after they had experienced the 'pain'.

I do agree that is was 'interference' to guide the council into dividing into districts.

 

[Dee4707]

For those who didn't watch, they said they are going to air again on Saturday, 9/22.

Dee

 

[Dee4707]

Last night they killed a chicken. I don't know if I could do it but I guess if I got hungry enough I could. I remember my aunt would do it.

Dee

 

[heyang]

I'm glad they gave Michael the gold star. He really is a leader even though he's not on the town council.

I also thought that town council member Mike was astute for considering that Greg was working so hard to earn the gold star, not because he was working for the town.

I do agree that the premise is manufactured. The kids are being guided.

 

[Dee4707]

Ok, now I'm getting a little tired of the show. I wonder how much they paid the big kid to look like an A_S!!!

Dee

 

[heyang]

I dunno - Greg seems like the typical sullen teenager. I'm glad that he continued to work after his tantrum - I actually expected much worse from him.

I find Princess Taylor to be the worst of the bunch right now. When yellow won upper class, I was pretty sure that they would not be working. She really is riding the fact that her team is made up of all the younger kids - well, that's old. Time to grow up!

 

[heyang]

BTW, I would've voted for the pizza vs the microwave. The appliance is only good for heating things up - it's not big enough to cook for everyone with it. They needed a little morale booster and pizza would have hit the spot .

 

[Dee4707]

I find Princess Taylor to be the worst of the bunch right now.

I totally agree with you about Taylor....and she would say to me...get over it and deal with it.

Dee

 

[heyang]

Ok - it's time for Princess Taylor to get her butt kicked. I'll have to stop watching if she gets re-elected to council next week. I hope the girl's parents give her a serious heart to heart over her tude. She has no respect for anyone.

I was wondering if Jared gets picked on at school. He's the one that meditates and created a hole of golf.

I'm glad Morgan got the gold star this week. I do think Greg should get one eventually. Personally, I might have given it to Zachary(?) as the only member of the yellow team with enough guts to ask everyone for help when most of his section was doing nothing.

I was somewhat distressed when the kids expressed no interest in learning about other faiths. I'm glad they chose the holy books over golf and that the council actually let majority rule. It was gratifying to see the kids realize that Jews and Christians share the Old Testament. It was nice to see them asking anjay questions about hinduism, too. Gives me some hope for the future of the world.

 

[Dee4707]

Heyang, I agree with everything you said. I liked when the young black boy said that the praying experience touched him.

I, too, think Taylor should be booted off the council. She really doesn't get it.

I think Greg may learn why he's not getting the star and finally do it for the right reasons.

Jared is one of my favorites. I think he's a stitch!!!

Dee

 

[Dee4707]

Yeah, Taylor got kicked off the council.

Greg, finally got the gold star.

Dee

 

[Grgranny's Baby]

I agree, it was great to see Miss "I'm a Beauty Queen, I don't do dishes" get her come-uppance. I felt sorry for Mike losing his spot on the town council, because he did work hard. I was proud of him for handling it with class.

I still wasn't sure about Greg getting the gold star, but my attitude changed a bit when he revealed that he wanted it so he could go to college. That was a bit of a tear-jerker moment.

 

[heyang]

Loved Taylor getting booted. Zach made a good speech, too.

Felt bad for Mike. It seemed like the red team may have just wanted a change.

Olivia is not a good loser - she was not gracious at all when Anjay promised to try to do better.

Laurel should be proud. Her team has won the most gold stars so far and none of them wanted to kick her off of council.

Green has 3 gold stars and blue has 2. The other 2 teams haven't even had serious candidates for the stars, yet.

 

[heyang]

This episode really highlighted why a kid like DK deserves a gold star. I totally empathized with his frustration over the bickering and hollering - live it every week at a management meeting. The kid is a definite leader and I'm glad Guylan was able to talk him into staying in Bonanza City. He seems to be well liked based upon the reaction to his near departure.

Guylan proved his worth as council member by asking to have a private conversation with DK and convincing him how much he is needed. I'm also glad DK had the strength to push himself to stick it out.

I was glad the council was trying to discipline Princess Taylor, but I have no idea what will work with this girl. She's just being obstinate since she gets dirty at the challenges. In the real world, you don't always get payed without working. I really wonder what her parents think. It's not as though this is an isolated incident.

I'm glad they picked the fruit and vegatables over the dune buggies. Either prize would have broken the monotony, but they really needed a better diet vs the dune buggies.