Sillyhearts

Have you ever seen the movie Uncle Buck? John Candy is in charge of his nieces and nephew while his brother and wife are away visiting sick family. He is called into the principal's office of his niece, who is five years old. The principal proceeds to tell him everything that is wrong with his niece. Here is the gist of the scene:

Principal: "I've been an educator for years... and in that time, I've seen a lot of bad eggs... I see a bad egg when I look at your niece. She is a twiddler, a dreamer... a silly heart and she is a jabberbox. And, frankly, I don't think she takes a thing in her life or her career as a student seriously."

Uncle Buck: "She's only six."

Principal: "That is not a valid excuse! I hear that every day and I dismiss it."

Uncle Buck: "I don't want to know a six-year-old who isn't a dreamer or a silly heart. I sure don't want to know one who takes their student career seriously..."

(The scene then gets quite funny - if you haven't seen this movie, I have one word for you: Netflix.)

That scene is the first thing that popped in my head when I saw just the headline for this article. What kindergartner isn't distracted or impulsive? I had a good chuckle, then became slightly disturbed that this was a study in the first place. It's still quite funny, and conjures up some priceless mental images of a bunch of short kids placing bets behind the portables. Now why don't they study something that matters?