The Wright Stater, December 1977
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Wright State University CORE Scholar The Wright Stater Alumni Relations 12-1-1977 The Wright Stater, December 1977 Wright State University Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/wright_stater Part of the Mass Communication Commons Repository Citation Wright State University (1977). The Wright Stater, December 1977. This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the Alumni Relations at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Wright Stater by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The world's best-known pediatrician Spock Speaks Up answers accusations that he has ruined a... the younger generation. s ctJ m "O'> Q; .0 E Q) --- (.) Q) 0 ("') .c Tom Ellerbrock patriotic from his point of view; by and I imagine that he was zci It was about thirty years ago that Dr. x Benjamin Spock wrote the book which even more upset that an old person like me was 0 C) was to make his name a household word > throughout the world. He called it Baby encouraging the young and Child Care: others soon came to call people. it "the bible for bringing up baby." But Peale's remark was seized upon all ·- It's difficult today, with our bookstores over the country. People sent me stacked full of child care books. to unsolicited newspaper clippings. imagine the influence of that single Columnists and editorial writers wrote volume. Suffice it to say that most that I was responsible for badly behaved professionals in the field agree that youths, drug takers, free lovers, horrible! Spock. more than any other single figure, Spiro Agnew gave the accusation even has influenced the way a generation of greater weight when he made it a major American children has been brought up. campaign issue in the 1970 congressional elections. He went around With such singularity well established. it giving speech after speech, p1ck1ng up might be assumed that Dr. Spock would half sentences that he thought showed I nestle into his role of ''child-rearing was -a corrupter of youth. au honty.' and grow old with proverbial gra e wn m8. e(.; ring. pe hdps u e private practice. But that was not to be the case. Benjamin Spock. best-known Then Came Dailey ped1atnc1an in the world. was to have -~--~) a People started writing me hate letters. second 'career'' that would gain him You'll be amused by one of the more notoriety to match his earlier fame. As a extreme: a woman wrote:' I see 1t all staunch critic of the war in Vietnam, now. You wrote that book back in the Spock joined a list of notables who opted forties in order to soften up our young for c1v1I disobedience as the ultimate form Recently, while visiting Wright people so they could easily be taken over of protest. And as the sixties came to a by the Communists.·· Most of the letters close. as Americans came to think in State at the inv1tat1on of Med. went something like this: "Thank God I terms of 'left ' and " right," there was little School students, Spock talked a bit about his early book and his attempts to never used your hornble book. Thats doubt in many minds that Dr. Spock, an why my children take baths. get their hair ' American exonerate its message. And in the institution, was siding with the cut, have jobs as computer operators, southpaws. process. the world's best-known pediatrician had some things to say and get good grades in school." Such a stance on Spock's part triggered about child-rearing in the seventies. I had hoped that eventually the war over considerable public reaction. Sales of What follows are excerpts from his talk. this "instant gratification'' accusation Baby and Child Care plummeted as would be dropped. I hoped it would be Spock's political involvement clouded the forgotten. But only two and a half years editorial perception of "Permissive," says Peale many, who ago, when Mayor Dailey was running for assumed that his child-rearing As far as I know, I was never accused of re-election, and when he was being philosophies must, like his politics, lean being permissive until I was indicted. criticized for the poor school records of toward the liberal. Then came the Within a month after that, the Reverend Chicago children. he gave a speech in attempts to discredit not only Spock, the Norman Vincent Peale, Jr. game a which he said that it wasn't the schools' . politico, but also Spock the sermon in which he said that all the fault, it was Spock's. pediatrician/author. irresponsibility and lack of discipline in The turbulent sixties are over now. But young people was caused by the fact that Andthen,Redbook Spock, like many another, liberal or I told their parents to give them instant conservative. still sports a few bruises, gratification.· I don't think Peale ever read Most unfortunate of all, however. was a including those inflicted by the mud slung my book. I think he was angry and upset report about two years ago that I had at Baby and Child Care. with so many young people refusing to be (continued on page 3) In This Issue Ac for the Intellectual A Kid's-Eye View of Blahs, page 6 MDs on TV, page 8 Christmas, page 12 -= Book Reviews Director's Column prayer from the schools. Neither did the disabled, a secondary goal of the It's been a busy year for the Alumni Court prohibit the academic study of publication, according to Jenkins, is "to Office at Wright State. An with this religion. The Court ruled against public make non-disabled people aware. You're issue, our last of 77, it seems a good time schools and their teachers requiring dealing with the attitude that persons who to take a backward glance at some of the students to pray and or recite passages are disabled stay at home . The activities that kept us hopping during the from the Bible for devotional disabled are becoming more assertive. I past twelve months. purposes . At the same time. the don't think they're going to revert to A new look for The Wrightstater, begun Court made it clear that the academic staying home." with the last issue, represents one of our study of religion is not prohibited by the The 68-page directory is available for 25 efforts. In coming months. you'll~ Constitution." cents by writing or calling Goodwill notice further changes as we continue to Teaching About Religion . takes Industries of Dayton. polish the publication. off from You and Your Heart this point, including the thoughts Our thanks to everyone who has helped and experiences of some by Paul Kezdi. MD twenty experts throughout the past year with all alumni in the field. Not surprisingly, five of those projects. Just an example has to do with Subtitled ''how to take care of your heart twenty contributors are faculty members alums who have worked on the possibility f6r a long and healthy life,'' this book by a at Wright State, where religion is one of of establishing Association chapters. It's Wright State professor is an the premier departments. What emerges a long and complicated project; much easy-to-read, authoritative work that can is an intriguing cross between an remains to be done; but. thanks to tell you what you need to know to escape academic how-to book and a general several grads, the project is underway. America's number one killer. work that treats virtually all aspects of the While glancing back through my 77 More than one half of all deaths in issue. As such, it will be of interest to both calendar I see a hodgepodge of notes. America today are caused by heart or teachers and laymen alike. Some highlights: the first annual blood vessel disease. Each year, more Contributors also include WSU Associate alumni-directed fund drive is heading into than one and a half million Americans The Wright Brothers Collection Professors of Religion Catherine the home stretch, with every indication of suffer heart attacks; almost one half of by Patrick B. Nolan and Albanese and David Barr; and William C. success ... There has been an these people die as a result. John A. Zamonski Fenton, who heads Wright State's impressive increase in Alumni Dr. Kezdi, who heads Wright State's Cox department of music. Fenton looks at Here's an invaluable reference work for Association membership. particularly in Heart Institute. is one of the world's "Aspects of Religious Influence on anyone conducting research on Orville the area of life-membership (currently foremost authorities on the heart. He first Architecture, Painting, and Music;" and and Wilbur Wright. It's a catalog, detailing there are nearly 200 lifetime explains in simple terms just what your Albanese and Barr team up to present a Wright brothers materials held by the members) ... Alumnews, the monthly heart is. how it works, what can cause it suggested outline for a college-level Archives and Special Collections newsletter of the Association. has made to become sick, and the symptoms that course on Christianity. department at Wright State. But it goes its debut and will do much toward indicate such a condition. He discusses beyond the scope of most catalogs by keeping members up to date and in the the thirteen factors that most influence also including unique photographs made know. the health of your heart. And he from glass plate negatives that are no Now for a forward glance.