THIS AMERICAN LIFE: CRUELTY OF CHILDREN (RADIO)
Summary
One in this weekly series that looks at a different,
specific aspect of life in the United States in each
episode. Episodes contain several segments, or "acts,"
each of which relates to the established theme. This
installment, "Cruelty of Children," looks into the
phenomenon of children who seem only to express
themselves through acts of physical or verbal violence.
The episode opens as host Ira Glass explains his own
experiences with "bullies" and contains brief interview
snippets with actual first graders on the iconic status
of the bully. The first act of the show is a reading by
author David Sedaris, who recounts his often painful
experiences growing up in North Carolina as a closeted
homosexual. He tells a story about his first sexual
encounter with a member of the same sex -- at a summer
camp -- and then goes into elaborate detail about the
ways in which he and the other boy tormented each other
after their life-altering tryst. The second act of the
show features a short story read by author Ira Shurer.
The tale concerns a group of children from troubled
homes who refuse to come to the aid of a dying man
trapped in a well in their neighborhood. The third and
final act of the show features an interview with Vivian
Paley, a Chicago-based author and kindergarten teacher
whose social experiments involving the children in her
classes led to her receiving a MacArthur "Genius" Grant.
She discusses the way in which power structures and
social levels develop as early as kindergarten and can
shape the rest of a child's life.
(Network affiliation varies: local broadcast, November
1995-June 1996; on NPR, June 1996-June 1997; on PRI,
July 1997- .)
Details
- NETWORK: NPR National Public Radio
- DATE: June 21, 1996 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:16
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:16111
- GENRE: Radio - Public affairs/Documentaries; Radio - Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Aggressiveness (Psychology) in children; Bullying; Child psychology; Cruelty; Violence in children
- SERIES RUN: WBEZ (Chicago, IL) - Radio series, 1995-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ira Glass … Host
- David Sedaris … Guest
- Ira Shurer … Guest
- Vivian Paley … Guest