6 • July 15 - 16, 2020 OPINION By Pat Lamb Many of us are familiar with the commercial that was so popular a few years ago where a little old lady demanded to know “Where’s the beef?” She was referring to hamburgers in the commercial. I am reminded of this commercial many times when I view some of the children’s programs and books that are available now. I keep wondering, Kim Rohde Publisher (417) 872-2951 lkimrohde@yahoo.com Brenda Meadows Editor & Staff Writer (417) 231-7601 info@BransonGlobe.com David Stoltz News Correspondent (228) 355-2900 itcdls@gmail.com Gary Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull Columnist Emeritus KD Michaels Staff Writer (417) 251-2776 Rob Doherty Account Representative & Distribution Manager (504) 583-8907 robd@bransonglobe.com Karen Halfpop Digital/Production Director production@ BransonGlobe.com Submit a letter to the editor: Letters to the editor that are sent via e-mail and are fewer than 400 words are given preference. Published or unpublished letters become the property of the newspaper and will not be returned. All letters must include name, address, and verifiable phone number. “Where’s the meat?” It seems that much of what is being done with children now tends to try to entertain more than teach values to children. That is not to say that children should not be entertained and have fun while learning. Of course, most children like fun, but the real objective should be the teaching of values and information with the fun part as a by-product or side issue. There are times in life when we have to do things that are not fun and children need to learn that principle. Our present-day society provides so much entertainment for children that often we feel that we must comLETTERS Dear Editor, As President of Cox Medical Center Branson, I’m contacting you to share evidence on the importance of masking with the paper and the public. While there is no science to indicate when it’s too early to mask, our experts say science can tell us when it’s too late. We’re getting close to the point when it’s time to act. At CoxHealth, we experienced Pat Lamb. (FILE) pete in order to keep the attention of a child. This leads to shallowness when dealing with serious topics. It is difficult to hold attention of children very long, so we find ourselves dancing, shouting, or doing whatever it takes to keep their attention. Some of this is fine, but there are times when a child needs to simply learn to sit still and listen. We sometimes tend to glide over some things simply to get through the lesson. There was a time, when I taught kindergarten, that parents brought children to me and said, “You have a 43% growth in total positive lab results last week and an overall increase of 10% positive rates when comparing July cases with June cases. The increased hospital testing, rapidly growing number of virus cases in Stone and Taney counties, strained regional hospitals, and an increase of people being tested at our Mobile Testing Unit (MTU) from 4/day at the beginning of July to 30/day as of last my permission to spank him!” Can you see that happening now? Teachers walk a thin line trying to get children to learn without upsetting them. Children are aware of the fact that teachers are not allowed to spank and many take advantage of this fact. In many cases, if students thought they could be spanked, the spanking would not be necessary. As teachers walk this thin line, they know they cannot demand children perform past a certain point or the child and the parents will get upset. This forces the teacher to let the child get by with things that prevent the depth of learning they need. In church situations, teachers and leaders have to deal with the fact that a child may not return to church if made to behave appropriately. Many parents do not require their children to attend church and leave it up to the child to decide. This fact forces church workers to have to be very careful not to upset a child by providing discipline for proper behavior. At the same time, we have to week, are signs for action. Our positive results are increasing because the disease is beginning to grow rapidly in prevalence, not because we are increasing the number of people we are testing. This is leading us to great concerns for our communities’ health and future. Bottom line, the virus is rapidly growing in our area. Our local and regional health departments are BransonGlobe Your source for local news and entertainment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. info@BransonGlobe.com • Phone: (417) 334-9100 • Fax: (417) 334-3767 • 1447 US Hwy. 248, Suite EE, Branson, MO 65616 BransonGlobe.com bransonglobe.com Train Up a Child: Where’s the beef? remember that the whole purpose of getting a child to church is to teach that child ways of behavior pleasing to Jesus. When we fail to do that, we are actually teaching a child by default that it is alright to misbehave. Children now have colorful books that talk or even smell when you scratch them. Some books have fold-outs with hidden things beneath. Much of this is great. It would be even better if values for living were incorporated in the text, but often they are flat when it comes to a story plot. Since teachers and leaders of children are so restricted, we really need to choose the materials carefully that contain “meat” for children. Those working with children need to choose movies, games, and activities that do not only fill up time, but actually teach what children need to know. They also need to require behavior acceptable to Christ, but it must be required in a loving way. Let’s remember that children have real problems and they need real solutions to those problems. reporting surges in cases. Northwest Arkansas is in a surge and Joplin appears to be in the throes of a similar surge. Additionally, nearby hospitals are becoming strained and sending cases they cannot handle to CoxHealth. Our neighboring communities have increased their case numbers so high it has made national news, and the Centers for Disease ConSEE LETTERS, PAGE 7 @BransonGlobe BransonGlobe @BransonGlobe #Branson Globe
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