WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE HULA HOOP LESSONS?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE HULA HOOP LESSONS?

As I wander about in my daily travels, I often encounter various signs and posters that kind of stop me in my tracks. I often have to read them twice and I am now in the habit of taking a photo of them with my iPhone so that I can blog about them. This week I came across three such intriguing signs.

The first was a sandwich board outside a supermarket that was advertising a Daycare Centre for ages 3-5 that was “sports-based”. It further informed me that spaces were limited and that they offered an “emergent curriculum”. Of course, my teacher background immediately kicked in and caused me to reflect upon the sign.

First of all, this was obviously just an attempt to lure parents into a false sense that their little boy or girl could get a head start in becoming a successful super athlete. Most pre-schoolers could care less if their daycare was sports-centred, had a fine arts focus or introduced them to Mandarin. Little kids just want to play, socialize, have fun and eat a large mid-morning snack. Only naive parents would fall for this commercial “sport-centred” venture. The fact that the facility has an “emergent curriculum” (whatever that is) is just another attempt to impress Mommy and Daddy, that is totally meaningless.

Later in the day I drove past a sign on a post that advertised Hula Hoop Classes. I don’t know about you, but I never considered twirling a hula hoop was so complex and difficult to learn that it required children to take classes. We must have been gifted as children to learn how to swing the hoop with absolutely no instruction, other than watching the last person do it. I wondered how long a Hula Hoop Class lasted? If a child learned the hula hoop in the first two minutes, would the rest of the time - hours or days or weeks - just be spent twirling the hoop? Could a child fail hula hooping and require remedial hooping classes? My concerns are endless!

Today, I passed a new men’s store in the mall that seemed to only be selling men’s shirts. The large sign in the window informed me that they sold, “The Original Untucked Shirt”. Well, you can imagine how delighted I was to make this discovery. A store specializing in shirts that you don’t tuck into your pants! Given that the other option was to  tuck your shirt in, I will be on the lookout for the competition to offer this other sexy option - The Original Tucked In Shirt - very soon!

Then the questions began to well up! What would happen if you tucked in an “untucked” shirt or wore a “tucked in” shirt over the top of your pants? Would anyone notice? Would you be laughed at? Would you be ostracized and not invited to parties because of your inappropriate attire? Issue after issue after issue!

My eye is always scanning the horizon for signs and posters and advertisements for products that are intended to improve our quality of life. I am just having another senior moment trying to determine if the above three services really contribute to that goal. Sorry for being so skeptical!