Edited by author 04-08-2002 10:43 AM
    Thus far I am really enjoying this class; especially getting to watch reruns of Leave To Beaver! As I mentioned in class, I have always received a hidden lesson from this show. I always liked Eddie Haskel and his care-free attiude, and the way he always picked on 'the Beav'.
    As for the book; I do feel Stephanie Coontz is a bit biased in her writing. However, I think she really wants to point out to us that things were not as 'peachy' as we thought them to be in the 50's and early 60's. I have to admit, I was taken in by the 50's carefee lifestyle and portrals of the typical American Family as dipicted by the Clevers and Nelsons.
   I found myself wishing I belonged to a family like that, as mine was far from inviting. So, it did help me to make comparisons, and gave me a basis as to how a family should be, and it also gave me some morals that I would have not gained if left to my parents. You might say that the Clevers and Nelsons were the "Sesame Street' of my generation.