Rockefeller Center was crammed with "tween" girls last Friday morning when "Today" featured a live concert by Justin Bieber. Unless June 4th is an obscure school holiday celebrated only in the NY Metro Area (Derek Jeter's Birthday?), the turnout once again proved that celebrity hysteria trumps learning with America's youth. And we wonder why kids from Bosnia outscore our offspring in math and science.
There is a strong possibility that this year's version of The Simpson's "Non-Threatening Boy Idol" would have drawn a significant crowd even if "tween" parents had braved the inevitable tantrum and insisted that Tiffany and Kayleigh go to school that day. As we drove our 4 year old granddaughter to our home for a mini-vacation last Sunday, I noted that we could tell when we entered Pennsylvania because there were so many pencils alongside the roads there. "That's why it is called Pencil-Vania."
Continuing the punning, I noted that our house was located on Beaver Lane, so named because of the preponderance of flat-tailed, aquatic rodents nearby. This didn't make much of an impression on the four year old, but she did ask whether Justin Beaver could be found in the vicinity. She then proceeded to belt out a few lines form one of Justin's tunes.
Justin Mania extends past Middle and even Elementary School to Pre-School. Even if New York Area truant officers cleared Rockefeller Center last week, school-age kids would have been replaced by the pre-school contingent. Justin will always have an audience.
Love, Dad
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