Video: Painfully awkward interview of the week
posted at 8:35 am on June 8, 2007 by Allahpundit
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It’s a short clip but I had to watch it in two sittings, so excruciating are the silences and forced smiles in the face of brattiness.
More of this on cable news, please.
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This is one home-schooled smarta$$ who could benefit from having his butt kicked around the playground a few times.
RedWinged Blackbird on June 8, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Poor Kiran. She must wake up and dread going to work every day.
BacaDog on June 8, 2007 at 8:50 AM
Dear gawd…I had to stop half-way through that clip…”excrutiating” does say it best.
Nothing against home-schooling per se, but this child is severely lacking in social skills. And a good speller does not a conversationalist make…
JetBoy on June 8, 2007 at 8:51 AM
OH man he is lucky I’m no this dad
tomas on June 8, 2007 at 8:51 AM
I know several kids (kids of friends) that are the same way, but are in our school system. It’s more of a social choice, than a school choice. I was homeschooled most of my childhood, and never had social issues.
amerpundit on June 8, 2007 at 8:57 AM
Can you spell, “Rain-man?”
smellthecoffee on June 8, 2007 at 9:03 AM
There is a parenting failure in play here, and it wouldn’t matter if he was private-schooled, public-schooled, or homeschooled.
I don’t think he was intending rudeness, but simply wasn’t aware of how his responses sounded. Then again, he’s what, 12? Even so, a great majority of homeschoolers place a greater premium on respect and manners than this kid evinces.
Freelancer on June 8, 2007 at 9:05 AM
I hear he’s been contacted for a part in the Napoleon Dynamite sequel.
insomni on June 8, 2007 at 9:07 AM
You’re word for the win, Evan… Sociallyineptrudedorkwhoneedsagoodbeatdown.
JackStraw on June 8, 2007 at 9:08 AM
The look on his face when they told him he spelled it wrong was priceless!
WisCon on June 8, 2007 at 9:09 AM
I mean, you would know much more about home-schooling than I, but I personally don’t think this child seems capable of making the social choice to act like he did/does. Freelancer sounds correct by saying it’s a parenting issue…Are there any interviews out there with this kid’s mother?
JetBoy on June 8, 2007 at 9:10 AM
Good thing this kid’s home schooled…he’d be getting his ass kicked on a daily basis.
flipflop on June 8, 2007 at 9:12 AM
I fully expected him to sneeze and have a big snot line fly out.
tomas on June 8, 2007 at 9:16 AM
This is a really tough crowd this morning. He is a kid! Granted he isn’t Indiana Jones but geeeezzz.
Limerick on June 8, 2007 at 9:17 AM
Sorry, that’s what I had meant. Not the child’s choice, but the parents choice, as the parent also makes the school choice.
amerpundit on June 8, 2007 at 9:17 AM
Every interview this kid did was extremely awkward for the interviewers from the instant he won. The mother was on the morning-after ABC interview and appeared perfectly normal.
Valiant on June 8, 2007 at 9:20 AM
I homeschool my five children, and they are nothing like this child. I say home schooling is the only thing that has kept this child alive. Awkward children who are kept at home can have their self-esteem kept afloat until they are older, and (hopefully) a bit more balanced. Instead of simply branded from kindergarten onward as a misfit.
Carin on June 8, 2007 at 9:23 AM
That kid is as socially inept as the Bush Administration…
BAAZING!
But seriously, you can tell spelling is all he has in his life. I don’t blame the homeschooling at all. In fact if it wasn’t for the homeschooling he would probably be worse off. Instead of being a brat he would just never say anything and never actualize his potential.
Keljeck on June 8, 2007 at 9:26 AM
I’ve made it through most of the Rosie clips, but I had to bail on this one.
Spirit of 1776 on June 8, 2007 at 9:29 AM
I was seriously thinking the same thing… not to be mean at all, but as soon as he was asked to spell a word, it was like he came out of a trance and became a different person!
4shoes on June 8, 2007 at 9:31 AM
I’m with limerick,geez. He pauses and thinks before he speaks, a tactic perhaps more people should consider, that filter thing does come in handy. Plus Kiran did not say the word correctly, did not know its origins,and even told him he spelled it right after he spelled it the way she mis-pronounced it.Poor little Kiran.I’d rather see a kid that has some chops and is still developing social skills than a slickster with no clue but a quick tongue.
bbz123 on June 8, 2007 at 9:32 AM
Exactly right. This kid would have the same attitude if he where in public school.
This isn’t a unique problem with parents these days who have been brainwashed into thinking that it is evil to discipline (as in teach discipline to) their kids.
I have a smart nephew like this. Parents wouldn’t discipline him and he got so bad they sent him to away. A year in a military style boarding school straightened him right up.
Lawrence on June 8, 2007 at 9:32 AM
Poor Kiran still cute a hell ban I miss her on Fox! And who was the nutjob that had a tuna sub on hand for her?
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on June 8, 2007 at 9:34 AM
That was Kiran’s grand bargain at CNN. We’ll give you the morning gig you wanted at Fox….but you gotta interview this petulant little tool.
Kid from Brooklyn on June 8, 2007 at 9:36 AM
Yeah!….send him to public school. That’ll straighten him out.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,279313,00.html
Come on people……which kid, him or the one in the story, needs to be ’straightened-out’?
Limerick on June 8, 2007 at 9:41 AM
This is how you rescue Kiran Chetry from obscurity? I almost forgot she was still doing TV.
Great career move getting fired from FNC.
JammieWearingFool on June 8, 2007 at 9:42 AM
My response to the “this is what happens to home schooled kids” crowd is a picture of a kid cooking fries at McDonald’s with the caption, “state schooled kid”.
;)
Benaiah on June 8, 2007 at 9:46 AM
The first time I saw this kid during the spelling bee I thought he had Asperger’s syndrome. Besides being really smart, some other symptoms are:
and
The kid may be in therapy, but his parents wouldn’t just volunteer that. I’ve known a couple of kids with this and it really is hard getting along with them. But, in time and with a lot of patience, you can help them develop at least a modicum of social skills.
cmay on June 8, 2007 at 9:50 AM
Describe a day in the life of a homeschooled kid
tomas on June 8, 2007 at 9:51 AM
Not fair. Most home schooled kids are more socially functional than public school kids, but this little dork is simple incapable of dealing with her TV host nonsense in a graceful manner.
Jaibones on June 8, 2007 at 9:52 AM
I quite agree. this is the type of child who would be eaten for lunch and stuffed in a locker at his local middle school. For those of you who are blaming the parents, maybe you should thank the parents for acknowledging this and protecting him from what would certainly be a traumatic public school experience.
And also remember while you make fun of this kid – he’s someone’s child. And for those of you who are childless, he might be your child someday.
pullingmyhairout on June 8, 2007 at 9:52 AM
True that a home schooled kid need not be socially inept, but there needs to then be the conscious choice of the parent to make sure the child has proper social outlets and opportunities.
Am I the only one who noticed that this child has no deference and respect to an adult many many years his senior? Even if Kiran is not the brainiac he is, how does a child have the audacity to point out to an adult numerous times the mistakes she’s made (and on national TV to boot)?
I would love to see his Mom interviewed so she could be grilled: Does she give him social and recreational outlets, or does she keep him inside so he can just study study study? Does she give guidance on how to interact with other adults and children, or simply reinforce that he is SO smart he can do no wrong?
pavruch on June 8, 2007 at 9:55 AM
I don’t home school, but I know several families who do. there is a misnomer that all home schooled kids are socially inept. this is far from true. there is a huge social home school network in which these kids participate – sports, co-op teaching, field trips, etc. This particular child appears to have separate issues. We cannot make assumptions about home schooling based on this one child’s social misbehavior.
pullingmyhairout on June 8, 2007 at 9:59 AM
The stereotype reinforcing clip of the day.
AtomicAmish on June 8, 2007 at 10:00 AM
Donuts to dollars that kid has asperger syndrome.
BillINDC on June 8, 2007 at 10:00 AM
And if the child DOES suffer from Asperger’s or some other similar syndrome, then the loving parent (even the “I’m so proud of my child” loving parent) doesn’t let that child be interviewed on national television.
pavruch on June 8, 2007 at 10:01 AM
AS:
BillINDC on June 8, 2007 at 10:01 AM
Oops, someone beat me to it. Apologies.
BillINDC on June 8, 2007 at 10:01 AM
Lots of haters in here, that’s surprising…can’t we just be happy that the kid did well? A great majority of scholastic competitions are being won by homeschoolers in recent years.
JustTruth101 on June 8, 2007 at 10:03 AM
One thing you’ll find out with all kids is that they tend to have the same social skills as their parents.
cmay on June 8, 2007 at 10:03 AM
Not just a great majority, when was the last time a public school kid won a national spelling bee?
Keljeck on June 8, 2007 at 10:07 AM
Am I the only who thinks that Kiran got PWNED? I love this kid! Just because he’s not hip to giving morning interviews? Oh yeah, I’d MUCH rather have my kid give a hip, natural sounding interview on CNN than land a full ride at an Ivy League school, where there should be little doubt that that’s where he’s going. You O’Dorney bashers, let’s meet up again when he’s 20 and then check the scoreboard.
Priorities.
Schweggie on June 8, 2007 at 10:23 AM
Very painful interview!
But also a tough crowd here this morning. I didn’t see the 12 year old kid being disrespectful of Kiran. He’s 12, in a studio separated from her and in front of a relatively small group of people, she’s mentioning him for winning a national contest, and he, at 12, clumsily, corrects her mispronunciation of his name. I didn’t hear him mutter ’stupid beeeeatch’ after his correction. That would have been disrespectful.
As to the rest of the interview. Delightfully brutal. I’m wondering how many of us are having such emotional reactions to this based upon our own personal experiences and or those of our children.
Canadian Infidel on June 8, 2007 at 10:31 AM
The kid’s my hero. If I were interviewed by anyone on CNN I’d do my best to bring the pain. Well done skippy.
Buck Turgidson on June 8, 2007 at 10:34 AM
Kiran used to be so HOT on Fox! What happened?
asc85 on June 8, 2007 at 10:41 AM
A day in the life of our homeschoolers is the envy of every kid alive.
-maybe 3 hours of actual schoolwork.
-do some chores.
-play—a lot.
-participate in sports.
-volunteer at Republican party headquarters.
-run experiments of their own design.
-research a hobby.
-take an animation class from someone at Dreamworks.
-music lessons.
-stay over at friends houses—if their public school kids have finished their 2-3 hours of homework—after being in school for 8 frickin’ hours (and getting in trouble for “socializing”).
-go to Disneyland and literally run off one ride and onto the next because 99.99% of kids are in school.
Our kids (14, 12 and 7) wouldn’t have it any other way.
The spelling bee kid is a dork, sure, but he’d be one no matter what school he was in. Give the kid—and the parents—a break. Once he’s an adult, he’ll be just fine.
jdpaz on June 8, 2007 at 10:42 AM
I’d wager that if we had an interview to watch with Bill Gates when he was that age, it wouldn’t be any better. That kid will probably grow up to be a rocket scientist of some kind, and we are all losers, comparatively speaking, who have nothing better to do than bitch about how our elected officials have failed us…
NRA4Freedom on June 8, 2007 at 10:48 AM
What a difference between the makeup people on CNN and FNC. The young man is a tuff interview.
Wade on June 8, 2007 at 10:48 AM
Not that it’s a bad thing to do, but at that age is it volunteer or voluntold?
James on June 8, 2007 at 10:49 AM
Did ANYONE do a pre-interview with this kid?
Come on! Try to have some production values here.
Mazztek on June 8, 2007 at 10:59 AM
Oh I forgot to mention:
-sew wallets for 16 hours a day in our basement sweatshop
As parents, part of our responsibility is to expose our kids to things they wouldn’t necessarily think up on their own. So, yeah, we voluntold them that they were gonna volunteer (in this particular instance). They went and enjoyed it. Once they’re adults, volunteering will be second nature.
jdpaz on June 8, 2007 at 11:04 AM
I did not seem him as rude or disrepectful at all, but as socially inept. In some ways I was reminded of my friend’s son who suffers froma form of epilepsy. He treated the spelling question exactly as it was put to him – as a test that he wanted to do well on. My heart went out to him
Ann on June 8, 2007 at 11:07 AM
My observation exactly. Anyone who doesn’t have to deal with the same challenges should count themselves lucky. He doesn’t deserve the criticism he’s getting.
Coyote D. on June 8, 2007 at 11:13 AM
SCOM-BRU-DAY? SCAHM-BRU-DAY?
SCOM-BOO-DAY?
Reaps on June 8, 2007 at 11:20 AM
The atrocious spelling in these comments has been gelastic.
The first homeschooled kids I ever met were at a graduation banquet. They were completely socially-inept dorks. I told my soon-to-be wife, “I’m never going to homeschool my kids!!”
jdpaz on June 8, 2007 at 11:26 AM
That, and probably a millionaire in the high-tech industry. Then he can have a trophy wife of his own. Eat your hearts out in advance, fellas.
(No one thinks it’s great that a CNN reporter was fumbling through the whole thing along with the kid? What’s with you people????)
manwithblackhat on June 8, 2007 at 11:41 AM
What do you mean? She’s still hot.
Kensington on June 8, 2007 at 11:46 AM
Me neither. He’s not rude, and I don’t think it’s that he’s not socialized. He’s got some kind of mental health issue for sure. I also agree that he’s better off home schooled. There was a kid in my high school that was a super-geek like this–he ended up getting stabbed in the cafeteria because he bumped into some tough, and didn’t know the proper submissive behavior he was supposed to adopt. Lost a lot of blood, but came out OK. Physically, at least.
smellthecoffee on June 8, 2007 at 12:26 PM
I think he had his first erection…
Tim Burton on June 8, 2007 at 12:30 PM
That pre-teen mustache is funny.
SouthernGent on June 8, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Many of you people are nothing but “home school” bigots! That kids IQ probably makes us all just plain stupid compared to him. I guess you think it’d be better if he had a red mohawk, dressed in baggy pants, had 20 or 30 earrings in various places on his body and used the F word a lot while he flashed gang symbols with his right hand.
I thank God that there are parents out there responsible enough to KEEP their children out of the liberalistic Godless indoctrination centers we all call “public schools”. Many of you spouting off are no better than the liberals you claim to despise…
NRA4Freedom on June 8, 2007 at 12:51 PM
I thought this kid was fine! I saw his interviews on FOX and he was NOT like this at all! Kiran mispronounced his name and then kept goading him….the tuna sandwich “prop” was a stunt. Then popping a word on him to “prove” he is the spelling champ..and she couldnt even pronounce it correctly. Get real.
This kid is just FINE. Perhaps he HAD to do the interview but just doesnt LIKE CNN? Who does? sheeeeesh…he is TWELVE!
labwrs on June 8, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Except for one semester of ‘home schooling’ I’ve never attended anything but public schools. I say ‘home schooling’ because I did very little school work and spent most of my days watching Remington Steele repeats (my parents hadn’t planned to home school me, but junior high got really excruciating and they couldn’t deal with my daily sobbing and begging to stay home any more). I graduated 6th in a class of 400 and got into a top private university.
Having said all that, there is no chance at all that my kids (when I have some) will be attending public schools. They’re either going to a well-vetted private school or I’ll be homeschooling them (in a structured way, not haphazardly as my parents did).
School isn’t (or at least doesn’t have to be) the only place where a child gets socialized. There is church (and church youth activities), sports teams, ‘play dates’, the park, the grocery store & hundreds of other places where your children can learn to properly interact with other people.
JadeNYU on June 8, 2007 at 1:26 PM
I *highly* doubt that this kid is anything other than at least borderline autistic. Anybody taking a shot at him here should really take a step back and think for a minute.
Mr Tips on June 8, 2007 at 1:27 PM
and yes, that hesh stache is fantastic
Mr Tips on June 8, 2007 at 1:28 PM
The kid’s alright. Plus she DID say it wrong the first time lol.
Aylios on June 8, 2007 at 1:39 PM
Hey, Kiran looks great though! ;)
Malpaso on June 8, 2007 at 1:57 PM
How is it that homeschooling produces such intensely negative feelings in those who have no familiarity with it whatsoever? Why on earth did she ask him if he’d rather be schooled at home or not–the insinuation being that, you know, any normal person would rather be in public school? No one asks kids in public school if they’d rather be homeschooled, in my experience.
TexasDan on June 8, 2007 at 2:04 PM
Kiran, this interview should teach you to ask that your coworkers be fired at Fox simply because you want their job… look where it got you.
For everyone talking about the kid being rude, he’s completely unaware. He’s homeschooled and very uncomfortable socially. I’m not against homeschooling, because the public school system is crap… but you need to socialize your kids or they wind up like this… even in to adult years. They can be the nicest people who would do anything for you, etc. but they just can’t interact normally with people and just have regular conversations. Sometimes, even if you’re related or relatively close to a family of them, they can’t even comfortable talk to you without stuttering and talking really low. Anyway, I just had to point out, to all those accusing him of being rude, etc., that he’s not being rude at all, he’s just a very awkward kid.
RightWinged on June 8, 2007 at 2:29 PM
It is not surprising that a 12-year-old who just won a huge victory is going to be some combination of awkward and cocky when on national television, especially if it’s via videoconferencing with someone on a totally different wavelength. (Asking him if he’d rather be in public school? Now that’s rude.)
That said, although homeschooling may be right for some, this kid seems like someone whose scholarly and social life is severely restricted (as many but by no means all homeschooled kids are). Such restrictions mean that there are going to be certain scholarly and social gaps that a more well-rounded child will not have, and it’s easier to be more well-rounded in public or private school. I view homeschooling like many of you view vegetarianism: If done correctly, it can be healthier than the alternative, but it’s so easy to do wrongly that it might not be best on balance for most.
In the interest of full disclosure, I went to public school, but a best friend was homeschooled in a way that severely negatively impacted the course of her life. Her knowledge of biology is at a grad school level while her knowledge of mathematics is at an elementary school level. Her social skills are similarly all over the map, depending on the situation; she’s good at both captivating and alienating people. This kid might be similarly both advanced and stunted.
calbear on June 8, 2007 at 2:37 PM
Can you spell, Asperger’s Syndrome? Bill Gates had it. . .
Captain Weenie on June 8, 2007 at 2:39 PM
By the way, those are precisely the thoughts of my friend. Even though her homeschooling was atrocious. Go figure.
calbear on June 8, 2007 at 2:42 PM
RightWinged, you seem to attribute his poor social skills to home schooling. How are you making this correlation?
Let’s all quit with the “socialization” bull crap. It sounds like ya’ll are referring to a pit bull, not a young boy. IMHO, most kids in public schools are the ones with poor social skills. Yes, this boy could use some helpful hints. To try to infer that his demeanor is because of home schooling is just wrong.
pullingmyhairout on June 8, 2007 at 2:48 PM
All these judgmental attitudes from a poor interview. You should all be ashamed. I would have done no better at 12. The shock of being on TV, lights, cameras, intensity, schedules, people scattering all about, probably talking to him off camera, total chaos.
Put your own selves in front of cameras for the first time, and you will behave poorly. He is the envy of every intelligent kid in the world, and some people think he should be ashamed because he didn’t learn it in a public school?
Whether he is socially awkward or not is irrelevant. He is obviously smart. I am pissed at Kiran for not asking better questions, like who are your role models, what are your favorite subjects, favorite books, etc. Would be much more interesting than how stupid she looked asking him trivial nonsense.
trantor on June 8, 2007 at 4:24 PM
I’d still rather have 20 Evan’s with obvious cases of Asperger syndrome in my classroom than one wanna be gangsta punk who can’t spell his own name let alone, “scombrida”.
The Ugly American on June 8, 2007 at 4:48 PM
That’s scombridae you twit! *smack*
But why am I reading this? Every moment here wastes valuable seconds I’m not reading about Paris.
Coronagold on June 8, 2007 at 6:00 PM
You people that are attacking a 12 year old should be ashamed of yourselves.
The last time I saw a high school age kid interviewed on Fox and Friends; he was illiterate and was so nervous he could not answer the questions.
I think people that criticize home schooled children are just trying to justify the public schools their children attend and are jealous.
Like another poster said, the ones I see coming out of public schools have tattoos, body piercing, multi colored hair, and wear the pants have way down their ass like some thug rapper and talk like them too.
Their vocabulary is at grade school level and could not pass a third grade spelling test even with their PC on their laps.
Nevertheless, hey they are socialized by the indoctrination centers into the finer things in life, right.
I live in Mexifornia, so consider my location.
ScottyDog on June 8, 2007 at 6:07 PM
I know this is going to be painful, but I must watch. Reaction in a few.
Nonfactor on June 8, 2007 at 6:38 PM
Yeah, no thanks. Not watching that.
Nonfactor on June 8, 2007 at 6:39 PM
Kids with problems like this can overcome them but they have to work their butts off to do so. This kid is even better at math, and I’d bet it’s easy for him.
Yet but for the grace of God, there go I.
csdeven on June 8, 2007 at 7:21 PM
Tomas, it’s evident you are NOT his dad as you spelled ‘NOT’ wrong! ;)
Sorry Buddy, couldn’t resist! ;)
Bearhopi on June 8, 2007 at 7:21 PM
C’mon The broad comes out of the gate without even taking the time to pronounce the kid’s name right. Then she springs the covertly gained intel about his use of brain food. To top it all off she springs an impromptu spelling bee on The Champ, when probably he craps chunks of spellers like her. The Kid was gutsy holding her off with the questions about the lineage of the word to which she had to outsource to get an answer. Still something tells me now is a good time for him to learn basic boxing skills!
sonnyspats1 on June 8, 2007 at 7:55 PM
Aaaaah! Not a proud moment to be a homeschool grad (birth through high school), but I must say, I know hundreds of homeschooled kids, and have met about 1 like this guy. The rest are all basically normal.
tikvah on June 8, 2007 at 8:42 PM
Because we remember who she used to be. It still hurts a little to remember that she used to be my favorite Fox News babe. Anyway, I guess this is the cost of going over to the dark side, eh?
Wolfman on June 8, 2007 at 9:09 PM
Holy crap that kid is… Well… Let’s just leave it at that.
Seixon on June 9, 2007 at 7:43 AM
This has nothing to do with being homeschooled. This kid has Asperger’s Syndrome. Shame on his parents for letting him be interviewed. He has a form of Autism. So does my 12 year old son{not Asperger’s though}. Poor social skills is a main ingredient of Autism. MY son David is a really cool kid with a great sense of humor. Anyone making fun of him gets their a$$ kicked big time!
lilyjac on June 9, 2007 at 11:50 AM
By the way, I like his Asperger’s attitude!
lilyjac on June 9, 2007 at 11:53 AM
That’s BS too. I also know hundreds of home schooled children, and lot’s of them are pretty similar to this one. The difference between them and many public schooled kids is that they actually learned something worthwhile in school other than exactly how to “fit it” or “disappear in the crowd” so that Godless people would “think” they are “normal”. And the other difference is, by and large from my experiences anyway, they love the Lord their God.
IF “normal” and “fitting in with the crowd” is what we hope to accomplish by publically schooling the children, then we are doomed as a God fearing Nation.
NRA4Freedom on June 9, 2007 at 4:19 PM
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