Animaniacs The Teacher, the Secretary Guard, and the P-psychiatrist

They're zany, wacky, and out of control, they're the Warner brothers and the Warner sister. My childhood wouldn't have been complete if it wasn't for the hit show _Animaniacs_. Still today I watch that show as if it was a religion, a hardcore fan that notices every detail. I can quote more episodes and song lyrics of that show than I can tell someone a simple math equation. The Warner brothers and sister did what every kid wish that they could do, not listening to adults. But being a die-hard fan I can't really blame them for not listening to their guardians. In the show the Warners' had three main guardians, Ms. Flamiel (the teacher), Ralph T. Guard (the secretary guard of the Warner movie lot), and Dr. Otto Scrachansniff (the Warners' P-psychiatrist); each guardian has their own way of dealing with the Warner brothers and sister. Their different styles and methods and the Warner's reaction to their styles and methods hold true in the real world when adults are dealing with children.

In the _Animaniacs _episode, _Chalkboard Bungle_, the Warner siblings meet their new teacher Ms. Flamiel. Ms. Flamiel is a hard core teacher that doesn't put up with silly jokes and failure. In real life there is always that teacher or parent that is like that, with this "Ms. Flamiel" type guardian the children are scared to talk to for the guardian has a very short temper. Because of this children are either shy or completely rebelish from the almost military style of their guardian. In the show Ms. Flamiel's job was to teach the Warners' and keep them out of trouble, but fails at this after hurting Wakko's feeling by giving him an "F" and his reaction was all but pleasing to the teacher. Strict guardians sometimes get respect but they are never loved or a shoulder to cry on for kids. The "Ms. Flamiel" guardian has an unbreakable wall that surrounds them, making it impossible for an upset child to break thought and get the love and warmth that they need. This will either end up with the child growing up to be another "Ms. Flamiel" type person, or the child being like Wakko and rebelling against their stone cold guardian. But not all children rebel to strict guardians; some have lye back and uncaring guardians to deal with.

Ralph T. Guard was always trying to capture the Warners' and lock them back up in the water tower in the show, the clueless security guard that was forced by his boss to run around getting made a fool by three kids. He was an easy target for all of the Warners' tricks and traps. In the real world a person who is a "Ralph T. Guard" guardian is also clueless and although it never happens in the cartoon world, in the real world that cluelessness can bring harm to the guardian and/or the children under his or her care. A real life Ralph the Guard would show no interest in a child's life, they believe that the best kind of kid is a quite one. A "Ralph T. Guard" guardian would put the children in front of the TV just so they would be quite and not make a mess. In the show the Warners' have no respect for Ralph; to them he is just an easy victim to drop anvils on. In the real world the absent behavior a "Ralph T. Guard" guardian is reacted by having little to no respect for the guardian. A child would not follow the rules that the guardian has set and when the child needs someone they feel alone and like they have no one to go to for help. The "Ralph T. Guard" guardians are as dimwitted as the character they get their name from, this dimwittedness shows that "Ralph T. Guard" guardians are incapable to raise a child for their lack of parenting skills. But luckily for the Warners' and to real life children, they do have someone to go to.

Dr. Otto Scrachansniff was given the job of trying to control the Warners', with in the first episode, _De-Zanitzed_, the three Warners' drove him into tearing out his hair and seeking therapy. But over the course of the series Dr. Scrachansniff became a close friend to the Warners. Yes, his goal was to turn them into well behaved children, but unlike the other guardians, Dr. Scrachansniff let them have fun and took them places, like in the music video for the song _I'm Mad_, they went to the circuses. A real life Dr. Scrachansniff would set some rules for the kids but would remember that they are kids and need to have fun. In the show Dr. Scrachansniff was probably the only adult that the Warners' truly liked, in many episodes the when the Warners' do something and Dr. Scrachansniff asked why they did it, the Warners' replied by saying "Because we love ya." A person that is a "Dr. Scrachansniff" guardian is loved by the children that are in their care, and yes, the kids sometimes do things that the guardian wished that they didn't but that doesn't change the relationship between them. The kids and guardian have fun and go to different places together. This type of guardian tries and wants to be friends with the kids and help the kids in anyway, they are always there for the kids whenever he or she is needed.

Many people say that guardians are supposed to be authority figures and not friends, but that is not true. The strict teacher, Ms. Flamiel, doesn't get any respect from the Warners because she does nothing to earn it. The dimwitted security guard, Ralph T. Guard, doesn't get any respect from the Warners' because the only thing he cares about is locking them up, out of sight out of mind. But the P-psychiatrist, Dr. Scrachansniff, gets some respect, although it's every little, and love from the Warners' because he doesn't just try to do his job, he remembers that they are kids and want to have fun. This is the same results that these types of guardians have in the real world outside from a Saturday morning cartoon. Kids respect and love the adults that show them respect and love. It is just like the golden rule, "treat those the way you want to be treated", this rule is true to everyone in this world and can always be seen when looking at the relationships people have with each other. So teachers, parents, and all other adults that are the guardians to a child, the best way to help a child learn and grow isn't by being overly strict or by just not giving them the time of day, to really help a child be their friend and remember that kids will be kids.


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Animaniacs