Use Your Common Sense Day

In elementary school, my younger brother and I skidded into the kitchen one afternoon, dripping wet from playing in the rain. My mother shook her finger at us. “You two are like turkeys. You don’t have enough sense to come inside when it’s raining.”

Who knew that turkeys would stare upwards at the sky with their beaks hanging open during a rainstorm? Of course, it’s a myth that they remain in that position long enough to drown. Still, turkeys have gained the sad reputation of being labeled dumb birds.

Has anyone ever called you a turkey? If so, that reference is linked to my story. It means you have little common sense.

Take heart. You’re not the only one. There are so many folks who need extra help in finding their way out of a wet paper bag that a special day (today!) has been created for them—Use Your Common Sense Day.

Bud Bilanich, a Harvard-educated career mentor who has written 19 books about common sense, established the day to encourage his readers to be aware of the importance of common sense. On this day, he wants us to:

• Stop and consider our options before acting on impulse. Maybe take a deep breath, or even count to three.
• Google the internet for epic fails. Determine what true failures of common sense look like. By observing examples, we might prevent ourselves from making them.

In writing, we have many opportunities to use common sense. Here are a few examples:

• Ask someone to read what we write before we publish. By doing this, we catch typos, grammatical errors, and holes in the story.
• Read. It’s a great way to learn new writing techniques.
• Listen to conversations around you. This is particularly helpful when crafting dialogue.

A prime example of me forgetting to use common sense came a couple months after the Storyteller Squad created this blog page. I had dashed off a story and posted it without asking my writing partners for proofing assistance. God bless Victoria Kimble, who emailed me within minutes of the post to point out the typos. I fixed them before too many visitors could express horrified gasps at my unprofessionalism.

In researching the topic of common sense, I stumbled across an interesting non-profit website, www.commonsense.org. Featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post, the site offers common sense help to students, parents, and educators. Its editors review books, movies, apps, and online games. Its community advocates for issues that affect students.

If you’re a student, I recommend you check out the free, age-appropriate lessons on digital citizenship. They include such topics as:

• Chatting and Red Flags
• Protecting Online Reputations
• Hoaxes and Fakes
• Can Media Be Addictive?
• Cyberbullying

Do you have any recommendations for using good, old-fashioned common sense? Or, could you give us a giggle by sharing an epic fail?