To a Degree

Not too long ago, I visited my daughter and grandsons. In the grand scheme of things, I ended up sleeping in my youngest grandson’s room. Of course, being the nosey Ga’maw that I am, I took in many of my grandson’s accoutrements: the items on his shelves, the clothes on the floor, and various items hung up on the walls. One of the things affixed to his wall was a certificate applauding him for “[his] concern for the environment.” Now, on the face of it, this is a laudable things – aren’t we all “concerned for [our] environment? Of course we are. We recycle, we watch how we dump trash. We try not to pollute. All fine and dandy stuff… Than why did I have to read the certificate several times? Why did I eventually give up on trying to understand what it actually meant ? Here’s why: It was gibberish. And I don’t mean it was third-grade language (it wasn’t). I don’t mean the rather silly title of the certificate (it was entitled “The Moon Award”). I don’t even mean the mixture of capi

OK…I realize I have been away for a very long time, but – I’m on the rebound! Get ready for some straight-from-the hip TRUTH about education as it exists in America today. ~~~ I recently had a conversation with a friend over a particular dilemma I had. It involved an attempt at homeschooling that another friend had initiated on behalf of an elementary-school-aged relative. I expressed my frustration at the uncertain, disorganized nature of this endeavor; nothing about this homeschooling attempt appeared to be thought-out or organized. Several months ago, I had been invited to be an established member of the network of instructors (one of the better features of homeschooling is to include knowledgeable people in the instruction), and I had readily agreed. Now, at the beginning of a new school year, the effort – though continuing – was in shambles, and my input was unwelcome. My first friend had offered that the problem was “socialization” – the theory that children learn best in a co