The Sunday Whirl 579- Baker’s Dozen-Debating Kids’ Futures

On 11/20/202211/21/2022 By Susan St.PierreIn Writing Prompts4 Comments

spin, creep, loom, whirl, crack, light, grip, stain, curl, glimpse, slack, lord, wonder

I caught a glimpse of my archrival in the crowd and felt like I wanted to curl my ‘tail’ between my legs and light out of the auditorium. The Superintendent and I had had an indelible ‘stain‘ on our pretense of mutual respect since our unfortunate heated confrontation months ago.
“Get a grip!” was my brain’s immediate response.
“That ‘creep‘ can’t crack your confidence unless you let her.”

I then whispered to myself as I bowed in a moment of prayer, “Lord, please don’t let me defeat myself today. This is for the kids.”

The debate was about to start, and the whirl of noise began to settle as we took our seats on the stage.
After a brief introduction by the event organizer, we were called upon to present our cases on the topic of Homeschooling vs Public School.

My job was going to be extra difficult because of the venue itself. There’s no need to wonder about the uphill battle in presenting an argument in front of professionals eyeing me with furrowed brows from the audience. I’d call that a looming pressure. If I couldn’t effectively appeal to these people who are holding their own pre-conceived preferences, they’d easily ‘spin‘ my ‘points’ as proof of Public Schooling superiority.

All we disenchanted parents wanted was the freedom to choose without governmental regulatory interference.

When my turn came, I brought out the BIG guns first.

” You all know the first woman on our esteemed Supreme Court. Sandra Day O’Connor was a brilliant legal scholar, a pioneer in breaking down professional barriers to women, and the product of early homeschooling. Thomas Edison and Theodore Roosevelt spent their whole young lives being homeschooled too.”

It was then that the Superintendent’s defiant face and pursed lips went slack.

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/wordle-579-a-bakers-dozen/

SoCS- 2/12/22- Fortune- Common Sense is Gold

On 02/12/202202/12/2022 By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Writing Prompts16 Comments

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “fortune.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

As I listen to the news, the Freedom Convoy is taking center stage. The whole dynamic boils down to “working class” people in conflict with “elitist leadership”. Covid-19 offered an opportunity for people, who are ignorant of how things actually work, to impose themselves in a tyrannical manner on people they perceive as stupid and too ‘uneducated’ to consider. The Justin Trudeau and Gavin Newsome types appear to believe a specific thought …”What could those ordinary people possibly say that we don’t already know?”. But surprise! Those elites are finding themselves in a desperate hysterical minority.

This leads me to the ‘fortune’ offered to humans in an invaluable education offered by everyday life. The kind you can’t underline in a textbook or learn in a conference room. A ‘git ‘er done’ attitude gained in rugged individualism. Those fortunate enough to have real life ‘smarts’ are not usually confrontational or belligerent because their interests are quite clearly privately personal. They want to earn a living, raise a family, and do their jobs. Once the administrative state interferes with that, there’s a problem. Our early colonists had crossed the ocean to live just as simply. We all know what happened when the king decided to repeatedly impose himself on the colonists’ ‘right’ to pursue happiness.
This morning’s ‘common man’ topic inspired me also to reflect on the ‘thinkers’ I admire most. It didn’t take me long to realize a common thread. Almost all were raised from humble beginnings and, more poignantly, most have an agrarian background or dabble with farming. There’s an everyday human being inside these folks who has spent a large part of his life independently engaged directly with Nature.
So, I next consider why the ‘ruling class’ has come to be so disconnected from the “common sense” world. I suspect that we might find that their ‘educations’ lacked enough quality time in Nature leaving them imbalanced and arrogant. One need only to spend a fair amount of time outdoors to realize we are not ‘in charge’ of any natural occurrence. Most humility comes directly from that knowledge.
In conclusion, it seems to me, the ‘study of’ things without the ‘experience of’ things leaves a gaping hole, aka blind spot, in any person’s intelligence.
“Educated idiots” actually DO exist.

To further my point, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite movie characters… Carl, the janitor, in The Breakfast Club. 😉

https://lindaghill.com/2022/02/11/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-12-2022/

First Line Friday: July 16, 2021 Progress

On 07/18/2021 By Susan St.PierreIn Writing Prompts2 Comments

It is First Line Friday! Welcome and let’s get writing.

“I summon you, the beasts of war!”
That was an extraordinary statement for a School Board meeting. In fact, Latrelle had never even heard that statement during his 25 year service in the U.S. Army!
But, he was there in support of the message that Critical Race Theory was poisoning his grandchildren’s chance at a harmonious future so he applauded his neighbor, and lifelong friend, Jerry, after his impassioned call to purge it from the public school curriculum.

When it was Latrelle’s turn to speak, he decided to calm the discussion by simply describing the definition of racism and drawing attention to the, not so long ago, goal of educators to offer useful skills to kids rather than their current “save the world” through indoctrination mania.

His heart sank as Jerry was escorted from the venue by police for ‘supposedly’ threatening everyone’s safety. Yeah, Jerry was so dangerous, alright. He was the guy who’d lost an arm defending his ‘brothers in uniform’ in Afghanistan.
So much had changed since he grew up in that neighborhood!

Jerry used to joke about Latrelle having more rhythm and liking fried chicken while he always told Jerry that if chaos broke out, all he’d have to do is outrun his ‘skinny white ass’. Good times!

But since his return, Jerry’s exchanges weren’t the same. They were guarded, actually, borderline robotic. Even the direct eye contact they’d shared all their lives was now minimal.

Latrelle, initially assumed that Jerry had been changed by the war but, more and more, he suspected that it was something even harder to describe. His whole hometown had lost its warmth and cohesiveness.
Progress?
He certainly couldn’t see any.

First Line Friday: July 16, 2021 | Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie (wordpress.com)

SoCS February 6, 2021~Flag~

On 02/05/202102/05/2021 By Susan St.PierreIn Writing PromptsLeave a comment

It was a huge “red flag”!
Jen had just overheard her 13 year old son say. ” I shouldn’t say because I have “white privilege.”.
WHAT?
He was responding to a teacher in one of his remote online classes. She hadn’t ever discussed that concept with him so she immediately wondered where that insane comment came from?
Jen worked her way over to his desk and listened to the lesson. It was an online gym class. Yes, there is such a thing.
The instructor held two photos: one of a poor black inner city kid and one of a well -dressed white male with a suburban background. His next question to the Zoom class was now audible. “Now, are you sure that you understand “institutional racism”?”.
Jen felt her face flush with anger. Her son, with a look of horror, tried to bat her hand away from the unmute button.
“Excuse me? What are you filling my son’s head with and WHAT does that have to do with gym class?!”
The stunned instructor didn’t answer at first. After an awkward pause, he replied, ” It’s what I have been instructed to do. No offense. We think this is important.”
“WE?! Who is this “we”?
“The state education board ma’am. They create the curriculum.”
The next day, Jen took her son to the local gym. There, he had an actual gym class. Followed by a history, math, and writing exercise approved by the supreme filter of a social, moral, and truthful education… a homeschooling parent.
The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 6, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

Example Rules

On 08/15/201308/15/2013 By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., SideshowsLeave a comment

I was remembering one of my first triumphs at school. It was an aptitude test on English grammar. In second grade, we were asked to choose the correct form of a word to plug into a sentence. Since we had no formal grammatical training before the test, I was very pleased to “ace” it.
Why did I have those skills at age eight? Simply because proper grammar was spoken in my home.
The English language has rules… not the kind meant to restrict our behavior, but those which apply in order to keep us on “the same page” and in the “same game”.
When I consider the modern distaste for rules, in general, and the emphasis on diversity, I realize many young parents are throwing an obstacle into their children’s education (and success) when they refuse to use proper grammar.
I understand that bilingual households are at a disadvantage automatically. All the more reason, in my opinion, for parents to school themselves in proper English.
Language has little to do with culture, so the clinging to slang and the blocking of the kids’ understanding of the rules of English grammar in the home, make no sense.
Al Sharpton is an intelligent man…Yet, he talks in a “street” dialect that, I assume, is an attempt to be “common” and endearing to the African American community. He “ain’t” helping anyone by confusing folks about English enunciation and grammar. Especially those people who have never lived in an environment where the rules of English were followed. Leading by example would be more helpful and honorable, in my opinion. Breaking other rules may gain a person attention and bravado but the rules of English language, once ignored, are terribly difficult to reclaim.
So, when parents consider helping their children’s efforts for a good education, the most important edge they can offer is the example of good grammar spoken at home.

Artists come from Copycats

On 05/03/201305/03/2013 By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Keeping Kids Creative5 Comments

There is much to be learned from children.

Thankfully, I have grandchildren who will “keep it fresh” when I retire from providing day care. I’ve watched kids for the better part of my life. One thing I have attempted, is to reevaluate my preconceived notions of how they learn on a frequent basis. Remembering moments of inspiration, from my own childhood, have proven of extra value.

When I draw flowers, there’s my flashback moment to a time I had seen a fellow middle school student draw a lovely daisy. It was not face-front with even petals (the childhood normal) but “danced” on a crooked stem and drooped to one side. That moment changed my view of flower drawings forever. In fact, it was a moment of artistic maturing that improved how I would approach all future drawings.

The old saying, “Don’t be a copycat.” is total bunk in my modern approach. I’ve found this especially true from watching the children’s visual arts evolve. I spent many years with a policy that I should not draw around the kids. I believed that my skills might discourage them or take away the purity of being original. Luckily, I just couldn’t help joining in at “art time” because, gosh, it’s fun. It became clear to me that many of my kids became happier artists from following my lead.

My most recent example happened last week. I was tired of my blank dry erase board so I created a Springtime scene as I bopped around my kitchen cooking supper. The kids noticed it the next day and studied it often. My 7-year-old granddaughter asked if she might add to the board. I said sure and handed her the markers. When she asked me to see what she had done, I had expected my drawing to have been replaced with a messier version according to her skills. Below is the amended piece.

Katherine added two flowers and one lady bug. I rest my case.

Schools-what do we learn?

On 04/14/201304/14/2013 By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Sideshows4 Comments

homeschooling afternoon (Photo credit: hbakkh)

There is an urban myth that public schooling is the best method by which we can teach children social skills. In fact, that is the primary argument against home-schooling. I beg to differ.

There’s a growing concern that public schools are failing our kids in a BIG way. There are many dedicated teachers, who do an excellent job, but the teachers’ unions protect not only the good teachers but the bad ones too.

When we are faced with the expensive and ,I believe, better alternative of home-schooling, there is the concern about the proper “socialization” of these kids.

We don’t do “sex education” before we feel a child is mature enough but we send kids off to school, at a tender age, for their first exposure to bullies, ridicule and peer pressure. They will be measured by grades and learning styles and will be kept in the classroom for the great majority of their learning experience. Hopefully, this classroom will have an orderly atmosphere and a small group but that is not guaranteed. Actually, it’s a “crap shoot” that your child’s classmates will be a “good” group. Sometimes, there is a larger number of “mis-behavers” and that is simply up to chance and timing. Teachers are not to blame,at all, but ask them and they will volunteer, readily, their memories of “good groups”.

A home-schooled child can visit real-life situations (grocery stores, parks, libraries etc.), as often as, Mom or Dad deems necessary. A “busy” child can be offered hands-on experiences and more breaks, as often as, he/she needs and the parent can correct bad manners as they present themselves in those real life situations.

There are youth sports and music organizations, available to the public, for the lessons needed in cooperation, and the taking of instruction from authority figures other than parents. The education is ongoing, year round, when the “teachers” are always present and fully aware of the curriculum.

It is so very sad that most parents haven’t the option of home-schooling. I do expect a growing trend of home-schooling, though. Families may re-evaluate the need and budget in a way to make it happen. Actually, the current stress on incomes causing grandparents to become household members, may offer them as home-school teachers or helpers with the family budget, affording parents the chance to teach.

The whole idea of home-schooling being a poor option is simply, not true, and cannot be supported by urban legends.

Those who have the ability and means to do it, have my thumbs up.