In which I betray my wild raving lunatic tendancies

2006-04-20 - 9:51 a.m.

Well. The house is a little, umm, brighter than I'd envisioned. But I think once it fades a bit it will be fine.

They're painting the trim today -- I hope we like it.

K is pretty much not a fan. The girls seem okay with it. It is a little glowing, but I actually think it will be fine.

And the fireplace is in the new place except for a bit of flashing. Pretty funny to hear the wild estonians on the roof rattling on about the "something something flashing something something." I would like to kidnap them for good luck or something, but I don't think they're exactly kidnappable. Well, what I really mean is that they sort of look like garden gnomes (except much bigger). I probably should not have admitted that.

Exciting times at LUPS. I went to a school board meeting last night. There's this class called "freshman seminar" that they make all kids take. It is universally hated. Few 14 year olds enjoy discussions about sexuality, race, body image, and "methods of childbirth" (I kid you not), at least in a classroom setting taught by teachers who are really history teachers and thus have no expertise or interest in such things. (Frankly, we all hated it 30 years ago when it was called "Health.")It's time to kill the stupid class and teach them something useful. If it can't be history (and I don't know why it can't be history), then why not cooking or something vaguely useful? I'd prefer the "methods of childbirth" not be the useful thing, actually, just for now.

Anyway, so a section of the school is proposing that instead they have a class focusing on geography and ancient history, with enough social living thrown in to meet the state standard. Seems eminently reasonable to me, especially since world history (taught in 10th grade) now has to include the whole world -- as it indeed should. But the whole history of the whole world is a bit much to cram into one year, so it makes perfect sense to put some of it into 9th grade. Anyway, I think it went through (I had to leave early), but one school board member was going on and on about how the old class had been so great (on what planet, I wonder?) and how it was so important to talk about race in our present culture. I think it is important to have discussions about race, but I actually believe that the kids will learn more, and have more of a substantive response to the whole thing if they come at it kind of sneakily -- how is race treated over time and over cultures? I think it will be good for them to see that issues of race, etc. have existed throughout history, and that while the problem is probably universal, the specifics aren't. What light does all that then throw on the issue of race in our society?

Plus, there's the slightest chance that they may actually learn something, rather than be subject to excrutiating boredom for two hours of every day.

I mean, it is school and not some encounter group.

Okay. I'm done with that, now.

And I need to go call about some flashing.

Bye!

out of print - new releases

find me! - 2008-02-12
where I've gone - 2008-02-07
Where I've gone - 2008-02-05
where I've gone - 2008-02-01
New - 2008-02-01

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