1st Day of School

After their first day.  Claire was distracted by Wild Kratts and couldn't give me a good smile, darn it.  We're still in corporate housing, and will be for another two weeks.

Good-byes

Before the movers pack up the computer... Wait--gotta relay the comment one of the packers just made.

Me: Do you need to pack up the computer now?

Him: No, we'll do that very last.  And we'll box up the kids last, too.  Don't worry.  We poke holes in the top.

Claire: They're going to put us in boxes?!

Me: No.

Packer: No, we usually use plastic bags for that.

Uh?!  Eeek!  Who is packing us up?!  Get me out of here!  And not in a plastic bag, please.

Anyway, we're moving to Kansas.  This job opportunity was sprung on us pretty quickly, and we've had to rush to get the house sold, a new house found, and blah blah blah so the kids can start school on time NEXT WEEK in Kansas.  Kansas City area.  It's pretty nice.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Hot and humid right now, though.

So we're bidding farewell to our wonderful ward (will I ever love another ward like this one?  Probably not.  It's like the ward I grew up in.  Actually, it's not at all, except that it's just as dear to my heart.) and our wonderful neighbors and Michigan. 

And the geckos.  Two of whom are buried in the backyard.  I accidentally killed them.  I'll blog about that later.  My time is up.  Call me on my cell if you need me.

Common Core: Final Thoughts (I hope--I'm sick of this)

Just talked to an aide for my state senator.  So: it's the teachers/school districts that choose the curriculum.  Common Core provides the standards (e.g. in 3rd grade a kid show know how to do this, in 5th grade a kid should know how to read that, etc).  Teachers decide how to teach and what to use to help children meet those standards.  I wish I had known that before I e-mailed the teacher and attacked the worksheet--I could have been much more tactful.  No wonder she was rather defensive.  She probably picked that workbook herself. Poor lady.

I've been e-mailing a friend over this.  I wrote to her: "This isn't the first history worksheet I've had problems with. Also I don't look at all of them (who has time?), and it makes me wonder if there are other bad ones slipping by me.  I hate paying teachers to teach my son things I disagree with.  It makes me want to dump some workbooks in the harbor :-)"

She wrote back:  "The best thing, though, is that if you DO see it and you discuss it with him, it teaches him how to be a critical thinker, which is a valuable lesson.  We spend 4 years in college trying to teach that.  It can be a valuable conversation to point out what you don't like and talk about it with him."

I feel much better after reading that.  I've been very agitated over this whole thing.  I don't want to home school, and yet I don't want my children being taught incorrect principles.  I'm going to trust that Heaven will help me see the bad things, so I can discuss them with my children and help them see right from wrong and become critical thinkers.  I feel good about that.  Not so excited about forever checking up on what is being taught, but it is my job...

Common Core: Thoughts from people other than me

You don't have to be a conservative like me to be wary of Common Core.  Check out this website: http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/common-core-is-agenda-21.html

Also, read excerpts from my mother-in-law's e-mails to me (posted with her permission):

"Charlotte dear,  Just read your blog quickly.  You are not off base about common core ... It is the "Growing Up Caring" philosophy I fought against years ago.  That textbook also subtly implied that parents are the enemy.  Never dismiss your intuition.  It was my intuition that told me something was terribly wrong with the course and teachings of that book, and my feelings were confirmed when we obtained the teacher's manual which instructed the teachers to create a dichotomy in the classroom and then work to the end that the students would overcome their belief in absolutes.  Frightening!  At that time I also read the statement that the secular humanists were using the school classroom as their pulpit.  Are we not seeing  the fruit of their labors in our society today?

"Another quick thought:  Perhaps ... the teachers don't intend to disparage parents, yet the end result is exactly that.  Message of sheets:  Parents force; parents are unfair; where will it lead?  rebellion against parents is justified.  (One who is drunk and driving doesn't intend to kill the passengers in the oncoming car when he hits head on, but he does.  Intention is not the whole ball game.  Result, fruit of action is the greater consideration.  The poor judgment of ... teachers, though innocent of evil intent, does not justify the result.  Parents need to take action to overcome that which injures the family.)"

Common Core: Our Tax Dollars Hard at Work

Damon, my 5th grader, showed me one of his school workbooks.  You should take a look, too.  Note this is Common Core.

 Below are some metaphors comparing mothers to Great Britain, babysitters to British soldiers, and a child to the colonists.

(1st Picture) Mother: I built this fence for your own safety.  Please don't leave the yard.  In History: Great Britain orders the colonists not to settle in the west.  They said it was to protect the colonists.

(2nd Picture) Child: Why should I have to act like the babysitter's servant?  In History: The colonists are angry about having to house and feed the troops.

(3rd Picture) Mother: You need to pay me a quarter if you're going to use the phone.  In History: Colonists protest about taxation without representation.

I took a better picture of the next page.  You can read it yourself.

Is anyone feeling disgusted or outraged yet?  I'm not sure if the purpose of this activity is to:
1. Undermine the role of parents
2. Undermine the importance of the American Revolution or
3. Teach children how to make clumsy metaphors.
It does all three quite well.  I love that we pay taxes so the masterminds behind Common Core can teach our children such wonderful things.  What do we do?  Refuse to pay taxes like Thoreau and go to jail?  I think I'll start by e-mailing my state representatives, letting them know how displeased I am with Common Core.  If you are bothered by Common Core, please do the same.  Update: See May 21, 2014 post.

Sidebar: I flipped through the workbook and found positive things, too, like Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech.  This reminds me of George Will's statement, comparing Common Core to the thin end of an enormous wedge.  Now there's a good (and frightening) metaphor.

Another Sidebar: I e-mailed my concerns to Damon's teacher.  She said the purpose of the worksheet is to show how Great Britain treated the colonists like children.  So maybe I'm way off-base here.  Gah.  I hate having to question my original conclusions...

The Drive

We woke up to snow this morning.  Anne cried.  But we spent spring break in South Carolina with Justin and Swiss, and we still carry the warmth of it in our hearts.  Except when I remember certain phrases I overheard there like, "Swiss, could you adopt us?" and "Swiss, you're way more awesome than our mom."

The kids and I drove down without Jake.  Yes, I am awesome in my own right, regardless of what my kids think. It wasn't that bad.  Except for the hotel we stayed at on the way down.  An old ornery shriveled man was working the check-in desk.  With a wig pulled back in a bun and a rocking chair, he could have been Mother.  If he'd been dead.  Which he wasn't quite.  He was re-keying a room card for a soft-spoken man giving me the creeps.  (Why didn't I just go to a different hotel?  I was tired, that's why.) "What's your room number?" Mother barked.  "208," replied Norman Bates quietly.  "What's that?" Mother barked again.  "208," repeated Norman, not raising his voice a decibel.  Eventually Mother managed to read his lips and re-key his card, while announcing to me and Norman that my room would be 211.  Gulp.  I hurried out to the car to drive to a spot as close to our room as possible.  Meanwhile Norman was standing on the sidewalk staring at me.  I stared back.  Didn't phase him a bit.  I wouldn't hurt a fly, I could practically hear him say.

I rushed the kids and our stuff into the hotel room, yanked the curtains closed and locked the door.  "Why can't we have the curtains open?" they asked.  "Because I said so!  Get your pajamas on!"

It wasn't the best night's sleep I've ever had, needless to say.  In the morning Anne wanted to know, "Why are you so grouchy still?  You said you'd try to be nicer today."  That was before I had to worry about dying in the shower in a pool of chocolate syrup.  We got packed up and went to get our free breakfast.  That's when I started to relax.  It was light outside and there were other people eating breakfast, people who didn't creep me out.  I felt so much better that when I saw Norman Bates eating in a corner and giggling to himself I felt sorry for him.  Poor guy.  We made it to our final destination that evening, but the kids just got off the bus so I'll have to blog about that later.  REEE, REEE, REEE! (That's the sound of the knife in Psycho, folks.)

cuteness