2000-06-08 - 22:30 MDT

June 8, 2000

Live and let . . .

Today when I wasn't uselessly occupied, I pondered on the fact that the top three victors of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee were Home Schooled persons. Which points up to me that there is definitely a place for that type of schooling. Of course not every parent can Home School their children, but in my thoughts there seems to be a possibility that that training would enable the teachers in Public Schools to take over the training of children in morals, ethics, and responsibility not taught at home as well teaching them the Three Rs.

I suppose that every teacher who ever reads this will be infuriated with me - - - and teachers you do have my apologies, but my son is a teacher and his wife is also, my son-in-law in an associate professor in a university. I have heard the war/horror stories over and over again - - no backing by their administration - - antagonism from the parents and the inability to keep the disruptive kids from making classes a chaos. In my son-in-law's case it is more the apathy shown by the people supposedly trying to learn and their lack of purpose and effort. So there is room for discussion, maybe ?

In the exchange of e-mail with various people, Beverly Sykes for one, Bob Beltran, Al Schroeder, Bonnie of The Chattering, Sandy of Dirt Road Ramblin' and many of the new parents who are happily looking forward to raising their beloved new offspring, the big subject is in parenting children adequately. I think us oldsters did the best we could, some of us dropped by the wayside and raised the disturbing element. There is no 100 % in anything except God and Jesus, all else is less than perfect.

Women seem to go ga-ga over babies, men seem to accept them as one of the family in training I guess. This man was happily expectant of Heather's pregnancies and pleased when more progeny made the scene. When I looked at a beloved baby son or daughter I saw the possible grown person they could become if we loved them enough and trained them right.

Just recently we went out to a nice restaurant, adults only, to celebrate my oldest son's 56 birthday, the youngest of our children will be 37 this year. The gathering was exceptional,in the exchange between adults in conversation. Each time when I said something to one of our children - eyeball to eyeball - the thrill permeated my being, this ability to talk one on one with the grown person I hoped would be, and IS. We weren't exceptional parents, too busy both of us to Home School our kids, but definitely did teach them good behavior, respect, morals, ethics and responsibility. Then at the appropriate age sent them to school, with our prayers.

I suppose that if I carry this anywhere further it will bring the possibility of me being accused of too saccherin a viewpoint.

Sure women go ga-ga over babies and they have a perfect right to - - - - they live and breathe for them from conception until they start to school. Maybe this is to much of a generality but women looking at their grown children alwasy see the baby they were and the men glory in the adult they see

From here on my enthusiasm will probably cause more incoherence than what I have already said, Codail samh

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