It may seem odd to be talking about putting kids on the bus to school when the school year is winding down or even, for many school districts, over and done with, but for one high school sophomore in American Fork, Utah, the morning send-off may be the best part about being through with school. It seems his dad loves him so much, he was willing to go to some pretty extreme lengths to show that love — including by putting on a wedding dress.
Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
Sending Kids Off To School In Style
Sunday, June 5th, 2011Of Bicycles and Inspiration
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
There have been many great speeches in our history. From Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream, the power of words to move and to motivate us should never be underestimated. That inspiration, too, can come from the most unexpected places. While we expect wisdom from political leaders and activists and occasionally find someone on television with something important to say and the ability to express it, sometimes powerful insight and motivation comes from the most unexpected places — like a little boy who just learned to ride his bike.
Dancing Is For Boys
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
My oldest son is turning into quite the hoofer. He’s no Gene Kelly, yet, but at only nine years old, I wouldn’t expect him to be. If he keeps at it, however — and he certainly seems to have the motivation to do so — by the time he graduates from high school he very well could be up there with the likes of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, The Nicholas Brothers, Sandman Sims, and so on. He’s always tapping his toes and practicing his dances.
Disrupting Graduation
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
It’s a time for Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance. It’s a time for formal dances and the robes of academia. For many, it signifies the end of childhood and the start of their adult life. Graduation from high school is no minor event and should be treated with the reverence it deserves. In Duncan, South Carolina, school officials and law enforcement are serious about making sure that’s the case.
Fishes and Lizards and Snakes, Oh My!
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
Kids like critters. Even the ones that say they don’t like them or who are scared of them are generally fascinated by them, if they can view them from an appropriate distance. So, of course, they make for great lessons — lessons the students won’t soon forget. After a day with non-human guests in the classroom, kids will rush home to breathlessly tell their parents that a lizard’s tail can grow back or that snakes lay eggs like a chicken. So why would anyone get upset about a lesson featuring geckos and clownfish?
Texas To Redefine Science In Schools
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
It’s a good idea to regularly review what schools are teaching in their science classes and update the curriculum as new discoveries are made and old theories evolve. That’s going to happen in Texas but the problem is that they’re not so worried about science down there. Or, rather, they are worried about science and are doing their best to eliminate it from the public school curriculum. Creationists on the State Board of Education have been appointing other creationists to the review panels and selecting materials that attempt to make the idea of an intelligent creator (i.e., God) sound all science-y. Aside from the idiocy and blatant illegality of that, the problem for the rest of us is that, in large part, Texas determines the content of science books for the rest of the nation.
Don’t Say Gay in Tennessee
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
I gather it’s not easy being gay in Tennessee. If you listen to country music, most of it seems to be about the value and nobility of small town life — hard labor, cheap beer, and church on Sunday. There’s not much room in there for difference, let alone anything not considered manly. It seems the rest of the state isn’t much different from Nashville’s music. The state senate has recently approved a bill that would prevent teachers from discussing anything related to homosexuality before the ninth grade.
Getting Kids to Stand Up
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Even one would be too many. Sadly, there were a dozen in one month last September and thousands more attempted. If those numbers were kids injured by a faulty toy, there would have been a nationwide recall by now. If those were kids who got pregnant before they were teens, there would by television specials and public outcry. What those numbers represent, however, is something far worse: teenagers committing or attempting suicide because of anti-LGBT bullying. These are kids who either are gay or are perceived to be and who are so tormented and alone that death seems their only option. Luckily, however, there are those working to put an end to this tragedy and some of those folks are kids themselves.
Dreaming a Dream
Monday, January 17th, 2011
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the US, a federal holiday. That means that the kids don’t have school so, because I don’t have to get them up and out the door, I get an extra hour of sleep while still heading off to work at the usual time. But I worry about that. I worry that, for most people, that is the extent of the meaning of this day off — a holiday in honor of some dead guy that did something at some point in history. Is that enough, however, or do we, as parents, have a responsibility to our children to make it something more than that?
Martin Luther King Jr. Versus The Snow Day
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
On the one hand, it is important to recognize the life and accomplishments of the great Martin Luther King, Jr. On the other hand, educating our children is just about the most important task we have as a society. So what do we do when a school district needs to make up for snow days and the only option available seems to be the reverend doctor’s holiday?
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