Thursday, August 27, 2009

Family Matters

A favorite Christmas gift a few years back was a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I like to peruse the headlines and get a feel for the state of affairs at home and abroad. It helps me plan ahead if I know there has been a crop failure or a government regulation that will affect my grocery bill. I like to know what the politicians are up to and what the DOW is down to.

So, yesterday a couple of articles in The Journal caught my eye. The first headline:
"SAT Scores Fall as Gap Widens; Asians Gain"
We here at The Gale Academy of Classical Education are always interested in matters of education, so I read on.
It seems the SAT scores last year fell for the third year in a row. The combined scores are the lowest this decade and the reading scores are the worst since 1994. The results came a week after the news that only one-fourth of 2009 high-school graduates who took the ACT, the other main college entrance exam, had the skills to succeed in college.
"Many observers Tuesday viewed the flat results of recent
years as discouraging in light of a more than 25-year effort to improve U.S.
education. 'This is a nearly unrelenting tale of woe and disappointment,' said
Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 'If there's
any good news here, I can't find it.'"
Oh, Mr. Chester E. Finn, "woe and disappointment" were my thoughts exactly.
I continued to read, wondering what the prevailing thoughts would be on a possible solution to the downward spiral of our nation's brain trust: our youth.
You know they talked to the all-knowing NEA, which of course thinks we need to have more teachers and pay them more and then, we need more money and stacks of money, and in conclusion: money, money money.
They also talked to the current administration and they concluded that it was all the last administration's fault. Believe me, I'm familiar with that excuse:
"It wasn't me--it was my brother."
Then they discussed the social issues--students who are deprived of fancy schools and nice clothes can't focus on their test-taking skills.
So I looked amongst the statistics and the excuses for a possible solution. I noticed a little clue:
"Asian-American students showed the most dramatic gains.
College Board officials said that Asian-American students
appeared to do better at all income levels. "
I asked myself, "Why?"
It didn't matter if they had money, or the latest technology or cool clothes. They managed to do well whether they were deprived or not.
Here's what they said about those excelling Asian-Americans:
"Their families place a strong value on success in
education."
The word family was only used once in the entire article.

Monday, August 24, 2009

If At First You Don't Succeed

It is a truth universally acknowledged that my man in possession of a garage,
will be in want of perfecting that garage.

It began when we moved in, we unpacked our food storage and put it
on the shelves that were in the garage.
The real fun began with taking everything off the originial shelves.
Then tearing out the old shelves and putting up new ones.
Then placing the food storage and holiday storage on the new shelves.
Then, removing all of the above from the shelves, to put down new flooring.
Then putting everything back on the shelves.


Then taking everything off again because the floor was slightly skiwampus and had to be straightened out.
Then, everything was put back on the shelves and the flooring continued...


...UNTIL he realized he had been putting it down backward all along.
So...everything came back off the shelves so he could turn it around.
The youngsters were not amused when they were asked to come out
ONE MORE TIME
and put everything back on the shelves.

I think we're finished now.





Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Cultural Refinement

Last night for Family Home Evening, we went to see a Shakespeare play. It was performed in the Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park, downtown San Diego. I chose the play because it was a student production which means affordable. This is important when you are bringing along reluctant patrons of the arts. I hate to spend big bucks when the only return on investment is moans and groans.
In spite of my best efforts,
the youngsters are not big on activities that don't involve wearing damp, smelly shoes worn by hundreds of other people and hanging out with "quirky" characters in a bowling alley or large guns and loud ammunition (hopefully not during the same activity!)
In spite of their best efforts, I haven't given up yet.

So, with the lure of In N Out Burger for dinner, we set out for an evening of high-class entertainment. The production was one of his lesser-known plays. I looked up the summary so I could prepare the family--hoping it had enough entertainment value to keep them awake.

Oh my, Shakespeare--there's a reason you are timeless.

The play was "Pericles"-- I like to refer to it as the
"Jerry Springer of Shakespeare plays".
Here's a brief synopsis just to give you an idea of what I mean:

Incest, death threats, shipwrecks, jousting for wife, wife dies in childbirth, baby grows up--gets death threats, kidnapped by pirates, sold to a brothel, keeps her virtue by talking potential customers into becoming virtuous, brothel owners not happy, wife washes ashore and is revived, becomes a nun, husband finds wife, father finds daughter, they all live happily ever after.
Surprise! They don't all die at the end!

The production was well done and the student actors were quite talented. They threw in a few touches that were very funny ("Nacho Libre" type wrestling with masks, for one).

The quote of the evening comes from Sam:
"The King offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the winner of the tournament."
Sam: "Ewwww, just her hand?"


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Birthday Boy!

Today is Spencer's Birthday. I would love to have posted some of his adorable baby and childhood pictures, but alas, I am restricted by the fact that my laptop decided to take a vacation and spend a leisurely week in the HP repair facility--probably kicking back, soaking up the sun even as I type. So, I am reduced to mere words to express Birthday wishes.



Spencer is our fourth child, second son. So he brought balance to our family. Though the girls weren't happy at first, that they got a baby brother instead of a sister, they took about 30 seconds to decide he was adorable enough to overlook this. Scott of course was thrilled to have a brother after many years of putting up with Barbies and playing house and "Pretty, Pretty Princess". Spencer was a delightful baby so it was easy for everyone to love him and he thrived in the loving circle of his family.



He could have ended up spoiled rotten but he just wasn't the type. Every Birthday and Holiday were extra joyful because Spencer got so excited and couldn't keep it in. He was just as thrilled to see someone else open a gift and see what was inside as he was for his own gifts. After a friend party one year he said, "Mom, thanks for my Birthday--I just love birthdays!"



He found joy in simple everyday things as well. He spent hours out in the yard looking at bugs. He would pick up specimens and put them in his pockets. I usually would discover them later floating in the washer. But one time he came in from outside and was telling me excitedly about the amazing beatles he had found with colorful, shiny bodies and as he spoke, all the shiny beatles began crawling out of his shirt pocket and parading around the front of his shirt while I tried to contain myself and walk him back outside to let the beatles go back to their own home.



At least every other day as I was tucking him in at bedtime, he would say
"Mom, this was the best day ever!"



So, now that happy little boy is waiting for his Mission call. I hope he will find joy in his new adventures--that every day will continue to be the best day ever. Happy Birthday son.

Oh,
And by the way,
You're welcome for the Birthday.

Friday, August 14, 2009

We Had A ...


Cabin Dwellin'

Beacon Rock Conquerin'


Missonary Preppin'



Fire Blazin'

Gramps Talkin'


River Flowin'


Free Fallin'


Water Divin'


Cliff Jumpin'


Dougan Falls Goin'


Bailey Totin'


Birthday Celebratin'


Deer Watchin'


BB Gun Shootin'


Arrow Flyin'
Face Scrunchin'


Picture Takin'


Stone Steppin'


Young Courtin'


P.I.G. Playin'


Basketball Trickin'


Ball Tossin'


Blackberry Findin'


Brother Boostin'

Blackberry Pickin'


Pie Bakin'


Crawdad Catchin'


Stud Posin'


Couch Sleepin'


Hair Cuttin'


New Stylin'


Big Al's Bowlin'


Pistol Packin'


Gun Shootin'

Trail Walkin'


Hike Goin'


Plant Explorin'


Scenery Gazin'


Hike Hatin'

Water Fallin'


Log Rollin'

Rock Sittin'


Tail Swingin'


Dinner Enjoyin'

Pony-tailin'


Burgerville Savorin'


Cosmos Contemplatin'


Hand Clappin'


Family Lovin'

GOOD TIME!

Happy Birthday Scott!

 It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...