I always think that you can learn many things, but if nothing ever ties in with that knowledge, it can trickle away out of your brain as soon as you walk out of the exam. Schools do what they can, but home is also important.  If the parents don't talk about current events, how can the kids decide it is important and/or interesting?

 

I'm a big believer in making education a big part of home life--I try to read the novels the kids are reading, ask questions about what they are studying, and take every opportunity to talk about what I am learning. I get mixed results, of course.  My 12-year old thought "2001: A Space Odyssey" was one of the worst things she has ever seen, but my 14-year old now understands references to "Hal" that come up from time-to-time.  "What are you doing, Dave?" is something I often hear from behind my shoulder when I am trying to hide birthday gifts.

 

One of my success stories is that a wonderful comedy album from my youth--Stan Freberg presents the United States of America, vol. 1--stuck a fact in my daughter's brain, and it stayed there.  She came home from a high school conference, where, as a warm-up, they asked the students to name the king and queen of Spain who sent Columbus to the New World.  My daughter said she was the only one there who knew that it was Ferdinand and Isabella.  She won a tee-shirt. 

 

"And do you know why I knew that?" she asked me.  "Not because I remembered it from school.  It's because of that Stan Freberg CD you bought."

 

Apparently, for the rest of the conference, she was singing "It's a round, round world!"

 

Erin Foley