It’s been a momentous six weeks here. Our youngest child has now graduated from
high school. Our middle child has
graduated from college. My name appeared
in the print edition of The Economist, that noble British rag.
Here are a few tidbits from the traditional
interview I conduct with my children at the end of the school year, in which I
force them to answer this question:
What did you learn this school year?
Younger Daughter’s answers, forthwith.
Believe it or not, these answers are abridged
from the original.
English
YD: In English, I learned that you
have to read all the way to the end
of the book. Otherwise you won’t do well
on the test.
Me: What book did you learn that
lesson on?
YD:
Crime and Punishment. I also learned
how to be excited intelligently about
books. I learned the word ‘epistolary.’
Economics
In Economics I learned how to draw a graph,
and also that weed is the best definition of a perfectly competitive market.
Me, demonstrating that the most important part of parenthood is not
overreacting:
By “weed,” do you mean… pot?
YD:
Yeah. And I learned that foreign
exchange is hard to understand.
Me:
Wait a minute. How is weed a
perfectly competitive market?
YD:
Because it is such a new market.
There are no cartels. [She is
referring to medical marijuana, which was legalized in Pennsylvania in
2016. It is, indeed, a brand new
economic market.]
Poetry
In Poetry class I learned that poetry is
composed of moments, not of grandiose
redefining of the universe. It is
difficult to end a poem, but it can be even more difficult to start a
poem. And I learned that Mr. Teacher is awesome.
Lunch
(This was a discussion that will remain off
the record. Let’s just say that for some
high schoolers, lunchtime remains the most uncertain period of the school day.)
Me: So you didn’t learn anything
about, say, pizza, or fruit?
YD:
I learned that I like grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Me: Yes, that’s good. It’s a classic.
And here is Part 2, Science and Math.
 |
| Procession of VIPs, High School version |
4 comments:
Congratulations on your children's successes! I'm going to go to that economist article now. 😀
Congratulations on ALL THREE accomplishments! Wow!
And I love that she took a poetry class.
I have missed so much!
Even though you provided the link, I still shrieked to see your name right there in THE ECONOMIST (all caps for emphasis).
Belated congratulations to your children and to you and Husband, for graduations and launching of children and everything else!
And oh, man, lunch time in high school. What a dreaded time of day. I remember sitting in the library with the only openly gay kid in my high school at lunch, both of us feeling too weird and awkward and outsider-ish to brave the lunch room. My heart ached to read that paragraph. SO GLAD that is all over.
SQUEEEE!! I'm proud of you and your dedication to making our world a better place. And of course, congratulations to all of your family on successful ventures in schooling, parenting, and "adulting."
Side note: Why are lunch rooms so painfully awkward? While there are some good memories, I can close my eyes and see the cafeteria in every school I ever attended (including my university) and feel those insecurities.
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