Danny's little talk with Jesus

We've taken Danny to church two weekends in a row now. He's been very well-behaved. And this past Sunday, we actually ate lunch in a restaurant while our son sat quietly in his carrier, cooing and smiling at us every once in a while. It was glorious. He must have had a talk with the big guy. I think we'll keep taking him to church.

Why my child will NEVER go to public school

Reason #2
Have you ever gone out to run errands and returned with a sense that the world isn't going to end in a big, dramatic bang, but in a gradual melting of intellect until we're all reduced to mindless monkeys?

We decided last night to ditch the menu (I plan meals two weeks out -- yes, I know it's very anal retentive of me.) and run into Sam's Club for a pizza. It's always $7.44 for a really good 16" take-and-bake pizza. Now, I know, the idea of a quick in and out trip to Sam's Club is deluded on my part. My husband's parting words as I jumped out of the car were "Make sure you get one with a price on it." So, dutifully, I checked for a price on the pizza and proceeded to the register. The girl who rang me up looked at the price and then proclaimed, "This don't have no barcode." Oh, dear God in heaven, whatever shall we do? How about type in the PRICE clearly written on the box?

I pointed out to her that the price was $7.44. She said, "I still need a barcode." So she calls the floor manager who comes up and tells her to type in $7.44. Apparently, punching $7.44 into the computer was too much to ask. She absolutely needed a barcode or someone to tell her that it was okay to punch in $7.44.

This is a good one illustration of the sad fact that compulsory schooling turns out people who can't function outside the box. They can't think on their own. They constantly look for outside approval to be sure they're doing the right thing. They can't look within themselves for validation or even decide on their own that they are doing the right thing. In a nutshell, the system doesn't turn out free thinkers -- that would be too dangerous for the state (but that's another post all together). For a good book that really sums up my beliefs about compulsory schooling, read John Taylor Gotto's Dumbing us Down.