Daily Archives: April 5, 2015

E: Upright. Sturdy. Serious. Horizontal bars to act as shelves and hold ideas. You add E to the end of a word and change the sound. Far…FarE. We all know ENGLISH can be a bizarre language. ENGLAND herself is a must go destination if only for a few days. So much of our history is there. I walked over for drinks at a pub where Henry VIII stayed when he visited Anne Boleyn. Then we have EGYPT, a riddle wrapped in an enigma, wearing a cloak of mystery.

Understanding these experiences comes from EDUCATION, appallingly missing from too many parts of the world. Under attack from politicians and people who worry more about their own glory than the future of those we are expected to educate. When schools are offered in some countries, children make a supreme effort to attend, walking long distances in severe conditions. I’m sure we’ve all heard the ‘joke’ of “In my day, I walked to school, in the snow, uphill both ways.” Good for at least a chuckle.  But also very true. When I was in first and second grade I did walk to school, about a mile (obviously each way.) Since we were in Florida there wasn’t much snow!

I walked to that school instead of one just a few blocks away from the house because the public school was just not up to what my parents wanted for me. So I went to, as I remember, Little Flower, a Catholic school…so much more could be shared here! The important message is, at that time, we had those choices. When we were transferred my parents could choose a new house based on the quality of the schools.

They had choices. Not everyone does. In too many places in this country schools have become part of a war zone due to the neighborhood, and education itself has become a battleground, with teachers on the front lines and students all too often the cannon fodder, collateral damage from attempts to prove educational theory, or a concerted attempt to rewrite history, leaving out those pesky details like science and truth.

And that’s just in this country.

Here, and around the world, far too much knowledge is suppressed in an attempt to control the population. A mind stimulated to ask questions and draw conclusions is far too dangerous to a regime seeking to remain in control, in any society.

Think about it. I’m not going to even bring up the inequality of education for females in too many places because that inequality also exists for those who have the audacity to believe they have the right to the same education as the preferred class. Whatever the color of the skin, whatever the religious belief, whatever the cultural background, whatever the personal preferences, whatever the gender.

Education should be the primary goal of every society.

BOOKS MATTER

Now, go read a book. A classic book, a modern book, a history book, it doesn’t matter. One of mine would be great. Just put yourself in a place where you can let words enter your brain via your eyes, giving your imagination free rein. If you have children, read to them. And when you’re finished with that book why not share it with those who don’t have enough books.