Entry level scapegoat

Okay, so I guess I've been looking for a job for too long now. After listening to my employed friends complain about being blamed for all sorts of things that they had nothing to do with, I've decided that I will just start looking for work with that specific intent. Hire me, with the understanding that you can blame me for anything that goes wrong at all! I won't take it personally... I won't even develop a bad attitude, because taking the abuse will be my job. Of course, we would need some sort of bonus structure tied to the number of times I can be blamed and still keep my job. I think there are a lot of employers out there that could use that sort of employee. Blame me, and don't upset your long-term employees. Think I'll go work on rewriting my resume now.

Cursive writing and other elementary stuff

According to this article, it takes a year for a child to learn to write in cursive. Um, my kids have taken... I believe it's close to three years now, and they still can't do it. It's not just them. I've seen other kids' attempts to write in cursive, and I have yet to see an example of any fifth grader that actually can write in cursive. The explanation: "I don't know how to write in cursive, so I don't." And the teachers don't make them write in cursive, so they never get any practice. And even when they do write in cursive, the teacher doesn't correct the mistakes. Perhaps the teachers are afraid they're going to hurt the kids' feelings.

Not that I think cursive is all that important to learn. I haven't used cursive writing in more than twenty years, and I don't think I'm any less intelligent because of it. But, it is a skill that is supposedly being taught in our schools; time is being spent in the classroom teaching it; but no one is ensuring that the skill is being developed and used. Much like most of the subjects being taught in elementary schools here in Utah.

Reading is a good example of what I'm trying to get at. As it turns out, my kids love to read. It is perhaps their favorite thing to do, and I think both of them read "above grade level." But, they don't use the skill for other than their own entertainment. Here's a good example: my son has the responsibility to feed the dog every day. We keep a big bag of dog food in the basement. Once I bought a different brand, and even though it was sitting right in the same spot, and had the words "dog food" on the bag, he couldn't identify it as dog food because it had different labeling. In other words, though he could read the words "dog food," it wasn't fun, so he didn't, I guess. Instead, he went downstairs, looked at the bag, and came back up and informed me that we were out of dog food. It's the same with instructions. It's not fun to read the instructions, so ask Mom or Dad how to do it. And if Mom or Dad are not around, just guess, usually with bad results.

Now, most people that know me know that I don't hold the Utah elementary educational system in very high esteem. Perhaps my expectations are too high. But last night, we had a disturbing discussion with our daughter. I was trying to see if she had any idea about World War II, and I said it had taken place (I wasn't sure exactly when) in the 1930s or 1940s. She guessed the Revolutionary War. Then, to make it worse, she said she thought the Revolutionary War had something to do with slavery. Well, I don't remember all of the details now, but I think she said something about the Civil War being in the 1600s. And on it went.

The point here is this: the schools here spend most of their time teaching random facts and little time actually practicing the skills they are teaching, and then, to top it all off, they apparently spend no time teaching the kids how to apply what they've learned. I think it's time for a change.

Huh?

Me: Why did you cut your blanket up?
10-year old girl: I was going to make note cards out of it.

Help!