I unschooled my yung’un btw.

Every night for the 30 minutes of so while I was making dinner was challenge time. This was how she earned her ice cream money. Challenges were stuff like, write down as many states as you can think of within 10 minutes. You get a dollar if you get all 50. It took her a few months on that one, but she was clearing the list by 7 yrs old. Honestly, I think she knew them well before then, she just couldn’t write that fast. Then we went to capitals. And then to countries in different continents, etc.

By 10 she named every state, every capital, every continent, every ocean, every sea, all the major rivers, every county in our state, the state birds, the state flags, the state flowers, the state nicknames, the major agricultural product in each state, all the countries in each continent and their capitals, their current leader (we didn’t get too fussed over pronunciation), and their major exports, (probably) most of their major bodies of water.

She really likes getting a treat from the ice cream truck.

Here’s what gets me. We all know the educational system is failing. It was failing when I was in school. So why aren’t the parents stepping up? It takes 30 minutes a night and a dollar for ice cream (or similar reward).

Everything one needs to be educated in this country is available on the internet and at your local library. Being educated or not is a choice. But parents aren’t instilling the desire and the need to be educated. For the most part they sneer at it. Why is that? I don’t understand it.