Dumbing down our universities

Yes, this is exactly the suggestion I heard summarized on a CBC radio program yesterday. The topic was: are today's high school graduates sufficiently prepared for university? Call after call came in about how universities were not looking at who their students were and what they had reasonably accomplished in high school, and how their curriculum should be built.

I actually started to have a heated debate with the car radio.

I completely agree with the consensus that most students are not prepared for the level of work expected at the university level. I DO NOT agree that the universities need to change anything. Our high schools (and also, therefore, public and middle schools) are where the problems are. Every decade we are gradually making the majority of our kids dumber by expecting less. Kids are coddled through each grade, with second, third, fourth chances, with special attention, with bell-curves, with the inability to fail a grade. High school students today would have no idea how to engage in meaningful debate or conversation or critical thinking on their subjects. Even the bright students at the top of their class rarely have a chance to work to their full potential; rather they simply provide what will get them their 'A' and loll around the rest of the time (I know: I was one of these).

Do you know most university students don't use a library? I understand the innovation of the internet, and completely promote the use of it for research. However, the lack of credible sources and the over-saturation of information has resulted in essays, papers, and presentations founded on faulty research. Most high school students (and perhaps even many university students) believe Wikipedia to be as solid a source as the Encyclopedia Britannica. For some reason, even in the world of Facebook and Blogging, kids believe that if it's online it must be true. Somehow even the "National Enquirer", which proves that even if it's in print it's not always truth, hasn't made a connection in their brain.

It makes me want to put my kids in private school. The only difference between private school kids and public school kids is the number of figures in their family income. Yet I wonder what the acceptance rate at the top notch universities is, private compared to public students. Most private schools have a general assumption that their graduates will go on to the top universities. Few public grads will even think of applying to them.

On second thought, it doesn't make me want to put my kids in private school; it makes me want to radicalize the public school system. It makes me want to get in there and push the kids and the teachers and the administrators and the curriculum builders to do better, to help these kids reach their maximum potential.

In ancient Greece, when a tutor took on a student, (or disciple, in a specific discipline) a contract was signed. The teacher agreed to teach and pass on the knowledge to his student, but likewise, the student agreed to do all he could to learn. The majority of students may be lazy today, but I believe this is a result of the system of teaching and learning we currently use. If each was challenged to their maximum potential (not ability, but potential), many more would strive for excellence, succeeding in high school, university, the workplace, society... There is a cycle of success that would be started and spiral upwards with each turn.

Homemade bagels

I found a recipe for homemade bagels, which made me jump up and dance in the kitchen. (Literally. Bagels are really expensive to buy in the stores now. And they are one of my favourite snacks.) Flour, water, yeast, honey and salt. That easy.

Or not. It turns out I am terrible at kneading dough. Away I went, taking the crazy night and stressful morning I had out on my poor little ball of flour. Smoosh, fold, turn, smoosh, fold, turn, smoosh, fold, turn. My only instruction was to knead "until smooth and elastic". I also know you have to be weary of over-handling dough. So I stopped when it looked right. I thought it would look better when it rose. I thought it would improve when it broiled. I thought there would be a change while it boiled. I held out a little longer while it baked. But - no such luck. My scrawny, lumpy, puny bagels look nothing like the beautiful photo posted by the "Heavenly Homemaker". And she actually takes pictures as she makes it - so you know that's really what they should look like.

Ah well. They look awful, but there taste scrumptious. They aren't the dense lump of knotted dough I expected. Once I actually get the kneading right, they are going to be FANTASTIC! I think next time I'll let the bread machine do the kneading.

Lewis' thoughts

I read these two great passages last night in the Letters of C.S. Lewis. At 26 years old, he had just received a fellowship at Oxford University to lecture in English and Philosophy. On arriving, he learned that he would in fact not be teaching philosophy, simply focusing on English. These are his thoughts on the subject and profession of philosophy:

I have come to think that if I had the mind, I have not the brain and nerves for a life of pure philosophy. A continued search among the abstract roots of things, a perpetual questioning of all that plain men take for granted, a chewing the cud for fifty years over inevitable ignorance and a constant frontier watch on the little tidy lighted conventional world of science and daily life - is this the best life for temperaments such as [mine]?"

I had never considered what souls philosophers possess, what lives they must lead. Imagine to always be questioning lifestyle and existence, never to be at peace with your life. It must indeed be lonely and frustrating and certainly full of turmoil. Here is a second excerpt that made me laugh out loud at the truth of it.

At any rate I escape with joy from one definite drawback of philosophy - its solitude. I was beginning to feel that your first year carries you out of the reach of all save other professionals. No one sympathises with your adventures in that subject because no one understands them: and if you struck treasure trove no one would be able to use it."

I chuckled at the apparent uselessness of the profession - work as hard as you want, no one understands what you are doing. And even when you do finally (if ever) land upon an enlightening concept, no one can actually put it to any use. I guess the vast majority of people are happiest to be going about in their day to day lives and never really thinking past their own front door. But I should end here, or risk venturing into that uncertain and lonely realm of philosophy myself.

Finding answers

While day after frustrating day passes of trying to figure out my little Caleb, last night I think I finally found some answers. Not from a book or website or professional - just from a good chat with James. We sat for an hour hashing and rehashing the day, how Caleb reacted to certain things, what worked and (mostly) what didn't work. We talked about development stages and what he is realistically capable of and what are normal behaviours to be expected. It was a time to bounce things off each other, hear the thoughts out loud, and try to figure out, as the two people who know him best of all, how on earth we can help him (and us).

I knew we had come to a crossroads two days ago. Colin was sick, but Caleb spent all but 30 minutes of the day screaming and banging his head. This meant that most of the day Colin was left to himself, huddled on the couch, quietly pleading for me. When I finally put the boys to bed, I realized that all Colin had eaten all day was half a granola bar. Not because I hadn't made meals, but because he had no more than pushed the food around on his plate while we sat at the table. Usually I would keep tabs on him, but the day was lost in the chaos of Caleb's behaviour. I also noticed that Colin's behaviour was changing - he was starting to act out, throw things, was unable to play on his own, and was falling into tantrums completely out of his character. In short, he was crying out for attention. My own patience was thin and I spent much of the day angry or crying. I had also canceled all activities outside our home for the next month or so, as Caleb is even worse when we leave home. I realized that Caleb's behaviour was now affecting almost every area of our family life. This was going beyond normal.

I'm signed up for two workshops, and we've looked into talking to a professional counselor. I am recognizing that we can't go on like this, without some sort of change. But these measures are not immediate, hence the conversation last night.

I recognized that Caleb does not respond to "discipline" - he just doesn't seem to equate action and consequence yet, or he doesn't care. So we are going to try three things that will hopefully see us through these next six months until Caleb is more able to understand and deal with his emotions.

First, we are making the home a more positive environment. We have removed the typical things that set him off (things we wants but can't have): movies, the computer, the chairs he uses to climb up. Second, I have made Colin's room a place he can go and play on his own, to eliminate the battles over toys. These measures are to try and avoid the tantrums in the first place. However, as we will be unable to completely eliminate them, we also devised a way to deal with the tantrum. Currently, Caleb will lose it for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, over one small thing (ie: wanting to play with the stove knobs). If we let him cry, it escalates. If I try to hold him, it escalates. If we try to distract him with a toy or food, he throws it. So now we are going to try a complete change of scene, like the backyard. I'm hoping that if we completely upend him in this way, the disorientation will stop the screaming long enough for him to realize he is no longer really angry. (Of course, there is currently a foot of snow in our backyard, but as it's already April, this won't last long).

Today is an up day on this roller-coaster, and I'm grateful for that. It's been a few weeks of downs, and my poor body and mind needed this day of peace. Hopefully these answers will aid us during the next low part.

For the mind

I just spent the last hour reading a newspaper. I combed through some stories, read others in depth, completed the puzzles (crosswords and other word games). The Toronto Star has a promotion this month, where we get a paper six days a week for free. I am totally aware that this is to lure me into a subscription. In the past I have always declined, as I usually check in online to see what the top stories are.

But I have rediscovered the love affair I had as a teenager with newspapers. I abhor most television and radio news programs, because it seems that the only thing they count as news are horrible personal tragedies, such as car accidents and murders. The more violent, the more sensational, the more coverage. I can see how some of these incidents may be of interest to the public, when it concerns public safety or a larger issue that needs to be taken note of. But I cannot stand seeing or hearing footage of car accidents. It in no way will shape my world view, or inspire something in me, or inform me about something. I suppose it is from this morbid fascination that the following originates: "It's like a car crash - you just can't look away."

This isn't what I wanted to write about. Back to the newspaper. In the past couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about an underground restaurant phenomenon, how Disney markets teen shows to toddlers and a small Spanish town famous for it's cider customs (just a smattering). I've loved doing the puzzles. Instead of clicking on a site and scanning for 30 seconds the news highlights, I've been slowing down and spending time in my world.

Slowing down. (My enlightened mind seems to be meandering.) This has been on my mind a lot lately. I haven't worn a watch in the past few years. I've been learning that there are few places I really need to be at by a certain time. I'm realizing that while planning ahead is the only way to ensure things get done, a rigid schedule is not necessary to accomplish things.

I will be starting my gardening plans soon. When I think of growing my own food, I think of slowing down. It isn't about instantly filling your fridge from the store; it's about planting and caring for and caressing my food into being. It's about starting something now that will not give yield for months. It's about slowing down.

I am reminded of the book "Better off: Flipping the Switch on Technology" - one of my favourite books I've read. I think I'll give it another read. The faster the world around me goes, the more instant things become, the more I feel pulled in another directions, the more I'm resisting.

Another newspaper article captured what I feel happening in the world. "Cirque du Soleil" is presenting a special event for a local summer festival. Here's the description:

"This event is an inquiry into the very essence of human civilization. Beginning Friday night, two “communities” will form on the Toronto waterfront: one representing the natural world in which we have our instinctual roots and the urban community, the world we have constructed around ourselves. They’ll make their homes at opposite ends of the site, each in an environment antithetical to their respective world-view. What will happen as the weekend unfolds and the two communities encounter and interact with each other?"

I am feeling my instinctual roots tugging me back to the natural world. These feelings are not new to people around me - I wonder if they won't be representative of the majority some day soon, and truly lead to a revolution in the way we live. Can we (do we want to) survive the current aggressive thrust by technology?

(Well, I think my newspaper's promotion just may have worked: I might find myself enjoying the luxury of time and a paper more often.)

Nothing escapes him

Today Colin's fever spiked above 40 C, which meant a trip to the ER. Not having a car of my own, I called a friend who graciously offered to drive us over. After a couple of hours (and everything seemingly okay) I called her again to pick us up. Trouble was, I couldn't remember what her car looked like. In my fast-moving chaotic rush out the door, all I could remember was that it was white or grey or tan - something light coloured, I thought. But knowing Colin's attention to detail, I thought I'd give him a try.

"Colin, do you remember what Joanne's car looked like?"
"Yep - it was a silver Mazda."

Sure enough, five minutes later, in rolled a silver Mazda, with Joanne at the wheel. Even in a feverish haze, half asleep, eyes full of tears and curling into my arms in pain, my three year old managed to catch the details of the car. He misses nothing, that kid.

Upcoming projects

Spring has sprung and my body and mind are gearing up again for the good weather. I'm bubbling over with projects I hope to accomplish before hibernation sets in again next winter. Here are a few of them:

1. Kitchen drawers. Our kitchen cabinets and drawers were custom built - out of particle board! A terrible way to cheap out on cabinetry, and now it means the front panels of my drawers are about to be yanked right off. Because of the custom design, I can't go and buy something at Home Depot or Ikea - I've got to get to work building my own. I'm excited about this endeavor, and also about buying my very own table saw.

2. Backyard landscaping. We have a nice big yard, but the ground is really bumpy, which makes it impossible for the boys to ride their cars or bikes around. I want to put down a dirt path around the perimeter of the yard for this purpose.

3. Gardening. My very first garden! I've already missed the early indoor planting, but a friend over planted her containers and has offered to pass some along to me. I'm planning a basic vegetable garden, and am really looking forward to salads and foods grown right in our backyard.

4. Constellations. I am fascinated by the night sky, and am getting a book on constellations to be able to identify some of the stars and their stories.

5. Children's Book. I'm a good way through writing a children's book on local foods. I hope to finish up the rough layout for it.

6. Children's Group. This is a maybe project, but I was hoping to have a reading/music group for kids in our backyard this summer. The local programs held at our library only enroll about 8-10 kids at a time, and are held in a tiny, stuffy room. I want to run something where the kids can run if they need to (sometimes three year olds just can't sit still!), or come and join in some stories and songs.

7. Local Farm. I want to find myself a local farm to buy my summer produce from. The purpose of this project is threefold: to support local farms, to enjoy the freshest food, and to preserve my own food for the winter. I hope to preserve pears, tomato sauce, jam, salsa, and a few select vegetables (like beans).

8. Music History. I've studied performance and theory music for more than 20 years, but never had the opportunity to learn much about this history of it. I want to read up on some of the major musicians, who they were, when they lived, what they composed, and what influence they had on music history.

9. Spanish. In university I took one semester of beginning Spanish. With my fluency in French it was actually fairly easy to pick up. I've lost most of my speaking ability, although I can still muddle my way through reading it. I've still got my CDs and books and I want to try and brush up on enough to be classed as "travelers Spanish".