We have been very careful about our children's education. When Ender started Kindergarten eight years ago, we signed-away four hours a week "parent volunteer time" in his classroom and understood that that was only the 'official' commitment. The nature of the school is a Parent Co-op, and the 'unofficial' hours we were giving -up were significantly more. We were happy to be a part of his education in a hands-on way, and knew when we signed-up that we would also eventually be giving up an additional four 'official' hours a week in Monkey Boy's classroom. Ultimately, we knew, there would come a time when Za Boo's place in the school would require the same hourly commitment, and we even recognized that as the 'official' hours increased via simple multiplication from one-times-four to three-times- four, the 'unofficial' hours would multiply exponentially.
And we were, and really still are, okay with that commitment. We are so involved in their education, in fact, that we have given up the last three years of our personal life in order to help bring the school back from the brink of closure, rather than consider placing them in a school that would not allow us the opportunity to be involved.
Parents who are, perhaps, inordinately dedicated to their children's education, no?
We have worked our asses off to be accurate and thorough in all that we teach them. We have made Herculean efforts be sure they are well rounded. We have covered subjects from archeology to paleontology to taxonomy and crypto-zoology. We have discussed the circle of life, quantum-physics, world history, art, theatre, science, music, books, manga, anime, role-playing, movies and movie making, the various lore of a variety of mythological creatures and how it varies around the world, gender stereotypes and the dichotomy created by the perpetual use of them, NASA, the military, the debatable worth of organized religion, prejudice and bias and why they exist, how they exist and what we need to do to overcome them in our world, and ever so much more. We have encouraged independent thinking and analytical analysis, logic and a hands-on approach.
Whatever they have wanted to learn, their wish has been our command, and if we didn't know it, and they wanted to understand, we learned it and then taught it to them. We still do, on a daily basis.
But, apparently, we have missed a thing or two. Apparently there are holes in their education, and despite all our best efforts at raising well-rounded, independent thinking, intellectually balanced children, we missed at least one thing.
It came to my attention today when Raven, Ender, and Monkey Boy were watching 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure,' all of them seeing it for the first time. Although Monkey Boy and Ender were naming every Medieval weapon that showed up on screen accurately, and, in fact, correcting a misnomer within the script about one of the weapons used in the movie, Monkey Boy didn't get the joke when Ted answered the question "Who is Joan of Arc?' by saying "Noah's wife?"
Hmm, I guess basic Bible stories are going to be next on the agenda.
