Adam@Home by Rob Harrell for September 15, 2012

Just the set up, Trapper. Next will be finishing the privatization of public education.

True, I practically begged the school to hold my son back in 3rd grade and they refused. I took him out and home-schooled him for a year to catch him up.

My son is very bright, but he refused to do his homework in the past. He has some psychological issues, but he can surmount them. The school would allow him to take MONTHS to turn in old homework assignments. In my age, you maybe had a few extra days, else you got a zero. Yes, his grades are still bad, but I am still amazed. I think it is a lot of the “no child left behind” mentality directly at work here. And I think he is not being helped in this situation. We realize he is most likely not college material, but that is not the only training open to him – trade, certificate, etc. Now we just have to figure out what he wants to do – and it’s his senior year as well … pass the extra strength excedrin please.

My fifth grade teacher was in her last year before retiring for our class. She had a reputation of being mean and unforgiving. But the summer before fifth grade, she got married (yes, late in life), and came back to school a completely different person. She was cheerful, fun, and innovative. She still demanded a lot from us, but we wanted to work hard for her. Her husband even came in occasionally – an older guy already retired but smart and witty with great stories to tell. That was a good year.

@Susan Newman, Gov. Christie was disappointed on a recent trip to Israel when he found out that the Gaza Strip wasn’t a steak.

I suspect Ms Murphy is entirely as sharp as she used to be. I guess Daddy Dearest didn’t read the papers recently where the GOP stated they were not interested in teaching critical thinking skills in school :-(

Thank you for the (overall) positive comments about teachers. Too many of us are disheartened/discouraged/demoralized by the public thrashing we get on a daily basis.

To get the biggest changes, we need to change the culture, recognize that really cool things are happening in the schools, and come in and volunteer in the schools. Who knows, you could help a struggling reader enjoy comics!

@AllanVS—way to go!! It’s even tougher to go back to school as an adult. Keep up the great work!

Adam, you disappoint me. Wake up and smell your coffee!

Thank everyone for the birthday wishes, and the ‘atta boys’. It helps me feel like I’m accomplishing something in life, when someone says “good job.” (I get ‘high’ on praise, or so my doctor’s have said.) .32 … man, I’m over the first hill, and walking down it now… heading toward the valley that is “36-48 years of age”, and in my 49th, I start walking (or crawling) up the hill again to 60. L(I think of life as large hills, and valleys. From new born to around 13 or 15, you’re in a ‘protected valley’ – you can walk, run, play and enjoy that time. BUT at 13 or so, you start the slow climb up to 30. 30 is the top of the first hill, 60, the second hill, 90 is the third hill, and damn if you’re lucky, you can hit the fourth hill at around 105.May God bless you all where ever you are, in your walk through His hills and valleys.