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Cheated on my daughters homework
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Yesterday, my ten-year-old daughter, Hailey, comes bolting into the kitchen. “Dad! Can you read my Christopher Columbus paper before I turn it in tomorrow?” (My kids homeschool but they have this once-a-week community day for homeschool families) “Sure kiddo, bring it over!” She runs out and comes back with her paper as quick as a flash! I grab the paper and start reading it…Christopher Columbus, and thousands of Spanish explorers sail to the new world. Many wanted to be famous and wealthy and were not kind towards the natives. “Hailey — it’s “sailed” — they sailed to the new world. Past tense. They’re not doing it now. Also, instead of ‘AND were not kind…” change it to ‘BUT were not kind…” My wife looks at me from across the kitchen table as she slowly chews her salad. “What?” I chuckle 🤣 “Hailey, you’ve done it now.” Adriana says to Hailey. “Hold on, I’m not finished lol” I reply. Then I keep reading… Ponce de Leon searched for the iconic fountain of youth and was the first man from Spain to reach North America. “Whoa whoa whoa, whose Ponce de Leon?” I ask “A Spanish explorer like Christopher Columbus” Hailey says. “But you didn’t introduce him. You just went from Christopher Columbus to Ponce for no reason.” “This is how our curriculum taught us to write it.” “WHAT!? Show me the curriculum!”Adriana sits there chuckling at the table 😆 Hailey hands me her curriculum book so quickly it’s as if she knew I'd ask for it... I read the section of her homework where it’s asking her to summarize the Spanish Explorers and sure enough… it blatantly pops around from explorer to explorer without introducing them! No context, no dates, no backgrounds! “What kind of history class is this? Ponce De Leon & Christopher Columbus didn’t sail at the same time…” “Dad, it’s not a history class. It’s a writing class.” “WRITING CLASS!? THIS HOCK OF CRAP IS WHAT THEY CALL GOOD WRITI— “They’re just practicing summarizing, Alin.” Adriana cuts in “They’re practicing WRONG! She’s gonna have to un-learn this crap later.” So I trot over to my office and bring back a slew of books… “Hailey! Read these!” And I just start ploppin’ stuff on the table… Cause this is the thing that makes me flippin’ mad about schools — specifically when it comes to writing. They teach you ACADEMIC writing (and barely do that well). [You know, the type of writing where one page could have been one sentence] God forbid they would teach you SIMPLE, COMMUNICATIVE writing that is clear, easy to understand. Or what a world we would live in if everyone was taught COPYWRITING. The most VALUABLE writing on the planet! It grinds my gears cause it feels like someone wants our kids to be dumb 👀 I’m serious. Well, I’m waging a war against it. If you’re like me and feel like school let you down in the writing department — be your OWN school. For yourself and for your kids. And for God sakes start with these gems:
Say it with me… “I REFUSE TO LET MY KIDS BE DUMB!” 🤣 Enjoy those gems and go write something awesome today. Your friend, Alin “The New School of Writing” Dragu
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