Monday night was another awards ceremony at the school. It's pretty bad when you have children in Elementary, Middle and High School. Seems like you're always at one event or another (or supposed to be at two at the same time).
This night was the promotion night for the 5th grade as they graduated up to Middle School. It was my daughters last night of Elementary school and there were all sorts of awards to be given out.
On a tangential note, I really want to know what's up with the school district being unable to run the HVAC system past 6:30. I would say that 80% of the programs handed out that night were being used for fanning hot faces beaded with sweat. It's getting into the humid season and it was pretty disappointing that, just as they were about to start, the AC that was blowing right over our seats shut off!
After a pomp and circumstance procession, the children were seated and the school administration made a few remarks. Maybe my daughter is just a bit advanced, but when they chose to read from a book, I was disappointed that it was a Curious George piece. Seemed a bit infantile for that age group, but again, maybe my kids are just so far ahead of everyone else...
Anyway, when it came time to hand out awards, I was quite pleased that she got awards for straight A's all year long in a number of subjects. It was even more exciting when they started to read off the children who qualified for the Presidents Academic Excellence Award.
This is no small achievement. It means that not only did she maintain an outstanding grade point average, she also did exceptionally well on the standardized testing. It comes with a certificate and letter from President Obama!
So when they announced her name, I couldn't help myself, I shouted out. The same overwhelming feeling overcame me when they read off her name and handed her the certificate of graduation.
I had my kids seated next to me all embarrassed, I had the people in the row behind me commenting, and even she gave me a kick to the shins later that night after things were over.
Let me explain something though. My personal feeling is that these are huge accomplishments. They represent years of hard work and effort on her part. Other than making sure her homework is finished, I haven't been one of those parents to make sure she got every answer right. This really was all her.
If this had been a baseball game and she hit a home run, no-one would have thought twice about me jumping for joy. If she had just won a tennis match, there wouldn't have been a single comment at my outburst. If she had just finished first at state in swimming, there would have been a crowd of people cheering with me.
If our culture celebrates sporting events with cheerful noise, shouldn't we do so much and more for academic excellence? Sporting victories are short lived, but the things she learns now impact her for the rest of her life. She's learning to succeed in areas that will be of greater benefit when she's in the workplace than any extra curricular activity I can think of.
I am very pleased with my children's performance in school. They're learning so much and working so hard. I'm going to celebrate their accomplishments as victories. Not everyone gets an award for a high GPA in high school, not everyone gets to play in the regional All-Star band and not everyone gets an award from the President. Like it or not, I'm going to continue to stand and shout. I think the shins can take it.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Thoughts on background checks
Let me share something with you. I'm on the email list for Organizing for Action. I'm there because unlike a lot of people I associate with, I voted for Barack Obama, not once, but twice. However, I got an email today that has me really thinking. They wanted me to lend my voice to efforts to require a universal background check.
The beauty of how our political system is supposed to work, is that we don't have to agree with everything. This is definitely a case where I think a background check system is a silly idea at best.
You see, the article they sent had the quote we've all seen so often claiming a majority of Americans and even NRA members support the idea. It struck a nerve.
Here's why, I've bought all sorts of stuff in private sales and not once has anyone inquired into my background other than the common back and forth typical to that sort of transaction. Nobody asked to see my driving record when I bought my cars or van. No-one told me that I couldn't purchase my bow and arrow without providing my name. I didn't have to have my psychological evaluation when I purchased a used set of golf clubs. The other day I bought a knife for my kitchen without anyone or anything checking a database. Yet all of these items have the same lethal potential as a firearm.
What about the silliness of 'every' transaction. Really? I have to do a background check on my kids if I decide to give one of them a gun for their birthday? What about if I decide to purchase one of the guns my dad has, you mean he has to conduct a background check on me? How about my friend and co-worker that has a concealed carry permit, do I need to check him out too? To what point? What is going to be accomplished by all this? If I was worried about any of these people getting guns, I wouldn't be giving or receiving one from them.
Does someone magically stop becoming a threat to society once they purchase a weapon and pass a background check? The newspapers seem to indicate otherwise. People snap; they go bonkers; they do bad things. A check on them at a moment in time really doesn't accurately assess what will happen in the future.
That aside, I'm not afraid of more guns being available and untracked by a lack of background check. Bad people are going to get their hands on guns. Fact of life. Background checks won't change it. The sooner we accept this, the easier we can sleep at night.
How many of us are up at night worried that the guy next door is driving on a suspended license? Do we panic that the car next to us might not be fully paid on his insurance? Have we seen the copy of our pharmacists license to dispense our medication? Did you personally check her out by calling the university listed on your doctor's diploma? Do you ask to see the food handling permit of the person making your fast food order? In school how did you know your teachers were accredited and licensed to teach?
Just because we have a hot button topic, the loss of life due to firearms misuse, doesn't mean that we need to institute a bunch of policies that really aren't going to solve anything. If we're going to chase that rabbit, then let's make sure we go down every other hole of assumption that exists as well. For me, I'd rather assume that the guy asking to buy my gun is legally able to do so. It's a simple thing called trust. I'd much rather be trusted than mistrusted, so I try to treat everyone else the same. Does it backfire? You bet! Does it mean I should stop? NO WAY!
Let's keep private sales private. Let's let trust and good sense do their part. It's easier and doesn't require an act of Congress. Instead, let's focus on fixing our budget and economy.
The beauty of how our political system is supposed to work, is that we don't have to agree with everything. This is definitely a case where I think a background check system is a silly idea at best.
You see, the article they sent had the quote we've all seen so often claiming a majority of Americans and even NRA members support the idea. It struck a nerve.
Here's why, I've bought all sorts of stuff in private sales and not once has anyone inquired into my background other than the common back and forth typical to that sort of transaction. Nobody asked to see my driving record when I bought my cars or van. No-one told me that I couldn't purchase my bow and arrow without providing my name. I didn't have to have my psychological evaluation when I purchased a used set of golf clubs. The other day I bought a knife for my kitchen without anyone or anything checking a database. Yet all of these items have the same lethal potential as a firearm.
What about the silliness of 'every' transaction. Really? I have to do a background check on my kids if I decide to give one of them a gun for their birthday? What about if I decide to purchase one of the guns my dad has, you mean he has to conduct a background check on me? How about my friend and co-worker that has a concealed carry permit, do I need to check him out too? To what point? What is going to be accomplished by all this? If I was worried about any of these people getting guns, I wouldn't be giving or receiving one from them.
Does someone magically stop becoming a threat to society once they purchase a weapon and pass a background check? The newspapers seem to indicate otherwise. People snap; they go bonkers; they do bad things. A check on them at a moment in time really doesn't accurately assess what will happen in the future.
That aside, I'm not afraid of more guns being available and untracked by a lack of background check. Bad people are going to get their hands on guns. Fact of life. Background checks won't change it. The sooner we accept this, the easier we can sleep at night.
How many of us are up at night worried that the guy next door is driving on a suspended license? Do we panic that the car next to us might not be fully paid on his insurance? Have we seen the copy of our pharmacists license to dispense our medication? Did you personally check her out by calling the university listed on your doctor's diploma? Do you ask to see the food handling permit of the person making your fast food order? In school how did you know your teachers were accredited and licensed to teach?
Just because we have a hot button topic, the loss of life due to firearms misuse, doesn't mean that we need to institute a bunch of policies that really aren't going to solve anything. If we're going to chase that rabbit, then let's make sure we go down every other hole of assumption that exists as well. For me, I'd rather assume that the guy asking to buy my gun is legally able to do so. It's a simple thing called trust. I'd much rather be trusted than mistrusted, so I try to treat everyone else the same. Does it backfire? You bet! Does it mean I should stop? NO WAY!
Let's keep private sales private. Let's let trust and good sense do their part. It's easier and doesn't require an act of Congress. Instead, let's focus on fixing our budget and economy.
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