A Well Rounded Education

The first thing I want to say is a huge THANKS to my parents. Homeschooling is a daunting thing. It was so back in 1990 when hardly anyone was doing it, and it’s just as daunting today when there is more curriculum, programs and options to be had than days in a millennium. Parents who choose this option as what is best for their kids are in for years of hard labor. And, I hope, lasting benefits.

Twenty-five years later, the biggest question pointed at homeschoolers (aside from the ridiculous one about socializing as if kids in public schools even socialize today when all they do is sit behind their phones texting or messaging through Facebook, Instagram and whatever else I’m not up on) is will my child get the well-rounded education he or she needs? The answer is a resounding YES.

This answer was confirmed to me yesterday at my place of business. For I have learned that if I’m not fighting with the entire state of Pennsylvania over a license, I am playing tug-of-war with the city of Pittsburgh over paying their invoices. I get it that cities want to save every penny they can – even cities that tax their citizens half to death like this one. But when you go and pay seven previous invoices only to turn around and refuse to pay number eight because it’s wrong even though it’s exactly like the seven previous… I’m sorry, I’m confused. Why didn’t you say a year ago that the first invoice was wrong? And why do I have to fix your problem? Me – the person who doesn’t get paid a hundred bucks an hour and has no pension. Exactly.

But that’s another soapbox entirely. For while the city controller can crunch numbers and eek out pennies like Ebenezer Scrooge, he can’t write to save his life. I had to read his e-mail three times, wading through no capitalization, misplaced or completely missing punctuation, and words apparently typed in invisible fonts – or maybe he meant for me to play Mad Libs. That he’s good at what he does, I don’t doubt. In the end, I even understood why he was questioning the invoice. But still. That’s no excuse for crucifying our beautiful English language. Even a Kindergartener knows a period goes at the end of   a sentence. Or they did in my day.

No, I will never top my mom in mathematics. And I confess I begged my way out of high school science in 11^th grade (but had to double up in history and grammar because I was good at them). But I had to have every subject on the list. I couldn’t test out of classes, play hooky or get by with bad grades.  (If I failed something, I had to do it over again.) Except, perhaps, history I didn’t excel in any subject. But I also didn’t lack an understanding in any subject. My parents made sure I learned what I needed to learn and I understood how to use what I learned.

So while I may not be an accountant, I can find my way around Excel quite proficiently. And while I may not be a journalist, I can also write a very clear e-mail with proper punctuation and sentence structure. Apparently those things don’t get you a pension, but I am comfortable with my abilities.

So, Mom and Dad, thank you.