The Median Sib

Last week a picture of Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 terrorists, was published. The newly published photo was taken when he was younger - possibly before he was taken over by radical Islam. When I saw the photo, my first thought was that comparing the new photo with the later one provides a clear example of what Islam does to a person. It changed a smiling, personable guy into a soul-less murderer. What do you think?

RT wants a dog - a British Labrador, to be specific. Tonight we looked at a litter of puppies. They’re all black and they’re as cute as they can be. We will select the one we want next Friday - at a farm in Mississippi where they’ll have the official puppy selection.

I’ve never been a pet person. I don’t have anything against dogs or cats. I just have never enjoyed being around them. I don’t care for the dog “smell” and I don’t enjoy cleaning up the inevitable messes. However, RT really wants a dog. So here are my 13 reasons to be happy about getting a puppy.

1. RT really wants a dog. It means a lot to him.
2. Walking the dog would provide me with much needed exercise.
3. The discipline of taking care of a dog would be good for me.
4. The routine of feeding, brushing, caring for the dog would be beneficial.
5. The dog would provide companionship.
6. I would get outside and enjoy fresh air and sunshine (or rain and cold, as the case might be) by walking the dog.
7. The dog would provide company for me when RT is out of town.
8. The dog would also provide protection for me when RT is out of town.
9. Puppies are cute - and I like that.
10. The grandkids would enjoy having a puppy at PawPaw and Grandma Carol’s house.
11. It would be fun to play with the dog.
12. The dog would provide companionship for RT on some of his business trips (which would negate #7 and #8 above)
13. It would give me the opportunity to prove that I can be successful in owing and training a dog.

I was initially shocked at what I learned this morning as I worked with a group of six third graders. The lesson was about writing personal narratives. I selected the book A Picnic in October (written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, published in 1999) as the read-aloud for the lesson. The book is an excellent example of a personal narrative written from a child’s perspective. On the next to the last page there is a drawing of a family looking up at the Statue of Liberty with the New York City skyline in the background. The twin towers of the World Trade Center are prominent in the illustration.

When I finished reading that page aloud, I asked the children, “What do you notice in this illustration?”

Silence. Slowly answers began to straggle in.

“The sailboat.”

“The mother’s long skirt.”

“They’re all looking up at the Statue of Liberty.”

“The tallest building in the world.”

Finally, “The twin towers.”

I jumped on that response. “The twin towers,” I repeated. “What do you know about them?”

Silence. Then hesitantly a little boy replied, “There are two of them.”

More silence. I prompted, “The twin towers were part of the World Trade Center in New York City.”

At last one child said tentatively, “Two planes hit them and they were gone.”

The faces of the other children remained blank. It was obvious that the questioning and comments were not ringing a bell of memory or recognition for them. That can’t be, I thought. And so I persisted. I asked a few more questions, but soon it was obvious that, except for the one child who had vague knowledge of two planes hitting the twin towers, the children knew nothing of September 11, 2001.

These children are third graders – 8 years old. In 2001 they were toddlers of three. More than likely their families sheltered them from the horror of that day – as they should have. However, in the ensuing five years, these children have not been told or taught the events or lessons of that day.

As the children left to return to their classes, and as I thought about the lesson further, my incredulity slowly waned, but it didn’t go away. Is ignorance about an event that has so sharply defined the world we live in a good or a bad thing? Or is it simply the way it is? I am glad those children have retained their innocence about today’s dangerous world. At what point, though, do children need to know such things?

I believe that T-shirt slogans could be a microcosm of school culture. They certainly have their own “little world” of catch phrases that showcase attitudes, ideas and opinions. I’ve written about t-shirt slogans before. I’m sometimes amused and other times flabbergasted at the things parents allow their children to wear to school. Second grade girls wearing heels or see-through blouses. Third grade boys with pants so big they’re in danger of falling down. However, it’s the t-shirt slogans that continue to keep me entertained.

Here is a sampling of t-shirt slogans I’ve noticed this past week at school.

Okay, that’s fairly innocuous. However, I’ve noticed a trend towards t-shirts slamming sisters. I haven’t seen the corresponding slogans slamming brothers - just sisters. I believe in good old healthy sibling rivalry. Being one of seven children, I’ve experienced enough of that myself. However, I’m not so sure that the following t-shirts are particularly healthy.

Have you noticed how the word “annoying” is becoming overused?

According to my 5-year old granddaughter the following t-shirt contains a BAD word – the dreaded “S” word for preschool and kindergarten children.

Then there are the typical - the silly - the nonsensical - the brandnaming:

If t-shirt slogans are a microcosm of school culture, then school culture is, at the same time, silly, sarcastic, mean, brand-conscious, defensive, arrogant, and sweet.

I keep getting email about emails that have been returned as “undeliverable” - and each time the email in question is from my domain. For example, it might be [email protected] or [email protected] - always some random combination of numbers and/or letters followed by my domain name. Obviously someone is sending out spam supposedly from my domain. I double-checked my account and there is only one email account associated with themediansib.com - mine.

I’m definitely NOT knowledgeable about how this works and how to stop it. Any suggestions? I hate for people to be getting spam and thinking it’s from me. I also hate for spammers to be using my domain’s name. Is this a virus? or what?