On the bargain table in Barnes & Noble I found a Daily Dose of Knowledge: History for $5.98. I read a study that said that familiarity is key to comprehension. Students that have heard of a subject/have an experience with a topic are more apt to pay attention when it is brought up again, and if they are paying attention they are more apt to appreciate it and authentically learn. Soooo... at dinner I read one of the daily pages and we chat about it, but I don't really care if the moppets actually seem to "get" anything. My goal is just to expose in the hopes that something gets tucked away that might come up and help them authentically appreciate something some day. I wish I was one of those smarties that could just sit down and start a conversation about interesting things, but I'm not. One, my brain is a sieve, so I forget most things (that is one way that this blog has blessed my life -- it's the first time I haven't felt like I've lost my personal history), and two, most of the time my inclination is to be quiet. A characteristic that probably developed by being alone at home a lot as a kid. But I don't like that inclination, and I don't want my kids to develop it. Happy homes and strong relationships seem largely built on words and noise. So, if I need a book to help get the conversation started, and a blog to help me remember that we had a conversation, so be it. Hopefully with these efforts things will come more naturally, and stick more readily with the next generation.
Day 1 in the book was about the signing of the American Constitution (September 17, 1787). I liked that it reminded the reader that at the time the Constitution was NOT totally embraced -- everybody knew that it wasn't perfect. Like the plague of DC today, so many compromises were made that nobody felt good about it in its entirety. Benjamin Franklin acknowledged that it wasn't perfect, but he said it was "the best" out there. Thirty-nine of the 55 delegates signed. Reading about this reminded me of our cool Constitution/Declaration of Independence lesson we had in the Fall with our friend who has since moved back to London. She told us at the time that she "celebrates" Constitution Day on September 17th. I thought of that after reading our Daily Dose and decided to get my phone to put it on my calendar, thinking that this year we, too, would celebrate. Zipping through the months to get to September made me feel... weird.
