Sunday Morning

Good morning. It's 49 degrees and kind of drippy ... talking about rain, of course. It drizzled for much of yesterday, and is supposed to repeat that today. It seems we're well on the way to another damp day, with a forecast high in the mid-50s.

I've had my morning coffee, and a light breakfast. The windows are open, and I can hear the rain softly pattering on the leaves outside. There's plenty of traffic on the highway, a few blocks away, and that forms a steady backdrop of white noise. I wouldn't mind losing that bit of our existence, here. We want to find another place to live, within the next year, and I can guarantee it will be farther from the main road system.

My original plan was to drag myself to the range this morning, but I'm far too comfortable at the moment. It's open all day, so perhaps ... later. Isn't the whole point of the weekend to not be on a tight schedule?

* * * * *

There's a cover story in today's Daily Noise about whether the state needs to tighten its regulation of home-schooled students. Away from the big towns (and there aren't many of those, here) many students have few choices, and many parents elect to keep them home. Without any regulation, it's not known how much the kids are actually being taught.

You'd think the G.E.D. exam would be a great equalizer - they can either pass the test, or they can't. If they don't know the information, or don't read well (a fear expressed in the article), they'd have to do the remedial work in order to pass. Apparently, that's not good enough for the writer of the article, or for the State Education Commissioner, who wants to look at what the paper claims is the "most lax home-schooling law in the country."

My girls are home-schooled. But in Anchorage, there are schools which provide curriculum and academic advisers for home-school kids, and both of mine have taken advantage of that system. We participate in choosing the courses of study, the curriculum, and the State pays for the books. There are standardized annual tests to monitor the students' progress, and a high school diploma at the end. What's not to like?

* * * * *

I see that a great dialogue is beginning, among those concerned about our nation's direction, about what's next. This is something about which I get passionate (no kidding, huh?), and so I want to know, too.

This is going to be interesting.