Henrietta Hay's Column

At my age, why should I be interested in public education in Mesa County? I already know my multiplication tables, I don't have any kids of my own going to school here and I have never been a teacher.

Well, for one thing, I want to be sure that when I'm 100 I will have a doctor that can read. For another, the man or woman who will be elected President of the United States in 2032 is in school somewhere today. I sincerely hope he/she is paying attention.

There are other reasons, 18,075 of them as of September 22. They are the kids sitting in classrooms or wandering the halls, or (one can hope) studying in the Library, or whatever today's kids do in schools. Some of them are muttering at the teacher. Some of them are gazing out the window wishing they were someplace else. I'm sure the teachers are wishing the same thing sometimes. Some of them are like Calvin, who spends his time plotting with Hobbes to find ways to beat the system. And some of them are even paying attention to their teachers and learning stuff.

Compared to my schoolmates and me, back in the dark ages, these young people are amazingly sophisticated. But they are facing a world infinitely more complicated and demanding than mine was. Like us, however, they don't have a clue to what it's like to be a grown up. If they did they'd be out hunting for Peter Pan instead of trying so hard to speed things up. I guess the best we can do for our children -- we being the schools and all the rest of us working together -- is to educate them and give them as much warning as we can. Newspapers are invaluable aids in this process if we can just con the kids into reading the paper now and then.

I see encouraging signs that a sense of reality is being slipped into youthful thinking.

One day I spent an hour telling third graders how much fun it is to write a newspaper column. I was trying to make the point that learning to write well is important and also very satisfying, and that reading and experience are vital parts of the process. I'm not sure that they believed me, or that any of them are a professional threat to me yet, but their questions were right on target. One boy really got into basics as he asked, "How long was your longest story and how long did it take you to write it?" He was surprised to find that it took a lifetime.

They listened, and since they were being taught good manners each one of them wrote me a note afterward.

One was pretty far into phonetic spelling when he referred to his wntfle tchr. I gred wif th tht if nt th teknik. Another assured me that not only she and her mother and father, but also her dog "love" my column. Dogs too are being educated today! The most rewarding note said, "I enjoyed you coming in. Hope you had fun. I'm going to start reading the newspaper." I do sincerely hope he meant it.

Another day I talked to a 5th grade class about the Bill of Rights, which I think is the keystone of our system of government. We had a great conversation. The students were interested and curious. For all their inexperience, they have their feet quite firmly on the ground. Afterwards I received a note from each of them.

"You explained everything nice and clear I think. And you were not afraid to tell us. That's a nice thing to do."

"The Bil of Rights sounds like a hard thing to make! I wonder why women have not been made president yet. I do not think it's been very fair." Neither do I.

Another said, "I really enjoyed it and at the same time I was actually learning something about our world outside." What a concept.

This one made my day. "You were not as boring a lots of people who come in to talk to us about things going on in the world." Well, it's pretty exciting out there. They need to know it.

One other reason that I am interested in public education is that I can't wait to see what weird things the kids will be wearing to school next. With purple hair, caps worn backward and knee length baggy pants, what will they do for an encore?

Dave Barry was invited to write this piece but he declined, saying, "I'm sorry but I'm very behind, and if I take on any more obligations, various editors will break my legs." Fortunately, my editor is less violent. Hang in there, teachers.