America's got talent???

Uncle Sam's Grad School

Did you know that the Department of Agriculture, USDA, runs a grad school?

I don't remember where I first found out about this but it drives my friend Turk crazy. And I have to say that I agree with him. I'm not sure how or why USDA thinks operating a grad school is falls within the mission of the department.

I was reminded of the school when I attended the National Conference for State Legislators in Boston earlier this month. The USDA Grad School had a booth in the exhibit hall and were handing out trinkets and trash to all those who stopped by for a conversation.

The school says it is self-sustaining. I assume that means they don't get a direct appropriation from Congress but a quick look at their board of directors and they are almost all Federal Government employees.

What does the school teach? Well, here's a list of the classes they pimp on their website.

Federal Appropriations Law, Clear Writing Through Critical Thinking, Introduction to Supervision, Pre-retirement Planning, Project Management for IT Professionals, Contracting Basics for COTRs, Paralegal Studies, Project Management, Information Technology, Introduction to Photography, Travel Writing, Personal Finance, Effective Business Writing, Intensive Spanish, and Intermediate Accounting.

Here's what I want to know. Just how important is "travel writing" to running a farm? I mean, this is the USDA that is running the grad school. My assumption is that the classes might have an agriculture hook to keep things relevant.

Don't feel bad if you live outside of DC and want to take a class. This must be the world's largest grad school. They've got an opportunity for everyone no matter what state you live in. I checked on Colorado and there are 56 courses scheduled to be offered in Denver in the next 12 months. None of them, not a single one, has anything to do with Agriculture.

Maybe USDA should focus on things like the security of our food supply instead of trying to run a grad school.

Does Bush Rock?

My friend Anne has this thing for George W. Bush. I can't figure out why, but she does. She recently posted this list of his accomplishments on her blog in response to my being a bit critical of the President.

The question is, are these really accomplishments? If you were President, would you aim to achieve as much, more than or less than President Bush?

China vs. Mexico, Spain and a host of other countries

As I mentioned in my previous post we are beginning to look at elementary schools. Our local school district has decided that every elementary school student should have the opportunity to learn either Chinese or Spanish.

So here are my questions. Should my two kids learn Spanish or Chinese? Which will be more useful? Which provides the most interesting window into a different culture? 20 years from now, which will be more beneficial in the job market? Which one will open the door to better trips for me when I retire?

Living what you believe

In 1990 I was visiting an elementary school in Alabama during recess. What I noticed was a bit shocking for me. The kids were all playing in groups. All of the groups were racially integrated, gender integrated and even, to some extent, age integrated. What determined the make up of each group was the clothes the kids were wearing.

Kids with more expensive clothes were playing with other kids who were wearing more expensive clothes. Kids with cheaper, more worn out and ill-fitting clothes were all playing together. The kids on the playground had literally grouped themselves based on family income bracket and I knew this by looking at the clothes they were wearing.

Ever since that day I've been a huge believer in school uniforms. I think they ought to be required starting in Kindergarten and ought to stay a requirement all the way through high school.

Tonight, however, I was looking at the website for the local elementary school my oldest child might attend next year. I was surprised to find that they require a school uniform four days a week. (Kids are allowed to wear their own clothes every Wednesday.) You'd think, given my strong belief in the importance of school uniforms I'd be happy, right?

Not me, my gut reaction was, "Screw them. They can't tell my kids what to wear." My gut reaction was to protect my kids' independence and freedom to choose to wear what they want to wear.

In the end, my head will over-rule my heart on this one and next summer I'll gladly shell out the bucks for the appropriate articles of clothing. But I'm not going to feel good about it. I'm going to feel like I did when I was a kid and my parents made me eat liver.

A Double Dose of Passion

Jen Lemen is a blogger who recently wrote about meeting Elizabeth Edwards. The post is a bit over the top but the passion is real and an interesting read.

“I worry about you,” I said, surprised at how emotional I felt putting these thoughts into words. “I know your cancer is back and that you have these little children. I want to be so supportive of what you’re doing, but at the same time I don’t want to participate in something that would diminish this time in your family’s life–your time is so precious.”

It feels shocking now to recount this. Who am I to worry about Elizabeth Edwards or to get myself worked up into some form of motherhood grief over the thought of being ill or leaving little children behind, but the whole thing just gets me. One of my greatest fears is orphaning my children. I feel so deeply how much they need me, how much their hearts would be split in two without me.

She turned to me with so much fire in her blue eyes..."

Read the entire post here.

Making Grandma Margaret Proud...

I had Friday off so I took my kids to Broncos training camp. It ends up we live just a few minutes away from their headquarters and practice facility. We had a great time and the kids really did a good job of paying attention. I wasn't sure they would have much interest in watching practice. After about 90 minutes of watching we headed for the team store and then went home to eat lunch and get a nap.

As we were eating lunch, I asked my five year old son if anything at camp had surprised him. His response was, "yeah, I was surprised you actually bought us something."

My frugal grandmother will be proud!