Early start today. The kidlet has a appointment to have blood drawn and then I have to rush her over to school. If things go according to plan (maybe jinxing myself here) I will be able to get her to class before school starts since Wednesday is a late start.

She was excited about her classes for all of a day and a half. Now she’s already bored. I am sure some students somewhere are benefiting from the No Student Left Behind, but not in my family. My husband was talking to the eldest daughter the other night and she mentioned our grandson was already bored as well. The teacher sent a note home. Seems he was busily taking apart and putting together a pen while she was explaining fractions. A skill he mastered back in third grade.

Seems to me that the dumbing down of American education is stifling the bright and inquisitive students to the point of apathy. No wonder the United States has lost its competitive edge. By the time the ambitious kids graduate from high school they are totally cynical about the value of their education. Thank goodness higher education hasn’t completely succumbed to the same lowest common denominator functionality.

I know my kid wants to learn. She engages in serious research of her own all the time. Sadly, the research is of no use in any of her classes. She came home the other day and complained that she’s doing better than all her classmates in a science class. The classmates are mostly seniors and a few juniors. She is the only sophomore in the class. She was also the only one to get 100% on the first quiz. It’s going to be a long year.