She asked me about a bear and arms.

I had to ask her to restate her question; I was trying to concentrate on an email I was drafting when she’d tossed me a question.  My first impression was that she asked about a stuffed animal, which didn't make sense since she's long given up those kinds of toys...

What do they mean here by the “right to keep and bear arms”?

She pointed to a small booklet, something that couldn’t have been more than a hundred pages.  I took it from her as she held it out in my direction.

Ah.  101 Things You Need To Know: The Answer Book for School Survival, produced by Scholastic, Inc.  What a curious thing for a bored child to read.

She was pointing to Fact 101 – Know Your Rights!  It was a brief overview of the Bill of Rights; the first ten amendments were listed on a single page, the second on the list being the “right to keep and bear arms.”

Sheesh.  This was going to be more than she bargained for, I thought to myself.

I told her I was glad she was reading about the Bill of Rights, but that she needed to understand this was a highly abridged overview; it was abbreviated to the point where something could be misconstrued.

More importantly, every publisher has more than one objective it is trying to accomplish when it puts together a book.  Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it’s not.  Scholastic, for example, is a publisher of textbooks.  Textbooks can be expensive to produce and print, and many states and school systems want different things.  A company like Scholastic will try to print something that will be popular with the largest number of buyers as possible in order to keep the costs down.  They don’t have to spend money on changing presses or different artwork or anything else that makes each textbook unique; they can crank out lots and lots of the same book, each one getting cheaper than the one before it.  This means a book you read here in Michigan might be one that could have been demanded by another, larger state school system.

Think about it: where might there be a larger number of students in the United States?

Texas?  She answered.

Exactly.  Now think about that answer for a bit, and what that might mean to you personally, reading a book that might have been based on an abbreviated response for a textbook in Texas.

Her eyebrows rose up past the wispy bangs on her forehead, her brown eyes wide, both knowing and incredulous.

Yup.  In Texas they feel differently about guns than they do here in Michigan.  And they might teach about guns differently than they do here in Michigan.  California might be a bigger school system, but voters and parents might also feel differently about guns when compared to voters and parents in Michigan.  Whatever the case, Texas or California, you may be learning what adults in another part of this country felt was important, and not necessarily the truth or what adults here might feel is important.

Let’s take a look at the REAL amendment, look at all of the words that outline this right.

I Googled up the Bill of Rights on the desktop, then displayed the full text:

Article [II.]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Now what does that really mean?  I asked her.  Look at the part that isn’t in that little 101 Things To Know book, I told her as I highlighted the part that had been omitted.

What is a "well-regulated militia"?  What does infringement mean?  You need to ask yourself what those mean when it comes to ordinary citizens owning guns.  It used to be when this country was first born that every citizen was supposed to be able to guard his home, his property and his country.  But is that what we’re paying for when we have a police force and a military?  Do we really need guns in the home if we are already paying for people who are authorized to use them for our protection?  Are people like your father and other gun owners really a “well-regulated militia” or are the police and military really that force?  What might happen if the police and the army were the only groups that had guns?  What might happen if there was a disaster and the police or army were too busy or unavailable to help citizens? 

And what if the Bill of Rights isn't a list of your rights, but a list of the rights that government cannot take from you?  Does that change your understanding?  Do you think they might or might not discuss this in other school systems in other states?

There are a lot more “what-ifs” like these.  Can you see what else might be missing in this little handbook or even the textbook or curriculum you are using in school?

Her left eyebrow is raised even more quizzically at this point, the right brow knotted as she digests this new idea.

You spent fifteen hours on preparing for and taking the state’s mandated test in February, nearly three whole days on a test.  You are being checked to see whether you measured to other students across the state and the country.  But in the mean time, you are unaware that some of the material you are learning could be incomplete.  The test also doesn’t teach you to ask questions and analyze the material you are learning.  Learning how to ask whether the stuff you are reading is accurate or whether the author sees the world differently than you do is every bit as important as the stuff for which the government expects schools to test.

She nodded her head; she agrees with me about the testing, although for somewhat different reasons.  She wanted to learn more about the topic of earth science they were studying during the testing month; testing cut her time too short.

This particularly kind of question you are asking is one of the most important; it's why we need a Supreme Court and the judicial arm of government, people who will help interpret what it is that we intend by the laws we've written and the rights we expect.  You definitely need to know about the Bill of Rights, but you need to know a LOT more about the topic.

Thanks, Mom, she said.

No, thank you, dear, I told her, I’m very glad you’re asking questions.  That’s as important a skill as anything you are learning in school.  And I’m glad you’re asking me.

What she really needs to know won’t be found in that little book, I thought to myself as I watched her walk away, her head bowed over the book as she read the rest of the section on the Bill of Rights.

12:29:38 PM    comment []

So sorry about neglecting to post, it's a zoo here.  Overbooked, too many things going on and they all have to happen at the same time.  Naturally, it's not in an orderly fashion that events occur but total, immediate chaos.

Like the unexpected phone call during dinner about the tile installer working this evening at the house, eventually derailing my whole evening.  My son's homework wasn't finished since I was not able to monitor his work and will now need completion over breakfast in the morning before school.  But that's just starters...

Tomorrow: tax preparation day followed by an important local event.  Will take all morning and afternoon to ensure that these two things do not overlap and encroach on each other.

Saturday: event at the kids' school that must be coordinated with attendance at a luncheon.  I am a representative for a political group and MUST attend the luncheon, but the kids are equally adamant about their event which coincides and overlaps the luncheon.  Spouse is unavailable due to an overflow of workplace demands.

Sunday: another event for the kids in the morning, a conference call midday with another political group, another kid event, and yet another conference call with yet another political group.  Again, spouse unavailable because of work issues.

When are we going to squeeze in packing stuff to move into the house?  When are we going to finish some projects in process in the new house?  When am I going to clean the old house before the in-laws arrive on Monday?  When will I finish the bloody, never-ending laundry?

And lastly, when will I blog?

Seriously, the dust should settle on Monday, but things could be a bit quiet here until then.  Keep me posted if you've any exciting or restful plans.

12:43:08 AM    comment []