The regular “little of this, little of that” feature from Like Mother, Like Daughter!
On education:
- I think I've talked on {b&p} before about how I like to envision a more effective way for my kids, when the time comes, to obtain higher education than what our current system offers. This article makes me think that there are more and more folks thinking this way, and with good reason (I don't know if I agree with all her policy suggestions at the end, but I certainly agree with her general argument and conclusions): More Parents Finally Get that College is a Scam.
- And you know that what she says about colleges being too politically correct must be true, because it's confirmed even in The Onion: Parents Dedicate New College Safe Space in Honor of Daughter Who Felt Weird in Class Once.
- How about moral education: for instance, how to be courageous? This piece from National Review is a strong wake-up call in that regard: On Man's Duty to Defend the Weak and Vulnerable. From the article:
“We teach them that aggression is always and everywhere bad, to look for authority figures to set things right, and thus the single-best thing they can do in a crisis is find someone to tell.”
On or related to the sexes:
- Ryan Anderson wrote a piece with his suggestions for a four-fold plan of action, post Obergefell: Rebuilding a Marriage Culture.
- I highly recommend Bullied “Out of the Closet” and (Almost) Bullied Back In. From what I've read by David Prosen, he seems to be a man of wisdom and remarkable humility. He has some real insight into the whole question of bullying and how it relates to where we're finding ourselves, culturally.
- Have you heard of the Women Betrayed Rally? There is time to mobilize in your area before it takes place (the 28th)!
On being busy:
- From Slate: You're Not as Busy as you Say You Are. Our use of language has a strong impact on how busy we feel and consequently how busy we make ourselves!
- This university professor offers a bit of a reflection on the problem of “busy-ness,” which he calls The Disease of Being Busy.
- On a related note, this NYTimes piece posits that the key to keeping kids in check regarding screen time is for parents to check themselves – which requires that we slow down a bit.
- All of this made me think of a reflection my friend wrote about day 1 without her “device” this past Lent — a reflection that very much resonated with me when I first read it!
Some fascinating misc:
- In an effort to correct misconceptions about Africa (in particular, that the whole continent is comprised solely of people suffering helplessly in poverty), one woman kicked off a campaign on Instagram called #theAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou. Africans shared photos from all over and some of the best of them are collected here. They are stunning and all of them together definitely increase my desire to visit Africa someday! (NB: I do not endorse the work of ONE.)
- This is not news in general, but it was news to me when I learned recently: it seems that mothers produce different milk for boys versus girls! The female body continues to amaze…
- Solyzhenitsyn Mourned Bastille Day. So Should All Christians. A brief overview of some of the grim and important history of Bastille Day.
- Rosie showed me this Instagram account and I didn't know whether to be severely cowed at my lack of artistic output or thoroughly inspired. This artist renders her kid's cute quotations in illustrated form in a diary. Anyway, it's delightful: ElenasTreeHouse on Instagram.
Today in the liturgical year: St. Frederick (among others)! (Had to highlight St. Frederick in my nephew's honor!)
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
Mrs. B. says
The Metro murder is a very disturbing story – my heart sank when I read about it. For me, it’s another sign that our country has changed for the worse. Men without chests indeed… Not everyone is like that, of course, but a Metro car is a pretty good random sample to consider… What kind of people are we now, that we can so easily suppress the instinct to help someone in need? We think we’re so enlightened, so much better than any man at any point of history, with our mouths full of “social justice”, “compassion”, not to mention “#lovewins”, but we’re just back to the old “mors tua, vita mea”, and thank you very much…
My husband rides the Metro every day: you can imagine how I feel knowing that, if he’s out of luck, very likely no one will lift a finger to help him. He’s already been complaining for a long time that no one ever gets up to leave a seat to a pregnant woman – for all our rhetoric, no one seems to care about anyone.
As for college, we’re really really hoping the bubble bursts soon, although what would happen? I think the same thing that happened to all the financial institutions with the right friends when a crisis hit them: the right friends saved them (with our money! How convenient!) and no one learned much of anything. We’re planning to limit our kids’ choices to the schools that don’t accept federal money, if they want to go to college (and if such schools will be permitted to exist in a few years…) In the meantime, we homeschool and try to give them the founding stones of a classical education that will stay with them college or no college. We imagine our kids’ lives will be more difficult than ours, given that now society is thinking how to properly handle bigots like us, so college might be the last of our problems anyway.
Wow, I’m in such a happy mood this morning! Sorry about that 🙂
Leila says
Mrs. B, in other news, in the Colorado theater shooting many men were found shot sheltering their loved ones — literally protected them with their bodies. So that’s hopeful.
It’s natural to protect those nearest to you — those you love. As it says in the Gospel, even the pagans do this. What makes Christians different is knowing that all men are your brothers. Being willing to die for a stranger… that’s a little different.
What I thought was so good about French’s article was his exhortation to teach our children, especially boys, to protect the weak. It’s a habit. You have to practice. A good reminder.
Deirdre says
I hear ya, Mrs. B.!
Mrs. B. says
True! And isn’t that an exhausting way to live?? Always on the lookout for some slight… good grief 🙂
Mrs. B. says
Oops – I meant to post this as a reply to Virginia… sorry!
Mrs. B. says
Leila, you are right to remind me of other instances. It’s true that we feel a stronger pull to defend those we love, but I would say that the instinct to go help a stranger is there as well, in anyone. Christians might be more likely to pay attention to it and act on it, but I would think it’s there in everyone’s heart. That’s why it scares me to consider what one has to suppress in order to feel perfectly fine after letting a man die without even trying to help. Or am I being romantic here? Is this kind of courage there in our hearts only if we’ve been taught it somehow – by heroes in books and real life, or by our family life, or both – and we’re accustomed to exercising it?
Maybe it’s both: it’s there, but if you never act on it in small ways, in everyday life, since childhood, don’t be surprised if you don’t act on it when an emergency situation comes up…
Yes, good reminder, as you say. For me too: I tend to make my kids’ lives too theoretical, I’m afraid, with too much staying in the stories we read, and too little spilling over real, everyday life…
Adele says
Caring for others, including strangers is not something only Christians do. My family is atheist and they do take care of anyone who happens to cross their path. Just a small reassurance that people can be good. Although I would say it takes forming a habit.
Julia Mooney says
Thank you so much for the link, Deirdre! It reminded me of the good that came from limiting the device time.
Deirdre says
Of course, Julia!
I for one find it amazing how many times I need this reminder…
Kathy says
Hi Deirdre – “This university professor offers a bit of a reflection on the problem of “busy-ness,” which he calls The Disease of Being Busy.” – I don’t see a link for this one – it sounds very interesting. BTW, I love your pretty makeup dresser tray. Much more attractive than my white plastic bin. 🙂
Deirdre says
The tray was a gift from Suki, if I recall. 🙂
I fixed the link! Sorry about that!
Anastasia says
I can attest to the fact that saying no to screen time for YOURSELF as a parent is the best way to help our children step away. I have fallen into the fault of letting Netflix soothe my older three, when the fourth was born and needed extra help nursing. After a few months I woke up to the fact that the two-year-old, in particular, had become a weepy, whiny little disaster (that’s an exaggeration, but you know, he is generally such a charming little child). Anyway, my husband and I decided to cut out shows entirely, for them AND for us, and for the first time, it actually work. It took only 24 hours for everyone to perk up and keep themselves beautifully busy with blocks and sticks and mud and pots and pans. About a month and a half in, I have started to allow myself a few shows but only when the kids are asleep or away. I hope we can keep it up. Here’s to finding creative ways to get through the 4 o’clock blues without the screens 🙂
Deirdre says
Interesting.
I’ve noticed, too, that my little one gets antsy and needy when I’m occupied with a screen (especially with the ipad – much more so than with the desktop, interestingly). But when I’m occupied with “real life” tasks, she is more likely just to occupy herself alongside me. I think that she can tell when I’m getting pulled into the virtual world, and senses that it’s taking me away from her on some level.
Virginia says
The David Prosen article was really interesting. It seems like that’s the problem with identity politics in general. Once you’ve identified as a certain thing (woman, gay, proletariat, black, hispanic, Christian, etc) you haven’t become fully enlightened until every interaction in your own personal life, or history is viewed through the lens of that identity and you lose yourself in the wave of the movement. That’s really what turned me off of feminism, not (now I’m sort of ashamed to admit this) any particular point of policy. That everything, even the fact that your boyfriend didn’t pick up his socks, was a “woman’s issue.” That and the frantic way we would excuse ourselves and vow our allegiance to the movement (“you know how radical I am”) before saying anything that might be viewed as questioning the accepted view. I guess Prosen’s point is that most groups do this.
Mrs. B. says
True! And isn’t that an exhausting way to live?? Always on the lookout for some slight… good grief 🙂