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My sister and mother, who reside in Lampasas, were recently in town for
my sister's baby shower.
For those of you, if there are any of you, that keep up with my
columns, you might recall I did a column last summer about my sister's
Quinceanera, meaning her 15th birthday celebration. And if you can put 2
and 2 together, or rather 15 + 1, my sister is 16. She's due next month.
When I first heard the news about her pregnancy I was elated that I was
going to be an aunt, but only after I was overcome by sadness because my
little sister will not be able to enjoy the rest of her teen years as I
did .
When the news first broke, I was more concerned about my mother because
my sister pretty much takes life in stride, while my mother is a worrier.
Now that all of that is behind us, my family and I are anxiously
awaiting the birth of my sister's child.
During my mom and sister's brief visit it was mentioned that my mother
will take on the task of home schooling so that my sister will not have
to miss out on accumulating her required credits to graduate with her
classmates. At the same time, she'll be schooling my 10-year-old sister,
as well, at home.
My mother decided to do so upon advice from her sister, who lives in
Hobbs, N.M. and home schools her two children while raising her other
two children.
When I first heard about this sort of thing I heard varied comments,
and most were not very favorable. But after visiting with my two younger
cousins and in speaking with my aunt about the program, I think home
schooling is definitely a great option for teen mothers.
My aunt visits with a community group of other persons that home
school, which allows for the socialization that people seem to think
that home schooled children miss out on. She tells me of various family
experiences with home schooling and most result with the college
attendance of their children at a very young age.
But then how do the kids do in college? You may ask, as I did. She says
they've coped very well.
The program allows for a young parent to stay at home with their
newborn and still continue with her studies. All-in-all, they're not
swayed from their responsibilities.
Some people might question the quality of the education, but I think it
is all the more enhanced, because the student learns what she wants to
learn at a pace she feels comfortable with, which might make the result
all the better.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against public or private
schools. I just think some people have some strong misconceptions about
home schooling, and when studied first hand, it really is an interesting
option.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mari Maldonado is an Enterprise reporter whose column
appears each Monday.
By BLACKIE SHERROD
Mainly, the Atlanta games endowed us all with the knowledge of how to
run a TV network - how to select the subjects to be shown and the times,
the goldythroats to enlighten us, the amount of background parables and
advertising messages and the exact time and place to burn Bill Walton at
the stake.
Whether male or female or otherwise, we resented NBC's theories that
gymnastics be shown on weekend nights because women are the big
audience. And that track events dominate weekend screens because of us
less artistic males.
Further, we became advisers on security, on international skulduggery
among judges, on the makeup of relay teams, on the FBI's efficiency and
on the stifling blanket of commercialism on the Olympic countryside.
As free-lance experts, we all would make drastic changes in the games.
I can recall coming home from some Olympics - Montreal, I think - beset
with political and commercial hangovers of the fortnight. I was
disgusted with the arrogant expenditures of public money, the graft of
officials, the petty infighting over politics and the almighty WASTE,
all in the name of sport. I found myself infused with revolutionary
ideas on reconstruction.
To the best of my memory, my daydream would trim drastically the
Olympics' 271 events, eliminating competitions in, oh, such fringe
things as synchronized swimming and anything to do with horses or guns
or arrows or wheels.
Further, I would eliminate all TEAM events except for track and
swimming relays and bobsled. No basketball, soccer, volleyball, hockey,
boats, whatever. That might eliminate antagonistic feelings between
nations and reduce the games to individual competition, which was the
idea in the first place, back there in 776 B.C., when there was but one
event - a 186-yard dash. Won by Coroibos of Olis, if you must know.
Then your Vaunted Expert here would divide the Olympics into three
separate games - land, water and ice. Each would be held four years
apart and none in the same year.
Further - and this would be a firecracker - each would be located in a
PERMANENT site. Build permanent facilities in three cities, thereby
eliminating the municipal extravagance of construction every four years
in some locale.
Put the land games - the running, jumping, hopping, boxing, whatever -
in Greece, where the Olympics began. Athens wants it and probably
deserves it. Build the arenas, the track, the dorms once and for all.
You must have one of these divisions in America, so put the water
games, say, in San Diego or Long Beach or somewhere on the Left Coast.
And the ice competition, assign it to Innsbruck, Austria, site of two
previous winter games and already equipped to handle same.
So there. You have one expenditure at each of three sites, easily paid
off with revenue and enough left over for unending maintenance and
improvement.
The games are mostly TV events, anyway. Divide the events, and show
them on several channels - track on one, gymnastics on another, etc.
How do you get the international Olympic family to buy such a drastic
remodeling? Sorry, you'll have to work that out by yourself - like the
professor who billed himself as the world's greatest authority on
earthworms.
``You know EVERYthing about earthworms?'' asked a student.
``Indeed I do.''
``Tell me, then, how do earthworms make love?''
The professor thought for a moment. ``Same way as turtles,'' he said.
``Well, then, how do turtles make love?''
``Turtles?'' barked the professor. ``Don't ask me. I'm an expert on
earthworms.''
Expertise is not like peanut butter. You can't just spread it around.
Copyright 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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arising from any of the foregoing.
_
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