Oh I wanted to tell a story. I saw my granddaughter a couple of weeks ago.

I witnessed miracles two weeks ago when I again had the opportunity to visit with my grandchild.

My daughter-in-law has a degree in education. That's fine, my son as a degree in Accountancy. 

So she finally takes a job at this pre-school (we used to call it nursery school) and gets a discount for her daughter to be enrolled there.

Mama really spends her time changing diapers in this upper middle class version of baby sitting; well beneath her educational level. Or is it? 

Noela is engaged in another classroom with upper middle class kids and really is being educated. How can you be educated when you are only 18 months?

How in the hell one would decide to educate 18 month-olds is beyond my expertise; for sure.

But here is the result, right in front of me.

This little girl who can barely walk without a cop wondering if she is under the influence, demonstrates the first few weeks of her 'education'.

I was amazed, really!

I recalled to my son one of the few memories I have as a child; I was sitting in the first grade wondering if I could ever grasp the alphabet. No kidding!

I will never get this.

That was my fear at that time and I recall it like no other memory available.

And here is this 18 month old baby who has been taught mimes.

Yeah, mimes!

When she is thirsty she does not cry or yell. She points to her mouth.

Oh, says Grandma, Noela needs something to drink!

I quickly run to the kitchen at this community room (which is filled by the way with people since some community function is about to commence) and I find a cup and fill it with water that is hot-sometimes; hot water comes out of the fosset just like at my apartment.

I discover there is ice available in the fridge and finally I procure drinkable water for my angel.

Well that is all Noela desires and everything is fine.

Now Noela is not sure about me. She is afraid and I think it has to do with whiskers and the odor of tobacco or something. (Louie CK speaks about the smell of death, hahahahah)

But following her quench she runs around the room attempting to high five all the occupants.

Hahahahahahaah

My friends are laughing and after I tell them that the little bugger is simply attempting to high five, everybody begins high fiving her.

You have to begin to understand my amazement at all of this.

I grew up in a home with drunks and several siblings with no books.

Ask my kids, I made sure books were around EVERYWHERE.

But it never occurred to me to begin educating my children until they were in school.

I mean, we would read to them and we had ABC blocks and all that including TV and such...that I never had.

But send our children to school at 18 months?

You have to see this to believe it.

Now, Sean sent me pix with him making a snowman (a very terrible snowman by the by, hahahahha) and there was the angel really involved.

This baby is learning stuff at 18 months.

I cannot believe (assuming this trend continues, even though I know it will continue because Noela's parents are extremely dedicated to this proposition) that this type of education will not have an affect upon this little girl's life in the future.

I was just struck by this behavioral aberration.

You know what?

This little girl is experiencing things that I would never have contemplated!

Can you imagine that these little people are seated at tables and chairs and instructed as to how to pose themselves and act as a group and act in accordance to rules?

This is not the universe I grew up in and believe me, I am really happy about that.

You gotta see an 18 month old baby running around asking for high fives from crippled old people in a community room. She had no fear and was laughing the entire time. And these poor reclusives were just impressed beyond amazement. Really.

They just told me today how important my granddaughter was to them. No kidding!

Now don't overreach here like I would.

The angel would wander out and mommy or daddy would follow and the angel was just impressed by her reflection in the hall mirror when presented by my son. Hahhaahahah

By the way, my daughter-in-law has made a father of my son. Hahahah

No I mean, my son is good at being a father. He likes it. Hahahahah

I love this woman. I really do.

As far as Noela, I am not discussing impending genius here.

My son and his bride do not make $250,000 a year.

But they somehow have found a way to educate their little girl in the manner of folks who make that kind of money.

And it is hard work, do not get me wrong.

My daughter-in-law had to get thru high school and college and then get the job which I think will eventually propel her to better and better levels, professionally.

But damn, this little girl is learning things I never learned.

I mean, Noela greets people as if she is entitled to greet people and she does it in an non discriminatory manner.

HERE I AM.

I am so very glad to meet you!

http://dagblog.com/node/4495

I am taken aback.

What if I had begun life with this kind of education?

Now, recall that I grew up (by the fourth grade) in never never land.

Here was this rectangular suburb that was 30 blocks by 40 blocks, secured by restrictions contained in all of its deeds making sure that Negroes and Jews would not obscure the landscape. Hahahahah

And we, as children, had labs and books and the best teachers available.

And yet, I would go home and the only books that were available were the ones I took home from school?

My kids grew up in a home with books all over the place.

I was nuts about this. I mean, you could not go from the living room to the kitchen without stumbling over books.

To this day, my son is nuts about books. And he has applauded my attempt at providing those books.

So environment is very very important.

But this little Noela is presented with books and learning toys all over her living place and yet is given this upper middle class education that just amazes me.

I shall continue with this adoration in the future months, but damn? This is less about my granddaughter than about the future of this country!

I'm not kidding.

Now my son makes a fine living and both of Noela's parents are well educated and all.

But damn?

There are experiments in education that rarely hit the papers or the blogs or any other public service communications.

Now, the parents are fantastic and certainly are focused upon their own baby.

But...

My God! I am sure that the earliest memory I have has to do with a 28 month memory that involves a train ride.

My grandchild will have memories involving ABC's and 123's by that age.

If my grandchild is that advanced as far as referencing my situation, how many other kids across this country or in China or in India are experiencing the same experiences?

I had idiot parents and did just fine under the new, the racist, the experimental Richfield paradigm.

Noela's parents will never just cede control over the little angel's education to some governmental unit.

No!

I am going to watch the development of my angel closely over the next few years...depending upon how many years I have left. But I tell ya there are developmental issues here that really impress me.

Pull my finger is not going to impress this infant.

As a matter of fact, by age 3, I predict that the infant will no longer be an infant.

I am not attacking this new approach to education.

Hell, I am just amazed.

And you know what?

My son and his wife are so focused upon this child and (working real hard to provide a sibling for this child) so intent upon helping this child, that no fault can be ascribed to either of them.

To quote Dylan:

Something is happening here and you don't know what it is...

I do not know what it is!
I know this.

There is a brand new kind of parent out there that I never foresaw.

There is an entire generation being 'bred' that I never would have foreseen?

We shall see how this all turns out but I am never going to just make fun of rich folks putting their child into preschool ever again.

I have never anticipated this type of fostering in my entire life.

I do not believe that we are dealing with Big Brother.

I do not believe that we are dealing with the Manchurian Candidate.

I do not believe that there is some conspiracy to turn all of our children into robots.

I do not believe, at all, that parents are turning their children over to some governmental mess like I was.

I will continue to monitor my baby but damn, there is a new world arising that I never contemplated.

Swear to God.

This essay has nothing to do with politics. Really!

There is an entirely new way of educating our babies that I did not know existed.

And these new methods (that I never ever witnessed before) are going to have an effect upon how we approach this new century.

the end