Cap In Hand

In this article about high school sports we are told that kids will learn some crucial skills from participating in sports. They list advantages such as positive mentors, leadership skills, a success mindset, and the importance of the "3 P's"--persistence, patience and practice.

Remember these things as you read the following story...

This morning, on the way home from Church, we saw a string of bouncing teens holding up poorly written signs advertising a car wash to raise funds for a sports team. We assumed it was for football since that is the sports-god around here.

Aside from the signs (with their guilt inducing appeal to community loyalties),  and the fact that a combination of our exorbitant property taxes and the parent's pocketbooks can't seem to finance the sports scene around here, our initial reaction was "at least they are working hard" (and at least the girl's were not wearing bathing suits, as far as we could see).

Then we got to the next major intersection.

Standing on the medians were two men (probably fathers) and on the corner one very sober and uncomfortable looking adolescent. They were all holding signs and cups. The signs said "Please Donate to Our Team" or something like that.

There was no name of the team (I presume I was supposed to know it) and the "our" was most likely meant to include you and I. These sports teams belong to the whole community, right?

The irony of the whole situation hit me.

We are told that our kids should play team sports because they will learn how to work hard, push themselves, work in a team situation, they will gain self respect and responsibility, yada, yada, yada.

Irony. Ten miles closer into Houston you will see people standing on the medians with other sorts of signs, cups in hand. Or brandishing spray bottles on towels while they offer to wash your windows for a buck. Or even the grown ups waving large colorful signs, and dancing to unheard music while they advertise for a nearby business. All of these people struggling to make ends meet.

Yet, here on the corners of our relatively affluent neighborhood they stand, signs and cups in hand, imploring help from passing cars. Apparently, the publicly funded school sports teams need extra money* to buy whatever (uniforms, equipment) and rather than have the kids come up with a plan to WORK for that money, we teach them to stand on a corner and BEG for it.

It is all too easy to imagine the sight of that adolescent, cup in hand, as some sort of foreshadowing.

And what about all the benefits of school sports?

Persistence? Well I suppose. Patience? Yes, definitely. Practice? Practicing what?

Success mindset? Don't think so.

Let's try a few other words. How about ENTITLEMENT, HANDOUTS, MISPLACED PRIORITIES.

I have a sinking feeling that my property taxes are being wasted at the local schools.

Can I ask for a refund?

But seriously. I could (or someone could) write a book on all the implications of this scene, and all the causes that lead to it:

• Why do after school sports trump after school jobs? 
• Why can't kid be found to mow lawns, spread mulch, power wash the walls, chop the wood, move the rocks? When and how did these become jobs for adults? 
• *What do kid's learn from having a $58 million football stadium built for them? 
• Where do they go from there? To university life, where things are handed to them again. And then to REAL life where it all has to be paid for, whether in the form of student loans or in taxes. 
• And student loans! Another form of handout, especially since so many can't ever pay them back. 
• Actually, if we are questioning the value of high school sports, we need to question the value of college sports. Often the high school sports are touted as the way to get the kid into college, but what is end point of college sports? To feed into professional sports? Life time fitness? Money? But if college sports bring so much money into the universities, why do tuitions keep increasing at such astronomical rates? 
• What about the FAITH we put in institutions to form youth into mature individuals who are self reliant enough to support themselves and generous enough to share with others? 

What about an antidote? I have two ideas as a start. One serious. One MOSTLY serious.

1. Read this book as a family. His story is inspiring. His mother is remarkable.

2. Learn to sing this song and teach it to your children (said with tongue in cheek...sorta):

Cap In Hand by the Proclaimers

Another irony: this song comes out of the birthplace of Adam Smith, author of The Wealth Of Nations, and lyrics describe Scotland's descent into socialism.  

A Father, A Soccer Match and An Unexpected Free Market

As I am writing this, the Kennedy family is watching Spain play the Netherlands in the World Cup. Amazingly, there are at least five players on the field that we know (as in we can name them and have seen them play). 

But the far more amazing fact in this little vignette is the fact that we are WATCHING SOCCER…or should I say FOOTBALL. (the kids refer to football (soccer) and American Football (that other game that hardly uses feet at all). 

A little more than a decade ago I wrote an article about the evils of soccer and homework. My argument with both institutions was the time taken away from families. As far as I could see kids would spend long days away from home and family while at school, then they would spend a large part of the precious remaining hours doing homework and participating in organized sports. At the time, soccer seemed to be the biggest culprit (remember “Soccer Moms”?), but I was in California at the time (that may also explain my crazy criticisms of soccer as a sport). Here, in Texas, I might complain about American football, gymnastics, or dance taking time away from families. 

As I said, in the article, my crazy criticisms of soccer as a sport, were mostly tongue-in-cheek . However, in spite of having grown up playing soccer, I had long sense lost an great affection for the game and had never really cared for the professional level. Face it, few people do…in this country. Even when we lived in the UK (minutes away from the training grounds for a famous English football club), we sort of yawned in the general direction of the soccer world. 

Then about six months ago all that changed. 

It started with Jim’s intense need for a nap. 

The perfect place to nap, for him, is on the couch in front of the TV with some long sports event playing. However, with kids around, there needs to be a vigilant monitor of the commercials, especially with sports. American football, basketball and even baseball are riddled with questionable ads that our kids don’t need to hear. 

So, one Saturday afternoon the remote control stopped on soccer. And Jim’s head began to nod. Over the next half hour he fitfully napped with one eye open waiting for the commercials. But they never came. Not until half time. A whole 45 minutes of commercial free TV. And a love affair began. 

Needless to say, the napping happened less often, and he and the kids began to know the various teams in the Premier League (highest level of UK club football), have favorite players and debate the calls. We all began to talk about memorable plays and discuss the various rules and workings of the Premier League. 

(By the way, I was just interrupted by yells of “GOOAAALLLLL!” the Netherlands have tied Spain. An amazing header!)

So the build up to this World Cup has been big for the Kennedys. Our DVR is currently filled with games to watch and we carefully avoid sports headlines on TV or the internet, since we are about a day behind. 

But one thing I haven’t avoided is any discussion of the impact of soccer on American’s and American culture. I read one article which claimed that soccer threatens American exceptionalism. Of course the author thinks that is a GOOD thing. His theory is that becoming more global will decrease our love of our own country. Hmmm.

I also saw a segment on FOX NEWS’ The Five in which two of the hosts rail agains the game of soccer itself—it’s boring ("Nil-Nil*???Seriously?!"), it’s British (and therefore unmanly?) and there is no real strategy. 

I can see now how ignorant the rants are. But, I was there once—ranting ignorantly—so I can’t really criticize. 

Rather, at the risk of having to disagree with myself at some later date, I would like to make the case that soccer (as played in the Premier League) is more American than American football. 

Yes, I said FOOTBALL was MORE American than AMERICAN FOOTBALL!!! 

Wait! Don’t go! Hear me out for a minute. 

Okay, first, a little background on the UK’s Premier League. First of all, it is what it sounds like—the PREMIER league in the UK. Which means there are other leagues that are less…well…premier. You have to make into the Premier League. Each year there are 20 teams who play in the Premier League and each year the bottom 3 are relegated back to the lower leagues and 3 new teams are brought up. 

This is big. This means that even the worst teams in the league are motivated to remain competitive throughout the whole season. No one skates. It is not unusual for a top rated team to lose to one of those lowly last five at any time during the season. 

It is a free market. There is nothing fixed. You have a team in your town and you support that team and, if they get to be good enough, they make into the Premier League. That is where they make the big money. But, they have to keep on winning to stay there. Sure, there are some teams that rarely if ever get relegated, but there are a whole bunch for whom relegation is a yearly reality. It is not so much about equality of outcome, as it is about equality of opportunity. Everyone has a chance. Even the lowly small town team. 

This past season we watched one of those lower teams, in danger of being relegated, play a top team that needed to win in order to have a chance to win the league championship. They ended up in a tie. In regular season games that means that each team receives 1 point. (3 points for a win) That one point meant that the lower team remained in the Premier League for another year rather than being relegated. And the missed 2 points for the top team meant they had little chance of winning that year. You should have seen the celebration that the one team had when they won that coveted 16th place, and the glum faces on the team that ended up in 3rd. 

(by the way, the score of the game in front of me is Spain 1, Netherlands 5. Lots of screaming going on here!)

On the other hand, in American Football, there is anything but a free market. In addition to the fact that there is a set group of teams with no chance of some new team breaking in, the team at the bottom of the league has basically the same revenue stream as the team at the top. The income is shared equally among the teams at the top and at the bottom. There is not much incentive to do better. There are also salary caps, so the team at the top or bottom end up spending a similar amount for their players. And, teams are built through the draft which means the worst team gets first draft and the most successful team takes the last pick. Everything is about equality. Not so much about quality. And this “equality” is mainly “equality of outcome”—which is socialism. 

There are lots of other notable differences between soccer and other sports that we have enjoyed discussing and debating. But this approach to competition has been the most striking. Having lived in the UK, where the nanny state is strong and active, and being Americans who value the free market economy that is currently under attack here, we found it an ironic discovery that American football has a socialist bent, and UK Football is a thriving free market. 

(* FYI “Nil" is the British way of saying zero.)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE FATHERS I KNOW, ESPECIALLY THE ONE WATCHING SOCCER WITH MY KIDS RIGHT NOW!

What We're Reading (and listening to) Wednesday

We continue to read St. Louis and the Last Crusade as well as the Far Blue Mountains in the evening.

We are also reading The Last Battle from the Chronicles of Narnia at lunch or tea time.

Our newest edition to the read aloud cast is our audio book for the car. We are about 18 chapters into Men of Iron by Howard Pyle and narrated by Jim Weiss. So far it is interesting and fun. It is a great introduction to medieval life and the life of a young knight-in-training.

I am still reading Theophilos by Michael O'Brien and still enjoying it. My problem is that I only seemed to get a few minutes before bedtime to read it, so it is slow going.

Normally I would bring Theophilos with me to M's class on Tuesday and Thursday but I keep forgetting it. So this week I had my Kindle with tons of stuff on it that I have mostly read and I decided to click on Common Sense by Thomas Payne. I had already started it before and can't remember anything from my first reading, but I decided to just pick up where I was. The part I read was a fascinating treatise on the flaws of the British system of government along with a criticism of Monarchy that included many references to Scripture. I recently read about how this little pamphlet changed the course of human history in an article that I can't, for the life of me, find!!

But, the story of this little booklet "Common Sense" is fascinating when you think about who it was written for (a bunch of farmers and shop keepers more than two centuries ago) and how it influenced the thought of the time. Many attribute the success of the revolution to the booklet and its influence.

Read it and ask yourself if you pictured a farmer in the 1700's being intelligent enough to read it, understand it and discuss it with his neighbor.

Then try not to get depressed about the current state of political discussion and education in this country.

I am also reading The Religious Potential of the Child by Sophia Cavelletti and am awaiting the edition addressed to ages 6-12. These books are the foundation for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and they have my wheels turning about the fall.

And finally, though this doesn't count has reading, I am listening to Andrew Pudewa from Excellence in Writing. I can't believe I haven't listened to him before. I watched a little introductory video and heard him mention two of my educational influences Robert Doman and Oliver DeMille, not to mention Charlotte Mason and others. The audio download that I listened to yesterday was called Nurturing Competent Communicators and it was really great. Not only am I confirmed in all my efforts to including reading aloud in our routine, but I am inspired to do more.

I highly recommend this talk to all my homeschooling friends. But also to my friends and family in the field in education. I wish I had heard it when I taught elementary school.

Independence Day Links

Here is a great speech by Rush Limbaugh's father about the fate of the founders who had the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Here is an idea for your Fourth of July Celebration.

Here is another idea for your Fourth of July Celebration, perhaps a little simpler.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Books Edition

{pretty}

"It was born then, this idea that I must have books, not only for our children but for Abigail and myself. We must not lose touch with that we were, with what we had been, nor must we allow the well of our history to dry up, for a child without tradition is a child crippled before the world. Tradition can also be an anchor of stability and a shield to guard one from irresponsibility and hasty decisions."

From To The Far Blue Mountains by Louis L'Amour

 {happy}

 "What books then? They must be few, for the luggage of books is no easy thing when they must be carried in canoes, packs, and upon one's back.Each book must be one worth rereading many times..."

From To The Far Blue Mountains by Louis L'Amour

{funny}

When I told the kids I was trying to think of a "funny picture about books" for my blog post, they thought this was perfect. It is from the kids version of The Last of the Mohicans.

{real}

Is it possible to have too many books? 

We don't have the problems that Barnabas Sackett had. 

So far I haven't had to load our books onto a canoe or carry them on my back. 

But there is a part of me that envies the economy of his proposed book collection. 

Few.

Great books.

To be read again and again. 

Just to be clear, the above is from inside my own head, not from a Louis L'Amour book.

  {happy}

We are currently reading this as a family at bedtime. The quotes on this page come from a point in the book when Barnabas Sackett is contemplating his move to the new world, where he hopes to make a life for himself and start a family with his betrothed, Abigail. 

"...each a book that has much to say, that can lend meaning to a life, help in decisions, comfort one during moments of loneliness. One needed a chance to listen to the words of other men who had lived their lives, to share with them trials an troubles by day and by night in home or in the markets of cities."

From To The Far Blue Mountains by Louis L'Amour

Click on over and enjoy the other {phfr} posts!

The Texas Way

I wish I had a picture. 

But you will have to just imagine our first night in Texas. 

Think great hospitality, a drawl, and a tall cowboy 

(with hat and boots). 

We entered Texas this afternoon and are spending the night in Amarillo.

On our way to the hotel we spotted a Red Robin restaurant from the freeway. 

Red Robin is a Kennedy family favorite. During our last relocation (back to California from Aberdeen, Scotland) we stayed across the street from one and ate there so often we had our own table. So it seemed fitting to continue the tradition here in Texas. 

So, hours after crossing the border from New Mexico into Texas we set out for the Red Robin in Amarillo. 

The GPS didn't seem to know where it was, but we just kept driving in the general direction we thought we had seen it. 

When we pulled up, the parking lot was full and we were worried about the wait.

We were greeted by a young lady with a clip board. 

She asked if we had a confirmation number? 

Nope. 

A reservation? 

Nope. 

Then she attempted to politely explain that they were doing something (I didn't get what it was) that required reservations only for the weekend. She suggested we make a reservation for the next night. We said we were only in town tonight. We were disappointed but ready to go find something else. As we gathered the kids from the pinball machines a manager came up and said they would seat us. She said "We have tables, we won't turn you away." So we sat, and ordered. 

Jim ordered a Guinness 

(one of his favorite things about Red Robin is that he can order a tall Guinness). 

A minute later a tall man in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat with a thick Texas accent approached our table and asked Jim if his Guinness had a lot of foam on top. 

It seemed a strange question, but it turned out he was the owner, Bobby Reynolds, and wanted to make sure he hadn't shorted Jim two ounces of precious Guinness. 

As we talked with him we found out that he was the new owner of that particular restaurant, that he owned about a dozen Red Robins throughout Texas and that it was their "Mock Service" night---basically practice time for all the new employees (and the food was practically free). We all marveled at the irony that got us there that night, on their first night open, when we normally would not have been given a seat, 

an hour after they branded the restaurant 

(yes, he has a huge branding iron with his company name and they "brand" the side of the building on their opening night.) 

It turns out most of Cowboy Red's (the name of his company) Red Robins are in the Houston area 

(double irony)

and so he gave us his card with a note on the back signed by him. 

You can bet Red Robin will continue to be a Kennedy family favorite in this new chapter of our life. 

The Kids Are Alright?

As we sat down on Saturday morning to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics in London, we were anxious to see the festivities in our temporary homeland. The landscape in the center of the arena was just what we hoped to see: a celebration of all that we loved about England. Kenneth Branaugh was in full costume ready to recite (which he did--from the Tempest). It was beautiful. There were children’s choirs from each of the “Isles” as well as costumed folks enjoying themselves across the countryside. 

Then, things began to change. Men and women rose from the green hills to transform the countryside into a dark industrial landscape. It was eerily Tolkienesque, but instead of monster-like creatures tearing up nature, you saw people working and sweating, dirty faces and clothes. The image painted was Industry with it’s boot on the neck of the people. 

The message portrayed was that factories controlled the means of production. But, in reality individuals controlled the means of production. In fact, the rise of industry marked the transformation of the economy, fueled by free market capitalism and providing  a rich soil for the growth of entrepreneurship. By the end of the Industrial Revolution, quality of life made a huge jump for most people. 

The rewriting of history didn’t stop there, though.   

First, the show skipped over World War II completely. Never mind Winston Churchill's words:  'This was their finest hour.’ Nope. Sorry Mr. Churchill. Apparently it wasn’t your finest hour. That was yet to come.

The scene then turns to a celebration of what 21st Century Britain apparently sees as their true crowning achievement: the National Healthcare System (NHS). A perfect example of government owning the means of production.

We saw nurses and doctors wheeling in old fashioned hospital beds (which, by the way, looked just like the ones we encountered when we lived there 6 years ago---minus the lights and the trampolines). On each bed was a child in pajamas. As the lights dimmed each child had a “nurse” to read to him, with JKRowling reading a few lines from JM Barrie’s Peter Pan (whose main character is an unintentional foreshadowing of things to come for Great Britain--the boy (the country) who didn’t want to grow up.) The story ends and the children reluctantly go to sleep, the nurses watching over. 

The image: the children of the nation left to the care of the government nurses.

Then comes the nightmare, or more exactly the beginning of the nightmare. Storybook villains seem to rise out of the beds, accompanied by some really freaky creatures that look like beefed up versions of the Flying Monkees from the Wizard of Oz. Just as the nightmare becomes overwhelming, the most famous Nanny of all time floats in on her umbrella. Mary Poppins to the rescue. 

Ahhh...Mary Poppins! Wise, sweet, fun, Mary Poppins. Remember that movie? We recently watched it with the kids and I was struck by something that I found quite sad. The parents. They were mostly absent from the day to day lives of the their children. True, Mary Poppins brings them back in and they end up flying kites with their kids....but  who do we remember? Who do the children in this celebration of Great Britain look to in the midst of their nightmare? The Nanny.  Is it Mary Poppins? Or is it really the government, symbolized by the all encompassing NHS, that takes over the parenting of a nation of children?

In fact, this scene ends with a giant baby in a giant bed surrounded by the NHS nurses and doctors. A symbol of a nation cared for by Nanny Government.

But, keep watching. Because, as I said, the nightmare is not over. The next scene shows us the age of mobile phones, texting, the internet and a generation of young people with a life driven by finding the next party. The commentators repeatedly mention the partying, and the unhappy parents who find the kids flash mobbing their homes. Youth are pitted against an adult world that tries in vain to get them to take life seriously. The nightmare. 

But, in Great Britain at least, it is a reality. 

Youth unemployment is up to 21% since 2007. What are those young people doing? How do they live? For many of them, they have been under the care of THE NANNY from age three. If they go on to university they still have no financial obligation until they are making at least 21,000 pounds a year, and then the price per month is 7.50. 

So, for you folks in Rio Linda, if you are one of the 21% that are unemployed or are in the half of the population that makes less than 30,000 a year (median gross income in the UK in 2011 was under 30K) then you have no school debt, no responsibility for those years. University was free for you...as long as you aren’t too successful. 

What then? Life is a party. Gone is the hardworking world of young adults who built the London of the modern era. 

When we lived in London, and later in Scotland, we were struck by the party culture that seemed commonplace among the 40 and under set. You sit in an NHS waiting room surrounded by posters exhorting you to “stop drinking too much,” “check your ‘partner’ for STD’s,” and  “beware if you dare to cheat on your benefits--we will catch you.” If the warnings are any evidence of the perceived problems of the adult population, there are far too many people with nothing better to do than binge drink, sleep around and cheat on their Income Support benefits. 

THE NANNY is still in charge, but the kids aren’t behaving. 

The Opening Ceremonies went on to get darker and more confusing, we ended up fast-forwarding through most of it (the kids were watching, after all), but the lasting image was of a country who has completely embraced their dependence on a nanny government. 

The NOW that the UK celebrated that night is our FUTURE if we don’t stop the drift towards THE NANNY: Obamacare, rising unemployment, unprecedented numbers on welfare....need I say more?

Thanksgiving: An American Holiday

 Republished from last year....

For the past few years I have come to appreciate this American holiday more deeply. This is in no small part due to Rush Limbaugh's annual recitation of The Real Thanksgiving Story. 

Now I see Thanksgiving as not just a day for me to be thankful for the blessings in my life, but for us as Americans to appreciate the unique blessings bestowed on our country since before it's founding. 

The story below is my retelling of the Thanksgiving story as I want my children to hear it each year. I share it with you today in the hope that this holiday brings you together with family and friends to reflect upon America's exceptional situation on the world's stage. 

This exceptionalism has nothing to do with our genetic make-up (after all we are a nation of immigrants), or any supposed superior intelligence, but is directly due to the specific vision of freedom and the destiny of man that underpins our founding, and God willing, continues to form us as a nation. 

Thanksgiving and Freedom

By Carol Kennedy

In 1620, a band of Englishmen and their families set sail from England to America on a ship called the Mayflower. There were 102 travelers aboard that ship. They left England to escape an oppressive state religion, the Church of England, and seek the chance to practice their faith freely. They came to be known as Pilgrims (not to be confused with the Puritans who came several years later). 

The trip across the Atlantic ocean took 66 days. When the Pilgrims arrived it was December. The weather was cold and there was snow on the ground. There were no other people living in this spot, no buildings, no stores, nothing to welcome them. 

That first winter was very difficult. The Pilgrims were unprepared and supplies were very low. Many people died. By springtime there were barely fifty Pilgrims left. 

As the weather warmed, the Pilgrims began to work hard to plant, to hunt, and to fish. When they left England, they had agreed to share all the fruits of their labor equally. So each person worked for the whole group. Every field planted, tended, and harvested was split among the fifty pilgrims equally. They also depended on trade and supply ships to survive.

In March of 1621 they met some neighbors. An Indian named Massasoit introduced them to his tribe. The Indians and the Pilgrims agreed to live peacefully. They would work together to fight off unfriendly Indians. 

In the fall of that year there was enough food for everyone. The harsh winter was behind them and they were grateful to God. When it came time for harvest they celebrated God’s blessings on them. The celebration included feasting, sports and games, and their new friends. They gave thanks to God for surviving their first year. 

But, things were still not easy. For the next two years, harvests were barely adequate. They still depended on the supply ships. However, sea travel was so difficult in those days that they were never sure when to expect the next ship. Finally, the Governor and some of the leading citizens got together to make a new plan. They decided that the original system of 

sharing all goods equally was the problem. People resented working for those members of the community who did not work hard. Wives resented doing tasks for men other than their husband. And they were reluctant to encourage their children to work as well. 

The new plan was a system of private property. Each family would receive a plot of land that they could work. And the fruits of that work would be theirs. Each man worked for the sake of himself, and his wife and children. The wives now went willingly into the fields, with their little ones in tow. This change made the community more productive and they finally began to live without the danger of famine so close to their doorstep. 

One hundred and fifty years later, in 1789, our first president, George Washington, declared a national day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month of November. His declaration stated that we should, as a nation, be thankful to God for His providence, especially in the founding of the new country called the United States of America. 

President Washington named specific blessings that he thought this country should remember when giving thanks to God: 

• for His kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation  
• for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable intervention of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed
• for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness
• for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; 
• for the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; 

The Pilgrims were not the first Europeans to come to America, nor were they the first colonists to discover the value of private property in bringing about prosperity. However, each Thanksgiving school children color pictures of pilgrims, dress up as pilgrims and write reports about pilgrims. The Pilgrims have become a symbol of the early beginnings of our country. Each Thanksgiving we recall the lessons learned by these early settlers because they have formed the foundation of a country whose commitment to freedom and liberty is unique in the history of the world.