At Considerable Cost

If you've watched much PBS Kids programming lately, you'll notice there are quite a few programs whose focus is vocabulary development.   I have a story from my teaching days to give you an idea of why that emphasis is so heavy in educational television.   One day, when reading to my fourth graders, one of my students raised his hand.   When I called upon him, he said, "What does that mean?"   I had just read a description of a curtain being drawn across a stage.   My first thought was that he had never seen a stage or any production performed upon one.   So, I began to explain what a stage was.   "No, not that," he said.  "The "C" word.  What's that?"   Curtains?   I started to explain what curtains were.   Some of the children spoke up and began to give their own descriptions, but many of them were describing blinds or shades.   After I described fabric t...

I have a bad habit of watching the baskets of shoppers around me at the grocery store check-out lines.   How many times have I watched carts loaded with unhealthy pre-made convenience and junk foods?   My first impulse is to get upset, but then I think of how many people today have never learned how to shop wisely or manage money.  When my children are all older, I'd like to volunteer to help moms learn to cook healthy, cost-effective meals and to stretch their food budgets as far as possible.    I had an advantage of watching my mother.   She was very wise with money.   She used coupons and filled our home with beautiful things from garage sales.   She loved the thrill of finding a bargain and she always said that decorating with re-vamped garage sale treasures meant that you didn't have to feel guilty about changing your decor later or swapping out an item for another one.     This was Mama's coupon box. ...