Education

I went to San Francisco last Thursday, March 14, for Grandparents’ Day at my three grand daughters’ school, Hamlin. They are in the first, second, and sixth grade, and I was able to see a lot of their work and talk to their teachers. All the grandparents or special friends were treated to a talk by the head of the school, a very well-spoken woman originally from New York and a graduate of Chapin. Afterwards I went to each of the girls’ classrooms and saw their work.

It’s very strange how textbooks seem not to exist; everything is on computers, but there was a lot of work that they had done to see–writing, drawing, and even object building. The school had created a rain forest with every student making animals or insects that could be found there. It was in the basement and had many different butterflies, mushrooms, bushes and other flora or fauna to be found there.

What struck me was the emphasis in all the classes on studies of Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Europe did not seem to exist. Being very Eurocentric myself, I found this peculiar, although it is appropriate in many ways. Americans for much too long have never paid attention to any foreign countries except those in Europe. The new generation will be very different. I still hope that the classics of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia will play a vital part in the curriculum. I find it very upsetting when college graduates never seem to have heard of Anna Karenina, Becky Sharp, or Emma Bovary, and the only way they know that Jean Valjean exists is through the musical Les Miserables. I also cannot help but note the number of college graduates who in writing seem to need lessons in basic grammar.

We also had an experience from another era. My daughter took her daughters, her husband and me for lunch to a club on Union Square that must not have changed since the early 1900s. Looking out at the square and being served wonderful food in a very traditional way reminded me both of some clubs in New York and one or two in Dallas in my youth. Men are allowed in the club only for lunch, and certain areas like the library can only be seen by women members. Present was a kind of understated elegance so different from the conspicuous consumption on display at the poshest clubs and restaurants of New York, San Francisco, or Seattle. It allows my granddaughters to experience a kind of America that can very rarely be found anywhere today.

It was a good trip. Grandparents’ Day is something every grandparent should make time to experience.