Expensive Things, Cheap Things, and How Chris Would Fix Public Education.

Warning!!! The first image that you are going to see may be too graphic for children, the elderly, and anyone who has a love for technology.

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Yup, what you are looking at is my iTouch. As I mentioned on Facebook, Owen hit it with a hammer and cracked the screen. I got quite a few people commenting on my post, mostly with the same question, "Why did the boy have a hammer?" My initial response was "Why wouldn't he have one?" I guess other people don't let their 3 year olds use tools, but I have prepared a little picture tour of Owen's life over the last 18 months or so to show you why it is not a surprise for him to have a hammer.

I figure if he is old enough to hold the hammer, he is old enough to be put to work!

As you can see, he is also versed in the art of the screwdriver.

He takes measurements as well.

I really wasn't joking about the making him work thing.

I would get the nails started, and he would come behind me and finish them. We did all of the cabinets in the kitchen this way.

He wanted to help me with the wiring in the kitchen, but Beki said no.

He LOVES to paint!!

So I guess that always by always being around tools, Owen just found them to be his toys

No job is too gross for the boy, if I'm not exempt, he's not exempt!

Sometimes it is useful to have someone who can squeeze into little places!

Good job son, and once you've finished the leaves, go fetch me a drink!

(Ok, I was kidding about that, he totally picked up the shovel and started to do the leaves himself. Incidentally, we have found that the snow shovel is the greatest tool for getting the leaves into the bag. Just thought I would share.)

Now the next question that people ask is, "Did he mean to do it? Are you sure it wasn't an accident?" Now I am no CSI, but judging by the 6 or 7 dents on the back of it, I am pretty sure that this was an intentional act. Premeditated? Probably not, so he isn't going to get the chair, but I am sure that it would definitely qualify as 1st degree Podslaughter.

The last question, of course, is Motive - "Why did he do it?" I believe this is best answered by Bill Cosby - "All Children have Brain Damage...my children are loaded with it!" I would love to delve into the mind of the boy and see what on earth made him think that hitting the back of the iTouch with a hammer was a good idea, but at least I do know that he feels bad about it. (And that he feels bad that he broke it, and not because he never gets to play with it again...which he doesn't.)

"But of course he can't play with it anymore," you say, "he broke it." Well this might be the reason why he is still alive: Even though the screen is cracked, it still works. It still plays my music, I can still access the internet while waiting for Beki on campus, and I can still play my games when the lesson in church is boring!" I must say that for someone with a famous "Renberg Temper" I did behave like the adult in the situation, and really didn't get that angry about it. Probably because I was so shocked that the boy would do something like that, but also, to Owen's credit, he didn't try to hide it. When he realized what he had done he brought it over to me and said, "Papa, I broke the batteries..." Oh well, Father's Day is coming soon right?

In happier news, we finally got the bike attachment for Owen's stroller. Now, if you do not know about Owen's stroller, it is the greatest stroller on earth. I mean we are talking the Rolls Royce of strollers. When we go downtown to see the sights, all of the other children look longingly at Owen's Stroller. How many other kids can ride down the street like this:

Now, my lovely wife has a crazy streak in her, and likes to brave the cars while ridding her bike to work. She must be an adreniline junkie, because she decided that since she already going that way, she might as well start taking Owen down to the babysitter on her bike. We had to wait for REI to get the attachment in, but Beki got it all set up, and took Owen for a test ride.

Owen was pumped about getting to ride behind the bike.

They made it to the babysitter's house safely, though Owen did complain that the ride was "Really bumpy, and mommy went really fast. I wanted her to slow down..."

But of course some of Owen's favorite things to play with are free...

He loves to wear our clothes. Usually he picks mommies stuff, but this particular day he decided that he wanted to wear the pants in the family.

One of the little girl in the neighborhood had these skates that go over your shoes. Owen was in love at first sight, and since she never played with them, her mom gave them to Owen.

Owen got to play with lots of friends this week. In addition to the normal neighborhood children that he plays with everyday, we also watched Lizzy and Emma on Friday, and we went to see his friend Maddy on Saturday.

I guess that popcorn isn't free, but it is cheap, easy and entertained 3 children for at least an hour and a half.

I was very proud of Owen and his friend Maddy. They both wanted to play on the tricycle, and since we have the policy that they work things out themselves, they came up with a solution.

They would ride around and around, switching off between who was pedaling and who was ridding.

These last two pictures are more about our sanity then about Owen. We have been struggling for some time to get Owen to use the potty. He has gotten better about holding it, and as long as we take him to the bathroom every couple hours he has been staying dry all day.

Going #1 gets a little sticker, here Owen is choosing a big sticker for going #2!

We sooooo want him to be potty trained!!!

!!! Warning: Angry Rant!!!

So my sister Karen wrote a post on her blog about how her 4 year old daughter - who attends pre-K in a private school - totally showed up a room full of kindergarten by being able to read, while none of them could. This got me thinking a lot about the problems in public education, and why a student in a private school could read better than public school students a grade higher.

The problem with public education started on October 17th, 1979. That is the day that the Department of Education was formed by President Carter. "What is wrong with having a Department of Education," you ask? Well, consider this: There have been 9 Secretaries of Education in the last 30 years. Of those 9, only Terrell Bell (Born and educated in Lava Hot Springs Idaho!!!) was ever a public school teacher. Two others were college professors, so they actually had some sort of experience in education, but the remaining 6 had no experience in public school teaching.

The current Secretary Arne Duncan graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from Harvard. After playing pro basketball in Australia, he moved back to Chicago and got working for a childhood friend running an education mentoring institute, which later became a charter school. He then moved to be CEO of Chicago Public Schools before being appointed to be Secretary of Education. Now I am not here to question his motives and his ability to run a school system. It just seems amazing to me that the person who is supposed to lead public education, NEVER SPENT A SINGLE DAY TEACHING PUBLIC SCHOOL!!

Consider these largest 7 school districts in the country:

New York School Chancellor Joel Klein - 0 days Public School Teaching Experience

Los Angeles School CEO Ramon Cortines - Taught all levels of Public School/Principal

Chicago School CEO Ron Huberman - 0 days Public School Teaching Experience

Miami-Dade School CEO - Taught High School Science/Principal

Clark County Superintendent Walt Ruffles - 0 days Public School Teaching Experience

Broward County Superintendent James Notter - 10 years Public School/ 28 Admin.

Houston School Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra - 0 days/was a Principal

I guess what I am trying to show is that half of the school systems are led by people who have never spent a day in the trenches teaching. But even more insulting is the "No Child Left Behind Act," which has turned school into a wasteland of test scores. But standardized tests are not what I find the most insulting, it is that congress and their bureaucrats - people who have 0 days of Public School Teaching - are dictating public school policy. Why don't we just let teachers teach, and principals principal?

Private Schools have a lot more autonomy when it comes to people who have no business telling them what to do. I have found that they also have a higher level of parental involvement - if you are shelling out $800 a month you are going to make sure that your child is doing their homework.

I will always defend Public School as being just as capable as Private School to provide your child with a quality education (I think I have to or the union will come and beat me up), but success rests not solely with the teacher, parents have a large role to play. /end rant