Pampered Chef and Public School

See? Some days you just can’t get rid of me. Sometimes, if I don’t commit my thoughts to paper (or an electronic storage device), I just won’t remember when it comes time to write in the morning. Or whenever I get around to it. Sooooo, two topics for now.

As anyone who knows me very well (this might be limited to immediate family or those who can read my mind) knows, I love my Pampered Chef pots and pans. In spite of the fact that they were made in China. And I do love them. They are heavy and they clean up nicely and they have glass lids and the handles are long and I just like them and use them often. Daily? Probably.

However, when it comes to making hot chocolate (which I am doing as I type), I can’t pour out of my Pampered Chef pots for anything. I spill and make a mess all over the place and waste far too much lovely hot liquid. Such a bummer.

The next one deserves a title.

Thoughts on the Values Taught at Public School

As I was sitting sewing the inside of the collar on Seth’s shirt for Halloween, I was pondering the values that my boys, and girls, are or have learned while attending public school. Many of you know that we went to a Revolutionary War reenactment a couple of months ago. It was really cool and is an excellent way to learn about history for that period of time. While there, I got a pattern for the boys which includes breeches, shirt and waistcoat and sizes just right for the three. They were pretty excited about these outfits for a few weeks. Then, as we worked our way through the calendar and Halloween looms ever nearer, Cedric informed me that he doesn’t want to wear that for Halloween.

Why?

He would rather be Wolverine or one of several other characters from movies.

Why?

Because that’s what kids at school are going to be.

What happened to originality? What happened to using your imagination? Must we all be sheep?

I do not think that this is just because of public school attendance. I think we would have the same problem if my boys attended public school. We might even have it if we homeschooled and were involved in homeschool groups. By and large, however, I think that children are too influenced by movies and games; social media and media in general. They play games and watch television and movies at home. They go to school and they play that they are in the game or television show or movie. They come home and because everyone else is going to be an Angry Bird for Halloween, that is what they want as well.

Are you kidding me? They’re being taught to appreciate crappy, cheaply made costumes from China more than something I can make for them. I really want to use bad language here. Crap hardly seems strong enough. What the heck is going on here, people?

Okay, I get it. Not everyone has time to make costumes or period dress or whatever for their children. If I had a job, I might not have time. However, when I was working full time, I made almost all of my own clothes and almost all of Alisha’s clothes. We were well dressed happy. And I didn’t hear any crap about Angry Birds. (I realize that Angry Birds weren’t around 20+ years ago—it’s called generalizing.) My favorite Halloween when we were on our own is the year she was the cutest little witch the world has seen and I was Medusa. And guess where we got the costumes? Yep, that’s right—the fabric store. I made them. And didn’t hear any crap about Angry Birds.

So, if the problem is that people don’t have time, then we have our priorities screwed up that we have to spend so much time working that we don’t have time to do things for our children that involve time. It only takes a few minutes to buy crap from China but it might take hours to days to produce quality costumes that will last forever (well, a long time, anyway).

That isn’t the only problem, though. We also are losing real-life skills. How many people know how to sew anymore? How many people are teaching their children to sew? My guess is not a lot. I taught the older girls how to sew. Laura is quite good. Joanna probably would be if she spent some time doing it. I’m not sure about Alisha. Amena is not interested because her peers are not. Their parents are buying them crap from China and calling it good. Guess what? It’s crap! It’s not good.

After a deep breath and a few sips of lovely spicy hot chocolate, I think I’ve come to realize that the problem really does not lie within public schools. It lies within society. As a society we have forgotten what is really important. We seem to have come to believe that having a lot of things is the key to happiness when the reality is that being happy is a choice we make and that having a lot of things will not cause us to choose to be happy.

I love my family. I am going to make costumes for my boys and they will wear them for Halloween. I hope that one day they will realize that it is because I love them that I do this.