Monday, July 4, 2011

Future Jaywalker

This morning, I was making a flag cake with Sarah, and having a chat:

Me: Do you know why we celebrate the 4th of July?
S: Nope.
Me: Well, I'll give you a clue.  Another name for this day is Independence Day....
S: Oh!  Martin Luther King?
Me: No.  It's the day our country declared its independence from....what country?
S: George Washington!
Me:  George Washington was the the first president of our country.  But what country used to own us?
S: (blank look)
Me:  They drink lots of tea...
S: England!

So I'm feeling like a total failure as a history teacher.  How can my seven-year-old not know this stuff???  To reassure myself, I track down Noah (who didn't hear any of that conversation).

Me:  Do you know why we celebrate the 4th of July?
N: Because on July 4th, 1776, we signed the Declaration of Independence.  Did you know that George Washington didn't even sign it, because he was busy fighting the English? 
Me:  No, I didn't know that.  How did you know that?
Sarah: Oh! Oh! Abraham Lincoln signed the Declaration of Independence!

Wow.  Looks like I have some work to do. 

1 comment:

dave said...

Just read your post to everyone at moms house.
That's just priceless!