Disappointment
I’m not sure this post will make it to the internet. Oh, what the hell, I’m still mad.
My son and daughter-in-law have January birthdays. I wanted to give them something they would enjoy but, yeah, they are at that ‘difficult’ age, adulthood. Then I saw that the new Discovery Center in Tulsa was offering memberships. Oh, cool! They are both nerdy and they would probably love something like this and if I tack on ‘2 kids’ they can take their friends’ daughters too (as they frequently watch them for the parents.).
And it opens in mid-January, perfect.
And then it was not. Apparently, I did not understand that discovery is only for children! (Don’t let any of the scientists and explorers out there hear this.) I am not allowed get a membership for adults without children, because it is the world it is, and adults without children are not to be trusted in places with children.
So, if you are over a certain age, you are no longer allowed to enjoy discovery. You are no longer trusted with children that are not your own.
This whole thing makes me remember when my son was in 5th grade. His teacher had to be ‘out’ for a period of time because the principal didn’t think she was ‘able’ and was pressuring her to retire. The union was involved and it was not pretty. Meanwhile the principal’s replacement teacher told the children that they would be studying rockets. They were to build a rocket to launch.
Now this information was being told to me by an excited 5th grade boy.
His interpretation was: he was, over the weekend, to research and build a rocket to launch and he knew bottle rockets would do the trick and mom, could he just borrow the volleyball pump and would I let him have one of the rubber stoppers from the science lab? He had the list in his head, the air pump, a plastic liter bottle, a rubber stopper and water.
He put together the materials and he proceeded to test it (good scientists test) in our driveway. It was so cool. That thing took off like…a rocket! Multiple tests, and okay we got a little wet, but it worked and it was all him.
Monday he heads to school prepared.
Monday afternoon, “How did it go?”
“She didn’t want to see it. It isn’t the kind of rocket she is talking about.”
“What?!!”
OH BOY DID I SEE RED! Talk about shutting down a kid’s enthusiasm for something, especially science! I think I managed when I talked to her to say something civil to the ‘substitute’ teacher, whom the principal thought was such ‘hot stuff’ he was planning to have her for the rest of the year. His real teacher would have found time to work his rocket in even if it wasn’t in her lesson plan or the ‘right’ kind. And later when his class did their ‘rockets’ there was nothing ‘active’ involved, just paper research.
The real teacher did retire at the end of the school year…a shame. Where the sub went, I don’t know or care.
Every school I’ve taught in has had a mission statement. (Being around the military that is usually the term they use. In stateside schools I’m not sure what wording they use.) And almost every school’s statement has had a term ‘life-long learners’ as a goal for the students. We have wanted to make education and learning a part of a student’s desire to continue to learn wherever and whenever they are in life.
My son is a ‘life-long learner’. I am so proud of that. And I am so angry with the Discovery Center for limiting ‘discovery’ to children or children who happen to have parents along. Okay, stop…I get why adults without children might be ‘suspect’. But really, you make that decision with no other thought? Perhaps there are adults that might like to discover and learn also, maybe you should widen your scope to life-long learners?
So, I’ve had the money refunded and I’ll put it towards either passes to the aquarium or the zoo and it will be a very cold day in #$!! before I visit the Discovery Lab! Oh wait, I’m the wrong demographic.
P.S. they (The Discovery Center) did change their posting to make it clear that only adults taking kids are welcome. It was not there when I signed them up…at least I helped them clarify their mission.
How about a flower for some pretty?
The teacher-in-me has to make a ‘correction’ here. These are dogwood ‘flowers’ although the flower part is the little ‘ball’ structures in the center, the petal looking parts are really leaves. Hopefully it will not be long until my tree out front produces this year’s crop.
