Boy are we exhausted ! Today was Day Two of our "field trip" in the Historical Triangle. We got up early, had breakfast and was at the Visitor's Center at 8:45 am.
We began with the movie at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center which was outstanding. Then we headed over to the "village". Our first stop was the Governor's Palace which was an excellent tour. Then we wandered around for some time. It was disappointing in that quite a few buildings were either "closed" or "had no one there." I really expected there to be MANY interpreters all over Williamsburg. We did visit the saddlemaker, wigmaker, printer, blacksmith and silvermaker. Each area was crowded and we didn't stay long. We did go into the Capital Building and that tour was outstanding. This evening we went on the "Legends, Stories ..." Ghost Tour. There were three stories - of which two were excellent and one was less than satisfying.
Shayna had a fabulous time. She loved everything we saw.
I was disappointed because to me, for the "typical" price (we paid homeschoolers fee for this week so it was very cheap !) it would not be worth it. I felt that Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts was so much better !
We are very nervous about tomorrow. We are "supposed" to go to Yorktown; however, the area is supposed to have HORRIBLE rain/thunderstorms all day tomorrow. We might have to cancel this. We will just have to wait and see.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
The Historical Triangle Day One: Jamestown & President's Park
Today was the first day of our "field trip" to the Historic Triangle. It is homeschoolers week at Colonial Williamsburg, so we decided to add in a few extra days for Jamestown and Yorktown to complete the triangle.We (Shayna and I.... poor Donnie - he had to stay home because of work !) woke up early and headed to Jamestown on the Colonial Parkway. We enjoyed stopping at the stops along the James River getting some GREAT views a brief history lesson from the plaques.
When we got to Jamestown - we saw an incredible film as an intro. The tour took us through the Powhatan Village, Jamestown Fort and to the dock where the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery's replicas are docked. Shayna had an incredible time exploring, participating in hands on activities and listening to the stories.
After, we drove over to President's Park. This is an "unknown treasure." There are 18 feet "busts" of all the presidents with plaques of facts, quotes, interesting events throughout their life. This was a phenominal place that Shayna enjoyed immensly ! The park was virtually empty ! We had the "run" of the place.
Awesome Day !
Intense Learning !
Fun - Fun - Fun !
Saturday, September 16, 2006
The First Wave of Homeschoolers Come of Age
By Robin Wallace
FOX News
Playground bullies and prom-night jitters. Lunchroom hijinks and locker room humiliations.
The necessary stuff of cherished school memories, or traumas best left behind in the hallways of high school? Or maybe something else entirely. Maybe they are completely irrelevant to a happy and fulfilling life.
That's what Ben Kniaz, a 20-year-old American college student now studying in Italy, would say. Kniaz missed out on all that because he was schooled entirely at home and says he didn't miss a thing.
"It was more that I was spared a lot of the stuff that goes on in high school," Kniaz says from Rome. "I felt pretty turned off by some of what I’d see."
"People say you need to experience it to deal with it later, but you can just miss out on it and deal with it when you're more mature. I got to focus on the things I wanted to do and liked to do," Kniaz says.
Kniaz's gratitude for being spared some of the more dangerous and corrupting influences of school life may be why anywhere from 850,000 to more than a million children are being homeschooled in the United States now.
Legal in all 50 states since the 1980s, homeschooling has often been criticized as a paranoid practice of right-wing religious fanatics that stunts children's emotional growth.
But as that first generation of homeschoolers settles into young adulthood, the criticism is proving unfounded. If anything, some experts say, the homeschoolers are proving to be better prepared for adulthood than their traditionally schooled peers.
Self-Reliant and Focused
Many homeschooled young adults say that being freed from the rigidity and conformity of high school allowed them to explore their individuality, creativity and independence.
"My parents felt that elementary school was traumatic for an intelligent child and that in high school, you don't really learn anything," explains Aletheia Price, a 19-year-old sophomore at Thomas Aquinas College in Orange County, Calif., who was schooled entirely at home until age 15.
"I think a lot of this stuff [about high school] is mythology, that maybe we've got a whole lot of falsehoods associated with schooling," says J. Gary Knowles, a University of Toronto researcher who has extensively interviewed adults who were homeschooled. "We have all these weird rites of passage that are deemed important and many are quite dysfunctional."
Knowles has found homeschoolers to be more self-reliant and focused.
"They're able to move into adulthood with a much better sense of self and have a very good sense as to what they want to do," he said.
If he has any concerns, they are about socialization. Children schooled within a rigid social view may not be well equipped to live in a diverse culture, he says.
"They may have had very little exposure to the cultural complexities of society, to a range of ideas," Knowles says. "I am very concerned about families with very narrow views on what is appropriate preparation for citizenship."
Overall, though, Knowles has found homeschooled adults to be no more or less engaged socially or politically than those with traditional educations.
Branching Out
To get past the socialization issue, many homeschooling families join with homeschooling groups in their area or turn to town athletic programs, scouting and other youth groups.
"Your peers are not the people the same age as you, they are people who share your interests," insists Patrick Farenga, a consultant with Holt Associates, a homeschooling advocacy group.
Or as Knowles put it: "Where did we ever get the idea that 2,000 13-year-olds were the ideal people with which to socialize other 13-year-olds?"
Curiously absent from homeschoolers as a group is something many presumed to be a part of every childhood — youthful angst and alienation. The burning desire to isolate and separate themselves from their parents just doesn’t seem to be there, researchers say.
Kniaz, for example, recalls fondly enjoying two-hour conversations with his father every night, and both he and Price describe close, honest relationships with their parents and siblings.
"Alienation between generations is a product of schooling," says Knowles. "There's no reason for teen-agers to be alienated."
Kniaz said his parents gave him choices, so he never felt under their thumb. "I always felt that I was in charge of my life with my parents guiding me," he says. "I never felt anything was being hammered down my throat."
"That problem was sort of solved itself because [my parents] turned me loose when I was 16," says Price, who began taking college courses and studying her self-designed curriculum at the library at that age. "I was out of the house all day."
Price's initiative is not uncommon. Many homeschooled teens supplement their education with community college classes, taking over the direction of their education much earlier than other kids their age. Whether that is good or bad remains a subject of debate.
Knowles has expressed concern that homeschooled kids are pushed too hard to achieve, and that some are finding themselves in college much too early. Price and Kniaz, both of whom attend a traditional university, said dorm life, and the behavior of some of their classmates and roommates, was jarring at first.
Once over that, though, the homeschoolers seem to have the discipline and maturity to quickly develop college-level study habits. They are not as easily distracted and are already accustomed to taking responsibility for their themselves.
"I wouldn't say homeschoolers are better educated, but they are better equipped to learn," Knowles says.
Both Kniaz and Price credit their parents for creating a successful, creative and positive homeschooling experience, and according to the experts, the main concern about homeschooling is that some children will be trapped with bad parents as bad teachers.
"I know some homeschoolers who probably would have been better off in high school," Kniaz said, perhaps putting it best. "It all depends on your family."
FOX News
Playground bullies and prom-night jitters. Lunchroom hijinks and locker room humiliations.
The necessary stuff of cherished school memories, or traumas best left behind in the hallways of high school? Or maybe something else entirely. Maybe they are completely irrelevant to a happy and fulfilling life.
That's what Ben Kniaz, a 20-year-old American college student now studying in Italy, would say. Kniaz missed out on all that because he was schooled entirely at home and says he didn't miss a thing.
"It was more that I was spared a lot of the stuff that goes on in high school," Kniaz says from Rome. "I felt pretty turned off by some of what I’d see."
"People say you need to experience it to deal with it later, but you can just miss out on it and deal with it when you're more mature. I got to focus on the things I wanted to do and liked to do," Kniaz says.
Kniaz's gratitude for being spared some of the more dangerous and corrupting influences of school life may be why anywhere from 850,000 to more than a million children are being homeschooled in the United States now.
Legal in all 50 states since the 1980s, homeschooling has often been criticized as a paranoid practice of right-wing religious fanatics that stunts children's emotional growth.
But as that first generation of homeschoolers settles into young adulthood, the criticism is proving unfounded. If anything, some experts say, the homeschoolers are proving to be better prepared for adulthood than their traditionally schooled peers.
Self-Reliant and Focused
Many homeschooled young adults say that being freed from the rigidity and conformity of high school allowed them to explore their individuality, creativity and independence.
"My parents felt that elementary school was traumatic for an intelligent child and that in high school, you don't really learn anything," explains Aletheia Price, a 19-year-old sophomore at Thomas Aquinas College in Orange County, Calif., who was schooled entirely at home until age 15.
"I think a lot of this stuff [about high school] is mythology, that maybe we've got a whole lot of falsehoods associated with schooling," says J. Gary Knowles, a University of Toronto researcher who has extensively interviewed adults who were homeschooled. "We have all these weird rites of passage that are deemed important and many are quite dysfunctional."
Knowles has found homeschoolers to be more self-reliant and focused.
"They're able to move into adulthood with a much better sense of self and have a very good sense as to what they want to do," he said.
If he has any concerns, they are about socialization. Children schooled within a rigid social view may not be well equipped to live in a diverse culture, he says.
"They may have had very little exposure to the cultural complexities of society, to a range of ideas," Knowles says. "I am very concerned about families with very narrow views on what is appropriate preparation for citizenship."
Overall, though, Knowles has found homeschooled adults to be no more or less engaged socially or politically than those with traditional educations.
Branching Out
To get past the socialization issue, many homeschooling families join with homeschooling groups in their area or turn to town athletic programs, scouting and other youth groups.
"Your peers are not the people the same age as you, they are people who share your interests," insists Patrick Farenga, a consultant with Holt Associates, a homeschooling advocacy group.
Or as Knowles put it: "Where did we ever get the idea that 2,000 13-year-olds were the ideal people with which to socialize other 13-year-olds?"
Curiously absent from homeschoolers as a group is something many presumed to be a part of every childhood — youthful angst and alienation. The burning desire to isolate and separate themselves from their parents just doesn’t seem to be there, researchers say.
Kniaz, for example, recalls fondly enjoying two-hour conversations with his father every night, and both he and Price describe close, honest relationships with their parents and siblings.
"Alienation between generations is a product of schooling," says Knowles. "There's no reason for teen-agers to be alienated."
Kniaz said his parents gave him choices, so he never felt under their thumb. "I always felt that I was in charge of my life with my parents guiding me," he says. "I never felt anything was being hammered down my throat."
"That problem was sort of solved itself because [my parents] turned me loose when I was 16," says Price, who began taking college courses and studying her self-designed curriculum at the library at that age. "I was out of the house all day."
Price's initiative is not uncommon. Many homeschooled teens supplement their education with community college classes, taking over the direction of their education much earlier than other kids their age. Whether that is good or bad remains a subject of debate.
Knowles has expressed concern that homeschooled kids are pushed too hard to achieve, and that some are finding themselves in college much too early. Price and Kniaz, both of whom attend a traditional university, said dorm life, and the behavior of some of their classmates and roommates, was jarring at first.
Once over that, though, the homeschoolers seem to have the discipline and maturity to quickly develop college-level study habits. They are not as easily distracted and are already accustomed to taking responsibility for their themselves.
"I wouldn't say homeschoolers are better educated, but they are better equipped to learn," Knowles says.
Both Kniaz and Price credit their parents for creating a successful, creative and positive homeschooling experience, and according to the experts, the main concern about homeschooling is that some children will be trapped with bad parents as bad teachers.
"I know some homeschoolers who probably would have been better off in high school," Kniaz said, perhaps putting it best. "It all depends on your family."
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Laughing so hard my tummy hurts !
This came through on one of my "Yahoo Groups" lists. I was laughing so hard by the end of it, I had to share ! This actually comes from a college TEXTBOOK for an English / Writing Class.
"Successful College Writing" by Kathleen McWhorter.
In the section on Brainstorming before writing essays, the example used on how to do this involves the topic "Disadvantages of homeschooling".
The ideas arrived at by brainstorming are....
(caution: please don't eat or drink while you read these...you'll lose it!)
1. Child is not exposed to other children
2. Parent may not be an expert in each subject
3. Libraries are not easily accessible
4. Wide range of equipment, resources, not available.
5. Child may be confused parent playing the role of teacher
6. Child does not learn to interact with other children
7. Child does not learn to compete against others
8. Parents may not enforce standards
9. Parents may be unable to be objective about child's strengths and weaknesses
10. Child may learn only parent's viewpoint - will not be exposed to wide range of opinions
11. Special programs (art, music) may be omitted
12. Child may feel strong pressure to achieve
13. Services of school nurse, counselors, reading specialists are not available.
Sigh....
Elsewhere in the chapter it does suggest that RESEARCHING a topic might change your opinion.
"Ya Think !"
"Successful College Writing" by Kathleen McWhorter.
In the section on Brainstorming before writing essays, the example used on how to do this involves the topic "Disadvantages of homeschooling".
The ideas arrived at by brainstorming are....
(caution: please don't eat or drink while you read these...you'll lose it!)
1. Child is not exposed to other children
2. Parent may not be an expert in each subject
3. Libraries are not easily accessible
4. Wide range of equipment, resources, not available.
5. Child may be confused parent playing the role of teacher
6. Child does not learn to interact with other children
7. Child does not learn to compete against others
8. Parents may not enforce standards
9. Parents may be unable to be objective about child's strengths and weaknesses
10. Child may learn only parent's viewpoint - will not be exposed to wide range of opinions
11. Special programs (art, music) may be omitted
12. Child may feel strong pressure to achieve
13. Services of school nurse, counselors, reading specialists are not available.
Sigh....
Elsewhere in the chapter it does suggest that RESEARCHING a topic might change your opinion.
"Ya Think !"
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The Initiative, Independence and Passion that Shayna is showing us at the start of this year
I know how blessed we are. Trust me. We truly do have a gem ! Shayna is an amazing kid. Our friends tell us how lucky we have it. Yes, training her to be this way was a "treat" (is that scarcastic enough) ! There were certain things that we instilled in her at a very young age. Some people totally disagreed with our ways. Others thought we were crazy. Some just shook their heads. However, in our opinion we got a pretty cool kid !
Homeschooling - Shayna is strong willed. While good most of the time, it was certainly hard some days of homeschooling. Especially the first few weeks of every year. She questioned "Why". She constantly said, "But the kids at school aren't learning this." She sometimes just moaned. I guess this is what comes from a strong willed kid.
This year (and maybe I am totally jinxing myself) has been SO DIFFERENT. There are no questions. She has set her alarm and woke herself up daily. She has been getting dressed, straightening her room, brushing her hair/teeth (without being asked), coming down for breakfast and always doing her "independent work" without me asking.
What is the change ? I am not sure. Maybe after all these years (although we have only done "sit down work" in the morning for the last 2 years) things have finally clicked.
For the last two weeks that we have started "school" I have been so pleased. Shayna has worked for 3 - 4 hours every day. We have gotten some GREAT projects started. Worked on viewing some math from last year. Played games - lots of games ! Done some art projects. Made plans for this year. Planned field trips.
Yesterday, I had a lengthy meeting with a friend of mine. I brought plenty for Shayna to do. She kept herself busy and completed everything I asked and did it well !
For writing class, she has taken the initiative and is working HARD on a piece of writing (we use IEW) and it is amazing !! I can't believe the growth in her work.
I am amazed at everything this child is doing ! And with joy, smiles and laughter. What a GREAT beginning to this Homeschooling year !
Homeschooling - Shayna is strong willed. While good most of the time, it was certainly hard some days of homeschooling. Especially the first few weeks of every year. She questioned "Why". She constantly said, "But the kids at school aren't learning this." She sometimes just moaned. I guess this is what comes from a strong willed kid.
This year (and maybe I am totally jinxing myself) has been SO DIFFERENT. There are no questions. She has set her alarm and woke herself up daily. She has been getting dressed, straightening her room, brushing her hair/teeth (without being asked), coming down for breakfast and always doing her "independent work" without me asking.
What is the change ? I am not sure. Maybe after all these years (although we have only done "sit down work" in the morning for the last 2 years) things have finally clicked.
For the last two weeks that we have started "school" I have been so pleased. Shayna has worked for 3 - 4 hours every day. We have gotten some GREAT projects started. Worked on viewing some math from last year. Played games - lots of games ! Done some art projects. Made plans for this year. Planned field trips.
Yesterday, I had a lengthy meeting with a friend of mine. I brought plenty for Shayna to do. She kept herself busy and completed everything I asked and did it well !
For writing class, she has taken the initiative and is working HARD on a piece of writing (we use IEW) and it is amazing !! I can't believe the growth in her work.
I am amazed at everything this child is doing ! And with joy, smiles and laughter. What a GREAT beginning to this Homeschooling year !
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Taking Homeschooling Out of Your Home by Mary Pride
Names are funny things.
Take the word "homeschooling."
What does that make you think of?
If you said, "School at home," I'm not surprised. Home + school seems to equal school at home.
Only two things are wrong with this definition:
(1) Homeschooling isn't "school." It's a whole different approach to education.
(2) Homeschooling does not have to all take place at home.
If Homeschooling is Not School, Then What Is It?
Homeschooling, properly understood, is education designed by parents. This automatically makes it a whole different animal from "public" education, which is education designed by government bureaucrats. It also differs sharply from "private" schooling. Regardless of their talk about parental authority, in practice private schools reserve curriculum design for teachers, administrators, and textbook designers.
Even those who think the child should direct his own education must admit this type of "un" schooling is only possible if the parent has the authority to let the child choose his own educational pursuits and projects.
So, homeschool is not "school" when it comes to who is in charge of curriculum design. Having parents choose or design the curriculum is radically different from what happens in any school.
Amazing as it may seem, parent-designed and parent-chosen curriculum yields better results than school-designed-and-chosen curriculum, as many research studies have shown. Then again, how amazing is it that curriculum chosen from the entire universe of options (rather than the small list "approved" by the state or school board) and targeted to the exact child for which it is intended, should result in more learning taking place faster? Especially when the parents in question have the ability to hobnob with other parents and find out what's working for them . . . and when they can easily obtain detailed reviews of all their curriculum options through homeschool magazines and books.
Homeschool also is not "school" when it comes to scheduling and priorities. We do not have "announcements," ringing bells to mark the end of a class period, football teams that soak up the budget that would otherwise go to art and music lessons, or endless classes geared to the latest politically correct fads. Unless we want to, that is!
This means that homeschooled children in general have a much greater attention span and ability to "focus" than children who attend school, where they are continually interrupted in the middle of their projects, math papers, writing assignments, and so forth.
Most Parents Homeschool
But man does not live by focusing power alone. This is why our neighbors keep asking us that old question, "What about socialization?" What they really mean is, "Can your child grow into a strong adult just sitting around your house doing lessons and projects?"
Alas for our poor neighbors. They are mistaking homeschooling for schooling that happens at home, when it's really education under the authority of the home.
What a wild thought: all those parents who pay for art, music, and ballet lessons . . . who chauffeur their kids to soccer team and karate class . . . who sign them up for a YMCA course or who join the local Jewish community center . . . are homeschoolers, too! To the extent that they provide educational opportunities for their children solely because they want to, not because any authority "makes" them, these are homeschool parents.
All that we "real" homeschoolers do in addition to what most parents do, is add academic lessons at home. Or via a tutor. Or an online academy. We just exercise that additional dollop of choice.
Homeschool Away from Home
Since we now realize that homeschool is not "school at home," this leaves us free to look for educational adventures anywhere in the real world that we can find them.
Take the word "homeschooling."
What does that make you think of?
If you said, "School at home," I'm not surprised. Home + school seems to equal school at home.
Only two things are wrong with this definition:
(1) Homeschooling isn't "school." It's a whole different approach to education.
(2) Homeschooling does not have to all take place at home.
If Homeschooling is Not School, Then What Is It?
Homeschooling, properly understood, is education designed by parents. This automatically makes it a whole different animal from "public" education, which is education designed by government bureaucrats. It also differs sharply from "private" schooling. Regardless of their talk about parental authority, in practice private schools reserve curriculum design for teachers, administrators, and textbook designers.
Even those who think the child should direct his own education must admit this type of "un" schooling is only possible if the parent has the authority to let the child choose his own educational pursuits and projects.
So, homeschool is not "school" when it comes to who is in charge of curriculum design. Having parents choose or design the curriculum is radically different from what happens in any school.
Amazing as it may seem, parent-designed and parent-chosen curriculum yields better results than school-designed-and-chosen curriculum, as many research studies have shown. Then again, how amazing is it that curriculum chosen from the entire universe of options (rather than the small list "approved" by the state or school board) and targeted to the exact child for which it is intended, should result in more learning taking place faster? Especially when the parents in question have the ability to hobnob with other parents and find out what's working for them . . . and when they can easily obtain detailed reviews of all their curriculum options through homeschool magazines and books.
Homeschool also is not "school" when it comes to scheduling and priorities. We do not have "announcements," ringing bells to mark the end of a class period, football teams that soak up the budget that would otherwise go to art and music lessons, or endless classes geared to the latest politically correct fads. Unless we want to, that is!
This means that homeschooled children in general have a much greater attention span and ability to "focus" than children who attend school, where they are continually interrupted in the middle of their projects, math papers, writing assignments, and so forth.
Most Parents Homeschool
But man does not live by focusing power alone. This is why our neighbors keep asking us that old question, "What about socialization?" What they really mean is, "Can your child grow into a strong adult just sitting around your house doing lessons and projects?"
Alas for our poor neighbors. They are mistaking homeschooling for schooling that happens at home, when it's really education under the authority of the home.
What a wild thought: all those parents who pay for art, music, and ballet lessons . . . who chauffeur their kids to soccer team and karate class . . . who sign them up for a YMCA course or who join the local Jewish community center . . . are homeschoolers, too! To the extent that they provide educational opportunities for their children solely because they want to, not because any authority "makes" them, these are homeschool parents.
All that we "real" homeschoolers do in addition to what most parents do, is add academic lessons at home. Or via a tutor. Or an online academy. We just exercise that additional dollop of choice.
Homeschool Away from Home
Since we now realize that homeschool is not "school at home," this leaves us free to look for educational adventures anywhere in the real world that we can find them.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Five years later....
Shayna and I are sitting here both watching the "ceremonies" on NBC for 9/11. It is so hard to believe that this occured only five years ago. Five years ago, Shayna was just an "innocent" young child of five years old. I clearly remember that day. We were picking up toys in Shayna's playroom. I ran quickly into my office to "start downloading" my email for the day. (my office was adjacent to Shayna's playroom) One email came from a friend in Usborne and it said, "Turn on the television". Almost immediately the phone rang, it was Donnie, he said "Don't turn the television on with Shayna there." Well, of course I turned the televsion on and it was about 9:00 am... within minutes we viewed the 2nd plane blazing through the 2nd tower. Shayna's reponse was "I shouldn't be watching a movie like this - it is violent." I just started crying. I didn't understand what was going on... I just knew something was going on.
Hours later, after watching television on and off (mostly when Shayna wasn't around) I, like all of America, gained a better understanding. By mid-afternoon, I explained to Shayna what was happening. She knew something was going on because of how I was acting all day. Her first reaction was "Mommy, those must of been bad men, very bad men." Her second reaction was,"Mommy, Aunt Patty must be very sad. She is from NYC and loves NYC. Can we call her ? I need to cheer her up."
Five years ago, we didn't think of "security" at the airports like we do today.
Five years ago, Washington DC didn't have "concrete flowerpots" protecting the buildings.
Five years ago, we didn't worry about terrorism on the level we do today.
Five years ago, we were a different country.
As each persons name is read - I see my daughter finally understanding how "huge" this is. Obviously, she always understood, but today I think a clearer understanding of how many mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins and children were lost. I can see sorrow, true sorrow for the first time in my young daughters life.
I hope that our country never has to share this type of sorrow again with our children.
Hours later, after watching television on and off (mostly when Shayna wasn't around) I, like all of America, gained a better understanding. By mid-afternoon, I explained to Shayna what was happening. She knew something was going on because of how I was acting all day. Her first reaction was "Mommy, those must of been bad men, very bad men." Her second reaction was,"Mommy, Aunt Patty must be very sad. She is from NYC and loves NYC. Can we call her ? I need to cheer her up."
Five years ago, we didn't think of "security" at the airports like we do today.
Five years ago, Washington DC didn't have "concrete flowerpots" protecting the buildings.
Five years ago, we didn't worry about terrorism on the level we do today.
Five years ago, we were a different country.
As each persons name is read - I see my daughter finally understanding how "huge" this is. Obviously, she always understood, but today I think a clearer understanding of how many mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins and children were lost. I can see sorrow, true sorrow for the first time in my young daughters life.
I hope that our country never has to share this type of sorrow again with our children.
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