Briefly

Top-down government efforts to push children into academics they’re not ready for are hurting everybody. According to experienced kindergarten teachers, children in kindergarten today are unhappier than ever — and more teachers are quitting than ever — all because government bureaucrats are dictating that play be set aside in favor of academics that kids aren’t ready for. According to psychologists, the academic benefits are very short-term, but the emotional damage being done to children is long-term and serious. I have no idea why so many well-meaning parents still trust their children to be raised and educated by government bureaucrats, no matter how much they might like some of the teachers involved. The system is broken and is failing students.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The 1966 animated version is the only one I recognize as faithful to the wonderful original book by Dr. Seuss, so don’t even mention the newer ones to me. If you’d like to watch this classic with me tonight, here’s a copy you can view online or download, but the link will be live only for tonight. (No longer live. Sorry.) I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and I also hope it makes you as happy as it makes me. If you hear someone singing along to the songs — quite badly, most likely — that will be me.

I’m in a McDonald’s restaurant and a man just came in to apologize to a manager for having been rude to her when they had a minor dispute a couple of hours ago. He said he had started thinking about it and was ashamed of the way he acted. So he wanted to let her know that he shouldn’t have spoken to her as he did. She accepted his apology and apologized again to him for the mistake that had been made with his order. They both seemed more at peace after the brief conversation. I really appreciate people who are willing to take responsibility for not meeting their own standards. That can take courage. It’s a lesson most of us need to keep in mind — and that definitely includes me.