Relevant History

Spring Fair

At the Peninsula Spring Fair

When did I turn into Ward Cleaver?

Today I took off a little early from work to take my son to his Little League game. As someone who played soccer in high school as an act of defiance against football-addled Southern culture, I find my children's participation in organized sports slightly mystifying. It's not particularly mysterious, though: it's completely my wife's fault, as she's the big baseball fan in the family.

The local league is a typical Silicon Valley reinvention of an American institution. Almost all the teams are sponsored by dot-coms, financial services companies, or French restaurants. A couple weeks ago, my son's team, the Astros (sponsored by visual search engine SearchMe.com) played against the Yankees (eHealth.com); last week, they went up against the As (sponsored by Interwoven).

Today, they played the Orioles (sponsored by Left Bank).

After the game, we went back to Peninsula, to the annual student rock concert. The concert is a fun time, as much (or maybe just a tiny bit more) for the atmosphere as for the music. And as one of my fellow parents put it, it's nice for the kids to spend time on campus without all the high-pressure academic stress weighing them down....

Though it can be entertaining to hear the kids.

My daughter is already talking about what songs she wants to sing when she's old enough to perform next year.

So my afternoon and evening were taken up with Little League and a student concert. I truly have been domesticated....

[To the tune of Lucrezio de Seta & His Scurvy Brothers, "Century's End," from the album "The Nightfly Live Show".]

Technorati Tags: children, Little League, Peninsula School

Son + flashlight + darkness = fun

At Peninsula School this evening; photo via flickr

[To the tune of Goran Ivanovic, "Macedonian Girl," from the album "2005-09-09".]

Technorati Tags: children, night, Peninsula School

Peninsula this afternoon

At Peninsula, waiting for my daughter

The mysteries of science

Tonight at dinner my son was talking about the activity he went to today. At Peninsula the kindergartners have elective activities, and the kids are consistently proud of their ability to choose your own activity. "I went to electronics," he said.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"We got to play with a handygraph generator."

"Why's it called that?"

"Because you put your hands on it, and it makes your hair stand up."

Having written my senior thesis about the MIT physics and electrical engineering departments in the 1930s-- what can I say, it seemed like a good idea at the time-- I actually know a thing or two about the history of the Van de Graaff generator, but I certainly wasn't going to ruin the moment with something as pedantic as telling my son the generator's proper name. (I once went to see The Mission with my father, who's an historian of colonial Latin America; my memory of the experience-- which I'm certain is exaggerated-- is of him complaining throughout about the film's historical errors.)

But it got me thinking. I'm not sure I ever saw a Van de Graaff generator until I got to college, and here's my 6 year-old, playing with one.

There's a belief that Peninsula doesn't do technology, but this is one of those things that a community likes to believe about itself even in the face of substantial contrary evidence. In fact, it's not really true: the Homebrew Computer Club met at Peninsula, the campus has wireless everywhere, and the kids aren't exactly low-tech, even though the emphasis is definitely (and rightly) on more physical activities and learning.

And where did they get their hands (literally!) on one? One of the other parents runs it a couple times a week. In fact, there are several parents who run these electives: one parent who lives nearby and raises chickens has "Farm," and the kids go over, feed the animals, and learn a little about where eggs come from. (One day I want to do one on geodesic dome-building, but not just yet. I'm going to save that for when I return to the dome book.) In most of the schools I went to, not only did my parents have very few opportunities to meet my teachers or step inside my classes, no one would have known what to do with them if they had appeared. Here, casual everyday contact between teachers and parents is the norm, and parents are expected to help keep things running.

[To the tune of Little Feat, "Dixie Chicken," from the album "Waiting for Columbus".]

Technorati Tags: children, education, menlo park, Peninsula School, science

Big Building, Friday night

Fri 02/08/2008 17:23 02082008931

Re-enrolling everyone

A couple mornings ago, I took the kids to school, then dropped off a form and a massive check to reserve their place in next years' Peninsula class. Of course there's no question about them staying, and the money's for a good cause, but I never like writing checks that are so big you don't really have enough space on it to write all the words.

Still, it's the sort of place where the parents eventually become as a part of the school's life as the children. As I was walking back to the car, a parent with a child in one of the lower grades came up to me. "Hey, I just discovered your blog last night!" she said. We chatted for a couple seconds, and as the children pulled her through the gate to their class, she added, "I'm going to recommend your blog to people who are curious about the school."

So, we're here for another year.

Technorati Tags: menlo park, Peninsula School

A break in the rain

Mon 01/28/2008 09:15 01282008784

The Big Building, this morning.