Thanks / Discussion Question

First of all thanks so much for everyone commenting. Everything looked really great...perhaps I should start reading books!

Anyway, I decided to go with Alex's suggestion of "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I had been interested in this book after I saw that Oprah recommended it. I like the Father and Son journey aspect to it.

Brandon is making me a definitive Tori Amos playlist, which I am really excited about. For whatever reason I really never latched onto her back in the day, but now I am really ready to explore her music.

Finally, Brandon is also giving me several episodes of "How I Met Your Mother." He and my sister love this show, and since they introduced us to 30 Rock I have a lot of faith that this will be really good as well.

By the way, not too long ago on Joe's "Ask Me Any Question" blog post someone asked what show on TV best represented NYC. Really hard question, but I have to say that the executive / entertainment / celebrity culture in New York is nailed on 30 Rock. This show is what SCRUBS used to be....YEAH I SAID IT, I am not afraid of the SCRUBS mafia out there. Hey guys SCRUBS is just like The Drew Carey Show except without a laugh track!

So we leave tomorrow and I won't be blogging for a few days, so I want to leave you with a topic to discuss amongst yourselves...

Believers in Progressive Education hold to two central ideas:

1. Respect for diversity - Meaning each child is recognized for their abilities, interests, needs, cultural identity, etc.
2. The development of critical, socially engaged intelligence that is often termed as "child centered."

One aspect of progressive education (I am not going to even begin to discuss the merits or disadvantages of progressive education) holds the idea that teachers or educators are on somewhat of an equal plane when it comes to discovering knowledge. One way to reinforce that to a child is by allowing them to call teachers or instructors by their first name.

This came up because a kid in the youth group talked about a teacher and called her by her first name. The other kids kind of freaked out and we had a big discussion about the practicalities of informally addressing a superior in the real world.

I am not sure what our philosophy is regarding the addressing of adults by Levi. That is to say we haven't discussed it a concrete way. I grew up with Mr. and Mrs. As did Allison, although some people could be called by their first name as long as Mr. or Mrs. was included as well.

So far every teach or adult in Levi's name has been referred to by their first name, and I like that. But I also realize some people have strong opinions on the way children should address adults. So here is my question, does it empower children when they address adults by their first name without the prefix of Mr. or Mrs. or does it put them at a disadvantage when they get out into the real world and have to work for bosses or clients?