ALL-STAR SON, BUT NOT ALL-STAR COUNTRY

This weekend will present the last game of soccer season. So Michael, the faboo artist, will present his coach with the following drawing:



I will miss soccer season -- to my own surprise, and no doubt as evident to you Peeps, I've quite enjoyed being a "Soccer Mom"! Yay!

Having said that, just as I was starting to miss the season, Coach Emilio asked if I would consent to having Michael participate in this one-off ALL STAR GAME. My son is an ALL STAR!!! But of course, preened his All Star Mama! Doesn't he look the muy guapo part?!



*****

Having said all that, Michael also got an Honor Roll Certificate this week for his First Quarter Grades. I applauded him, of course, and yes of course that is wonderful news.

But, Estados Unidos -- can we all get real here?! Someone who was in fourth grade in an orphanage school in Colombia just six months ago should have no business being in a U.S.-American school's Honor Roll. Particularly, I emphasize, if that student is being tutored in math by Moi! This just gets to show yet again how the quality of public education in this country has plummeted.

I wish I could say that Michael's grades were because he's a junior Einstein. I'm his mother and, to paraphrase that Christian joke, I therefore think he's The Second Coming. But no: he's not an Einstein. He's just getting high grades because the academic thresholds are way lower than they should be in this country. And by the way, our local public school is among the best in the country. So: Estados Unidos -- get your act together. We have got to do a better job of educating our children!

Believe me -- I'd rather my son had Ds and Cs this term; he is supposed to be behind academically. That he's performing well among his peers basically means public education has dumbed down significantly in the past several decades. And, since this is a poetry blog, I will add that this factor is a way bigger factor than the "difficult vs accessible" dilemma in engendering little popular support for poetry.