Red Room Where the Writers Are

As I stood in line the other day watching a parent shell out money for school supplies, while her child’s thumbs glided over a cell phone faster than I could see, the thought occurred me: if my children where about to begin another school year, would I let them go, or keep them at home and teach them myself.

The answer came faster than the gum-chewing tween could send another text-message. The truth is—I wouldn’t! And if my children were still young enough (grandchildren on the way), I would prefer they learn to spell words instead of acronyms and worse.

Perhaps I’m old-fashion because I still enjoy turning pages of a book, instead of using scroll or page-down buttons on my computer. Being able to retrieve and find information certainly would have come in handy when I was in college, but whatever paper I submitted had to demonstrate, along with the mastery of the subject, that I understood more than how to email missives. OMG—where will it end?