Tomorrow is my baby girl's twentieth birthday. In the artificial construct of American age, it is the last year I can refer to her as a baby girl. Next year, she will be an adult.
There has been a lively discussion on the SACC listserv about measuring educational success. Of course, I think it is all bullshit. I hate when people try to apply scientific standards to human behavior. It can't be done. Anthropology has taught me that. And then to take it one step further and tell me I need to be able to demonstrate my effectiveness to the public? Please. Get your cultural hegemony out of my classroom.
Anthropology has taught me that humans are too much fun to waste time trying to control them. Let us relish the process. Celebrate the experience.
Like parenting. Or should the public have the right to measure my effectiveness in that regard? Should I make transparent and explicit my parenting plan? Should we devise models of my effectiveness? (Did I mention she got straight A's at UT this semester?)
Oh well, time to prepare for the annual Dim Sum birthday party. We are having it one day early this year. I don't know how it came to be that she celebrated in this fashion. One year, she just wanted to do it and so we do. And have continued to do so. I don't know what it means to her personal growth but it makes me happy and I relish the process.
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