Writer Crews

I sat at the kitchen table sipping my morning ritual- coffee- when a scratch at the window to my side caught my attention. Thinking nothing, also a morning ritual, I glanced over and startled at the squirrel nodding his furry head at me. I looked around the kitchen for witnesses but no one was around. This time, the little nut brown knocked and I looked back at him in disbelief. I pointed to my chest and raised my eyebrows. He nodded, "Yes, you." His voice was muted behind the window pane. I cracked the window, but only an inch... who knew what kind of temperament talking squirrels had.

Beauty I'm a cynic when it comes to beauty. Beauty may cause more trouble than religion. It pokes at girls, creating eating disorders. It pinches young women's wallets into buying the latest trendy brands. It guiles ladies into smearing on useless nightly lotion regiments. Beauty is as unattainable to oneself as heaven. Because, who are you to be beautiful? I've never heard a woman fully claim it as her own. There's always a flaw, a 'one-thing' to change. Beauty. You can keep the version of it that plasters its judgment across exceptional faces and shapely bodies, the version that inevitably my daughters will one day worry about in their teens. That beauty... its looks can kill. Leave it alone, it's trouble in a tight skirt. But don't be fooled, I'm beautiful. There is a healthier side of beauty. Beauty you can create, with breathtaking artistry. Beauty you can capture, listening to a stunning symphony. Beauty you can taste on you

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=3643

Have you seen the 300 revisions in the Texas Social Studies Textbooks? I was curious enough to search them out. Yes, I did this on my free time of my own free will, don't judge me. There are some interesting points... just food for thought. I placed a link to the site where you can look over them all on your own and see what sticks with you. I'm going to read through them right now and post my reflections as I go along... little things that I notice as I read through the revisions, some that bother me, some that seem fine to me, some will surely strike the funny bone, to be sure. I want to hear what do you think? Okay, let's start in Kinder and work our way up through the revisions. HERE WE GO: *Ordinary citizens have been replaced by patriots and good citizens. I usually like ordinary people but we didn't make the cut. *This one I like: Capitalism is taught in Kindergarten (trust me, it's being taught in my house at Preschool age - my 4 year old run