Thursday, July 01, 2010

Hazy Details

I realize that summer school is a bit more "casual" than regular school, but I am beginning to wonder if I should be concerned about the education my son is receiving from Minneapolis Public Schools this summer. Yesterday, when I picked him up from school, he began to tell me excitedly about what he had learned in science class that day. I could barely get a word in, so I just let him tell his story. It went a little something like this....

Momma, today I learned about the thing that is the biggest threat to humanity ever. Wanna know what it's called? It's called dynamite.

See...there were these eleven men. They were drilling for oil because they did have not any money to just buy oil. They were using dynamite to look for oil. When the dynamite exploded, the platform they were standing on caught on fire. It's been on fire for over a month now and no one can put the fire out.

Wanna hear the really sad part? There was this pelican and when the platform exploded, the pelican died. I saw a picture, momma. It really died. And do you wanna know how many fish have died? Sixty! Three of them were sharks and the rest were just regular fish. One was even a Great White shark. Isn't that sad?

It's OK though. The guys say they are going to fix it this month. They have to use a submarine because metal can't be hurt by oil. Lots and lots of people have died trying to stop the oil. So this time they need to use a submarine. But it's ok...they'll fix it. They said they would.

His details are a bit hazy, but I am pretty certain he was referring to the BP oil spill. My poor sweet, naive little boy. Yes honey, those "11 men" are going to fix it because the environment is their primary concern. People's livelihoods...water fowl nesting grounds...oil-stained beaches...the health of the people involved in clean-up efforts...the devastating blow to tourism in the Gulf...the plumes of Methane gas...tar balls...the death of the commercial fishing industry...stranded sea turtles and dolphins. These are the things those 11 men are thinking about. Yea....ok....

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