“What did you learn in school today?” My siblings and I may entertain different childhood memories, but on this routine dinner table query, we remain unified. Sharing something that we learned during our day, began our weeknight gatherings and greased the wheels for whatever six kids found food for thought. Even now I remember returning home for a visit to hear my father asking that question of neighborhood kids who would stop by for my mom’s cookies after school. This was well into their retirement and after the dinner table had emptied of the six of us.
Yesterday I thought of my dad as I reflected on my school day. I had been asked to go over an article with the students about Snapchat. Structured as a debate/argument, it posed the question, “Is Snapchat Safe for Teens?” Oh, the discussion was lively with each successive group from sixth, then seventh, then eighth graders.
Sixth graders were unanimous: Unsafe. We investigated the acceptable age for Snapchat involvement and discovered it as 12+, so not a lot of surprise there for these mostly 11-year-olds. The seventh graders painted a different picture. One young man bristled at the study that lumped 14-24 year olds together. “Not all these teens are the same,” he argued. In writing his claim, he decided to modify his, “Yes, Snapchat is safe for teens, but should be restricted to 17+.” He followed his claim with, “They can vote, ya know?!” Impressive, don’t you think. Nuance among the young. Hope springs eternal when I see this engagement…and the organic discussion that followed.
In the eighth grade group at the end of the day, one teen said,”Hey, isn’t that ‘breech’ in the article supposed to be ‘breach’?” as we reviewed the underlined vocabulary. Not one person had asked before then; neither had I. We looked it up to discover that “breech” refers to the butt of a gun—and a person, so…breech birth, for example. The other “breach” should have been used, and this student took his win with aplomb.
Satisfied by our discovery, we devoted the last few minutes to our pets. “Can I show you my cats?” an eager voice asked.
“I love cats, so…of course.” On his phone two cats, one nighttime black and silky, the other Oregon Coast gray and long-hair fluffy, lay curled together atop the sofa.
“They’re brothers,” he declared.
“They look so different, ” and they did.
He responded, “Ya know, mama cats can get pregnant by more than one male cat. That’s what my dad said.”
Google to the rescue. And guess what? Not only can female cats be impregnated by two different cats, but it’s possible for each offspring—even if there were four— to be the issue of different males. We went to a reliable source, and this is no misinformation. (Way to go, dad!) I refrained from making a quip about the “queen” as the mother is called. I could have called her something else.
So to my dad, this one is for you. I continue to learn a lot at school.
Jump off; Find Wings 
Love the inquisitiveness of your students and the breaking off into tangents. I have always believed, and still do, that there is something new to be learned every day. I did know about female cats mating with more than one tom and that each kitten in a litter could conceivably have been sired by a different male.
I’m not surprised that you know the cat facts. I expect there are so many in our community who will be stunned at my ignorance. It’s no going to stop me from being engaged in yesterday’s revelations (new-to-me works). I hope today is just as much fun!
Such a delightful and varied day of learning!
It absolutely was!
Love this Trish…I too remember him asking the neighborhood kids about school as they enjoyed your mom’s cookies! Great memories!
This is a delightful post that underscores your premise that there’s always more to learn. The last fact about cats is one for the TIL files (Today I learned…).
Trish, that is such a swell ending to the piece, coming full circle right back to where you began. No wonder feral cats are such a concern. I had no idea these poor females could have this happen to them. I applaud how you handled it!
I’m plan to begin read Jonathan Haidt’s THE ANXIOUS GENERATION tonight. Have you seen any of his press tour interviews/articles? It reflects a bit of what you wrote about today.
I just read an overview of the book, (and now must read it, so thanks), and this line really struck me: “For this reason, we ended up overprotecting children in the real world while underprotecting them in the virtual world.” Boy, this says a lot!