HS Comments on the Fly

I mentioned back on January 3 of this year that Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, and his wife, are homeschooling their daughter.

Because of Wikipedia’s bias, a group of homeschoolers headed by Andy Schlafly started Conservapedia last November.

… creating a conservative-minded online encyclopedia for students was Schlafly’s prime motivation for launching Conservapedia. He started the site in late November 2006 in conjunction with 58 high-school-level, home-schooled students from the New Jersey area.

So homeschoolers are involved in both *-pedias — just a bit of trivia for you.

But to continue on a bit … Schlafly (Phyllis’s son) critiques Wikipedia harshly. He almost sounds biased himself.

… [Wikipedia] is rife with so much gossip, vulgarity and long-winded writing that it has become unusable as an educational resource.

What? I heartily disagree! While I would say that Wikipedia shouldn’t be your last stop on the road to knowledge, I do think that it’s a reasonable first stop.

Do go read the article. The article contains a few of Conservapedia’s entries and mentions that it’s become a target for those who enjoy mockery.

Physical Education usually means a bit of physical activity of some sort. We’ve done all sorts of stuff and called it P.E.

Let’s see …

• tree climbing
• swimming at the local pool (regrettably we don’t have one in the backyard)
• biking over to soccer (European football) lessons
• soccer (see above)
• having folks over to play a baseball game or just tossing it around w/each other
• Tae kwon do lessons
• shooting hoops out in front of the house
• walking
• jogging
• archery
• badminton
• preparing for a mountain hike by carrying sacks of sugar in backpacks and walking 2 miles daily for a month
• yoga
• sailing
• chopping wood
• free weights
• home weight bench
• stationary bike in living room w/TV turned up loud
• tossing a football around
• skating
• sledding
• snowboarding and skiing

I’m sure there have been other things, but what I actually have a photo of is from one of our canoe trips. And of course, canoeing counts for P.E. class.

On one of the trips, we visited the area known as the White Cliffs area of the Missouri River. It’s located in the part of the country previously owned by both Spain and France. The U.S. government was offered this section of the country by Napoleon. You can read the story of its purchase in Rhoda Blumberg’s book titled What’s the Deal? Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase — a fine book, published by National Geographic.

We set in at Coal Banks and got out a few days later at Judith Landing. If you look at this map (http://www.trailadventures.com/images/ta_map-inset_lrg.gif) the portion of the Missouri River I’m referring to is highlighted in yellow on the right of the map. Lewis & Clark, the famous explorers of the Louisiana Purchase, traveled along this same stretch of the Missouri River in the early 1800s, though they were going upstream and we went downstream. We did this with a couple of other families with our own canoes, though you can get a tour company to take you on a guided tour for about $325 per person per day. ::cough, choke:: I imagine that our trip cost us around $325 for all 4 of us for 3 or 4 days (can’t remember how long it took). But we did already have a water purifier and camping gear (tents, sleeping bags, gas cookers, life jackets, etc.) which kept our costs down. Gas was much cheaper then also. I think my husband bought a new, and quite technologically advanced, canoe paddle. Oh, here’s another tour company that provides trips for about $665 per person w/guide for three days.

	Canoers Paradise - White Cliffs of Upper Missouri River

Anyway, the picture is the view from our camp the first night. It looks just like this painting of William Clark found here. I guess the location is Eagle Creek. All I know is that there was no way out except by walking or continuing on in the canoes at this point. Our cell phones didn’t have service, so we were seriously cut off from civilization. As a worry-wart mom, this was not very comforting to me, and I was able to imagine all sorts of medical emergencies that might plague us — rattlesnake bite at the top of the list. I do believe that cell towers have been put up in the area since we went through there.

As I already mentioned, this stretch of the Missouri River is called the White Cliffs. It’s well known, but I didn’t know it at the time. I did know it was protected, though. President Clinton made this area a national monument as one of his last acts in office.

The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument contains a spectacular array of biological, geological, and historical objects of interest. From Fort Benton upstream into the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, the monument spans 149 miles of the Upper Missouri River, the adjacent Breaks country, and portions of Arrow Creek, Antelope Creek, and the Judith River. The area has remained largely unchanged in the nearly 200 years since Meriwether Lewis and William Clark traveled through it on their epic journey. (source)

I didn’t keep a diary of the trip, but I’ll link to a few at the end of this entry. I remember that it was a little chilly considering it was summer, and I was glad that we took jackets along. We ate lots of Chex Mix, granola bars, and dried fruit (but no dogs, as did some one the L&C expedition — [Clark, October 11, 1805]). We paddled along by moonlight one night. We saw a beaver and heard it do a tail flap. We had a good breeze for a while and a few of the guys tied our canoes together and fashioned a sail out of a tarp, rope, and a few canoes. It kept hitting some of us in the head. Delightful. Once we were out and packed up, we ate a sumptuous dinner at Pizza Hut at the closest town.

Trip Diary in .pdf, best photos most resembling our trip except we took our trip later in the year and the water levels were markedly lower.

Trip Diary

Trip Diary

Trip Diary

Trip Diary

According the her Wikipedia article, Dustin-Leigh Konzelman was homeschooled. She is one-half of the Beauty Queens team which appeared on Season 10 and is currently participating this season (11) of The Amazing Race.

	Miami, Quito, Santiago, Calama

Just a few, quick, non-grammatically correct comments on my favorite TV show.

Drew got altitude sickness during the pit stop. And their team (Kevin and Drew) was eventually eliminated at the end of the episode

Charla and Mirna were paying a taxi driver to lead them to the Valley of Death. The Beauty Queens were behind them, following. But Charla or Mirna (sadly, I don’t know which is which) got a little miffed and pulled over and both Charla and Mirna made it clear to the Beauty Queens, who also pulled over, that they should have to pay for half of the taxi driver’s expenses ($100). The Beauty Queens just thought Charla and Mirna were loco and then left. So, that was a bit of confrontation.

The teams are still in South America. They traveled to Santiago, Chile, and then to a mine. Here’s what my hernia-inducing atlas states about the copper mine:

Chuquicamata copper mine lies on a desert plateau near Calama in the Andes of northern Chile. It is the world’s largest open-pit copper mine.

The teams had to choose between two tasks at the copper mine. 1) replace about 40-60 lug nuts and washers on a gigantic tire or 2) use a back hoe to move a specific amount of gravel. The Kentucky team was sloppy with the nuts and ended up last or nearly last. Charla and Mirna were again rather dramatic, which is supposedly the key to good TV.

Rob & Amber and Oswald & Danny were in last and next-to-last places early in the show because their flight was delayed, but they ended up placing second and first. Rob and Amber … okay, mostly Rob, is such a character. Do you remember him from one of the Survivor seasons? I started watching (that season) in the middle when Rob was just causing strife. He was easy to dislike, but when he came back for Survivor All-Stars, he was so likable and has remained so ever since. But he admitted this episode of TAR that he purposely stirs the pot. I think he said to Amber, “There’s a method to my madness.” If he didn’t say that, it was something like that … you know, that there’s always a purpose to his acting like a jerk. Anyway, so Rob and Amber each won a dirt bike or something like that for coming in first.

Let’s see … any other “must mentions?”

I have no recollection of Teri and Ian. I’ve watched most of the episodes from each season, but Teri and Ian are making me fear the dreaded Alzheimer’s.

Oh, and Drew almost ran over Kevin. That was the craziest thing. Kevin strapped himself up and tried to drag their 4WD vehicle out of the mud. You know … by manpower. I thought for sure Drew was going to drive right over the top of Kevin as Kevin pulled on the front of the car while Drew revved the engine.

Next week, see Danielle scream bloody murder about picking up a small ray (fish). She totally freaks out.

I’m sure you’ve already heard the big news.

Yes, Senegalese chimps are sharpening sticks with their teeth and then hunting bush babies and eating them.

I think this is the funniest article about it. Best sentence:

I saw “Planet of the Apes” and know where this is going.

Another, more serious article tells us that human beings and chimpanzees share 98% of their DNA. Most baffling sentence:

Chimps are known to use tools to crack open nuts and fish for termites.

Sure, I know that most people wouldn’t find it befuddling, but I did the first time I read it. After reading it, I thought, “But there aren’t any termites in fish.”

I would have understood it more easily if it read:

Chimps are known to use tools to crack open nuts and to fish for termites.

Or maybe I just needed labels over the nouns and verbs in the sentence like all good grammar textbooks provide.

Don’t miss the article from the Scotsman which tells us that the female chimp’s name was Tumbo. Snidest comment after the article:

So what were saying here is females can be cold blooded killers when they want to be……….what a Revelation

Ha.

The National Geographic article has links to video footage showing the hunting chimp. This article probably gives the most details. You know, stuff like:

The tools, on average, are about 24 inches (60 centimeters) long and 0.4 inch (11 millimeters) around.

The researchers refer to the tools as spears. Pruetz said they differ from throwing spears, in the sense that they are jabbed into tree trunks and branches, not tossed.

As for animals using tools, let’s not forget the shrikes! They are like the noisiest birds — at least the ones around here are. They have a good use for barbed wire.

[Shrikes] feed mostly on larger insects, like grasshoppers, but also small vertebrates such as mice and lizards. Some species impale their prey on thorns or barbed wire for later retrieval. Their rapaciousness is legendary.

And cows! Even cows use tools to groom themselves.

He found they spend about 3% of their day grooming and preening themselves….

They mainly use their tongues and hind hooves to groom the rear end of their bodies, Kilgour says.

But they also use inanimate objects like trees, branches, fence posts and stumps to get at areas they can’t reach, he says.

“They’ll walk up to fallen tree limbs which have protruding branches and groom around their eyes,” he says.

So, there ya’ go.

I’ve been recently trying to get a quilt put together and onto a frame, so that when I do sit down and watch something on TV, I won’t feel like such a slacker. I’ll be trying to get 8-10 stitches per inch while I prick my middle finger into hamburger. (quilter’s joke - ha) Yes, that will be much better than just sitting there.

So while I’ve been sewing on the borders, basting, and such, I’ve had shows on. Yes, multiple shows because I’m a novice quilter and I’m slow! One show that I enjoyed was misnamed King Arthur’s Britain. I haven’t the foggiest notion why it was titled that because the appellation (not, Appalachian) is not apt. It must have been some sort of ill-thought-out marketing scheme. So if you watch it, don’t expect an in-depth analysis of King Arthur’s rule.

Here’s what the back of the case states:

… British archaeologist … Francis Pryor disputes the belief that Britain reverted to anarchy after the Romans left in 410 A.D., sinking into the Dark Ages until the Anglo-Saxon invaders restored order. The truth he says is far more complicated.

In this three-part series, he uncovers the continuous culture that was not destroyed by outside invaders but rather strengthened by them. Travel with him as he makes ancient history come alive at the scenes of bloody battles and key archaeological sites that reveal the clues to this new view of early Britain.

So, you see, it’s about that time between the years A.D. 410 and A.D. 597 which is considered the Dark Ages in Britain, when history closes its doors and permits no peeping Toms. But Francis Pryor (since he’s not named Tom) dares to question the historical powers that be and decides that “These were not the Dark Ages.” I think Francis Pryor does quite a good job of it.

I know that when we were studying Rome and Early Britain (at multiple different times through out the years of homeschooling, mind you) that I often called it the Dark Ages and said things like, “The Romans picked up their toys and went home, leaving the early Brits without anything to prop their society up with.” But Francis Pryor basically puts that myth to rest and says, “It’s time to start re-writing the history books.”

That’s a big deal — particularly if he’s correct. Pryor gives example after example of Roman society in Britain going on after A.D. 410. Yes, he believes that the British had a Roman society after the Romans left because that’s what everyone was — Roman. The locals had been Romanized during the years of Roman rule.

Pryor travels from Cornwall (extreme southwest) up to Hadrian’s Wall (up north, near border with Scotland) and points in between, showing us all sorts of examples of life during the 5th and 6th centuries in England. He shows us sites and then the artists come in and do a visual reconstruction for us showing us how it would have looked during Roman times. This happens a number of times and is fascinating. Pryor also takes us to an area where the Lady in the Lake may have had influence and describes a system of warrior traditions which included throwing swords into the lakes. He also travels to Sutton Hoo and tramps around a bit there. If anyone is interested in “Dark Ages” Britain, this DVD is worth a watch. Netflix lends it out or you can buy it through Amazon.

I would guess that this is a DVD for parents who will be teaching Roman Britain — so that they may adjust their views of Roman and Dark Ages Britain if they feel the need to do so. It would also be a good addition to a high school world history course or British history course if the student enjoys this era. The visuals are really well done; this is an entertaining DVD.

Considerations: These ideas are only one man’s point of view. His views on the Anglo-Saxon invasions, for lack of a better term, are not as convincing to me as his anti-Dark Ages argument is. But at the high school level, this type of DVD can lead to further study or make for good discussion.

I have no idea how to teach plant care. And there are no tutors. But I wouldn’t pay for one anyway because it’s cheaper to just go out and buy new plants every two months.

I really liked my polka dot plant. It was pretty and pink, but not in a Molly Ringwald sort of way. I bought it last November. Now I pity it. I’m distressed every time I see it and wonder if I should Kevorkian it.

Problem: I torture plants unto death.

Solution: Unknown.

Question: Who do I blame this problem on?

Answer: My K-12 education at the hands of classroom schools paid for by the taxpayer because, of course, this is a skill that someone should have taught me. They should teach plant care starting at age 6. Every classroom could have 10-20 houseplants, you know.

Additional Problem: I am incompetent at teaching houseplant care to my homeschool students. Failed one already and am focusing all my energy on remaining student by modeling desperate plant-torturing behaviors while calling it “feeding and watering.”

Solution: Unknown.

What should lovely polka dot plant (hypoestes) look like? Here’s a bunch of flickr photos for you. The ones with the pink dots on the leaves … that’s the kind I have. Isn’t it the happiest-looking little plant?

Where’s the homeschooling curriculum that teaches plant care? Hmm?

Additionally, why are there no 12-step programs anywhere for the plant torturers?

The local florist and plant store is awfully kind to me and gave me the recipe to get rid of spider mites — mites that they helpfully provide with each plant they sell, it seems. So I have learned that recipe and can pass on that knowledge to my students and can bask in the glow of that smallish sort of accomplishment. But at what cost? I killed eight English ivy plants in the process. One survives in my kitchen on my little shelf by the north window. It’s nearly reached the grand age of one year.

Anyway, if you’ve successfully grown a polka dot plant in your home, have got the time, and want to save a green life, please advise me.

Kiplinger’s provides some information on the financial side of homeschooling.

Page 1 and Page 2

Danny, son of Anna Nicole Smith, was homeschooled during the last couple of years of high school. That’s what Howard K. Stern said during the hearing to determine the custody of her body.

I just heard this at 12:19 P.M. EST on the television news while listening to the hearing live. (No, I’m not watching it myself … someone else here is and I can hear it.)

When I can find online verification (documentation), I’ll link to it right here with an UPDATE.

UPDATE: OK. It’s 6:54 P.M. EST and I found that someone else heard the same thing while watching the hearing. That’s going to have to be enough “proof” that Stern said it.

Yesterday (on Presidents Day, btw), Rick Jore, Montana homeschooling father and Representative, attended a hearing on House Bill 404, which he sponsored. This bill seeks to eliminate compulsory education laws for all Montanans aged 7 through 16 years. Surprisingly enough a nationally-known homeschool advocate spoke at the hearing:

John Taylor Gatto, an author and former school teacher from New York, said compulsory school attendance had its roots in prewar Germany and was a type of “mind control” used by elitists to “socially engineer” a large group of easily controlled consumers and citizens. He warned the committee not to confuse “schooling for education.”

Okay, so now for debate: Which war? WWI or WWII? I guess WWI, but my husband guesses WWII. Check back to see if I end up with time to go check on that or if I can even figure it out without digging up and re-reading certain books. I think Gatto is possibly referring to the Prussian system which I would guess might be pre-WWI even though I know that Gatto may be referring to some stricter laws that came into effect in the 30s in Germany. If you know for sure, please comment!

Also yesterday, in the Montana Senate, a bill that would require homeschoolers to formally register with the County Superintendent instead of provide notification was tabled.

You can read the complete article in the Billings (MT) Gazette. Additionally, you can read an associated article in the Great Falls (MT) Tribune which includes homeschoolers’ comments.

I can’t figure out how to embed the .swf file, so I’ll just point you to the online map. It’s the Imperial History of the Middle East, showing who has ruled the Middle East for the past 5000 years. And it does it visually in 90 seconds.

My big question: Is it now more proper to call Alexander’s empire the Macedonian Empire instead of the Greek Empire? Alexander was Macedonian.

Now, I’m going to go see what other maps Maps of War have got for us to look at.

HT: That Girl Tasha

Extending the compulsory age may not at first glance be a homeschooling issue. But it affects homeschools also. Homeschools must abide by the compulsory education laws of their own particular state.

I’m not particularly trying to single out North Carolina. The issue is basically the same no matter which state you’re in. And when I read this MyrtleBeachOnline.com (NC) article, I hear (basically — severely paraphrased):

We must raise the compulsory age of education to 18 because children aren’t prepared for the work force if they leave school at 16. A 16-year-old person isn’t smart enough to decide whether they should continue on with their education or not. Keeping a student of 16 in school when they don’t want to be there is foolish because they often end up being disruptive and they often make it more difficult for the other student to learn. If we don’t keep students in school until they’re 18, we’re shirking our responsibility to prepare them properly.

My silly questions are: Is age the really the issue? Why can’t students be prepared properly by the time they’re 16?

Quick, non-grammatically correct comments.

Rob and Amber (Romber) came in first this episode and won a trip to Canada. No surprise. They’re good and they have unimaginably good luck.

The group started in Miami, Florida, USA, and headed off to Quito, Ecuador, which we found is almost directly south of Miami when I drew the line in an old atlas.

Most of the contestants chose to trim the hooves of wild horses that couldn’t walk very well. That was a little confusing. I’m not sure why these horses had such long hooves. Before people were around, how did wild horses’ hooves get trimmed? Did horses die because their hooves got so long? Or did they get worn off by running across rocks and gravel?

Visited Pim’s Restaurant in Quito, Cotopaxi Park (about 60 miles away), and Plaza de San Francisco also in Quito.

Charla and Mirna got lost. Kentucky lied to the Beauty Queens by telling them that an airline flight was the quickest when it wasn’t. Found out that Teri and Ian want to be called the Big Kahunas … or at least Ian does. But I’m afraid they’re the old folks team, which isn’t to say that they won’t win.

I think those were the highlights.

THE AMAZING RACE!

The Amazing Race starts on Sunday evening on CBS. It’s an “all stars” show, with teams from past seasons competing.

If I can’t find one of our older atlases to plot the racers’ route on each week, then I will have to go find a good world map online. It will have to be detailed though. (If you see one, let me know!)

I am not sure which team to cheer for. I like a number of the teams, but some I don’t even remember. I think the most unique team is the team that is made up of one of the Frat Boys and one of the Pinkies. Good idea. I wonder if Rob and Amber will have the perfect luck they had up until the last leg of the race like last time.

Anyway, Wikipedia is a good place to keep up with what’s happening each week. I love the table. Plus the game is completely explained there.

Seriously, skip reading Oliver Twist aloud to your kids. And don’t have them read it on their own unless they choose it themselves. So what if it’s a classic.

So what if Dickens is somebody that just *everyone* says you *must* read to be truly educated. So what if it was popular in the 1830s.

Have you read it? If you’re not interested, there’s really no point.

Just because a book (serialized in this case) was extremely popular nearly 200 years ago, doesn’t make it extremely popular today, nor worth your time.

Just because everyone read Dickens in 1900 doesn’t mean that we must read it today!

Don’t bore your children. Don’t waste your time. You are not depriving your children of an excellent education if they never read Oliver Twist.

Okay. Those are harsh words, aren’t they? Yes, a bit. But folks need to know that it’s okay to not read any Dickens. Ever. And the world won’t start wobbling if you “Skip Twist.”

Now, I do think that Oliver Twist is a good story. I read it aloud to my two teens a couple of years ago. If it could be rewritten, basically word for word (not abridged, mind you), then it might be a little easier to not tune it out. Our American language today isn’t quite like the English language of nearly 200 years ago. If modern words could be substituted for some of the archaic words like viands once in a while, the story would be a lot more accessible to the average person. In some cases, a phrase-by-phrase rewrite would be acceptable/necessary.

As I said, Oliver Twist is a good story. Additionally, Dickens is a talented writer. I thoroughly enjoyed his verbal swipes at the English poor laws in the first few chapters of the book. And how could you not just love poor, little Oliver Twist? He’s such a little sweetie. Nancy is a good person and easy to like. You can see that she can be rescued out of her situation and brought back into gentle society. Dickens has a way of making his characters come to life — all of them — sometimes revoltingly so. And the dampness and dirtiness he describes makes me want to burrow deeper into the blankets as I sit on the couch reading. I will not deny that Dickens is talented.

However, his stories are just not something that most folks of 2000+ are entertained by. And really, the first readers of Oliver Twist were reading to be entertained. They weren’t reading it for a school assignment. Folks loved Oliver Twist. Folks devoured each section as it was printed. Because it was so popular, people expected everyone to have read it. As the years went by, this persisted. People who were teens when it first came out, encouraged their children and grandchildren to read it, probably with such words as, “It’s a classic. You’ve got to read it. Everybody who’s anybody has read it.” This has persisted.

So, when someone tells you that your children must read Dickens to be well and truly educated, fleetingly squint your eyes as you remember my comments and then smile, thank them, and ask for more suggestions. But don’t feel bad if “Don’t Do Dickens.”

I think we should all define our own classics. Homeschool families can read books and declare their own classics. We can discern what is classic; we don’t need someone else to tell us what is or isn’t classic. There is no special list of books that one must read to be well read or truly educated.

Here’s our experience with Oliver Twist, in case you’re interested. One student basically enjoyed the book. The other student only enjoyed the parts about Oliver and basically tuned out the Sikes, Nancy, and Fagin parts. I enjoyed it on a certain level. It was good practice for my kids to listen to such a story. The vocabulary is reasonably challenging, and the syntax is challenging, too. Keeping track of all the characters is a small feat. If I had to do it all over again, I think I’d choose something else to read aloud.

One of our own family’s classics is A Long Way from Chicago by Peck. Another is My Family and Other Animals.

Don’t trust those classic reading lists — some titles might be good for your family, but many will not. Find what fits your family and declare your own classics!

More info from the RAQ section.

Growing up as a homeschooler, Chris Thile had plenty of time to play his music and record his albums. He’s 25 for just a few more days and was recently named Musician of the Year at the 2007 BBC Folk Awards. He was the only U.S. citizen nominated. (source, source, and source)

You can hear and see him on YouTube: Clip #1 or Clip #2

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence ranked the U.S. 20th out of 21 economically advanced nations on child well being. The UK was 21st.

I first saw the story on the BBC television news this morning. So, I went looking for the BBC online article and found the list of the 19 nations that scored higher than the UK and U.S.

You can read the whole 52-page report online. What I found a little strange was that I didn’t see which children were interviewed for this report. I know my children weren’t, but I didn’t read the whole thing, just bits and snippets.

The report isn’t without merit, though, and I can use a reminder on some of those topics now and then. For instance, fruit every day is a good idea. If we don’t have fresh fruit, I rarely go grab fruit out of the freezer or canned fruit out of the cupboard. It just doesn’t occur to me. Fruit is a snack and not part of the meal, and I’m no longer in charge of snacks now that the kids are so old.

Anyway, the report is being met with mixed reviews.

“I think when you try to compare nations in a report like this, you tend to ignore so many other factors specific to those nations that the comparison becomes somewhat meaningless,” Horn [of DHHS] said.

[U.S.] State Department spokesman Paul Denig was also critical of the report and said his department first learned of the study through the media and was not asked to provide input.

Britain said the report did not take account of recent improvements to education, health and general living standards in the country. (source)

Others aren’t necessarily surprised by the findings and used the report to criticize others:

“After ten years of [Tony Blair’s] welfare and education policies, our children today have the lowest well-being in the developed world,” [UK Treasury spokesman George Osborne] said. [Blair’s likely successor] Brown had “failed this generation of children and will fail the next if he’s given a chance,” Osborne said. (source)

Anyway, I’d think most parents would find it interesting to compare their family with national averages, etc. I did.

Oh, here was an interesting indicator of depravation: Number of books in the home! 12.2 percent of U.S. children reported less than 10 books in the home. The U.S. was third from the bottom of the list on that indicator. The Czech Republic came in first with only 1.9 percent of homes reporting less than 10 books in the home.

We are hoping to go to Italy someday. Rome wasn’t initially on the list — c’mon, everyone goes there, so it’s rather passé — but my life partner insisted. So, a while back, we started our homeschool list of what we must experience in Rome.

The Trevi Fountain, is, of course, on the list. It’s pretty much an imperative. You see, according to a legend, if you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, then it’s guaranteed that you will return to Rome. So, of course, the Trevi Fountain is on our Roman “to do” list. Here’s a few of the others “must dos” while I’m at it:

• Mouth of Truth (you know, where Gregory Peck “lost” his hand in Roman Holiday) We’re going to go tell lies and half-truths there and giggle like mindless school girls … well, two of us will.
• Spanish Steps
• Forum
• Romulus and Remus w/wolf
• Colosseum
• Arch of Titus
• Appian Way

But back to the Trevi Fountain — here’s a link to a photo. You see that’s Neptune up there in the shell. The shell is being pulled by “seahorses” guided by Tritons. I still haven’t seen what kind of stone is used in the sculpture. (marble)

You may wonder why I’m looking up stuff about the Trevi Fountain today when our trip is such a far-distant pipe dream. It’s because the coin my daughter intends on tossing in is a 1995 Chuck E. Cheese token. It may seem of little value, but besides a bit of sentimentality, you can still play a game of Skee Ball with it. I think behind her idea of throwing a Chuck E. Cheese coin, though, is a certain disdain for silly superstitions — in a way, laughing at the legend while still honoring it.

But still, we must know if that type of coin is allowed. She can’t be like totally tempting the Fates (or whoever is in charge of the legend — maybe Neptune?) by tossing the wrong kind of coin in the fountain. Maybe Chuck E. Cheese is considered anathema or something. That type of faux pas could make a return to Rome impossible. Duh.

So, I’ve rummaged around the internet for an unimpeachable source of the legend. I don’t think I’ve found one, but every source indicates “coin.” It sounds like any ol’ coin will do. None of the sources suggest the need for the coin to be Italian or worth at least 5 cents or be usable … you know, a current coin. Conceivably, I could toss my old coin with Constantine on it from the south Balkan region into the fountain and that would be good enough to ensure my return to the Eternal City. (You, too, can have an ancient coin — see border, bottom right.)

However, I found out that the Trevi Fountain is cleaned every night to the tune of $4000 in change. The money is given to the poor of Rome or rather a charity who helps the poor. You’d think that $4000 a day could easily completely support 30 families a month. Wow. So, that Chuck E. Cheese coin wouldn’t help the poor; and as a result, we are faced with a moral dilemma of sorts.

I learned this from WikiTravel:

According to popular superstition and custom, throwing coins with one’s right hand over one’s left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain is a practice endowed with good luck. Throwing one coin ensures that the thrower will return to Rome; throwing two coins will ensure that the thrower will fall in love with a beautiful Roman girl (or handsome boy); throwing three coins, finally, ensures that the thrower will marry that girl or boy in Rome itself.

Guess which part I’m not mentioning to my daughter? If my grandchildren lived in Rome, I’d have a terrible time getting to see them more than once every couple of years. That would be tragic, though I wouldn’t be abused as a babysitter, would I?

So, we’re to hold the coin in our right hand and toss it over our left shoulder. Another supposed requirement is that we must have our back to the fountain.

One site stated that we could drink the water instead of throwing a coin, but newer web sites say, “No way!” I guess the water is now chemically treated (a type of poisoning, I suppose). Along with the practical drinking advice, there’s plenty of history in this web page.

Look here for lots of comments and photos and more photos.

Watch people throw coins into the Trevi Fountain on YouTube.com. Even that actor guy — John Bongiovi — has thrown a coin into the Trevi Fountain.

Trivia Question: Why might those who