I can’t believe what my sixth grader brought home from science class today. And I am most surprised that I am surprised.

Not a Medium Subscriber? Read full article without a paywall here.

The first time I really acutely felt disappointed in the world (as a parent I mean- as regular member of humankind, it was so many years ago I don’t even remember it) was when our then-four year old twins had to participate in an active shooter drill at school. Their teachers told them to hide as though a skunk was on the loose, and be as quiet as they could possibly be. They told us laughing, and probably never even registered our sadness at this news.

So today, when Eli pulled out his worksheets from science class and started reading me all of the things, and how scary this was, I pulled the sheet from him and re-read it. And I was pissed.

Yeah, they have to learn this stuff. But not all at once. Not when they have virtually no control or say over even their own choices. We will be making most of them for the next six years at least. Why dump this all in their laps, without solutions? No here’s what you could do now, or talk to your parents about [topic]... What are they supposed to do with this worksheet? From what I can tell, they were pondering pictures of dead pelicans with plastic in their stomachs and then, what? Sent home to think it over? Eli could not elaborate any more of the conversation in class, and given he is one of the most articulate people I have ever met, I will let that…