Thinking Citizen Blog — Bridge, Tennis, Example
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Thinking Citizen Blog — Friday is Education and Education Policy Day
Today’s Topic — Bridge, Tennis, Example
So what did I learn from my mother? She set an example of principled cheerfulness, of patience and tolerance. She also taught me how to play bridge and gave me a lot of practice playing tennis. Later as Grandma Louise she brought the joy of tennis to her first two grandchildren — Andrei and Toby. Today, a few more details on that story.
BEFORE GRANDMA NEITHER ANDREI NOR TOBY HAD ANY INTEREST IN TENNIS
1. Then one summer, we took the boys to London to visit the sights and see my sister and mother in Hampstead Heath.
2. Andrei and Toby quickly became bored with doing the tourist thing and resisted another trip into town for yet another museum tour.
3. Then Grandma suggested an alternative — why don’t we play doubles at the neighborhood tennis club?
NB: The kids did not play tennis but jumped at the opportunity to do something other than go to another museum. I teamed up with Toby, age 9. Grandma with Andrei, age 13.
TO MY AMAZEMENT THE BOYS MANAGED TO KEEP THE BALL IN PLAY FAR LONGER THAN I EVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE
1. We all had a blast.
2. I was particularly thrilled because I had never played on grass courts before.
3. The setting was stunning — the courts were located in one of those charming squares of town houses spread across the London area.
THE AFTERMATH
1. Both boys ended up playing on their high school varsity tennis teams.
2. Twenty years after that they both still play.
3. And Andrei, the eldest, now 42, is doing his best to pass on the joy of tennis to the next generation — Max, 8, and Addie, 6. Thank you, Grandma Louise!
THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF POSTS ORGANIZED THEMATICALLY ARE AVAILABLE HERE:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
ATTACHMENTS BELOW:
#1 A graphic guide to justice (9 metaphors on one page).
#2 “39 Songs, Prayers, and Poems: the Keys to the Hearts of Seven Billion People” — Adams House Senior Common Room Presentation, 11/17/20
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned in the last week related to education or education policy. Or the coolest thought however half-baked you had. Or the coolest, most important thing you learned in your life related to education or education policy that the rest of us may have missed. Or just some random education-related fact that blew you away.
This is your chance to make some one’s day. Or to cement in your own mind something that you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something that is dear to your heart.
