Now that the holidays are over, I’m back to helping my youngest
child, a high school junior, prepare for the SAT. Lately, we’ve been working on
the SAT essay. All of my kids hated this. I hated helping them prepare. But
with the fourth child, things have a hit a new low.
The essay topic today was “Does history repeat itself?”
Then, there were two quotes that were supposed to inspire him to essay
greatness. He wasn’t inspired. I should’ve known this by the grumbling and
gnashing of teeth I overheard. But I ignored it. I shouldn’t have.
At twenty-five minutes after I handed him the essay topic, the
timer rang. He handed me a succinct paragraph explaining why the topic was
illogical. He examined the fallacies involved. The false terms that obscured
that truth. Etc., etc.
When my husband Calvin got home from work, I handed him the
essay. Before he read it, I explained that our son would get a zero on the
essay section of the SAT. I said that our son needed an attitude adjustment. That
he needed to learn to work within the system. My husband nodded gravely. Then,
Cal read the essay. He doubled over in laughter. Literally. When he finished
laughing, he said, “You know, this is great.”
I was not amused.
