QuickNotes: Personal bits for Sunday

From first grade: I found the word "circle" about as astonishing and resistant to phonics as any word could possibly be. (After yesterday's post on decoding and content learning, I hasten to add that recognizing the concept was only the tiniest bit of help.)

From law school: The NY Times reports that Yale and its support staff unions have entered new contracts without a strike. Remembering the reasons for the 1984 picket lines, I'm glad to read that "The university also agreed to help increase the pensions of some long-ago retirees, whose pensions sometimes total $300 or $400 per month."

From parenting: Preparing for extemporaneous speaking as a Danville High School extracurricular activity has my son on the prowl for all sorts of new knowledge. He's asked me to subscribe to the Economist, and also to explain the concept of inflation. It's not every parent's cup of tea, but stuff like that makes this mom's heart go pit-a-pat. My thanks go out to Steve Meadows and everyone else who makes that great forensics program run.

From parenting again: My daughter gave me permission to share this cartoon rendition of the tensions of her senior year experience.