Walked with my high school senior to a nearby cafe this morning, bought him a latte, and left him with my laptop to write an essay about Obamacare.
You never can tell what types of subjects will interest your child, no matter how well you think you know him.
My son has become intrigued by policy issues, government and economics this fall, partly due to an excellent course by an excellent teacher.
Thus, there he was, on a sunny day off from school, due to it being a federal holiday, quite contented to be doing research and writing a fairly long essay.
I returned home and when he showed up a couple hours later, he asked if I would like to read what he had written.
You bet!
I'm well-informed enough about the Affordable Health Care Act to have a few opinions. What surprised me about his essay, researched and written so quickly, was how he seemed to have captured all of the essentials of this exceedingly complex and controversial piece of legislation so succinctly and accurately.
He also gave a nod to the main Republican criticisms of the Act, noting their logic and essential simplicity, as opposed to the complexity of the system now in place.
Frankly, as a journalist, what he did and how quickly he did it, at his young age, stunned me. I didn't see this side of him coming -- a young man able to intellectually digest and analyze complex information about a public policy question so impressively.
Maybe he is ready for college!
Parents often underestimate their kids during transition moments. Lately, I've wondered how ready he is for the next stage of life he is about to enter.
Today, I realized my doubts are probably more about my ability to let him go, than his to move on.
As a long-time college professor myself, the paper he wrote today in my class wouldn't only be an A in high school, but an A in college as well.
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