It's almost over --

When school gets out at the end of May, it seems that the summer will go on forever, and is full of endless possibilities . . . But it's not even August 1st yet and I'm already getting emails about the beginning-of-semester meetings, and reminders that for all intents and purposes, my school year will start on August 15, rather than on the 22nd when things really start.  And I'm way behind on planning my class . . . so what else is new??


I'm participating in the "Friday 56," in which you pick a quote from page 56 of whatever book you're reading.  Here's the book:

 

 And here's the quote:  "The most emotionally compelling of those private obligations was protection of men's dependents.  Thus wars were increasingly explained as being fought for hearth and home, most especially 'to protect our women.'"  This is a very interesting book about the American family, especially myths that have grown up about it -- for example, that it's evidence of our country's decline that so many teenagers are having babies these days, when in fact, the rate of births by teens 15-19 is actually half of what it was in 1957.  In this quote, she's talking about what happened as a government could no longer count on the fact that people had an obligation to be obedient to the state (i.e., to fight for it in times of war), so they began arguing that people had private obligations, to protect their women and children, in order to get them to enlist.  It's a very interesting book.

Happy Friday!