My Concept Circle (or Not a Spelling Test)

I don't know what it means, I thought you did.  Well let's take a look-see:

Okay, it's an assignment for a seven-year-old so we'll just follow along.  "Write a word and make a picture in each section that goes with the focus word.  In the middle, write the word ______."

What the hell?  Write what word in the middle, I mean it's blank...  Is the word in the middle, the word that goes unspoken, the "focus word?"    What is the concept circle really about and why is the focus word in an oval?  Shouldn't it be "the concept circle around the focus word oval."

I am so glad I am not in primary school these days.  I mean really, this worksheet is very vague.  Lets assume the focus word (jeeze) is depend.  Apparently we define it, making it focus words, plural, in an oval.  "Count on, trust in" - well, that's good.

Now, I can only assume, because I do not understand the assignment, that we circle the focus word(s) with concepts about the word...  oooohkay. 

We'll start there upper left quadrant with "anblans" which I can only assume is ambulance, but, screw spelling tests, we are working on a concept circle, whatevs...  Alright, it is an ambulance, obviously one from an episode of M*A*S*H, that Red Cross is a real giveaway.  Yes, we can depend on rickety, nineteen-fifties medical transports.

Next we have "bandad" which I always assumed was a dad active in the orchestra boosters, however, here it seems to have something to do with blood-spewing elbows and, uh, poop? scabs, yes, right then.  Oh... band-aid well there ya have it.

Next is "Comepuooter," (seriously, a spelling test would have been much more useful here, I have to say, than this twattle).  I am a little baffled by how a computer fits in conceptually with the focus word, depend.  I think 'computer' and 'depend' are antithetical.  Perhaps, because I did not get the full instructions, in this quadrant, we use an opposite like word.

And finally, "pain."  What?  You can depend on pain?  What, are the teaching existentialism and concept circles in some sort of Sartre based curriculum?  Well, at fifty-something, that is true enough, and, if you take a serious look around at the flaws in society, homelessness, childhood hunger and our deplorable infant mortality rate here in the U.S. I guess... wait, those blue pills aren't Vicodins, it's, oh, well, that's awkward.  It's "rain."  Well yes, we do depend on rain, how lovely.

(Good Lord in Heaven, do not google "concept circles" or you will be more thoroughly confused than you already are.)

I still don't get it.  All I can assume is that they are preparing our youth for the eventuality of being confronted with one of those stupid memes that use interlocking circles to compare toddlers to fraternity boys and Ted Nugent.  I never get those either.  I hope there is a spelling test tomorrow.


I suppose it's fairly obvious that I have lost it here.  The boys have been home all week with the cold/flu, fevers and lots of coughing, acheyness and general lethargy and pissiness.  So I didn't have enough time to do that important piece on "Mr. Mom is Dead" (no not Micheal Keaton, the archaic notion that dads are bumbling idiots) like all the other cool dad bloggers are doing.  Oh, well - maybe some other time... or not.  'Or not' mostly because Zach Rosenberg at 8BitDad did it better than I ever could of in his post "Mr. Mom Ain't Dead (he's just busy with the kids)."


From Marci's "...things you don't expect to hear from the backseat..."

N: "I hurt everywhere."

I think the cold/flu season is stalking Nicky


Been there, little buddy, been there...