[Magdalen] First day of school.

[ME Michaud]

Home is the best place to learn most things, but society has
created an educational system to make sure it all gets done.
I've had several friends who, for various reasons, learned
almost nothing at home (schizophrenic mother, illiterate
mother, overwhelmed mother of a huge family, depressed
mother). My friend whose mother couldn't read was taught
by a woman in the town for twenty-five cents a lesson
until a school finally opened there, thanks to the missionary
sisters.

The world is a complicated place.

I'd also mention that several of the women my mother helped
to teach were recent immigrants who didn't know how to
shop. Had never seen a banana or an orange. Or an indoor
toilet.
-M