So, with the big mid-summer holiday upon us her in the US, I suppose it really does provide an opportunity to step back and think about the meaning of a day with a name like that. Of course, we always need to stop first and think of the patriotic and historically significant meaning associated with the day first. I love this country, and I love that we take the time to honor those who fought hard to guarantee the many basic freedoms that we can take for granted today.

With that said, though, the idea of independence is farther reaching than just a celebrations of long-gone rockets’ red glare and hot dogs cooking on the grill. Probably because of this very holiday, the word “independence” seems me to carry some heavier undertones than its close cousin, “freedom.” Independence seems to not only speak to the state of being free, but also to the idea of being free in a place where freedoms have somehow or sometime been comprimised. I think that the intellectual state of many american children is similarly comprimised.

Although every child in America has the opportunity to attend a public school and receive his/her rightful education, many children have gaps and opportunities that our system can’t always manage to fill. Although we’ve done a pretty good job as a country of teaching to big learning objectives, there is speculation and data that suggests that many of our children aren’t being given the tools to think critically and solve problems.There are lots of very kind but very busy people in our educational system, and those educators simply can’t be everything for every kid, so we as parents and care-givers need to step in and help.

To help our children, on most local and basic level, we need to find tools to help our kids see outside of just the information they gather to get through the school day. Those tools can be as simple as telling stories around the campfire (with marshmallows, of course), or searching out information about an historical event on the internet together; heck, it can be as simple as plaing a few games of “Old Maid” or “Checkers” every evening. We really do, at minimum, need to keep our kids thinking, and empower them to make thoughtful choices.

Although I am certainly going to celebrate this independance weekend with a few hotdogs and a fireworks show or two, I’m also going to spend some time with my children playing games and solving puzzles. I’m going to do my little part to declare it “Independent THINKING Day” for kids from sea to shining sea.