Cartoon by Marcia Liss

iPhone-a-phobia. Yep, I think I have finally developed a full-blown case. It seems my biggest fear about my upcoming 10-day vacation in Europe is disconnecting. After spending too many hours trying to figure out data plans for foreign travel, sim cards purchased abroad, Skype vs. FaceTime from phone to phone, and whether my phone must be in perpetual airplane mode or simply forbidden from roaming, I give up.

 

 

The surprising part of the trip was not all of the amazing sights that I expected to see. It was stepping out of my regular life to see a part of the world I rarely thought about other than in world history classes. It was learning about the ongoing chaos and strife in this region as boundary lines between countries shifted constantly, stranding people in new countries that did not reflect their heritage.

 

 

Disconnect. That's the word that plays over in my head. How can he do all his homework on his own, never struggling with any topic and get such a low percentile on a test? Then, an epiphany. What is the validity of this test? How does it relate to our curriculum?