Should I be proud of Jacob for this one?

Slam Managing Editor Susan Price writes:

Ok, so that girl getting in jacob’s face about winning and him hitting her? i know kids shouldn’t hit (or adults for that matter) but i love how he fought for his team! love it! i can hear my sister right now reprimanding me, saying that if my niece emma (7) did that, they’d have a sit down. though i bet my brother in law would secretly be smiling in the back.

anyway, just a quick email to say that the blog still rules. and love you guys all dressed up! becky looked beautiful and you looked great.

take care, Susan

Thanks for the kind words and the overall support, Susan.

As for Jacob and the fight, I was proud of him honestly. I tried hard to impress upon him that he can’t settle disputes by hitting, although it is good to stand up for yourself and your team. Of course, I was also sort of proud of Caroline, even though I don’t know her that well. She is the only other real American in the class and both of her parents and tried and true Pburgh natives. I couldn’t help but thinking that they could just s easily have been squaring off at Colfax Elementary (where I went) as at Dulwich college of Beijing It just seemed appropriate in some strange way.

Las tweek, they had poetry day, where the kdis all read poems they either chose or wrote. Caroline read one of her own. It was something like: “Puppies. Soft, cuddly, Cute. I love them.”

A couple of days later, Jacob’s very British friend Edward was over and out of the blues, Jacob goes, “Hey Edward. Puppies. Soft, Cuddly, Cute. I love them.” Then he rolls his eyes and they both crack up. I said nothing, but again was proud in some warped way.

Another funny Jacob thing: their virtue of the week is kindness. All of the kids drew pictures depicting kindness, showing someone “paying it forward.” Jacob drew a huge, fierce-looking pirate ship, complete with a skull head rising from the bow. The boat is huge. I looked at it and thought, “what was he thinking?” and then I saw two tiny figures in the middle of the boat and one pirate is saying to another, “Hey, do you want a piece of gum?”