To Houston for Thanksgiving

Today we set off for Houston to spend Thanksgiving with Bonnie's sister Salli and her family. Bonnie's parents have also come in to town and some other cousin's families will visit as well. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

On our way to Houston we went up to Austin to see the capitol building.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Ten Commandments on display. I thought courts had gotten rid of all those, but there they are. This is Texas, after all. #dontmesswithtexas  

The Lone Star in the dome. 

It's a beautiful edifice. We were able to catch a special tour of the building that focused on women's contributions to Texas. We heard less about the architecture, but heard some great stories from an entertaining tour guide.

 The Senate Floor. These desks are 100+ years old and still in use.

Pretty sure they didn't come from IKEA.

After lots of running, playing, jumping, and spinning, this girl needed a quick break. Her big sister was ready.

After the capital building, we visited the George Washington Carver museum. The kids have been learning about him in school. It was quite small and rather underwhelming.

No name on the building. Had to look at the banners to know what the building was. 

There were two main rooms. This one for kids.

In the slightly larger room--okay, maybe thrice the kid's room's size--the main hall of the museum featured George Washington Carver, but the museum didn't really seem to be about him. The focus felt more like a museum about the notable accomplishments black people with an emphasis on Carver. What's interesting about this is that Carver refused to use his accomplishments and influence to publicly promote black equality and was often criticized for it. He was focused utilizing science, especially agricultural science, to help people. He didn't want to be seen as a black person making a difference; he wanted to be seen as a person making a difference. So the museum felt, well, a bit odd.

At any rate, there were two quotes that I took pictures of. If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that something I ask a lot is What is the #purposeofeducation? I believe this crucial question is largely neglected when considering education policy today. Furthermore, I believe the answer may be different for each individual.

I love to ponder on people's thoughts as they consider this question and its corollaries. Here are a couple great quotes on display at the Carver museum in Austin.

What is the #purposeofeducation for you?