Metaphors and Similes

I majored in English in college and took electives in Linguistics because I've always been fascinated by language. I also studied Latin, German and French in school and later became fluent in American Sign Language. I'm the author of five books and my work has been published in lots of anthologies and periodicals so the information I learned about our language has been useful to me for the most part.

But here's one thing I don't understand: why does anyone care about the difference between a metaphor and a simile?

Yes, I had to learn the definitions in school to pass tests, but in all my years as a writer and reader I've never needed to know that information.

Sometimes I use and read comparisons using the words, like, or as, and sometimes I use and read comparisons that don't use those words.

So what?

The meaning is clear either way.

Lots of things - maybe even most things - I learned about grammar in school are useful to know,  but the difference between a metaphor and a simile is one thing I consider a waste of time to teach.

Who cares?

Successful Parents

What makes a successful parent? We tend to think that depends on what our children do when they grow up.

Some people use their kids as status symbols and want them to be rich and/or famous. Most parents want their kids to become self sufficient and have happy marriages and children of their own. And nearly all parents want their kids to avoid becoming criminals or destroying their lives by addictions or reckless behavior.

But the choices adults make are outside their parents' control.

We can try to teach our kids to be responsible, get adequate educations, and make wise decisions. Above all they'll need to have compassion, integrity, and common sense in order to have successful adult lives.

There's no guarantee the things we try to teach will sink in and last but it's important to keep trying. And probably the most important thing parents can do is demonstrate the values they want their children to have.

Grocery Stores

From the babies gazing at amazing colors and lights, toddlers riding in shopping carts and young children whining for their parents to buy them treats, through the teenagers shuffling shopping carts on their first paid jobs, kids spend a lot of time in grocery stores.

And they can learn a lot there.

Parents can ask their preschoolers to point out different colors and shapes, count the number of aisles and check out stands, and discuss where foods come from.

School aged children can practice basic math skills, read signs and labels, have conversations with their parents about how foods are grown and processed, and compare nutritional values.

Older kids can actually do the shopping and maybe even push the heavy shopping carts while parents stand by to give advice.

And, of course, those of all ages can practice good manners, learning to take turns and discovering that whining doesn't accomplish anything.

Changes in Education

Recently I've been reading McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, originally published in 1879. My grandfather may have used it as a student. Back in his time few kids went beyond the eighth grade, but he told us he'd read Shakespeare in elementary school so I shouldn't have been surprised at the reading level of this book, but I was. Many adults would find some of the  selections in this reader difficult today and many older grade school students would find them  unintelligible. 

It's interesting to see how our language has changed in a century and a quarter. For example, the authors of various selections are described as having graduated "at" rather than "from" colleges and universities. Selections in the reader, chosen to be used for practice in elocution, are often a bit pompous, but usually interesting and informative. 

Some selections in the reader are from classical works I read in college, but that doesn't mean students in the 1800s were more intelligent than kids are today. After all, they had less history and science to learn about in school and most things available for children to read for pleasure back then had been written for adults, so kids were used to more complex language. 

As an adult, I enjoyed the reader and have learned a lot about the world and attitudes in the 1800s from reading it.