Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Walking by a local Catholic school this week, I found something called the Great Mail Race Questionnaire. It had apparently once been posted on the wall; it still had sticky tack on the back. The questionnaire was apparently sent to children in other schools, who would fill them out and send them back.

Most of the questions were pretty basic, like "What is the name of your state?" Answer, Massachusetts. Or "What is the name of your town? Answer, Salem.

It must be a private school, though, because according to the respondent, children in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the school, and yet there are only 152 students. That's how many people we had in my graduating class in my rural Central Pennsylvania school.

The school colors are blue and gold, and they have no mascot. Their school year goes from September to June. The school's most popular hot lunch is not a surprise: pizza.

For field trips, the respondent says they go to the "Tops field Fair" and the "North Shore Misic Theatre." I'm not sure what "misic" is, but if it's anything like music, it's probably a lot of fun.

The spelling only gets worse. When asked to list some interesting places to visit in the state, the respondent writes, "Cape Code, Plimoth Plantation, The Constitution (old Ironsides), Peabody Essex Museum, The house of Seven Gables, Fenway Park." I find it interesting that the respondent was unable to spell Cape Cod and yet had no troubles with Fenway Park.

When asked about the climate, the respondent said hot in the summer and cold in the winter. For fun, the respondent liked to "kick ball and jump rope." The area's favorite sports teams were also no surprise: "Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, Patriots."

I'm assuming they mailed these questionnaires to students all over the country, perhaps the world. But if the questions were designed to teach the students something about other parts of the country, it failed. Most of it was information they could have found from other sources, such as the local sports teams or places to visit in that state.

After the basic information about the school, they could have asked questions that required more subjective responses, such as:

• What's the best thing the place where you live?
  
• What's the worst thing about where you live?
  
• What can you do in your town that you can't do anywhere else?
  
• What's special about your school?
  
• What do people like to do during the winter where you live?
  
• What do people like to do during the summer where you live?
  
• If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

These questions would have made for a more interesting project, because students could have learned about the place from a more personal perspective. Otherwise, they could just as easily have done an Internet search.

Of course, I don't know what the teacher's intent was. Maybe they were simply practicing writing letters to people and trying to get as many responses as possible. In that case, the questions themselves were immaterial.

I like my questions so much I'll answer a few myself:

What's the best thing about Philadelphia?
There are so many things to do and so many people to meet.

What's the worst thing about Philadelphia?
No state parks with swimming areas nearby.

What can you do in Philadelphia you can't do anywhere else?
Visit the Liberty Bell. Or participate in the Rocky Run, where runners raise money for autism by wearing gray sweat suits and following the path Rocky takes training in the money, finishing with a sprint up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

What do people like to do during the winter in Philadelphia?
Complain about the basketball team.

What do people like to do during the summer in Philadelphia?
Go to outdoor events like concerts and sports event.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
Right now, Philadelphia.

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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