I'm Adely Moon, and this is The Slowdown.

In the shower today, I started thinking about things I wish I had learned in school.

I was thinking about how I would have liked a class on taxes, and how to organize your

finances throughout the year.

A simple thing, but it would have been useful.

And then I wouldn't have had to teach myself by scrambling and crying, and trying to get

over my fear of money and its implications.

Also, I wish I had learned more names of animals.

There are so many of them, and I feel like I only learned about tigers and turtles.

And more plant names.

Oh, I would have loved more classes on the varieties of plants.

Yes, I said more, because we did learn some plant identification growing up in Sonoma,

California in the 80s.

In fact, in first grade, Mr. Mike, his last name is Long and Delightful, and none of us

in first grade could pronounce it.

So he is forever, Mr. Mike, shout out to Mr. Mike, taught us all about sea creatures,

and I still remember holding sea sponges and drawing pictures of starfish and an enemy.

But mainly I wish we had learned a little more about kindness and inner strength.

How being kind, really kind, to other people, is one of the best ways to go through life.

There was no class and kindness, but there was dodgeball and recess soccer that was fun

until it was competitive and someone cried, usually me.

In all seriousness, I loved my elementary school, Dunbar Elementary and Dunbar Road.

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