A couple of weeks ago we were hanging out in Barnes and Noble and I gravitated toward the education section.  I found the book “The Well Trained Mind” by Jesse Wise and Susan Wise Bauer.  Susan is Jesse’s home schooled daughter.  I was impressed by Susan’s dossier – entered college at 17 as a Presidential Scholar, earned her Bachelor’s degree in 5 semesters, visiting student at Oxford, earned 2 Master’s degrees, is now a professor at the College of William and Mary and has published numerous books… . 

Anyway, one of my fears has been that my kids would not be prepared to enter college because they have been home schooled.  Susan’s success is encouraging to me. 

But No Pain, No Gain...

Did you miss me?

I’ve been mired in books – home school resource books at home and QuickBooks at the office.  I’m ready for a little pleasure reading – next on my fiction list is “The Memoirs of Cleopatra” and some Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I’ve never read the Sherlock Holmes novels (but loved the PBS movies) and hear they are great.

He replied, “What? It’s goat."

"No.  Think about it; how many people do you know who have a goat to get?"

He quickly tried to change the subject knowing that it is pointless to argue with me. We’ve been down this road before and he has learned that when it comes to language and history, what I don’t know as fact I invent.

So, who's right?  Is the phrase "get my goat" or "get my goad"? 

I decided to do a little research by submitting to the only bastion of authority and light and truth: I Googled both phrases, “Get your goat” and “Get your goad."

Here are theories:

The phrase “get your goat” comes from a formerly common but now outdated practice in horse racing where the owners would stable their horses with goats to calm them down. Thus, to get someones goat would anger the horses and, I suppose, render them ineffective.

Is that true?  Will the presence of a goat really pacify an agitated horse?  Sounds like a question for MythBusters.  Anyway, I don't buy it.

Another post refers to a dictionary definition of “goat” as prison slang meaning “anger.” This doesn't sound plausible.  I've never been inside a prison, but I suspect that when inmates are goading one another, "goat" isn't the first bit of slang to roll off the tongue.

Here is the most compelling explanation, I think: aside from “goad” as a verb - to goad someone into doing something, a goad is a pointy stick used to urge an animal into obedience. I further submit that the Bible provides very early references to a “goad” as something one could “get.” See Judges 3:31, 1 Samuel 13:21, Ecclesiastes 12:1. Also, see what Jesus said to Paul “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Acts 8:5,28:14)

My conclusion is that the phrase, properly used, is “get your goad.”

But don’t mind me, I’m stubborn.  Like a goat.

Welcome to this issue of Home school Hell:  Remind Me Again Why This is a Good Idea.

We're on week 2 of a roller-coaster ride that began with an exhilarating Monday of last week climb to the first peak, followed by a tickle-belly drop to the breakdown of my husband's 13 year old car; then the gut-wrenching cork-screw of over-commitment, sleepless nights and blood glucose monitoring; coaxing us back up to the peak of relative productivity for the climactic plunge into the pit of self-pity, self-doubt and the proclamation from Chuck that maybe he should just get a job at the Home Depot and be done with it.