Hi, happy Friday, etc. First off, let me introduce myself and give you a little of my background. My name is Pixie and I was born in Sacramento, CA back in 19mumble-mumble and I am a product of the California public school system. I have never lived anywhere but CA and I'm currently a resident of the beautiful East Bay.
For all the fellow lifetime or long term Californians, wasn't Prop 13 wonderful? Before it passed in the 1970's, we had music, PE, sports, Arts and other special programs in our public schools. After 30 years, we see the result of this amazing and wonderful property tax limitation in our education system.
So I'm sure you'll all agree with me that it's time to end public education. Please follow me after the fold as I explain why...
A morning doesn't go by when I hear of new reductions, teacher layoffs or furloughs, increased classroom sizes, shorter days, etc. on my local news.
And I say it's about time. If you've chosen to have kids, good for you! I happen to be an expert in how you should raise and care for your children. What are my qualifications you might be thinking??? I'll tell you; I'm a childless married woman. As you know, those of us without children have all the best advice on how to parent....My husband and I are currently S.I.N.K.s (single income, no kids). We hope to be D.I.N.K.s (double income, no kids) in the near future, but I just got my layoff notice at my corporate office and I'll be technically out of a job in a few months. Which makes me even more of an expert on things!!! Yeah for me!
So here it is, my thoughts on ending public education:
- Why should my taxes pay for your children? You had them, you pay for them and quit asking me to subsidize. If you can't afford private school, then...
- Put your children to work in the fields or in factories. This will help the state by; a) it will bring an inexpensive workforce to the state and entice manufacturers to invest in businesses here, b) we can more aggressively enforce deportation of undocumented workers and c) will create more civil jobs in law enforcement and prisons where an increasing number of poorly education citizens can work and carry firearms!
- Closing schools frees up valuable real estate! Think of all the malls, condos, McMansions and parking lots we could build if we had the acreage that schools currently occupy.
- Children who get good educations and extra curricular benefits have a sense of entitlement. "Wah, wah! You owe me an education or music lessons or sportsmanship and teamwork." Listen up kids, it's never too early to learn that life isn't fair, life is tough; it's dog eat dog world and you're wearing Milk Bone underwear. This is not a soccer match, kiddies...nothing ends in a tie - it's winner take all.
If you've made it this far and didn't realize this was snark, it's time I confessed - I'm a passionate supporter of children's rights and education as well as all adult civil rights and equality. I'm a firm believer that a society is only as noble or enlightened as how we treat the least amongst us.
We have 5 nieces and nephews; 2 are in the same city as us. The 6-year-old loves going to school. She's currently in a charter school who's mission is:
Our mission is to make the extraordinary benefits of music and a high quality academic education available to students entering grades K-8, and provide a structure environment where student can become confident, self-diciplined, and creative individuals.
COVA strives to provide an environment where music brings students together to support each other and develop a culture where students respect and appreciate similarities and differences.
Other than the music lessons she's getting, when you ask her what her favorite subject is...she'll tell you "math!". And she's good at it (just like one of her aunts, but I won't name names!). Her 2-year-old brother is excited about music and likes to sing along with her or dance and sing for us on his own. But, the school's in serious trouble; CA has told all schools that they're not sending them money. Our school hasn't received the funding it was owed last September yet, so the situation is getting bleak.
It hurts my heart that I know all these great, smart, motivated young people and we're letting them down. I lost music in school when I was 11; when I was in H.S., our drama department barely made it and our band was small and ragged. A lot of schools have ended recess (to teach to the tests and keep their funding), only have gym once or twice a week and music and art...that's becoming a dream of the past or only for those with the extra income to afford it outside of the schools.
There are countless studies and enough proof that a child needs to stretch more than just their brains, and in fact, their brains need the physical and mental stimulation to improve memory and retention; we also know for a fact that a child who gets regular meals is more attentive and productive than when they get very little, inconsistent and/or poor quality nutritionally; currently there are 1,000s of children who depend on the school to provide their food.
I believe that education should be free and equal to everyone; I believe that we build a stronger, smarter workforce and citizenry when we put the education and health of our citizens as the top priority. We are a more productive society the more educated or skilled we are. Our most valuable resource is...us - men, women, children, elderly, minorities, gay, lesbian, transgendered, and mixed bag... ;^)