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[KNat <knat AT sprintmail.com>]

Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:
> > This is why PS is a good thing. Millions of kids in this country have
> >     
> parents like Bev had who don't care.
>
> The reason there are so many parents who dont' care is because over the past 
> centruy and a half we've created an institution that allows, encourages, 
> promotes, and fosters parents not to care.  If you want to have kids and largely 
> ignore them, fine, the government schools will take care of the problem.  
>   
Our principals were talking yesterday about the number of kids who had 
were out of school. May schools would find that deplorable and "in need 
of improvement." (state term for noncompliance in a school.) They were 
looking individually thru "excuses" to make sure the students each had 
"better offers." Ex a child of new divorce going with only one parent 
for the holiday asked the other for a day with her before he went. That 
is not not caring enough to bring them to school. Sure, its easier to 
run a school when everyone comes all the time, but sometimes children 
need to be children and students of the world. One Coordinator 
summarized an article to the other "In North Dakota" (how's that 2 
threads at once)" they found a great way to get families more time. They 
only run 4 days a week! And they save a bunch of money besides."  They 
then went into cost savings that people would understand as a selling 
point even in this day of "good schools" demanding longer and longer 
hours. These are the people that run a school specifically to meet the 
needs of the children and one need the children and parents have, that 
they see as important, is time together. And the educational fertility 
that comes from children having full lives is a benefit to all. At 
higher grades the focus can be a day or two a week interning to find a 
mentor to shepherd a young person into a career but in Elementary, 
parents still offer the best access to "real world." Parents who care 
about the child's development though, not parents who care to "support" 
the system by demanding children comply (too often schools meaning 
behind "behave.") Parents who include the child in what they do.
Before someone chimes in I am different please know I spend many days a 
week helping those "unfortunates" that "neglect their children's 
education" unlearn the culture instilled by their PS experience so they 
can be "good" parents too. I've met a small few too sick to know they 
have a child (and we need to know them individually) but mostly the 
absent parents are adults who were taught to turn their lives and their 
children over to others whether those others make sense or not. To 
comply with rules without using logic that could be problematic to those 
making the rules. Can't really blame them for expecting those others to 
do it all. When they learn the value of being themselves around their 
child things change for everyone. Send the children to school so they 
see other lives besides sitting in front of a television is only one 
possibility and is only meaningful if the school life is more valid. I 
know many adults that got their skills helping parents, uncles, 
grandparents fill out welfare forms and work the system. Several 
prominent business men were acculturated in street drug sales thru their 
using families. There are positive skills taught by sick people too and 
removing everyone's children will not solve those family situations.

Kathyann