Oppose AB 1236
The California State Assembly is at it again, offering us another bill we need to oppose. This one will be debated on April 25th, and it goes under the name, "Compulsory School Attendance; Kindergarten Readiness Program." Proposed, essentially, by the California Teacher's Association, the bill reduces the age of compulsory education from 6 to 5, requiring kindergarten, which is not currently mandatory.
However, as commented on by universalpreschool.com, which is against this bill, 94 percent of California's five year olds are voluntarily sent to private or public kindergarten by their parents, with others being enrolled in charter school home study programs. The other 6% are kept at home and/or are homeschooled by their parents. Therefore, mandating kindergarten won't result in vastly greater numbers of children attending conventional public school. There is no need for unnecessary legislation and associated costs to mandate Kindergarten. Ah, but that's not the entire thrust of this bill. It gets worse.
The state says "all of California's children should have a full-school-day-kindergarten experience." So, it isn't just that all children must attend, now it is that they must attend for a full school day. The costs for this are more than just monetary. Basically, the government, which distrusts parents, wants to pull children away at younger and younger ages for longer periods of time.
This becomes even more evident with the "Kindergarden Readiness Program," which would start the push for universal preschool.
We need to resist this bill. Young children should preferably be with a parent, not a government nanny who can mold the child into the "perfect citizen." It is always through the children that regimes try to grasp and maintain power. To protect our children and our country, we need the freedom to make our own choices about education and to keep our children with us during their most formative years.
Comments
Full-day Kindergarten has been the norm here for at least 8 or 9 years. A friend had to put her twins in private school because the local public school REFUSED to let them leave at noon. Victoria went to a small private K that went from 9-2. That seemed long enough. I agree that the schools are trying to get more and more control of your children at earlier and earlier ages but I think part of it is a money grab. They can receive more federal money if they have more students and those students have to be enrolled for a certain number of hours per day. Also, there is the gravy train of subsidized school breakfast and lunch. Personally, I don't think the average school teacher is smart enough to have too many overt social agendas but they're all on board for anything that will increase their power (salaries.) The real trouble is with the curriculum they teach, and that is written by some really smart people with agendas a mile long. Even at our Christian school we have had to cope with idiotic global warming propaganda taught by Victoria's only liberal teacher. We have actually enjoyed debunking all her nonsense and think Victoria is seeing a little bit of the "real" world in a protected environment. She's become pretty good at trying to sort out truth from fiction and that can only be good for her in the long run. I feel sorry for kids trapped in the public system who don't have involved parents....they're sitting ducks (and future liberals!) Good post, thank you.
Posted by: Betsy | April 19, 2007 7:30 AM
Reviewing my comments, I think I would like to edit and say most teachers aren't diabolical enough to have social agendas. I shouldn't have made the comment about their intelligence....not appropriate or fair. Mea culpa.
Posted by: Betsy | April 19, 2007 1:26 PM
Ah, Betsy, I enjoyed your comments! I'd agree that most teachers aren't diabolical enough to have social agendas, but the teaching field does seem to attract those who do have agendas, and (as you mentioned) the textbook writers definitely have agendas! I am so glad to hear that you are instructing Victoria in logic and teaching her not to believe everything she hears. I think one of the scariest things about public school is that you don't even know all the malarky the kids are hearing, so you don't know to correct it. At least I know the malarky that I'm feeding them! ;->
Posted by: Lisa Roberts | April 19, 2007 8:49 PM
Who are you people? How would you know what teachers are teaching or thinking? Get a life. In your plastic bubble world children are raised by two perfect parents who spend quality time with them. Are you willing to take children into your home whose parents are on drugs or will you take in foster children who don't speak because they have seen violence or some other traumatic thing. The public school system is willing to help these children. These are the children that need our help. It is conservative politicians that you vote for that mess up our school systems. Let teachers do their jobs and quit criticizing. You homeschool your own kids that you are raising to be the way you want them to be. Try teaching 20 or thirty kids with different personalities and learning disabilities and then you can criticize the public school system and the teachers who are underpaid to do a job they happen to be dedicated to.
Posted by: Luci | April 25, 2007 10:04 PM
Hi, Luci -
Why do you think we don't know what teachers are teaching? We have friends and relatives who have children in the public school system and they tell us what is being taught. We also read newspapers and journals.
Why are you so angry? One comment was made about teachers' intelligence and it was then retracted (correctly) as being unfair. The only other comments have concerned there being an agenda in the schools. No comments were made about the effectiveness of public school, so why are you attacking regarding children with learning disabilities or children whose parents were on drugs. You have no idea what my experience is with children whose parents were on drugs or dealing with children with learning disabilities.
I agree that it is difficult to teach 20 or 30 kids with different personalities and learning disabilities. That's why I homeschool, because I don't think teachers really can teach well in that difficult a setting.
I did not criticize the school system or the teachers for the job they do. I stated they have an agenda that goes beyond just teaching academics. If you want to refute that, go ahead. Otherwise, your statements are just polemic attack. (For example, "Who are you people?" and "Get a life.")
Posted by: Lisa Roberts | April 26, 2007 12:52 PM