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Monday, April 5, 2010

Parents Say The Darndest Things

I am a public school teacher and proud of what I do.  Reading intervention is my specialty.  I take education very seriously and feel that my time as a teacher has exposed me to the ins and outs of public school, private school, and homeschooling.  In light of this, let's just say I have pretty strong feelings about education and appropriate placement for students.

No matter where you stand on the issue of school placement, I heard a comment from a parent the other that would/should shock and disappoint anyone.  A mother at my son's preschool mother actually told me that she was considering not sending child to public school in our district because the district has a healthy-eating policy that prohibits students from bringing cupcakes on their birthdays.  Now, I am not a fan of the no cupcake-birthday ban, but I certainly can understand its foundation and furthermore cannot begin to comprehend how this would impact a parent's decision about their child's schooling--especially given the fact that this student has a speech issue that is currently going untreated and likely would continue going untreated in the private schools the parents are considering.  What a shame.  I feel so bad for this child, because I see so many children with the same stumbling block given my line of work.

I've heard a lot of excuses for not sending children to public school and this one was the worst.