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.