Almighty Dollar

Bill and I went to TJ's parent-teacher conferences last night. They were pretty straight-forward. Mrs. T has no major concerns with him, and agrees with us that he has made tremendous strides since the beginning of the year. Apparently, he does occasionally get out of hand when playing with another little boy in his class, and he also likes to build catapults out of the math blocks. For obvious reasons, that's a no-no, but I found it a little amusing. Bill was also smiling (of course, it's his fault his five-year-old is building catapults anyway! I think he learned that watching Mythbusters with Bill).

We talked about next year and TJ's kindergarten schedule. It sounds like he will go to school for full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then a half day on Friday afternoon. He will not have his current teacher, as she teaches 1/2 day kindergarten in the mornings. Parents can opt for that, but there's no busing for it, and I have found driving him everyday to be a huge hassle. So, he'll be in the full day, half-time program. Mrs. T is not sure if she'll still have her afternoon Young 5s class. The state is essentially penalizing schools for having that program, and Coopersville may cut it and replace it with regular kindergarten. It would be an awful shame if they did.

When Mrs. T said that, it reminded me of the talk on the state level to require schools to make kindergarten a 5 full-day program. The plan is that any school that does not make the change would not receive funding for their kindergarteners. I HATE this plan. I do not think five-year-olds need to be in school 8 hours a day. Mrs. T agrees 100%. She urged me to contact my state legislator and tell them what I think. What I think is that the almighty dollar is being placed ahead of a young child's well-being. The state doesn't like the fact that a kindergartener gets as much state funding as a fifth grader, when they aren't in school as often. Who cares? Why does it have to be about dollars? Why not keep the focus on what is best for the child?

I've also heard the argument that many working parents like the new plan, as they have to pay for a half day of day care. If kindergarten is full-day, they could save money. Ummm, again, you are putting money ahead of your child's best interest.

I told Mrs. T that if this plan does pass and becomes state law, I will likely home school Sam and Nolan for kindergarten. And then the school district wouldn't get a dime for either one of them.
She said she could totally see where I was coming from. I really do not want to homeschool, but if I have even the slightest reservation about my kids being in school that long, you betcha I'll keep them home!

So, Representative Dave Agema, be looking for a letter from me soon! This overly opinionated mother has a few thoughts to share with you!