So, Grace starts preschool this week. She is so excited and it is so nice that Oklahoma offers free preschool to all 4 year olds, (well, if you call paying an 8.5% sales tax, among others, free). Anyway, I had to go out and get all of her school supplies and at the bottom of the list there is a note that says, "do not put your child's name on any of the school supplies because they will be shared by everyone in the class". Now, I don't have a problem with sharing tissues and clorox wipes, but crayons and watercolors? And it isn't even really sharing because sharing implies ownership. The kids have to give their supplies to the governing body, teachers, and the teachers dispense the supplies to everyone at their own discretion. Um...that is a little creepy and a little too socialistic for me. This is the very first lesson we teach our extremely impressoinable children the minute they start school. Can you say "indoctrination"?! Hillary must be so proud. It is ironic that this happens in schools run by the United States government.
Now, I know that I may be overreacting a tad bit, but when I was shopping for the supplies I didn't buy anything expensive or with personal touches, everything was generic and basic, which is what I imagine would happen in a socialistic society. I say we need to give our children some ownership in their education by allowing them to have their own supplies, kept in a little cubby or something at school. Teach them about sharing what is truly theirs, now forcing them to share something that isn't really theirs because it was given to the teachers to dispense at will. I understand that there may be some kids who cannot afford all of their supplies, and I would have absoloutly no problem donating a few dollars to a fund that could pay for their supplies. I can understand why some people choose to homeschool.
I really don't want to have this adversarial feeling toward my children's schools, and I can say that that feeling was gone the minute I met Grace's teachers, they seem amazing, but I think we have to be ever vigilant and aware of what our children are learing at school, even the not so obvious stuff, so that we can counter anything negative at home.
HISTORY
A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.
From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.
In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.
Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.
Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.
We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.
As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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4 comments:
Very intuitive of you Becky. That is why we have parents, so they can counter the evil out there in the world. We can't fight it if we don't recognize it. xoxo mom
good luck to grace!! i know mia is also starting preschool soon. good luck mia!!!
Dad said...
Your last phrase, "counter anything negative at home," is the key. Home and family has to maintain first position.
I know some people though who decided to home school because one of their kids came home from public grade school with some pretty extreme ideas which the parents tried to counter, but the kid argued with them about it because she deemed the teacher to be the ultimate authority. I guess you have to find a way to assure ultimate respect for mom and dad, at least through grade and middle school.
That is ridiculous!!! Why do you even have to go out and buy it? Why don't they just require parents to give them a certain amount of money for supplies, then they can go out and buy the same brand for everything, I imagine it has to do with some kids having better brands? Hmm...makes you think.
Dana
Yeah, makes you think about home school! (My roommate Marcia and her whole family did it, and I must say, they're quite the well-rounded bunch.) I agree with you, Becky. They're trying to teach a lesson, but they're going about it the wrong way.
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