It’s A Different Time
I remember being in kindergarten, 55 years ago now…and each one of us in the afternoon class at South Tama elementary in Toledo got a wrapped present at Christmastime. It was a little notepad and pencil, with the phrase “Merry Christmas from Your Teacher” stamped on the front of the plastic case. The teacher had bought them and wrapped them herself, with the not-subtle encouragement of the value of writing and note taking.
That was such a simple gift, yet so full of impact. I guarantee I still have that gift all these years later.
Contrast that with what’s going on in some of our public schools today. KXEL listeners are kind enough to share all sorts of examples of things…this was a photo of a pencil that read “We Support Public Education” on the side. Apparently, all the students at this particular public school got one.
Keep in mind that students and their parents have to spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies…well beyond the Trapper Keeper and box of Crayolas from the past…because the schools just don’t have the resources. That’s why boxes of facial tissue, dry erase markers, and other items are on the required school supplies list…families often have to provide those for sharing with everyone nowadays.
So if that’s the case…who paid for the pro-public education pencils? It’s clearly a political statement, so it’s not appropriate for public money to have gone for them. And if they were paid for by some outside group, including a teacher’s union, it’s also not appropriate…unless they also allow distribution of “We Support Private School” pencils. And on what other public issues are students being given material promoting only one side?
There’s a part of me that wants to donate something with a contrary statement printed on it and see if the schools would freely hand those items out to students. But I don’t need to waste the money or the time…we all know what the answer would be.
Thanks to the listener who sent that photo…and to everyone who similarly calls out indoctrination like this in all forms. Because when people lament how bad things have gotten and ask me what they can do about it…I always say to take care of home first. Pay attention, stay engaged, and don’t be shy. All very legal forms of conduct…and all very effective in returning us to the days when a student could get a gift from a teacher and no one would be worried about the political statement it was sending.
