Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Schools think they own our kids


If I asked you the question, "What is the function of a SCHOOL?" You'd say educating our children, right?

But you'd be soooo wrong.

Schools today have gradually taken on more powers. Just educating the kids isn't enough. Now they think they are responsible for everything in your child's life.

The clothes they wear aren't brand new and trendy? Their shoes not exactly new? You could be in trouble.

You kid has a runny nose? Or an itchy foot? THAT could get you in trouble.

Schools now are considering themselves GUARDIANS of our kids. Not the parents. The parents are downgraded to caretakers. Not the people who care the MOST ab out a child, who have that child's best interests at heart, the people who would die for their child...

Just caretakers. And I think the schools think they employ us to do that.

They also think they are all doctors. They love to diagnose. "Jeremy's foot is itchy. It looks like a bad fungus." Which is something, of course, you can't ignore because even though you know that there is nothing wrong with the foot, you MUST take him to the pediatrician or face CPS. So you waste a couple hours of your time to be told there is nothing fungal going on there, and report back to the BIG BOSSES who think they own our kids, with a letter signed by the MD.

And they use the power of CPS to get what they think the child needs from us. New Shoes, New Glasses, New Braces, New Clothes...Medical Treatment. Psychiatric treatment...

I homeschooled one son for one year. I am not the kind of mom who can do that, but I wish I was.

I am my child's parent. I have NOT relegated that responsibility to the state or the schools. But it's futile. I've watched the atmosphere in schools toward parents change over the past 40 years. And change not for the best.

4 comments:

Chrissy said...

You're so right. The school system is totally taking over the kids and parents are regulated to caregivers. pretty sick.

Flush said...

I linked to this post on my blog. I hope that is okay. So very true.

LindaJean said...

I am so thankful to have a small town school... We have four of our kids in public school and thankfully all the teachers and such are neighbors and friends. I can just imagine the stress of strangers diagnosing our parenting... UGH!

Arizona mom to eight said...

I agree, and may I say, it is not the idea of the teachers, but administration.