Our town is having a vote today. And I’m probably in the minority because I’m voting No. For weeks we have read in the paper, seen on the news, and heard by word of mouth all over our community how wonderful this project will be, how amazing and necessary and important it is. Our local “Christian” College supports it. Our schools seem in favor of it. Yet I’m not. Here’s my thoughts:
I understand preschool can be beneficial and important. It’s a great resource and option for working parents without a doubt. Its even helpful for stay-at-home mom’s when they have a child who might come out of their shell a bit more in a preschool environment, or when their child listens better to others than to them. (I know this as I have at least 1 of my 3 children who struggles to listen & behave for me but does much better for others.) I like that our community has options for preschool and that if I would CHOOSE to send my child its there for me to do so.
However, by voting yes, you’re all taking that choice away from me. You are forcing me to PAY for preschool, despite the fact that I do not send my children to preschool. I stay at home. Yes I admit, I have that luxury. And Yes I LOVE it. But I do sacrifice and make sacrifices in order to do so. I won’t go in to the many ways we live “cheaply” in order to afford me the luxury of staying home with my kids, but there are MANY ways! Yet this vote will force us to live even cheaper in order to afford the right and luxury to stay home with my children. Does that sound great to you? To me it angers me. I am not FORCING YOU to choose how to live. Why are you trying to force me?
So many in favor of this vote say the following reasons why its so beneficial. Here’s my responses:
1 - Its FREE preschool for 4 year olds.
- No it is not! Our tax dollars will be paying for it. You do realize that nothing but the grace of God is free right? Everything is paid for in one way or another. In order to pay for this preschool we will have our taxes increased. Everyone will - whether or not they have a child in the preschool. So not only are you paying in your tax dollars, but now all those who aren’t using the preschool are as well. Does that seem right to you? Isn’t it enough that we already pay for a public school education we choose not to use? Now we have to pay at the preschool level too?
2 - It is supported, staffed, and will be run/influenced by the Christian community, college, and churches. Despite being government funded, it will NOT loose its Christianity.
- Really? Do you not realize how the slippery slope works? One person complains that there’s prayer in the school & its gone. One person says lets celebrate Halloween (something that is founded and rooted in demons & evil sorcery) and its no longer Reformation Day - its Halloween. Really? We want our kids to learn that if people won’t give them a TREAT its okay to play a TRICK on them? I don’t think so. This already happens so often in our churches - one tiny issue comes up, and we think or say “well its so minor, lets just concede on this since its not a big deal” and pretty soon that tiny thing becomes the norm and when the next tiny issue comes up we think less & less of it…until we’re so far off the basis of what our Faith really is we hardly recognize it anymore!
3 - Research & studies show how beneficial preschool is & how important it is for our children to attend so that they do so much better in school & are much better prepared for kindergarten.
- My daughter did not “GO” to preschool. I took the time at home to teach her on my own. I happen to know several of my friends whose child was taught at home as well. Guess what? They entered school just as prepared if not better prepared than the rest of the children. In our specific case - my daughter happens to be one of the YOUNGEST in her class - in her immediate section of kindergarten she is the absolute youngest - and people have told me repeatedly “why are you sending her” or “maybe you should put her in TK” yet she scored very high on the round-up placement assessment. She already knows how to read -- not tiny little books but our devotional for mealtime, her devotional for bed-time, any and everything she finds. She reads quite well actually -- and she’s was doing this before she ever stepped a foot into school. As I’ve said before - yes preschool can be beneficial and it is a great tool that truly helps some children. I totally acknowledge that maybe my daughter is blessed with being bright and is an exception to the norm. Maybe its not a product of her learning at home vs. learning in a preschool and is simply her God-given talents at work. Maybe my son will benefit so much more from attending a formal preschool. But isn’t that our choice as parents? Why do you have the right to take that choice from us and force us to pay for preschool each year in our taxes even when we’re not sending a child there. It is not necessary for all children to go to a formal preschool. Yet this vote is saying it is.
I know I could go on for a long time on these issues. If someone would like to give me their reasons for the preschool I would love to have a one on one discussion of my thoughts vs. theirs. I RESPECT others opinions. I LOVE that we all have the right to our own opinions. I am NOT against preschools. I am not against building a new preschool that combines them all together, though I am concerned about the ability of it staying true to its Christian beliefs. I am against this vote though as it takes away our freedom to choose by forcing us to pay for another school whether we will use it or not. I would much rather be given the freedom to choose whether or not to pay for a child’s education than be forced to simply do so.
Just my 2 cents.
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