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| Tim in WI - 5/24/2011 08:58 How many of your school districts have summer school?
We have had it for the past few years, this year the administration recommended cutting it way back. We will still have sessions for kids who are behind and need to catch up, but the other classes will be cut. The ones cut they term "enrichment" classes, to me they looked like high-quality daycare. I am pleased that they cut those, good quality daycare is good for kids but I don't see it as the taxpayer's responsibility.
We are still going to have the federally mandated program where we have to supply lunch all summer to anyone under 18 who shows up.
I agree on the child care thing. I also think that the summer lunch thing is not a bad idea. I worked with a woman for a couple of years that was raised poor. She told me that when she was in school, she absolutely DREADED summer vacation coming since school was the only time she knew she would have one good meal each day. Kudos to her, she turned her life around and didn't follow in the same path as her parents like so many do. She was an excellent parent and raised her children well. I know that there will be a number of freeloaders who take advantage of the system, but in this case I have no qualms about some of my tax money going toward a program like that if it is feeding some kids who really need it. If I hadn't spent time with this woman and heard her story, I'd likely be dead-set against it.
On a somewhat related note - since you are also here in WI... This past Saturday afternoon, we were in town and I ran into the grocery store quick to pick up a few things while the wife stayed in the truck with the kids. I happened to get in the checkout line behind a woman who (along with her hubby) teaches at our local school. She knew the kid running the cash register and they were talking about her son and his college plans. Their boy has plans to teach "Despite my husband and I encouraging him not to". The cashier gave her a puzzled look, to which she stated "Teaching is not a very good area to get into these days." Now, I love irony - and I happened to be wearing a company shirt with a logo on it. I also know these folks and came real close to telling her to encourage her son to work "here" (while pointing at the logo) for a few years before pursuing his teaching degree so when he does start teaching, he can educate his parents on how good they really have it compared to a private sector job where we pay the greater majority of our insurance premiums and almost all of our retirement plan (401K). BUT, they are good folks and very friendly people so I decided not to go there. ;) | |
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Summer School?
