Vanity: Socialism Starts in Kindergarten

Kindergarten Orientation | 08/15/2003 | AlaninSA

[AlaninSA]

I attended parents' orientation at my daughter's school tonight. The school was packed with parents bringing their kids to what was - for some (including my daughter) their first ever year of "real school."

[AlaninSA]

The "real school" experience tonight began with a "real socialism" lesson. Every child walking into the school had been loaded down with the year's schools supplies.

These were supplies proudly bought at the local Target, Wal-Mart or Office Max. Kids were excited about the pens, pencils, notebooks and crayons they'd selected and then carefully loaded into their new backpacks. Each item was lovingly labeled with the child's name.

The kindergarten kids -- especially -- had finally left the world of pre-school and had their own supplies.

It would be a year of learning...and excitement was understandably a part of the equation.

Kids were jazzed as they learned which room they'd be in this year. They marched down the hallways with their parents and into the classroom where learning would be done with the aid of THEIR new school supplies.

What greeted them?

Labeled bins. One each for pens, pencils, notebooks, folders and crayons. Each child dumped his/her supplies (purchased by each "according to his ability") into a collective pile where they'd be distributed "to each according to his need."

Is not kindergarten too early for lessons in Communism? Is a five year old too young to be taught the "values" of socialism?

Are we alone in the Northeast Independent School District? Are we the only place where communism is a part of early childhood education?

I'm writing a letter to the superintendent of my school district.

Will you join me? Will you drop a line to Superintendent Richard Middleton of NEISD?

Will you let your schools turn into communist clones of Northeast ISD?

Would you like it if your kids attended socialist environments like Longs Creek Elementary?

We've really got to stop the early childhood socialist brainwashing.

It's for the children!

[annyokie]

I don't understand your complaint. My youngest just started first grade this past Thursday and they do the same at his school. The teacher parcels out their supplies because many cannot read their names and some have no supplies which are supplied by charitable parents or staff. Nothing gets lost or stolen, either. (My children have been attending this school for two years, now.)

Socialism? No. With 21 six year olds in one class, this is certainly better than chaos or tears.

[Paul Atreides]

Please don't take this the wrong way but, why are you surprised? It's all about indoctrination. I'm only surprised that it was all done when the parents were there.

[kcar]

Been there. Done that. Homeschooled. It may seem a reluctant conclusion but it grows on you. I'll give you 2-3 teachers conferences, max.

[riri]

I would have a meltdown. That would be the trigger to pull my child out of that school. I have a first grader, I have not seen anything like this. What part of the country do you live in?

[Spiff]

Socialism is evil in all of its forms - including state distributed education welfare. It is amazing how many Americans and even FReepers can't see that.

[AlaninSA]

My complaint is that the message provided by the teacher to justify this behavior is "some children have nicer things than others. That's not fair - and we don't want kids to 'feal bad' about it."

Huh?

That's like saying that I should allow my house to be community owned - I mean, some people don't have as nice a house...y'know?

[wgeorge2001]

"We've really got to stop the early childhood socialist brainwashing."


What parents need to do is destroy the Dept. of (Mis)Education and give education back to the states and indiviual communities; kick the teachers unions out of the public school system and never let them back in; parents must take over all school board positions and local community school boards and get the idiot politicians out; and then you could educate the children properly.

[AlaninSA]

San Antonio, Texas.

Texas may be the home of a wonderful president, but it's a communist bastion in the areas south of Austin.

[Scenic Sounds]

I volunteered one morning a week in a kindergarten two years ago. All the supplies (e.g., crayons, pencils, paper, scissors, etc.) were kept in bins and were provided to the kids on an as needed basis for particular projects. That system seemed to make sense to me and I didn't understand it to represent any conscious effort to instill any particular political/economic agenda.

Are there better ways to run a kindergarten class?

[riri]

Oh my, I thought you were going to say somewhere in Massachusetts or upstate NY.

That really makes me angry. Next, it'll be sneakers. Can't have one wearing the Nikes and one having the Payless brand.

It's going to be much worse before it gets any better isn't it?

[spunkets]

"The teacher parcels out their supplies because many cannot read their names"

DOesn't matter, they know what is theirs, because ma gave it to them and told them not to lose it. Some have no supplies. There might be the rare few that don't, so they get them from school and the school tells them not to lose them.

This is socialist indoctrination.

" Nothing gets lost or stolen, either.

How would anyone know that. The stuff is no longer theirs. All the stuff is piled in the communal bins.

[riri]

These were supplies the parents bought FOR THEIR child. They were intended for their child so that there child had the tools they needed to succeed.

Because Mr and Mrs. Dirty couldn't break away from the Marlboro's and Meisterbrau for a week and buy their child school supplies, it isn't anybody elses responsibility to pick up the slack.

[AlaninSA]

I dunno...but I do know that this not the way it's done my hometown in MINNESOTA.

Sheesh! Can you believe this?

I live in a REPUBLICAN dominated state. We practice Kindergarten Kommunism here.

I grew up in a liberal, SOCIALIST dominated state. They practice freedom there.

What's this world coming to?

[Paul Atreides]

And, if some little snot tears up something that someone's parent paid good money for, guess who has to go out and buy another one?

[mass55th]

Whatever happened to the school supplying the kids paper, pencils, pens in the lower grades? Hell, the State of New York provides it all for the freakin' inmates in their prisons. Although I went to school in the dark ages, we never bought our own school supplies until we got into the higher grades. We paid a book rental fee, which back then was only about $2.00 twice a year. That went to cover the books, paper, and pencils we used. We never used pens in Kindergarten. And when we did begin to use pens for writing, they were the ink pens that you had to dip into the inkwell to use...and NO! they weren't quill pens! I'm old but not that old!

[spunkets]

"That system seemed to make sense to me and I didn't understand it to represent any conscious effort to instill any particular political/economic agenda."

Were the supplies in the bins purchased by the parents and given to their kids, or were they bought in bulk by the school dist? It makes a diff.

[riri]

Hell, the State of New York provides it all for the freakin' inmates in their prisons

LOL. Good point.

[Paul Atreides]

Personally, I think it would be a learning experience for the teacher to ask each student's name, write it on their own personal box, and store their individual stuff in the respective boxes. That way, the kid recognizes how his name is spelled, he learns individual responibility of keeping up with his own stuff and cleaning up after himself.

[Renegade]

My wife and I have been teaching for a total of 68 years and we both disagree with your opinion . A child's property belongs to the child and no other person in the class. If someone is unprepared for learning it is the option of another student to " lend" them a tool. BTW, 95% or more of the 1st graders in our district can read their names.