Reese's Education

Mat and I have started talking about where we will by a house after we are married. Like all responsible parents we are looking at the schools in the areas to make sure there will be a good school for Reese. Unfortunately since we won't have much saved up we prob won't be able to afford a house in the "good school" neighborhood. But it will be fine if McCain is elected. His education plan says I can send Reese to whatever school I want to. If I think the school by my house isn't good enough I can choose to move her to a better school. Hooray :-)

Except now Reese's school is not in our neighborhood. How is she going to get to school? The buses aren't going to drive all over Catonsville going to all the schools. Families with only one working parents or parents with flexible schedules will be fine. Their kids can go to the better school b/c they can drive and pick them up. Kids whose parents can't? I guess they are stuck at the bad school.

And what happens when 100 kids try to move to the better school? Now it's over crowded and therefore it's performance is going to decline. So we'll just cap the number of kids who can transfer. The firs 50 parents to complain get to give their kids a better education.

McCain isn't going to actually improve schools, for that he would need money, and to get money he'd have to raise taxes. No instead students and teachers will simply move to better schools and the bad schools will be stuck w/ less money, bad teachers, and the kids whose parents didn't sign up fast enough or can't drive their kids to the better school.

But it's ok b/c Reese is young and early education doesn't matter. Kids don't need to be educated until they are at least 5, and even in kindergarten we shouldn't teach to much. Are we seriously kidding ourselves?? So many studies that show how much easier it is for a child to pick up a language at a young age. Is it fair to assume they can't learn other things as well? Basic math (adding and subtracting), science (how the body works, how plants grows, learning about animals), engineering and mechanics (building things and working with springs or pulleys), and computers (using a mouse, playing a game). America is ranked way to low in the above areas. Why shouldn't we start early and show kids how these topics are fun. To many people preach "Let kids be kids" so we should just let them run around and play with out making them learn anything except what they learn from life. But really what they learn and what we are saying is enjoy your life until you have to go to school b/c that is no fun. Not the message I want to pass on to Reese.

I am glad to see Obama's zero-five plan that will help improve preschools and daycares to help children start learning at an early age. I love Reese's school. She learns Spanish, music and rhythms, math, science, and so many other things. I wish more children could have that experience but unfortunately $800-$1000 a month is too much to pay. Luckily new tax cuts for child care may help more families afford quality daycare. And if not, Obama will improve schools by recruiting teachers and creating incentives for them. I listen to my sister talk all about how No Child Left Behind is not working. We are both excited for how Obama is going to improve this program.