News
Opinion
ENLARGE
“Dear Cindy, your opinions stink. Love, Peace, Love and Dope — P.S. You must be really stupid too.”
OK, it's my paraphrase of an anonymous quote posted on a website last week when I voiced my view that I was trying to understand why some parents are really angry about the implementation of equal access in our schools — because I am not.
Because P, L & D is smart, and reads a website encouraging people to “get smart” (where P, L & D feels compelled to comment upon the stupidity of others, anonymously of course), I suspect P, L & D knows how electronic communication is used to torment other people. Especially kids. Tragically kids. My dismay over people who use the Internet as a high-powered vehicle to anonymously slam into others is a discussion for another day. Suffice it to say, P, L & D, stop reading now. Really, it's your choice.
To those who are following the topic and have dug in your heels, it's time to say enough is enough.Wanting to advocate for your kids is great, but it does not, and never will in my book, entitle you to belittle anyone around you who may disagree. Within a few minutes of sharing this view with a group of parents following the EA debate on an email chain, the dreaded responses started rolling in. Not so dreadful, after all, because the majority of the people I heard from agreed. No, they didn't necessarily agree with my personal take on the topic, but they did recognize people in our county are quite capable of reasonably and respectfully agreeing to disagree on certain issues.
The same day, I expressed my genuine chagrin to a dad who saw his daughter berated because she advocated for the return to the prior honors program. She and her friends put themselves out there for something they believe in. It is sadly ironic that she, too, had been ridiculed for making her views known. The fact people would attack a child advocating for something she believed in was far more troubling to me than P, L & D's personal attack (which was easily cured by a glass of fine Italian wine shared with friends).
Sure it could be viewed as the American way — name-calling and fighting words. But it's clear many people think we can do better. So, when my sixth grader returned home from school that day, we had a chat about how important is was for her to respect her friends' views — even if, or perhaps especially if, they differed from her own. Now is the time to take off the gloves and reach out a hand if we want to salvage the spirit of this community we all call home, regardless of where you come down on the issues.
And that brings me to the recommendations the school board will be considering in the next few weeks. To those of you who are parents, of any and every level of learner, it really is incumbent upon you to read and comment on the task force recommendations available at www.summit.k12.co.us. The recommendations go far to bridge some of the learning gaps that legitimately have been identified, and to identify strategies to ensure more rigorous coursework for every level of learner.
I still have strong concerns about segregating kids in middle school, where there is evidence labeling can have deleterious impacts on kids at a young and impressionable age, especially when their potential remains completely and gloriously unexplored. Moreover, I think part of our job as parents is to make sure our kids do not find their value in a label associated with a class they choose to take, but instead based on the person they choose to be. There always will be someone capable of more, or less. Their real job in school is to learn how to learn, regardless of who they sit next to in class.
That said, I don't know of a single parent in this county who would not cheer on and encourage their neighbors' kids to attain their highest potential, whether it's in the classroom, on the playing field, stage or other arena. It should be OK that we have differing opinions on the best road to take them there.
Cindy Bargell lives outside of Silverthorne with her husband and two daughters. She is a card-carrying PTSA member, real estate and natural resources lawyer and part-time gymnastics coach. She welcomes your comments at cindy@visanibargell.com.
OK, it's my paraphrase of an anonymous quote posted on a website last week when I voiced my view that I was trying to understand why some parents are really angry about the implementation of equal access in our schools — because I am not.
Because P, L & D is smart, and reads a website encouraging people to “get smart” (where P, L & D feels compelled to comment upon the stupidity of others, anonymously of course), I suspect P, L & D knows how electronic communication is used to torment other people. Especially kids. Tragically kids. My dismay over people who use the Internet as a high-powered vehicle to anonymously slam into others is a discussion for another day. Suffice it to say, P, L & D, stop reading now. Really, it's your choice.
To those who are following the topic and have dug in your heels, it's time to say enough is enough.Wanting to advocate for your kids is great, but it does not, and never will in my book, entitle you to belittle anyone around you who may disagree. Within a few minutes of sharing this view with a group of parents following the EA debate on an email chain, the dreaded responses started rolling in. Not so dreadful, after all, because the majority of the people I heard from agreed. No, they didn't necessarily agree with my personal take on the topic, but they did recognize people in our county are quite capable of reasonably and respectfully agreeing to disagree on certain issues.
The same day, I expressed my genuine chagrin to a dad who saw his daughter berated because she advocated for the return to the prior honors program. She and her friends put themselves out there for something they believe in. It is sadly ironic that she, too, had been ridiculed for making her views known. The fact people would attack a child advocating for something she believed in was far more troubling to me than P, L & D's personal attack (which was easily cured by a glass of fine Italian wine shared with friends).
Sure it could be viewed as the American way — name-calling and fighting words. But it's clear many people think we can do better. So, when my sixth grader returned home from school that day, we had a chat about how important is was for her to respect her friends' views — even if, or perhaps especially if, they differed from her own. Now is the time to take off the gloves and reach out a hand if we want to salvage the spirit of this community we all call home, regardless of where you come down on the issues.
And that brings me to the recommendations the school board will be considering in the next few weeks. To those of you who are parents, of any and every level of learner, it really is incumbent upon you to read and comment on the task force recommendations available at www.summit.k12.co.us. The recommendations go far to bridge some of the learning gaps that legitimately have been identified, and to identify strategies to ensure more rigorous coursework for every level of learner.
I still have strong concerns about segregating kids in middle school, where there is evidence labeling can have deleterious impacts on kids at a young and impressionable age, especially when their potential remains completely and gloriously unexplored. Moreover, I think part of our job as parents is to make sure our kids do not find their value in a label associated with a class they choose to take, but instead based on the person they choose to be. There always will be someone capable of more, or less. Their real job in school is to learn how to learn, regardless of who they sit next to in class.
That said, I don't know of a single parent in this county who would not cheer on and encourage their neighbors' kids to attain their highest potential, whether it's in the classroom, on the playing field, stage or other arena. It should be OK that we have differing opinions on the best road to take them there.
Cindy Bargell lives outside of Silverthorne with her husband and two daughters. She is a card-carrying PTSA member, real estate and natural resources lawyer and part-time gymnastics coach. She welcomes your comments at cindy@visanibargell.com.
