I have a guilty pleasure that I probably shouldn't indulge in, but I listen to 106.1 KISS FM (the talk show portion) in the mornings on my way to co-op twice a week. Yesterday was the first day back to school for most of the North Dallas area and as per a tradition on the show they read a poem called "I Trust You'll Treat Her Well". I really expected a mushy poem about how his little girl was growing up and all that other mush that comes along with it (don't get me wrong, I love mush!), but what I heard was actually HORRIBLE! I honestly can not believe that this poem is a comfort to anyone. In fact I turned it off after a few lines because it made me want to cry for anyone sending their daughter(s) or son(s) for that matter, into this enviroment that produces such awfulness!
Trust You'll Treat Her Well
World, I bequeath to you today one little girl
in a crispy dress.. with two blue eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day
long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she
runs. I Trust You'll Treat Her Well.
She's slipping out of the backyard
of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to her first day at
school.
And never again will she be completely mine...
Prim and
proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye
and walk with little-lady steps to the nearby schoolhouse...
Gone will
be the chattering little hoyden who lived only for play, and gone will be the
delightful little gamin who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a
care in her little world.
Now, she will learn to stand in lines...and
wait by the alphabet for her name to be called...
She will learn to tune
her little-girl ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines...
She will learn to giggle and gossip... and to look at the ceiling in a
disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.
Now she will learn to be jealous...and now she will learn how it is to
feel hurt inside...and now she will learn how not to cry. No longer will she
have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant
scurries across a crack in the sidewalk...
Or will she have time to pop
out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew. Now she will
worry about important things...like grades...and what dresses to wear...and
whose best friend is whose. Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls
her hair at recess time... and staying after school...and which little girls
like which little boys...And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the
place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.
And she'll find her new
heroes. For five full years I've been her sage and Santa Claus...her pal and
playmate...her parent and friend. Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship
and adoration with her teachers (which is only right).
No longer will
her parents be the smartest, and greatest in the world. Today, when the first
school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group...with all
its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.
She'll learn in
time that proper young ladies don't laugh out loud...or keep frogs in pickle
jars in bedrooms...or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer
sidewalk...
Today, she'll begin to learn for the first time that all who
smile at her are not her friends. That "the group" can be a demanding
mistress... and I'll stand on the porch and watch her start out on the long,
long journey to becoming a woman.
So WORLD, I BEQUEATH TO YOU TODAY ONE
LITTLE GIRL in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, a happy laugh that ripples
all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when
she runs.
I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL.
By Dan Valentine
So you tell me. Is that the world you want your gifts from God going into at the tender age of 5 and coming out of 13 years later? I'll Pass.
in a crispy dress.. with two blue eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day
long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she
runs. I Trust You'll Treat Her Well.
She's slipping out of the backyard
of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to her first day at
school.
And never again will she be completely mine...
Prim and
proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye
and walk with little-lady steps to the nearby schoolhouse...
Gone will
be the chattering little hoyden who lived only for play, and gone will be the
delightful little gamin who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a
care in her little world.
Now, she will learn to stand in lines...and
wait by the alphabet for her name to be called...
She will learn to tune
her little-girl ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines...
She will learn to giggle and gossip... and to look at the ceiling in a
disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.
Now she will learn to be jealous...and now she will learn how it is to
feel hurt inside...and now she will learn how not to cry. No longer will she
have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant
scurries across a crack in the sidewalk...
Or will she have time to pop
out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew. Now she will
worry about important things...like grades...and what dresses to wear...and
whose best friend is whose. Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls
her hair at recess time... and staying after school...and which little girls
like which little boys...And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the
place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.
And she'll find her new
heroes. For five full years I've been her sage and Santa Claus...her pal and
playmate...her parent and friend. Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship
and adoration with her teachers (which is only right).
No longer will
her parents be the smartest, and greatest in the world. Today, when the first
school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group...with all
its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.
She'll learn in
time that proper young ladies don't laugh out loud...or keep frogs in pickle
jars in bedrooms...or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer
sidewalk...
Today, she'll begin to learn for the first time that all who
smile at her are not her friends. That "the group" can be a demanding
mistress... and I'll stand on the porch and watch her start out on the long,
long journey to becoming a woman.
So WORLD, I BEQUEATH TO YOU TODAY ONE
LITTLE GIRL in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, a happy laugh that ripples
all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when
she runs.
I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL.
By Dan Valentine
So you tell me. Is that the world you want your gifts from God going into at the tender age of 5 and coming out of 13 years later? I'll Pass.
8 comments:
Yuck! That is disturbing. I'm with you, I'm not going to trust them either.
I agree. That holds no appeal for me. I can't imagine that being comforting to a parent sending their child off to school.
it's part of growing up.
I was educated in the public school system, and understand the concern the writer has for his child. Whether I wanted it or not, a part of my education included learning that even at school, rape occurs and so does racial violence.
Several of my friends told me that in junior high, there were 3 reported cases of rape during class times, in the hallways and stairways.
My freshman and sophomore years of HS included 4 riots, during one of which I was eye witness to a truckload of boys beating another with a heavy chain, until he could no longer stand, and the police could finally get through the traffic to stop them killing this guy. The victim's crimes? His skin was the wrong color and he happened to be walking down the sidewalk.
The constant theme during those years was "Why can't Johnny read?" It's because the teachers were unable to teach properly a class of 32 to 35 students in 50 minutes segments each day.
My public education was such a success, that a year after I graduated, I went to a private school and retook 3 courses, just so I could learn to add and subtract without a calculator.
That was in 1980.
Now, teachers are not allowed to discipline students who disrupt their classes. Kids who have behavioral problems are tagged ADHD or Bipolar and medicated. Accountability has been tossed out, along with the textbooks.
I will be the first to admit I am not qualified to have homeschooled my children. Their father and I did the next best thing - we sacrificed buying new cars, an expensive home, dinners out, and designer clothes so we could afford tuition at a private Christian school.
I am proud that my daughter is able to teach her own children. I am not concerned they will be denied social interaction, or that their education will be substandard. I do not worry that her children will be unable to function in the "real world" when they are older. They are learning what they need to, and at an age-appropriate level.
If you can properly homeschool, then do so. After all, that is what families did before the public school system was developed. If not, keep a close watch on what your child's school is teaching, and speak out loudly when they step out of bounds and fail to do what your taxes pay for them to do. After all, there is a difference between just teaching, and educating a child.
Amen, Aunt Regina!!
Bria
I like Regina send my beautiful children to an expensive private school and I do not begrudge them a cent of it. I only hope that when they enter the 'real world' they either have the skills to better deal with it or the 'bullies' have the maturity to act like human beings
Is that really supposed to be comforting?
You homeschool people are whack jobs.
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