Blog 14

I distinctly remember that once every month in my fourth grade class we would have a discussion circle after lunch recess. We would organize the desks so each student was facing the center of the room. Then, my teacher would pass out a small square of paper to each child and have them write down anything that has been bothering them: bullying, lying, stealing, cheating etc. My teacher would have the kids drop their note into a jar and she would anonymously read them aloud and ask my peers what they thought.

This was always an uncomfortable time for me. I never had anything to write about so I thought it was a waste of time. But now that I am much older than a fourth grader I see that some of my peers very much needed that fifteen minutes of "therapy" that my teacher's syllabus did not require her to give.

Public schools should be allowed to teach personal values and ethics to their students because not every child has the opportunity to learn them at home. Some parents act like children forcing their kids to be the adult. Kids learn by examples. If a parent does not behave then the child will not know how either. Some kids aren't taught how to be good citizens at home-what's a better, safer place to learn them than at school?

As for subjects taught in school, everyone remembers "Family Life" , don't you? I'm sure that this subject has been debated over many times but not every child has to sit in on the class. Permission slips are sent home and if a parent doesn't want their child to be in that class, all they have to do is check the box. There aren't many subjects that have been taught at school that I can think of that are truly unethical. Everything from healthy eating to how to be a "Peace Builder" (that's what I learned at my elementary school) is taught with good intentions for the students.