School Days

It was a big day in Fremont this morning as Marcus prepared for his first day of Kindergarten! Sarah was kind enough to build in a few minutes this morning so Marcus could Skype with us and we could wish him well on his first day of school. He looked so grown up... and very smart, dressed in his yellow polo shirt. Andy & Sarah have got to be so proud of their little (big!) guy. I know I'm swelling with pride & I'm just his aunt!

Speaking of the start of the school year, I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the uproar created by some conservatives around why they won't let their kids listen to President Obama's speech about education. Apparently, these parents fear that Obama is trying to "indoctrinate" their children. (Actually, in the interest of full disclosure, the Florida GOP chairman who last week quipped that Obama was trying to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda" has now reversed his stance (after reading text of the speech) and has said he'd let his children watch as it's a "good speech" that "encourages kids to stay in school.")

Aside from thinking it's ludicrous to shield kids from a speech about education and its importance, I think it's equally foolish to keep young minds completely sheltered from viewpoints that may differ from their parents' views.

I truly hope that Mick and I are the kind of parents who encourage debate/discourse/discussion in our home about politics (and other topics). I want to be able to watch the President (whomever he or she may be) address the nation and then to discuss with my child(ren) what we think about the President's remarks. That's part of the beauty of living in a free county - that we can agree to disagree. But at least let's be educated about that upon which we disagree - which means watching/listening to these kinds of speeches instead of writing them off as having a certain agenda before we have an opportunity to make up our minds on our own.