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Welcome to these regular musings, meanderings, wonderings and wanderings by Wendy Priesnitz. Archives - August, 2005 Repopulating Communities With
Kids – August 28, 2005 No Longer All in the Family – August 21, 2005 In response, author and speaker Diane Flynn Keith has written a clever open letter to Reiner opposing his plan. The letter incorporates his film titles, with the idea was that it might be a clever way to get some attention from the media for this issue, and subsequently to initiate some open dialogue and debate on the topic. In addition to having written the book Carschooling, Flynn Keith owns a discussion list called “Unpreschool” and a website called Universal Preschool, where she monitors such issues and provides suggestions for learning alternatives for young children. She points out that the research studies Reiner is using to justify his initiative do not apply to the mainstream preschool population; on the contrary, they involved kids who are from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and considered to be “at risk”. In addition, the results have been contradicted by other research conducted by the same group, and some of the other research has been shown to be skewed due faulty reporting methods and/or too small control groups. And that’s not to mention other research that indicates early separation from parents and too-early academic training can be harmful to young children and stunt their intellectual, emotional, social and psychological development. Flynn Keith says that so-called universal preschool is a problem worldwide. “So many countries already have government funded daycare/childcare programs, that the citizens don’t see what the problem is at all. The mentality seems to be, ‘Of course the government should raise your babies while you go off to work or play – and the government can do a better job than parents ever could anyway!’ But here in the States, we haven’t been used to government funded daycare/preschool programs, although people are really in favor of them, especially if we call them ‘preschool’. There’s an entitlement mentality…when it comes to education. To most folks, public preschools are just an extension of public schools and they support them, without ever asking, “What’s best for the children?” Life learners know, as Flynn Keith says, “that
children learn best through imaginative play and exploration of their
environment in the natural rhythm and routine of their home with loving
parents, not in the artificial environment of classrooms with transient
strangers who indoctrinate them with academic curriculum.” Initiatives
like Reiner’s succeed by playing on people’s fears of their children
“falling behind” if they don’t have the “advantage” of an
early start. Flynn Keith asks, “The government has a track record in
public schools and they are failing so what would possibly make parents
think that they can rely on the government to properly nurture and
educate our completely vulnerable little children?” I believe our
governments would be better off spending our tax money to create the
social and economic environment that would allow families to do what
they do best: help their children learn and develop. If you agree with
me, tell them so and don’t let misguided guys like Rob Reiner be the
only voices heard. Ideology As a Barrier to Change –
August 14, 2005 The first person – a woman – carefully explained to me that her feminist beliefs do not allow her to support home-based learning because it keeps women at home. Nonsense, I snorted, explaining that fathers could – and sometimes do – stay at home instead, or, as in our family, both parents could find a way to balance their careers and facilitate the education of their children. Indeed, an increasing number of families are involved with community-based learning arrangements that have the same effect. I also told her that my and my husband’s feminist beliefs were one of the reasons our daughters didn’t go to school! We wanted them to avoid the negative influence of sexism as it existed at that time in the public school system, and in addition, we felt that self-education was a good way to help change such stereotypes. I saw then, and still do, that schooling is part of the patriarchal problem and not part of an egalitarian solution. The second conversation, which included similar irony, was with a man who was concerned about the privatization of education. I share his concern, except that he and I don’t share a definition of privatization. He uses the word to describe anything that is done outside the public school system, including alternatives like democratic schools and homeschooling. When I, on the other hand, use the word “privatization”, I am referring to for-profit education, which includes for-profit schools (including many charter schools), testing companies, textbook publishers, corporate sponsors and the like. Back in the 1980s, I was on the board of directors of an organization that was fighting to have its members brought into the public finance tent. They were all not-for-profit – either informally like homeschoolers or formally like Montessori schools, remedial learning centers and even religious schools – but all helping kids learn in ways that differed from the one-size-fits-all publicly funded system. That organization’s executive director was fond of saying that the government department in charge of education acted like a “Ministry of Public Schools” rather than a “Ministry of Education”. I believed then – and I still do – that a public education system can and must recognize that one-size-fits-all, top-down curriculum, testing and all the other outdated methods that we know as schooling do not comprise the best way for most people to learn...and abolish them in favor of self-directed education. I ended my recent conversation with this particular public school supporter by pointing out that, ironically, 20 years later, the public school system is much more dependent upon the for-profit mentality than most of the alternatives he believes will erode the integrity of that system. It seems to me that these supposedly
progressive people are spouting out-of-date, simplistic arguments in
favor of maintaining the status quo. People will always come up with
reasons – many well-founded – why change can’t or won’t happen.
Often, those reasons are some of the biggest barriers to change. Still Saying No to War – August 5, 2005 Today, 20 years later, I am saddened that the work of peace activists is still far from over. In fact, the world seems to be a more dangerous place than it has ever been. Certainly, those seeking a way beyond war have a more difficult time focusing on just one front. Is the threat more from the 30,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled around the world or from subway terrorists with bombs made from ordinary ingredients like hair bleach? Are rogue despots a bigger danger than a stubborn but quasi-democratically elected president? Those questions didn’t plague activist groups around the world in 2003 when, in opposition to the invasion of Iraq, they formed the largest global peace movement in history. The New York Times dubbed it the world’s “other super power”. Since then, that energy seems to have drained away. But recently, I’ve been sensing some new activity. If you are in Canada, you may have seen the No More Hiroshimas public service announcements produced by Physicians for Global Survival (Canada), aimed at reawakening public awareness and protest against nuclear weapons. And if you are in California this month, you can take in a number of energizing events. Think Outside the Bomb was a youth conference organized by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, which brings together 60 young leaders, disarmament experts, educators and activists to help teach and support young peace leaders. Also this month, women leaders, peace researchers, writers, poets, educators, journalists and media are attending the Pave Peace Conference organized by the Israel-based International Forum for the Culture and Literature of Peace. And this fall, no matter where in the world you are, as long as you have access to a computer, you can participate in the Transcend Peace University, a unique online university based in Romania. Courses are offered in peace, conflict transformation, development and global issues. These and many other initiatives counteract the
hopelessness and despair that threaten us as much as bombs. Fear is one
of the most powerful weapons of those who benefit from war. So it’s
good to see peace activists focusing on bringing people together,
reminding us that we are not alone in wanting a peaceful future,
creating opportunities for us to listen to each others’ fears and
doubts, and thinking clearly about how we can work together to obtain
peace. School
is Poison – August 1, 2005 Insecticides caused 35 percent of the illnesses, while disinfectants containing antimicrobial properties caused 32 percent. Thirteen percent of the illnesses were associated with repellants, and 11 percent with herbicides. The remaining nine percent were attributed to other causes, such as rodenticides or fungicides. Children are more susceptible to pesticide exposure because they breathe more air pound for pound than adults, they play on the floor and they live closer to the floor, where pesticides linger, than adults do. The study found that the incidence rates among children increased significantly from 1998 to 2002. While the study looked at acute, or short-term, effects, the study authors note that, “Repeated pesticide applications on school grounds raise concerns about persistent low level exposures to pesticides at schools.” Continuing, the authors state, “The chronic long-term impacts of pesticide exposures have not been comprehensively evaluated; therefore, the potential for chronic health effects from pesticide exposures at schools should not be dismissed. Unfortunately, the surveillance methods used in our report are inadequate for assessing chronic effects.” In addition, the authors note that pesticides on school grounds can be tracked inside school buildings. The researchers advise schools to use integrated pest management techniques and try to reduce or eliminate pesticide drift from nearby farms, to reduce the amount of pesticide-related illnesses. The public health advocacy organization Beyond Pesticides called on Congress to respond by passing the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA). On the other hand, the conservative
Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) issued a press release suggesting
that West Nile Virus is a bigger problem than pesticide use., and saying
that “the public must be careful not to fall for the hype” of
“anti-chemical activists”. “For decades, environmentalists have
been trying to scare the public about pesticides, when in fact
pesticides pose little risk when used properly and are a critical part
of controlling disease outbreaks and pest-related risks at schools,”
said Angela Logomasini, CEI’s Director of Risk and Environmental
Policy. The CEI declares itself as dedicated to the principles of free
enterprise and limited government. But it clearly puts corporate rights
far ahead of those of children. Return
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