Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2013-09-09.
Nobody actually questions what we expose our children to when we send them to school, even though the media makes it obvious!
Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the blogger which, although based on personal experience and knowledge of the scriptures, can be in error. No one has a corner on the truth but we should all sincerely be in search of it.
Bible Reference: Deut. 6:4-9
I always enjoy the first few weeks of “back to school”! Not that I go back or advocate that anyone should go or go back to school. I simply enjoy the entertainment I get from reading the various articles in the newspapers or listening to the “advice” being given to parents and teachers from the endless list of “professionals” who must fail to read their own articles critically. One such article was entitled “Students share more than a class”. After reading the article, I felt that a more appropriate title may have been “Thirty good reasons to teach your children at home”. The article listed many potential issues that should have caused the reader to immediately go to their child’s school and extract them from the potential dangers listed as part of everyday activities. Besides listing homework as an obvious negative, children’s bad hygiene practices, including failing to properly wash their hands, sharing brushes, pillows, hats, cups, food, straws, head to head contact, exchange of respiratory and throat secretions through kissing, led on to list lesions, blisters, scabs, coughing, sneezing, nausea, vomiting, fever, altered mental status and possibly even death as causes or symptoms of communicable diseases including common colds, influenza, strep throat, oral herpes, mononucleosis and meningitis, the article talked of parasites such as lice being an expectation when students spend time in close proximity with each other. Surprisingly, no mention was made of exposing children with allergies to their allergens nor to the possibility of the school building itself being less than an ideal healthy environment! This article only addresses potentially hazardous health conditions, without mentioning physical abuses, anxiety, bullying, social ostracization, peer counseling, teacher neglect, the application of learning disabilities to increase school funding, long bus rides, parent-less homes at the end of the day and a host of other “normal” expectations of a school. However, if this list hasn’t yet convinced you that school children are in danger, perhaps we should give one more consideration some thought. Obviously of greater concern, if this is what can be expected of our children’s physical and mental well being, what do you think is happening to their spiritual well being? Do not be deceived that private schools are any better as most simply bring the public school issues to another venue. The normalization of school has led some, few actually, to take precautions, yet the most obvious answer is to keep the children home where they can be better protected from the danger inherent in schools and properly cared for in every way by the parents that know them best.