Why not make American [sic] stronger by making sure every child in America is given a strong start in life?
Step number one to achieving that, if you're serious: create curriculum guidelines, material support from Education, and real finiancial support to encourage and enable school districts nationwide to do away with outdated Health or Wellness classes. They should be replaced with Life Skills classes, probably at the 6th, 8th, and 10th grade levels, that prepare students to function successfully as adults.
This means providing the hygiene and disease prevention information (encouraging abstinence is fine, but we want them to know what condoms are and what they do) that they already get in Health classes, but it also means teaching the kids CPR and first aid, checkbook balancing and responsible use of credit, job application and resume basics, household budgeting skills, and basic parenting skills. They should know how to avoid being parents, and what to do when and if they become parents. They should be able to pay their bills and avoid ruining their personal credit.
If we want a good start for the next generation, the best way to prepare for it is to create prepared parents. Sending children to school at 2 or 3 years of age isn't the answer. Providing them with parents who know what to do when they are sick or crying or ready to learn the alphabet is.
I believe we need a vision to make American [sic] safer, stronger and more secure.
George W. Bush is taking our country backwards. But running for President is about more than pointing out that we're going in the wrong direction. It is about laying out the new direction in which you will lead.
Absolutely. And Americans will be thrilled if we get to see a primary and an election that are about positives and plans rather than negatives and name calling. A good resume is a fine foundation, but we're more interested in what you, as candidates, will do than in what you have done.
Our nation needs to reach down deep into the reserves of determination and daring that have always made us great.
—Senator John Kerry
Thank you, Senator Kerry, and may the best candidate win.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Nursey, are you, like, smart or something? Great post and welcome!
2 - Marla
Thanks, Eric! I don't know how smart I am -- my 10-year-old can beat me at Scrabble and backgammon -- but I didn't want to start out with too dumb of a post. :-)
3 - Eric Olsen
That's nothing: my 3 year-old beats me at Trivial Pursuit.
4 - Marla
You win.
You are kidding, right? If not, congratulations and my condolences.
5 - Eric Olsen
Yes, I was kidding, but she is pretty smart.
6 - Marla
Be careful what you wish for. She may be beating you sooner than you think. ;-)
7 - Mark
Marla,
Good post. I especially agree with your comment, "providing them with parents who know what to do...." The operative word here is PARENTS, that's right, the plural. Here in North Carolina, 60% of African-American children are born out of wedlock and end up in a single parent home. (This is not a racist statement, it is fact, as documented by the News and Observer in Raleigh, October 2000). This puts an undue burden on the taxpayer, i.e.; I cannot, and would not, tell a young woman how to conduct her sex life, however, when she and her boyfriend bring a child into the world they cannot afford, I am forced to support that child. Is this fair? How many children is the taxpayer supposed to support? I don't have any answers but this is a subject that should be up front and have honest debate with ALL Presidential candidates. Unfortunately, all we hear are nebulous comments of "no child left behind", or "education and health care for all children".
The sad thing is, it is easier to have a child in this country than it is to get a driver's license. Call it morality, or whatever other label you want, the bottom line is I, as an individual, cannot support anymore kids from young parents. I'm tapped out by the taxes to support them!
Looking for answers,
Mark
8 - Kirsten
I am an African-American child in a single parent home. It's not my mothers fault she's single either. My fatyher is the one who left. For another women. Who he had also impregnated. So maybe you shouild talk more about the fact that people aren't faithful to each other, more than the fact that they are sexually active. Because being sexually active is a fact of life. It shouldn't be but it is. So get over it.