As I sit next to Emma, her tiny hand wrapped around my finger, willing her to fight, fight, and fight some more, my eyes wander to this other isolette nearby. In it lies a tiny infant, smaller than Emma, yet one whole month older. His parents are about 17, and they are staying in the Ronald McDonald House, too. Now, a 17 yo unmarried couple, with no means to even take care of this infant (the mom shared this information with me) are staying together in the RMH - together. Please allow my rant to begin:
The social worker at the hospital point blank asked me how homeschoolers can even think of educating their own children (15-year-olds, was what she said) when they are ill-equipped to teach complex subjects like Calculus. I replied that, as a homeschooler, I want to teach my children - first and foremost - how to learn, so that they may learn anything they want, by teaching themselves. This is NOT to exonerate me from the responsibility of teaching them. I just believe if we equip our children with a love of learning and the right skills, then our job of actually teaching them is easier. And, in many ways, our job should be to teach them how to learn. After all, life is constantly requiring us to master new things, and we can not possibly teach our children all there is to know. Plus, how great a job is the school system doing teaching 15-year-olds Calculus, anyway?
Now this same social worker gave the teen-age mom baby clothes, has promised to provide her with a crib, diaper changer, and vouchers for diapers, formula, and wipes. The mom said it was the hospital's "responsibility", since she was without the means to provide these items. Now, a teen-age mom can expect the government to provide for her baby, put her up in a room (with her boyfriend, both under-age, might I add) for months at a time so she can be near her baby, and continue to provide for the baby's needs after he is released from the hospital, BUT I, as a married, taxpaying, insurance-carrying citizen of the United States of America should have to fight for the right to CHOOSE HOW MY CHILD IS EDUCATED -while the public school system is consistently failing our kids, teachers are arrested for assault against students, and kids know more and care more about fashion and pop culture than they do about the Founding Fathers of the very country they live in????
I am not advocating taking the baby from the 17-yo. But, it is almost noon, and she has yet to wake. (Her room lies directly across from mine at the RMH). I have been sitting with Emma since dawn. I have been watching as her baby cries in his isolette. Does she realize how difficult life is going to be for at least a period of time when her baby comes home, when there is not a nurse in sight to provide the comfort any small baby needs, but especially a tiny preemie with special needs? There will be no lounging in bed 'till noon. The gov't can give her all the baby clothes, diapers, and formula the child needs, but what the child needs more than anything is a parent who is aware of WHAT THE CHILD NEEDS.
How dare someone question the right of a parent to choose how to raise a child when they are of the means to raise a child, and then provide for every need another person has because they have no means to raise a child! There has to be a way to provide for the needs of one, without threatening the rights of another. And the answer, I believe, lies in better education for social workers, so they stop spouting politically-charged doctrine concerning education, homeschooling, and the rights of the indigent. Re-educate them on the tenets of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, on how this country came to be, of the intentions of the Founding Fathers. Remind them that being able to do for one's self and one's family are time-honored traditions, and honorable qualities, not weaknesses that require government intervention.
No comments:
Post a Comment