Are You Oursourcing Your Parental Responsibilities?

It's very late and while trying to read myself to sleep, I just came across the attached article on spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com

It's a strong statement, with truths that will cause many folks to become uncomfortable upon reading them. What do you think?

Outsourcing Parenthood
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Edwonk (one of my favoritie Edubloggers) had a post today about how the schools that use the National School Lunch Program will be required to have a "student wellness policy". He reminded us that just about every school in the United States uses this program. So they will all have to come up with a plan to curb childhood obesity and improve wellness. USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel said the plan is necessary because,
We all realized we're seeing overweight and obesity in children, and we realized there was a role schools could play in helping with the problem,". There was a similar story almost a year ago that prompted me to write a post called Outsourcing Parenthood. It's been a while since I posted this. But I like to rerun it every once in a while as a reminder of how we got to the point where the schools are now developing "student wellness"policies.

Outsourcing Parenthood

A few months ago a mother came to me all excited. She began to tell my about an experience she had in her daughter's elementary school. It was around Christmas and her daughter came home from school telling her mom all the wonderful stories her teacher had been reading to her. Sadly, the daughter lamented however, none of the stories were about the real meaning of Christmas. The daughter asked her mother if she could come to her class and read to her a story from their shelf about the birth of Jesus. The mother thoughtfully replied that she would love to but that she would have to check with the teacher. The daughter seemed satisfied. The mother approached the teacher about the matter. The teacher told her that any extra reading material had to be cleared by the principal. The mother appealed to the principal who then consulted with a guideline for reading. After a short wait the mother was granted her request on the grounds that the birth was historical in nature. The mother was thankful. Not wanting to burst her enthusiasm I told her how glad I was that she was able to read to the children. The mother's excitement puzzled me. Why would a mother seek the authority of someone else to read a book to her child and the classroom? The answer is obvious, of course. The mother was not the authority in the classroom. This is as it should be. The mother is not there every day and the teacher must keep control of the room and the principal must keep control of the school. The mother rightly sought their approval because that is the system that she submitted to when she allowed her daughter to attend. The question is, why would a mother knowingly yield her authority to someone else to the point where a simple request for a story would require the approval of three others? Simply stated, the mother has outsourced her parenting. We heard alot about outsourcing jobs in the last election. Everybody was worried about the number of jobs moving overseas. Yet, a bigger problem is brewing right here in the US. We are outsourcing parenthood. Parents are knowingly giving the job of raising their children over to another. No parent would readily admit this of course. But the increased reliance on day care, before school, and after school programs demonstrates something else. We want the schools to provide nurtritious lunches without ever thinking we should pack the child one ourselves. We want the schools to bus our children to school without ever thinking that we could drive them ourselves. There are companies that will send a day care provider (paid for by the company) to the house when a child is ill so that mom can still go to work. On the weekend, daycares will provide overnight care so that the parents can go out on a date or catch up on house work.

When I was growing up we all went home for lunch. Then the schools began to take on that responsibility. The parents were thankful. Then the schools began to provide clinics. The parents were thankful. Then the schools began to teach health. The parents were thankful. The schools began to teach sex education. The parents were thankful. The schools began to parent for them. The parents were thankful.

The educational establishment is no longer bashful about becoming the parent. Consider the bills just introduced in Rhode Island, that would "require school districts receiving state aid to include in their plans strategies to decrease obesity and improve health and wellness of students." Since when did obesity become a school issue? When the parents began to outsource parenthood that's when. And just what does "improve health and wellness" mean? It doesn't matter, the parents are thankful. It is one less worry for them.

The schools are not the only arena that parents have outsourced their parenthood. We don't want the inconvenience of monitoring our children's viewing habits so we expect others to rate the shows for us and then we will decide based on their standard. Nevermind that their standard is not ours. They saved us the time necessary to do it ourselves. We feel good that we have done something and we are thankful. We rely on internet filters to strain out the filth from our computers. Sure they miss some things that we wouldn't approve of but we're willing to make the trade off for the convenience of not having to monitor ourselves. We can go on with our own business because someone else is "parenting" the children and we are thankful. Don't misunderstand, I am not saying that these things are not helpful. But we have come to rely on others rather than God amd His standard to define parenting and the standards by which we raise our children. As a Christian, I am called to a higher standard. God has given me these children and I take that responsibility seriously. Society may make it easy to oursource parenthood but God will still hold me accountable. Related Tags: parenting, homeschooling, public schools, education, school lunch program, children
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New Beginnings

As promised, the color has changed, along with the name. Over the next couple of days, you'll see more posts from the other members and maybe some new photos. Mrs. Arkanblogger and I had a planning and goal meeting for 2006 over Barbeque today at lunch and we may get into that on the blog as well. Hi to our Alaskan friends! We read your e-mail and I have to tell you that if I had an entire year to work on it, that I could not write a story as funny as the one that you all lived during your travel over the Christmas break. Nice to see and hear that you're back safely among the Polar Bears. More tommorrow.

-The Arkanblogger

Internet Without a Leash and How to Get Control of Your Television

Sitting here, I was just struck by the notion that I have been posting on a pink blog site, that was chosen to help frame and reflect the thoughts coming from Kathryn and our daughters. As I write this, I've made the decision to make this little site a bit more "family-centric", where we can all contribute as a family (Dad and Christopher have some thoughts to share as well), so expect a name change on the page soon and though we're outnumbered by three, Christopher and I will respectfully suggest that we make a subtle move away from the color of pink to a nice traditional camouflage. When you wish, wish big.

After many months of pleading and positioning from my dear wife and children, I finally did the unthinkable tonight, by purchasing a wireless router and cards for the home pc and laptop. As it was, unless I was home with my work laptop, they were without internet access, unless they submitted to using dialup, as our "homeputers" have no DSL ports. So, after the purchase was made, our good friend, Justin offered to come and do the set-up, during which time he had the unique experience of talking with a tech support fellow that was...well, let's just say that he was not from America and I'll bet you an ear of corn that the name Bob or Bill isn't anywhere in his family tree. After some painful conversation regarding password resets and the like, we were finally set free from the tethers of cables and ports. Thanks Justin! Janice and the girls will serve dinner and your favorite dessert at your convenience.

Speaking of cable, we are about to quit television, as we know it. About 3 years ago, we called to fire the cable company and go back to "rabbit ears". Upon hearing us give the order to flip the big switch, the cable folks let us know that they had a "basic" package that would run only $11.00 a month. We caved in and took the deal, if only to have a clear picture of the news and weather. Well, the time has come to say goodbye to the cable folks for good. There is a company on the internet called "Cleanflicks" that edits the "questionable content" from movies and according to the aforementioned Justin's parents, "Cleanflicks" does a masterful job. I only wish they could edit out all the propaganda as well. But that would make for some pretty short movies right? We'll try refocusing that $11.00 a month on a few movies and give it a whirl. Expect a firsthand report from one of us, after the first movie or two.

Well, it is late and all's quiet now. Kathryn, along with the bedtime brigade are fast asleep. The rain is gently pitter-pattering on the bedroom window, as it does only in the South. Somehow, rain loses it gentleness above the Mason-Dixon line. I have to gig all our northern friends and family whenever I get the opportunity.

It's so peaceful to sit here in the darkness and reflect on the day. I'm thankful to our Father for times such as these and now, it is time for me to join the sleepy troops.

-The Arkanblogger

Evening Reflections

I love my family. It's 10:46 in the evening and the lights are out in our home. As I sit, typing this on my laptop, I can hear my older 2 girls talking quietly in their bedroom, which I actually encouraged them to do tonight. I am so thankful that they are close. They do share a room, as do our younger 2 daughters, so personal space is limited. However, Kathryn and I were convicted earlier in life to have them grow to support each other and not fall into the traps of jealousy and "sibiling rivalry" that so many siblings do. I have told them many times that their friendship and support would help to carry them through the rest of their lives, as long as they nurtured it. And we are so thankful that they have and continue to do exactly that, with the older ones setting the example for the younger 3. Our home is so full of blessings and our Father continues to amaze me daily, pouring out His love on our family. At times, I am overwhelmed by His grace, though I do not understand it and I certainly do not deserve what He has layed before me. I pray that my words don't seem small, pitiful and redundant and I give Him the glory and praise, for they are most certainly His.

-The Arkanblogger

Birthdays and Friends

Today was a tiring but great day. It was our good friend's 16th birthday party. Her family is military, so her party was on base and after a bit of asking officers questions, we made it on. At the gathering, there were people from our home-education support group and a few people I had never met before. I always enjoy meeting people who share our common beliefs about family, among other things. One thing I really love about our friend's family is how close they are as a unit. They had extended family there helping to get everything ready and celebrate with them. Just being around them all, you can tell how much they love and support each other. I am so blessed to have friends like that in my life. Two major benefits of having friends like that is that you can build each other spiritually and have more people to hold you accountable. That is about all for tonight.

-Paige

Keeping Good Company

This little jewel was taken during a recent visit to The University of Missouri at Columbia. The picture is courtesy of "Uncle Paul", who is on staff there. Our girls and their cousins were having a bit of fun with the mascot. Another great family trip in the books. By the way, you can make the picture larger by clicking on it.

-The Arkanblogger

A Picture of Us

Alright, after about 24 hours we finally got a picture of us posted. This evening, our dad was reading to us from some posts off of rebelution.blogspot.com on the "Myth of Adolescence." Our dad reading to us is a normal occurrence in our home now and each time he reads, I learn something new or my eyes are opened to something different. Tonight I was reminded of how much God has blessed my family and I. Being in a large family and being able to be home-educated are things I will always be thankful for.

-Paige

We Have Arrived...With Our Dad's Permission Of Course

Warm greetings from the South to all our likespirited and future converted bloggers. We are currently under construction and look forward to having all this sorted out in short order. Please bear with us...