[Miscellany]

I'm constantly amazed by the amount of people in "high places" that just DO. NOT. GET. IT.

A great example is the Education Department in Vic. Latest on the ever-increasing pile of crap that will eventually lead all teachers running from the profession is the banning of sugar from Victorian Schools. Now I don't actually have a problem with banning sugar from Victorian Schools. Whatever, good idea - I don't care. Hey I found a quote from Bronwyn Pike herself: "it is vital that we reinforce the healthy living message". Onya Bronny - true dat.

Oh but wait a sec, what's this? "Students will still be allowed to bring sweet treats to school in their lunchboxes". Ummm...what? So apparently this is yet another, let's put all the pressure on the schools to parade the old moral code and take all the pressure off the parents, trick. Great. Let's change things but not actually taking on the most important people in this equation (the parents, duh).

I don't understand why they bother regulating schools with spot checks for healthy food when apparently it doesn't matter what they bring from home in their lunch boxes anyway? I don't know how many times I've said it but the primary influence on young children is not school but their PARENTS. Is this such a difficult thing to understand? Why not do these so called "government spot checks" on student lunch boxes instead of on schools? I don't disagree with having a healthy eating policy in schools - just the opposite actually, but putting all the pressure on schools to enforce eating habits in children is completely missing the mark on promoting healthy eating. Bottom line, if parents can't do it their child isn't going to either. Target the parents. Target the fast food chains. Target advertising on the tele. Oh wait, this results in revenue lost? Ahhh..now we get to the bigger issue; Corruption. I'm sick of schools being a scape goat for problems that could easily be solved if the government/media/parents/workplaces were willing to lose some revenue doing it.

The other example of people in "high places" just NOT. GETTING. IT. comes again in the form of the government. Namely the Federal government and their new stance on internet filters.

Basically the proposal is that Australia will become the new China when it comes to internet filters. As in: all the good sites are banned. Why? Oh, a mixture of things including the internet being unsafe for children (porn, chat etc).

Here's an idea: How about parents control what their children can and can't do on the internet? I know, sounds like a radical idea - but it goes like this: When you have a child you commit to raising them. Raising them includes keeping them out of harms way. Keeping them out of harms way means that parents will actually have to be involved in their child's lives. And that means, less time on the xbox or with the mothers club and more time teaching your child about how to surf safely, be wary and be responsible. If that fails, ever heard of a Net Nanny? It was only invented about a million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, geniuses. Why punish those of us who are barren of children by reducing the best bits of the internet just so parents can keep NOT raising their children? Why on earth people have children when they just don't want to raise them properly is beyond me.

But I don't blame the parents entirely. I'm aware that we live in a society that promotes long working hours and discriminates against stay at home mothers (or fathers) from job sharing or getting back into the work place after a while. Maternity leave is a joke and paternity leave is virtually non-existent! A lot of parents can't afford to take the time to raise their children these days not only because it's too hard to make ends meet - but because we (the people who live in this society) are fucking GREEDY. People want it all. Having it all involves having children AND living the life you had before you had kids and that is actually impossible unless you give up one little thing: Actually raising them.

It's a messy old web we weave. No wonder we just don't get it.

Labels: fake mad but not really, kids, obsessive parents, rant, school, stressed teachers

posted by M at 9:56 pm 10 comments