NO on Proposition 82

Proposition 82 proponents would have Californians believe that the answer to better education for our children is to get them into the classroom earlier. Why should we believe they can do any better with 4 year old children than they can with K-12 children? The poor performance of our schools (you notice I said schools and not students) is not because students need to start a year earlier; it is because the schools need to do a better job of educating the student while they're in the classroom. Sorry, but the argument that students would perform at a higher level if they started their so-called formal education at 4 (preschool) instead of 5 (kindergarten) holds no water — none at all!

According to recent published reports there are at least 50,000 seniors who are in jeopardy of not graduating because they cannot pass the exit exam. Now folks, you must understand that the exit exam tests at the freshman (9th grade) level. They don't administer the first test until the sophomore year, and they can re-take the test three or more times until they pass it (or not). My sophomore daughter passed it her first try, and I would consider her an academically average student. What's the deference between her and the 50,000 who have failed the test multiple times? She studies. She does her homework. She puts forth the effort necessary to succeed.

The reason most of the students not passing the exit exam have failed is lack of effort, lack of desire, lack of discipline, and lack of proper parental guidance. The teacher's union and their supporters blame it on lack of money in the classroom. I've heard that story for the last 40 years, and in that 40 years there have been times when the legislature has passed tax increases that satisfy the funding demands for schools and it didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever in student performance. The blame falls somewhere else — with California's education system. I want to know where are the media reports slamming the education community for not making the grade. They are non-existent or there is some short two paragraph article that gets buried deep in the paper — once. Another example of proof the news media supports the liberal agenda to the fullest regardless of whether it's good or bad; right or wrong. They won't expose the truth about why our schools are failing our children.

If the truth be known, Proposition 82 may well be just another attempt by the liberals to get access to our children at an earlier age so they can start the social engineering of our children earlier. It's no secret that teachers push a liberal social agenda in our classrooms. I have personally seen this in schools my children have attended. I have even met with teachers and principals in an effort to stop them from teaching, indeed pushing, their liberal political and social agenda on my children. I believe children are in school to learn academics — reading, writing, math, science, and how to interact with others in a social setting. Our education system allows teachers to take "getting along with others" to a whole new level of social instruction. I have news for them, I reserve the right to provide social and political teaching to my children. Every parent should. It is too important to leave to someone who's views you don't know, may not support, or may even strongly oppose. This is true regardless of ones position on social and political matters.

I urge you to vote NO on Proposition 82. Make them prove they can be trusted to successfully educate our K-12 children first.