lovingmomof3: I’m not sure who you are referring to when you talk about people judging others’ decisions. You may not have been referring to me.

Just in case, I would like to be clear:

– My opinion is that most children are better served having their mother (or father, or parents) be their full-time teacher until they are at least 8 years old. This opinion of mine comes from many sources and decades of study, complete with loads of anecdotal evidence. It is only my opinion, not a judgment of anyone who believes differently.

– My statement here and in other posts above is that every child has different needs, and their parents are the best judge of what is best for that child. If a parent decides that all-day kindergarten is best for their child, then I do not judge them, nor stand in their way. That parent is probably right.

– My opinion is that most parents who want schools to be changed to full-time kindergarten are doing so because they want a tax-paid babysitter for their children. This was obviously not the case with you, but you are an obvious exception. This opinion comes from observation, reading, and anecdotal evidence.

– Fortunately for us all, in Utah we can choose whatever education we want for our children. If our neighborhood school has full-day kindergarten, we can choose to keep our kids home. If our neighborhood does not offer full-time kindergarten, we can pay a private school to provide it. All options are available now, I see no need to change anything.

– I especially disagree with full-day kindergarten in public schools based on my comments above. Parents who want it can pay for it themselves, please do not tax everyone to meet the needs of a few. (that same comment can be used for public school in general. I’m willing to have *that* discussion too, but it’s a long one, and not exactly the same)

If you disagree with any of the above, please reply and let me know, I would love to discuss it.

Larrysjensen: Your comments about the health of the family were great. Thank you.

Rick: I have had the same experience. Many times you can teach children a lot through their play, or just reading to them every day.

Jon: I totally agree. Different needs for different children. Some may thrive and benefit with all-day kindergarten, most will not. It is good that parents like you understand that the needs of each individual child is more important than what the governor or board of education believes is best for our children. Public schools aim for the highest probabilities, not the individual child. It must be that way, and it is what it is.

Celestealbright: It’s all about educating the parents. Most parents do not know they have certain choices. Any parent in Utah can choose to keep their children home for kindergarten, or first grade, or any grade. I applaud the laws we have in Utah that empower parents to be in charge of their child’s education. We just need to help the parents understand what the rules are and how to use them effectively. You are right, even if all-day kindergarten is made mandatory, you can still choose to keep your child home. If we could get the funding to follow the child, it would make perfect sense. The unions and people in power of our educational systems don’t want to do what makes sense for families and children, but what makes sense to keep themselves in power. I hope we see that law someday too.

I mean, do we really HAVE to do what the district dictates? I will protest up and down and to the ends of the Earth against all-day Kindergarten (Pre-school is just a laugh!). BUT whatever their decisions are they do not have to dictate my decisions!

In the end, my sole concern is for my child. I will not have someone else telling me that I have no choice on what to do for my child’s education. We do have a lot of choices in Utah but there are many more we could have.

One piece of legislation is what would help solve our dilemmas with choices: Some call it Backpack Education, when the funding follows the child. If the funding follows the children, whatever our choices for educating them will be our own and not the district’s.

I’ve always been so annoyed that kindergarten is only half-day, but you’ve actually changed my mind about that. Thank you for the clarity.