Regarding public education

In regards to Sarah Bates’ March 6 article “Programs offered to get kids ready to learn,” children are naturally curious and hungry to learn. There is no need for a “rigorous curriculum” that can retard the natural desire to learn.

One paragraph states that Mom had the “joyous task of teaching baby…” and the next paragraph states, “Getting a child ready to learn before going to kindergarten is a daunting challenge – even for families with a stay-at-home parent.”

Please do not turn what is a joyous “task” into something “daunting.” It is amazing how much children learn at an accelerated rate with available parents!

Maybe children are “old enough, but not ready for the academic rigors of the curriculum of kindergarten” because the curriculum is too much for even an adult to sit through for hours.

What are we training our children for? How to get good at the educational system set up so that passing tests in order to get funding is paramount to any other goal?

I urge all parents and grandparents to read “Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum Behind Compulsory Schooling” by John Taylor Gatto. He sheds light in areas otherwise dark.

Leah Gerten