“Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work” day is without a doubt the most elitist and counterproductive idea that has come down the pike in many a year. It is another example of good intentions not thought out and gone awry.
As the article in Sunday’s edition pointed out, schools are hard-pressed to get through the mandated curriculum as it is, so we don’t need another day away from the classroom.
Those who support this activity also fail to recognize that there is a larger number of honorable, necessary jobs and tasks that just aren’t conducive to having children in the workplace.
I would ask Kim Stanley, the mother in the story who blasted the Naperville school district for opposing the day, if she would care to have her daughters spend a day in the steel mill with a father who labors at a blast furnace or who is a tender at the coke oven. How about spending a day with a father who is a lineman for her local utility? What about the long-distance truck drivers? How do the supporters of the day propose that the children participate? The list of these jobs that don’t and, for safety reasons, can’t permit children on the job is almost infinite. What does Stanley say to the children and to the parents with jobs and careers that don’t allow them to bring children to their places of employment?
While it might not be intentional, Stanley and those who support this activity are creating “class” divisions in our schools, and the last thing we need is another hurdle for our kids to leap on their way to successfully completing their education.
