September 12, 2000

Before I was angry, now I am livid. I sent in a letter to my child's 4th grade teacher explaining why my child or any other 4th grader did not have to do the summer reading assignment and in return received a letter from the principal. I was informed that my child HAD to do the alternate reading assignment or receive a grade of a zero for his first Reading test grade. I was quoted reference to the instructional objective p.29, #20 in the curriculum guide. That curriculum guide that I am being referred to WAS NOT approved until the August 2000 Board of Education meeting.

During the summer I and another parent went to the school board offices and asked to view the CURRENT curriculum guide for language arts. We found mention of the summer assignment starting with the 5th grade. The DAY OF THE AUGUST SCHOOL BOARD MEETING I AGAIN went to the board offices and asked to see the current Language Arts curriculum guide and I again was handed one that DID NOT have the objective listed in the 4th grade. At that meeting I questioned the approval of the curriculum guide without adequate public perusal and was told that the curriculum and not the guide was being approved. How can a curriculum objective that WAS NOT in effect until the end of summer be used to demand that the reading assignment be completed? Anyone who goes to read this curriculum guide will see June 2000 printed on the cover. This is not so! The curriculum WAS NOT approved until the August 2000 Board of Education meeting and I will be taking up that issue in the September meeting.

School year 2001 - 2002

Well, finally something good has happened. The children that did not do the assignment did not receive a zero. They still failed, but at least a failure grade does not harm the child's grades as much as a zero does.

I still object to the MANDATORY assignment and my children will continue to NOT participate as they go through the Burlington Township school district.

I have come to the conclusion that speaking to the school board is a waste of breath. I have better things to do with my time. My children have better things to do with their time than participate in an objectionable assignment. We spend time doing what we want to do over the summer vacation. We read, we swim, we discover new things together. We visit relatives that we don't see during the school year and we participate in scouting activities. My children have earned the privilege to attend summer courses at the John Hopkin's University through the talent search program for gifted children. I highly doubt that not participating in this assignment puts them at any sort of educational risk. They crave information and love to learn. They seek out books to read on their own, and they are always creating stories and games that match their interests.

It truely amazes me that parents are all too willing to let others tell them how to raise their children. Are we sheep or cattle? I know that I for one am not. I chose to raise my children in the manner I see fit. No one is entitled to tell me otherwise. I am the PARENT.

School year 2003 - 2004

Argh!!! It has finally happened! The high school students must now complete a mandatory summer reading assignment. All along I had been told that when my children reached the high school I could stop complaining about this assignment, well... now one has and the assigment still exists! I guess all along I have been lied to.

More on the subject shortly.