Free Education
Published May 7, 2006
It’s a good thing my kids attend the public schools because their “free” education is
draining my pocketbook faster than you can say “field trip.”
This month alone I have shelled out money for three field trips, two yearbooks, swimming
lessons in P.E., and a trip to the Hot Springs Pool. I’ve also paid for an overnighter at a Deaf
Camp where apparently the kids learned to sign “that’ll be thirty dollars, Mom,” and an
industrial arts fee even though I’m fairly certain the money won’t cover medical costs if my son
cuts off his finger with a table saw.
Through the course of the year, we’ve shelled out money for boxes of Kleenex, disposable
cameras and enough scotch tape to cover the walls in the entire middle school; dry erase
markers, yellow stickies, and wide ruled paper. And those were just the teacher’s supplies.
We’ve purchased cotton balls, Crayolas, and cartons of milk; pipe cleaners, pocket
calculators and packages of pencils, school portraits, class photos and literary magazines with
stories by other people’s kids. There was the choir outfit and tickets to the school play, as well
as talent show entry fees and a yearly trombone rental.
I’m looking forward to summer where I’ll only have to spend a few thousand dollars for
“extracurricular” activities. Baseball’s barely finished when I’m asking for the security deposit
back on the uniform so I can afford to sign my sons up for football. At the same time, Junior
Golf is starting and so is gymnastics and dance. There’s an “awesome” science camp my son
wants to attend and an art class for my daughter. There’s drop-in tennis and skating, not to
mention piano lessons and guitar.
Another mother called me recently to inquire about my fourth grade son’s plans for a math
tutor this summer. “He does great in math,” was my response. “He doesn’t need a tutor.”
“Au contraire,” she countered. “That’s exactly why he does need one – and I know just the
tutor you can hire.”
It’s enough to drain the federal reserve.
It seemed so much simpler when our educational achievements lagged behind China and
Japan but we were happily oblivious as we roamed the great outdoors unsupervised and –
dare I say? – without tutors. But in an age where parents start college tours with third graders
and more is…well, more, public schools are pressured to offer bigger and better programs
even when they know they can’t afford it. Colorado lags behind the rest of the nation in
educational funding yet we have the second highest number of college graduates living in our
state. Couple these parents’ high expectations for academic rigor and educational
opportunities with the state’s unusually low funding and it simply can’t be done without outside
money.
Enter mom and her pocketbook.
So, I’ll donate to the education foundation and pay to have my kids attend lunch with guest
authors. I’ll pay up for the yearbook, the teacher gift and the 4th grade graduation. We may
not be able to afford a family vacation after all this, but at least when school’s out I can kick my
feet up and relax until the next round of handouts.
After all, that’s the price we pay for a free education.