What legacy would you give your children?

Why does the "schools issue" matter to me when I live in a small town like Delanco, rather than the inner city? Because all of my children attended or attend public school...because my second-oldest is graduating from Rowan next week and is entering the teaching profession...because our children MATTER. Essentially, because, as a part of a community, I know that the future walks the halls of our elementary schools, and our high schools. As my generation passes, the one that follows should be able to exceed what we have done - and accomplish what we failed to accomplish. It would be a disgrace if we failed to pass on even what we were given.

Some have asked where I've been here in District Three over the past few weeks - the answer is - I haven't. I've been in Newark and Trenton and Camden over and over, fighting the takeover of the schools under Cami and Paymon, and working with and for the people of Trenton over the impending takeover that their schools face, as Newark and Camden and Highland Park are struggling through, now.

Last week, a school in Stafford Township, in MY district, has had to cut part of their teaching staff from the payroll over costs associated with implementing certain requisite programs, most of which appear to accomplish very little. THE NEXT SCHOOL down Route 539 is a school where my sister-in-law is a teacher, the children of life-long friends attend, my brother-in-law is the DARE officer, and a colleague from College, the disciplinarian. That school, and many others around the State, are being unduly burdened by some of these new requirements. Meanwhile, the students suffer through test after test, with no time to LEARN anything new - even the most important of lessons - how to learn and think for oneself.

We're blowing it, folks. The students deserve better. Their teachers deserve better. The State has broken trust with them YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR. You and I will bear the burden of those who acted irresponsibly in the past twenty years plus, but that financial can being kicked down the road yet, again, is another issue

I think one of the most personally offensive things I have heard in a long time came out of the mouth of a gentleman in Lawrence Twp. "Why should I have to pay for public schools?"

WHY? BECAUSE IT'S YOUR TURN. Someone paid for YOUR school - for YOUR PARENTS' school - maybe even for YOUR GRANDPARENTS' School. They had gym, art, music, sports, even "shop"...and they came out far more educated than the standard we set, today - and then measure inaccurately with standardized testing. The flaws are two-fold. Treating the Schools as a contract-generating cash-cow for political hacks and favor-granting is one - failing our students (and our teachers) by forcing Test after Test after Test on them - so that we can "finger-point" - is the other. Effectively, some of these tests are the equivalent of push-polls, and result only in blame-storming sessions.

Passing a student through to 6th grade that only reads at the first grade level should be considered an assault on that child.

Parents - the greatest part of this responsibility is YOURS. Step up and be involved in your children's education. Know their teachers. Know the material that they are learning. If your own education is lacking - and that does happen - then learn, yourself. Show your children that education is important.

There is no time in the lives of my five children where they weren't given to understand where Mary and I stood on the importance of learning. They thrive because of it. We owed them that.

What legacy would you give your children?

"Stand for what's right, or settle for what's left" - FJL