I wrote this earlier this week. Since this writing, it's been a tough week: a former student of my school beat his father to death with a splitting maul, a current student( a relative of the previous father/son) had to help clean it up, one of my students was abducted...Ohh, And we had the PSSA's (NCLB) on top of it all. Today, I have been looking to the memory of Dr. King for inspiration. It has helped me focus on why I do what I do and to carry on. Dr. King died fighting for economic justice and civil rights. His battle is our to pick up and carry on. To see the connection, please read on. TB
As a Dad, I’ve had many proud moments, but last night may have surpassed them all. Last night, my youngest son brought a book home from pre-school and read it to me. When he got stuck, he sounded out the words, and he used the pictures for clues. As a learning support teacher who has spent the last 11 years teaching 17-18 year olds to read, this was a beautiful moment. I was very proud.
There is much angst regarding the state of our educational system. Politicians love to beat up on our schools and our teachers. The truth is much more complex. Our whole society, not just our schools and our teachers, is responsible for the education of our children. To solve this problem, we are going to have to address many other issues in our communities and our country. This is the first part of a series where I will talk about my ideas for addressing these problems making our communities and country a better place.
I believe that education starts at home with the parents. Both my boys are in pre-school now, but my wife and I have been preparing our sons, educating them, since before they were born.
My wife, who is a smoker, stopped smoking cold turkey once she discovered that she was pregnant. She also stopped drinking any alcoholic beverages, stopped drinking coffee or any other caffeinated beverages, began eating breakfast, and she made sure that she got more sleep at night. She also attended all scheduled doctor’s visits. I joined her for most of these visits. A healthy pregnancy is essential for the formation of a healthy child. Sadly, not all women have health insurance. As a result, they don’t have regular doctor’s visits, don’t get important counsel regarding healthy behaviors, and as a result, America is second in the industrialized world when it comes to the rate of babies dying. Yes, there is a personal responsibility component. I briefly mentioned the steps that my wife and I took to ensure a healthy pregnancy, but there is a societal component also. Women must have health insurance if we wish to have healthy babies. That is OUR responsibility. We, the American people, have a responsibility to make sure that our women and our babies are healthy. Health insurance for women and children is a pro-life position.
After the birth of our children, my wife and I instituted strict routines for meals, naps, and bedtimes. Nighttime was sacred, my wife bathed the boys, and I dressed and read stories to them. This was essential for proper rest, which is essential for good health. Both boys began hiking with me when they where a couple of weeks old. I used to double pack the boys. I would carry Zeke in a front pack, and Silas would ride in a backpack. My wife would accompany us sometimes, but oftentimes, this was Momma’s time for herself. Again, my wife and I assumed the responsibility for the health and education of our children.
This is not to say that our children did not get sick. Silas, after an illness-free first 18 months, proceeded to get a string of ear infections that required many trips to the doctor, many rounds of antibiotics, two emergency room trips, one weekend spent in the hospital, and finally, tubes in his ears. Thankfully, my wife and I have good health insurance. We were able to focus on doing what was best for the health of our child rather than having to worry about the cost. The tubes did the trick. My son’s ears healed, his hearing returned, and one year later his speech was where it should have been.
Unfortunately, not every child has health insurance. Their parents work. Many times they work two or three jobs, but those jobs don’t offer health insurance benefits. These people are known as the "working poor". There are a lot of these people in this country. They’re good people, they love their kids, and they are cheated by corporate greed. Here in the 9th district, our present congressman has voted against funding health insurance for these people’s kids 4 times. President Bush has vetoed funding for health insurance for these people’s kids 4 times. This, I guess, is "compassionate conservatism".
I’m sorry, but if you vote against health insurance for kids, you are not pro-life. Hank Williams, Jr. sang that it "all comes down to money and love." Going further, you can tell who someone loves by how they spend their money. If we really love kids, if we really cherish life, we will make sure that all kids, that all Americans, have health insurance. Anything short of that in a moral society would be criminal. It is for this reason that I support single payer health insurance for all Americans.
In the next few days, I will continue this narrative explaining where and why I stand on the issues. For more information about my campaign, please check out my website http://www.tonybarr2008.com