PYP: Looking beyond agendas

As a parent, I feel a responsibility to teach my children to be tolerant of others’ beliefs and opinions. Developing a strong sense of self is more difficult in an age filled with false information and negative media messages. It is hard to comprehend the unwillingness some members of society have to accept the fact that this world has evolved.

Teaching cannot only be done from a textbook anymore. The environment demands our attention; diseases challenge medical research to develop cures and technology is advancing by the day as a result of global need. In a time when information is at our fingertips, the current generation of young people needs to understand that they will research from the Web, present from laptops and succeed only through the use of modern knowledge. Part of education is to teach history, (I understand that) but more importantly, educators must inform developing minds of current situations and future possibilities.

Although I choose to live in an area less populated than most, I refuse to raise children who are oblivious to the planet we inhabit. As a resident of Hayden, I enjoy the freedom to choose to send my kids to Hayden Meadows. As a parent, I model behavior that is accepting of others and free of discrimination or prejudice. I will talk to my children about the importance of making educated decisions for themselves and developing opinions based on facts. As a community member, I support creating a present generation who understands the dangers of judgment and aspire to look beyond the agenda of others.

We must teach our children reason, logic, clarity, decent civility and debate. These are the simple, non-partisan bases of democracy. If we do not teach these principles, they will be lost. They need to be taught.

For these reasons I advocate the continuation of the PYP curricula at Hayden Meadows Elementary and appreciate the opportunity my children will have to the exposure of the IB program at this critical stage in their young lives. It is with great passion that I urge this board to not take away the PYP program from the students or the parents and to not change the district’s policy for schools of choice. Some of you were elected based on the principles of representative democracy. And we, the people of Zone 2 are here to say, Mr. Hamilton, WE want PYP to stay.

KRISTIN LUDWIG

Hayden