GoBigEd

Posted 10:23 AM by Susan Darst Williams

A LOVE SONG FOR THE CLASS I PARENTS

I wish I could go to the rally today at the State Capitol for Nebraska’s Class I schools. It’s being held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Warner Chamber, across the Rotunda from the Legislative Chamber. In the morning, they’ll be lobbying against a proposed bill that would in effect kill their children’s schools.

The parents and other citizens who are fighting so hard to keep our small, K-8 country schools are setting a standard for excellence in involvement in public education that is unmatched in any urban district, that’s for sure.

But since I can’t be there in person with my old gee-tar, I’d like to salute them from cyberspace with the lyrics to my song on parental involvement, with a special verse added just for them. It goes something like this:

PARENT POWER
(To the tune of Sweet Betsy From Pike)

Oh, mothers and fathers
Must care for their kids.
Without them, our schools
Would be on the skids.
When parents ignore this,
They’re really numbskull.
No wonder the schools
Think we’re dysfunctional.

Teach the schools a good lesson
By loving your kids.

Parents, please, meet the teacher
Before late October.
When you go to your conference,
Why don’t you go sober?
Enforce rules ‘bout homework
And getting along.
Together, we’ll make
Schools and children real strong.

Teach the schools a good lesson
By loving your kids.

Oh, our tiny Class I schools
Don’t get many breaks
From bureaucrats, unions,
And Senator Raikes.
The parents who’re fighting
For their way of life
Deserve admiration,
Not anguish and strife.

Teach the schools a good lesson
By loving your kids.