Poor Kids Banned from School Carnival - NY USA

originally posted by: Realtruth

originally posted by: Domo1

She really should brush more.

Hair or teeth?

Please advise

The hair On her teeth

a reply to: Mandroid7

I really hope that link was to the right place or i just called some innocent lady an evil witch....

On topic....this is a sad day for the human race.....money is so corrupting that we treat each other,our kids like crap because of the money.....ugh....this story really left a bad taste in my mouth

a reply to: ketsuko

OK, so where does it stop? At what point do we either stop having nice things for kids because not all the kids can pay or will pay on time or find some way to force someone else to cover those kids?

Where does it stop is indeed the question. Perhaps the school should begin offering more "nice things for kids" that can be had for a small fee? How about first class seating? Why should kids whose parents can afford more comfortable seating be forced to sit in the same uncomfortable desks as the rest of the kids?

Sounds asinine right? So does the false dilemma you've constructed.

So would the people who think we should issue out first place medals for everyone so no one loses.

Because the ability of parents to pay for children to attend a carnival during school hours is a competition between children? I'm fairly certain you've identified yourself as a Christian? Ignore the next line if I'm mistaken.

Ask yourself, what would Jesus do?

a reply to: theantediluvian

Spot on response!

I wonder if the Head Teacher classed herself as a devout Christain. Always the way, always the relgious folk who are the most uncaring despite what their scripture tells them about treating poor folk

All I see in this thread is entitlement mentality. Your kids are not entitled to a carnival. The principal is not a witch because she brought a carnival to her school - she is a nice lady for giving the kids an opportunity to have fun. If some kids didn't partake of that opportunity for a measly $10 then that's their choice. Seriously that was a weeks worth of lunch money for me and my brother when we were in school. That's one hour at minimum wage.

So what, should we be funding free carnivals for children in addition to food stamps, weflare, unemployment, and free healthcare?

This mentality is exactly what's wrong with our country. Sorry but I don't feel bad for these kids. They got out of class for a few hours and were able to watch a movie. That's not cruel and unusual, that's a privilege.

The amount of hate on the principal for doing a nice thing is just incomprehensible to me. What the # is wrong with you people?

a reply to: peskyhumans

No the hate is on the principle for not taking steps to help the poorest kids in the school feel like they are not being punished.

Bake sales, car washes etc all could have helped mitigate the cost.

Everything you complained about has nothing to do with k thru grade 5 children.

Not saying this is right but how many of you have had children in school before?
Do you have any idea how many times they not only ask for money for this and that but require that you pay for any number of things.
I don't recall having to pay for anything when I was a kid in school.
Now they have pizza and ice cream parties, trips, fundraisers and list goes on and on.
Every kid thinks the world will end if their parents don't pay up.
Frankly, I sent my kids to school to get an education, not jump around in a moonwalk.

While I do feel bad for the kids who couldn't attend they still got to skip class.
Always was a plus in my book.

a reply to: Realtruth

What is sad is that poor kids grow up with poor minds for the most part.

Right where the elite and army want them.

The school I went to did a annual field trip to a 6 flags theme park for the seniors every year. Only those that could pay were able to go. I suppose my principal was a monster as far as you guys are concerned.

Public school districts work with a limited budget. They have to get their budget approved every year through a vote - and that vote affects how much everyone in town pays in mandatory school taxes every year. They would be hard pressed to justify free carnivals for their students as a part of their budget considering that people who live on a fixed income (such as the elderly) still have to pay the same tax as everyone else. I suppose you think that money just comes out of thin air?

We all have to live within our means. It's not evil that some can't afford the carnival, that's just life. Maybe these kids will be harder driven to succeed at life and get the nice job that their parents may not have. But you see that's the mentality I was raised with: "nothing is given to you, overcome your circumstances". These days the common mentality is "I'm a victim of circumstance, give me give me give me". I'm glad I was raised with the same mentality as my parents and grandparents.

originally posted by: flammadraco
a reply to: theantediluvian

Spot on response!

I wonder if the Head Teacher classed herself as a devout Christain. Always the way, always the relgious folk who are the most uncaring despite what their scripture tells them about treating poor folk

Why don`t you just jump to conclusions?

You know what, if I couldn't afford the money for my kids to attend some school function like that, I would keep them home. I do understand this isn't an option for some parents, but if it wasn't an option to let them stay home, I would find the cash to pay for their way.

Matter of fact, there's a kickball tournament next week that is requiring an entry fee. It's for the entire school of grades 3-5 and if the kids don't participate, some other option will be given. (Probably a movie in the library or something lol) My kids don't really want to participate and I really don't feel like paying for something they don't want to participate in, and I don't think i'ts very productive to stick them in a room in front of a TV, so I'm letting them stay home that day. It's two days before the end, so it's not that big of a deal.

I do think the school should just have let all the kids play but, really, some shame needs to be attached to the parents of these kids as well.

originally posted by: Fisherr

ah this old lesson, "If you don't pay, you don't get to play"
Back in the day our school had a field trip that was like £20 a pop.

Instead of going to that BS, my dad took me to work with him for the day..
and i got a days pay instead.. £60.. (1985)
I Did learn a lesson, just not the lesson they wanted to teach me.

i remember spending many a day at the machine shop with my dad while the other kids were bussing it to the field trip.
i hated it at the time.
looking back as an adult, i love it. i would much rather be in the shop with the pops.

this is a bummer though. it has always happened and always will.
there will always be kids that are left out.

a reply to: peskyhumans

Where to begin? Since it seems that you didn't read the source before launching your purely political rant, I'll bullet point a few relevant facts:

- The school is an elementary school, the students are pre-K through 5th grade.
- The carnival was held during school hours.
- The carnival netted the school a profit of $2,000 to $3,000.
- Approximately 100 students didn't attend for lack of payment.

Now, please explain what minimum wage (which is $8.75/hr in NY btw), welfare, food stamps, unemployment and subsidized healthcare have to do with anything? Are you accusing a group of 4-9 year-old children of being freeloaders?

When did fundraising carnivals held during school hours become a function of schools? I was in elementary school in Georgia about 30 years ago and I had kids in elementary school in NJ up until a few years ago and I've never encountered a fundraising "carnival" (which judging by the pictures was way overpriced at $10) held during school hours. The kids in elementary school here did the exact same thing we did decades ago in Georgia, they had "Field Day" which didn't cost a dime. The only kids who didn't participate were those who were being punished for disciplinary infractions. That's probably why some of these kids were asking why they were being punished.

If you're perhaps unfamiliar with this traditional activity in many countries, including our own — which again, DOESN'T COST A DAMN THING and is a lot FUN for KIDS — I'll refer you to the Wikipedia page:

Sports days, sometimes referred to as field days, are events staged by many schools and offices in which people take part in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often held at the beginning of summer, they are also staged in the autumn or spring seasons, especially in countries where the summer is very harsh. Schools stage many sports days in which children participate in the sporting events. It is usually held in elementary schools, or grades Kindergarten-8th Grade.

In schools which use a house system a feature of the school is the competition between the houses; this is especially brought out during sporting events such as an inter-house sports day.

Games that are played on school sports days can be wide and varied. They can include straightforward sprints and longer races for all age groups as well as egg and spoon races. Three legged races are run as well as sack races and parent and child races.[1]

Additional games are traditionally run in Ireland and the UK, such as wheelbarrow races and games such as horseshoes.

Who is this clown of a principal to decide that instead of doing something that everyone could participate in, something that schools around the world do, she'd devise an event that not only cost money, but generated a profit and resulted in more than a hundred of her students feeling unnecessarily ostracized over something they had no control over?

Instead of rushing in to preach the right-wing gospel, perhaps you should consider whether or not the issue is even a political one?

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs

Poor children whose parents could not afford $10 for carnival are made to sit in dark auditorium while their classmates play

At roughly $75-$100 a day, I think families could find a better way to spend their tax dollars than sequestering children in a dark auditorium or sending them to be fleeced by carnies.

Public education at its finest.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

yeah. i dont remember having to pay for supplies and such.

i do now.

parents get lists sent home every so often with crap they must supply for the class.
paper towels, glue, this and that..

for the entire class.

i hate it because the entire class is not my responsibility.
these days thats how it is.

back in the day you had to pay for extras. supplies for the classroom are not extra

i remember school carnivals.
they were free to get in and the games cost 1 penny each.
i remember my mom handing me a roll of pennies and being super pumped about the coming festiviies

Let's see... $2000 profit at the minimum. 100 kids didn't pay. 2000/100 = 20. Looks like the school made enough to cover the kids who didn't pay twice. Maybe even three times. I see no reason a bake sale or additional fund raiser would even be necessary. Maybe if the carnival broke even, but when you make enough profit (as a public school nonetheless) from your carnival to send the kids who didn't pay twice, then you made enough to include them. Again it's a PUBLIC school.

a reply to: peskyhumans

The school I went to did a annual field trip to a 6 flags theme park for the seniors every year. Only those that could pay were able to go. I suppose my principal was a monster as far as you guys are concerned.

That's a senior class trip and it's for students who are 18 years old. Again, what we're talking about are kids aged 4-9.

It's not evil that some can't afford the carnival, that's just life. Maybe these kids will be harder driven to succeed at life and get the nice job that their parents may not have.

Yes, that it. Somebody needs to teach these little four year old cretins a serious life lesson lest they grow up to become part of the 47%. Thanks for setting us straight Mitt. It's time these kids learn the hard life lessons! We'll sandwich it right between teaching them not to eat paste and multiplication tables.

originally posted by: Aleister
a reply to: Realtruth

If this story is accurate that's one mean lady. Some of my best childhood memories are from our yearly school carnival, they were really fun - and to a small child they were large and wonderous. Those kids should be given an all-expanse paid trip to some really good carnival, the best they can find, and take the money out of the principals salary.

Mean, sure. A lot of times schools do sales of things like wrapping paper and candy to pay for fun things like a carnival so nobody had to pay to attend.


That said, fun things have to be paid for somehow. They just don't magically appear. I wonder how many of those kids have parent that are able to find the money for a pack or two of smokes every day.

a reply to: Anyafaj

I don't know but everyone in school was well aware of what side of the tracks I was from, including myself, from quite a young age.

a reply to: NavyDoc

But the carnival WAS paid for. The school made a profit and enough of a profit that they could afford to cover the kids who didn't pay several times over.