There are many things amiss in our society today and some of them will find their way into our schools. But I sincerely doubt that participation in a school wide "Beautification Day" is one of them.
Our children and our world are not endangered by too much community effort for the common good, but by too little. They are not, in the near future, going to find the world less habitable because they work together in caring for its ecosystems, but because they may not. If KES chooses to teach the care and nurturing of school grounds and gardens where other schools do not, well good for KES students, staff and administrators.
Teaching children at an early age to work together on community projects on school time is an example of teaching them that they are part of something larger than themselves. It helps teach them to take ownership in their surroundings and their communities. Leaving this to a few volunteers on a Saturday morning is just not enough anymore. It probably never was.
Obviously, accommodations were made for the child that did not want to participate. And as for those PTO women with so much time on their hands, it has been my experience that they, as well as volunteers in general, are often very busy people. They make the time to contribute to the educational experience of the children in their community. They don’t just find it lying around.
Kathleen Amoia