1. My alma mater now costs two-and-a-half times more than it did my freshman year (1987). Annual tuition plus room and board is $44,160. Cripes.

2. At the local state university, the cost of room and board is more than that for tuition and fees, $8,000 vs. $5,985. (Guess who’s living at home if she chooses to attend the local state university?)

3. By the time my daughters are eligible to enter the local state university, we need to have amassed a pile of savings totaling $111,747, assuming an average inflation rate of 5.94% for college costs which may be on the low side. If they choose my alma matter, bump that savings account up to $704,959. (Holy shit. Guess who’ll need lots of financial aid if she chooses my alma mater?)

4. Undergraduate degree programs ain’t what they used to be, mostly because the students who enter them ain’t what they used to be. There’s a mad consumerist attitude amongst today’s college students, and who can blame them? They are laying out serious cash. How can you lose yourself in the life of the mind while forking over $44,000 a year? How’s an art history major ever going to earn that money back? It’s crazy.

I am alarmed but not totally hopeless. Somehow this will all work out. If you have kids who might go to college someday, and the trend is up in that regard (because everyone knows that a high school education isn’t what it used to be), then you should start saving right now. Look into starting a 529 plan. And have a nice day.

My six-year-old has been elected by popular vote to the student council.

Fellow citizens, hold fast your children, gather your animals under cover, and lock the doors. This may only be the beginning.

(However, there is some hope that the situation may not be all bad. When questioned as to her motives for running, she stated flatly, “Because you get a special lunch in the commons once a month.”)

Who could be against smaller class sizes and new arts and music programs? In this case, this page is, because it is irresponsible to create new needs and costs when the district cannot pay for current ones.

So, basically, The Times says we should punish the teachers, students, and their parents for the financial failures of the school district by continuing to under-fund every aspect of public education in the city. How dare the teacher’s union ask for more of our hard-earned money to fund their nefarious deeds, The Times seems to say.

As the parent of a 1st grader in an over-crowded, south-end public school I say bullshit, Seattle Times. The Seattle Public Schools are so poorly funded right now they can barely keep things afloat. It’s a tragedy that Seattle, “one of the most-educated and wealthiest cities in the nation” as pointed out in the editorial, has such a crappy public school system. The Times says we should punish the people who rely on that system to prove a point about fiscal responsibility.

The editorial goes on to say we should look for help from the state Legislature:

A better target for proponents of I-88 is the state Legislature. Washington state’s constitution calls for the state to bear primary duty for education funding. A huge opportunity lies in Gov. Christine Gregoire’s group of education panels, Washington Learns.

The fact is that education funding in Washington is beyond dismal compared to other states. Washington ranks 46th in the nation in class size; 42nd in per-pupil education spending; and currently spends $548 less per student than it did 15 years ago. The state is failing at it’s responsibility. We cannot continue to look toward Olympia to solve our problems. In this wealthy and well-educated city, we can do the right thing and take responsibility for our schools, build them up, support them financially, and volunteer our time to make them better. And step one is to not take away more funds.

I say, vote for I-88 not because I tell you to, or because the Seattle Times tells you not to, do it so my 1st grader and her classmates don’t have to try to learn in a classroom of 30 kids, with no after-school programs or childcare, and over-worked, under-paid teachers.

I still hold some reservations regarding the academic content, or lack thereof, of the kindergarten classroom. This seems like a classic case of over-crowding impeding learning. 28 kids is way too many. My daughter comes home complaining of being bored, and her pretend school play at home is mostly about taking attendance and lunch count, and heavy doses of discipline (mainly aimed at her younger sister). She had to stay home last Friday due to the stomach flu, and while she rested on the couch she busied herself with math problems, nothing fancy, just addition and a little subtraction. I joked with my wife that she probably learned more staying at home that day than she would have had she gone to school. It was funny for a few seconds.

It has to.

• Working closely with the teachers to create a cohesive team
• Helping to create a peaceful and positive atmosphere
• Working with the children in the classroom and playground
• Washing and storing the mealtime dishes according to health department guidelines
• Toileting the children
• Assisting with afternoon snacks as needed, including preparation and clean-up
• Replacing materials and general straightening of the classroom after activities
• Cleaning the classroom, kitchen and bathrooms on a daily basis between 5:30 – 7:00 pm.

Call 206-722-2803 for more information or visit the school’s website. It’s a great school with a hard-working, dedicated staff and an active, involved parent community.

They offer an all-day, year-round program with Montessori education in the mornings, vegetarian lunches prepared with the assistance of the students (and a cooking teacher), and art, playtime, and rest/naptime in the afternoons. The quality of the teaching is excellent.

There are two open houses coming up:

• Wednesday, January 12, 2005 from 7:00-8:30 PM
• Saturday, January 29, 2005 from 10:00-11:30 AM

The school is at 4620 S. Findlay Street. Call 206-722-2803 for more information or visit the website at www.magiclanternpreschool.org.