Last chance Leon

January 21, 2006

Dear Mr. Leon,

While I found the explanation of the Communities Unit fascinating, clearly you missed my point. My issue is not about my job being left out of the discussion or that George was not allowed to interview me for the assignment. My issue is simply about your careless comment and the IMPRESSION it gave my son.

I’m well aware of what was being covered in the unit as I’ve already had two kids go through 3rd grade at Smithtown Elementary. But not once, did one of my girls come home and tell me that their teacher told them if a parent stays home to take care of kids, it’s not really a job.

Here’s the thing… I can think of at least a dozen different ways you could have made your point WITHOUT sending the wrong message to the kids. Why didn’t you just say, “Choose a parent who works outside the home”? OR, “Choose a parent who has a job that earns an income to support the family.” Why did you have to make a point to say “DON’T interview a parent who stays home to take care of children”? You could have even given us a boost and said, “While the job of staying home to raise children is REALLY important, I want you to learn something about the job of a parent who goes into the community to work.”

Additionally, I’ll have to pass on your generous offer to come talk to the kids about my job. I’m sure that the 3rd graders in your class would NOT enjoy hearing that I’ve changed close to 30,000 diapers, washed more than 10,000 loads of laundry, cooked over 12,600 meals, bandaged at least 2,100 boo-boos, and that I can do more things in one day than most CEO’s do in a week. My compensation package is the pits, and I never get a day off. I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The importance of what I do cannot possibly be summed up in a 5 minute talk about my roles and responsibilities, where my job is performed and how it benefits the community. The truth is that I CREATE the community. Without the wives and mothers, those who work inside the home and out, there is NO COMMUNITY. That’s what I mean when I say that you missed my point. By a lot.

All I wanted was a simple apology, and an appropriate explanation to the kids of what you meant. That’s it. I understand that you didn’t intend to belittle my work or to make it seem unimportant. And yet, you did. That is EXACTLY what you did. I don’t care that is was not intentional. You have a huge influence over these children, and you misspoke and sent the wrong message. What you intended and what they heard were two different things.

One last thing, you ought to read your mail from parents more privately or at least control yourself while you do. You continue to lose credibility with me since George came home on Thursday and said that you laughed out loud while reading my first letter. I am not impressed.