"No Thank You!"

Much has been said and written about recent decisions affecting the UNI Child Development Center. The out of touch decision-makers have had their say and concerned parents (including myself) have been very vocal in support of their children. I wonder what my three-year-old son, Leo, has to say about the situation. Wonder no more…

Molly: What do you like about your school?

Leo: I like about it the toys they have there like my Legos and trains. I like the yellow goldfish there.

Molly: What kind of fun things do you do at school?

Leo: I run around outside with dumptrucks and play pattern blocks, and play Play-Doh at school.

Molly: What things have you learned at school?

Leo: I learned about trains and about train cars and locomotives and some different kinds of trains, and dinosaur trains!!!

Molly: Can you tell me about your teachers and school?

Leo: My teachers are Tera and Aimee, Mackenzie, Katie, Lexi. They do nice things like tell me jokes. I tell jokes to them.

Molly: Do they laugh?

Leo: Yeah they do laugh! We talk to them about some elephants and some cars.

Molly: Tell me about your friends at school.

Leo: Lila and Landon and Emma Charlotte, Acree, Harry. Katelyn and Alissa are hanging out at home now.

Molly: What fun things do you do with your friends?

Leo: I tell jokes to them! They pat me, and they tell about their pictures to me, that’s a nice thing!

Molly: How would you feel if some of your friends couldn’t come to school anymore?

Leo: I could feel sad.

Molly: Why?

Leo: Because they wouldn’t play with me anymore, and they couldn’t tell my pictures and jokes anymore. I like them to tell me that!

Molly: If someone was telling your friends that they couldn’t come to your school anymore, what would you tell them?

Leo: I would tell them a bad thing and swing my arms and drive my trains at them.

Molly: What else would you tell them?

Leo: I would tell them “no thank you.”

There you have it; the indictment of a three-year-old with the very manners he practices at school every day. Take our classrooms away? No thank you, Dr. Countryman. Displace our children? No thank you, Dean Watson! Split up my son and his friends? No thank you, Dr. Gibson! Threaten early childhood education at the university I love? No thank you, President Allen!

These decisions are not about classrooms, money, or regulations; they are about our children. Leo loves his friends, his teachers and his school. Please listen to his polite request! I’d hate for him to have to use his toy trains against anyone…

Sincerely,

Molly and Leo Hackett