[blparent] Parenting classes

[Angie Matney]

Hi Bridgit,

Good point. And I'm sorry if my message came across as
confrontational/defensive--that wasn't at all what I intended, but
it's an occupational hazard (I'm an attorney). My only point was that
from a practical perspective, requiring classes (even ones that you
aren't required to pass) would be difficult to administer. I'd really
like to see the availability of more parenting classes that people
could opt to take at no cost.

Best,

Angie





On 2/24/12, Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Angie,
>
> I also agree with you . I'm coming at this from the perspective that
> disability would not play a role in a way that made it difficult to
> pass, which is of course a utopian ideal at this point. And I'm not
> speaking of classes that require "passing," but just informational
> classes. I don't believe the government should play big brother and be
> involved in every aspect of our life, and long before Obama took office,
> our country was beginning to look more socialist than democratic, but I
> digress; what I'm suggesting are classes offering information and
> providing tools and techniques helpful to parents, but it would not be
> based on a pass/fail scenario though. And this is not something I'm
> campaigning for. I simply made a comment based on a personal opinion;
> I'm not actively doing anything to initiate such classes, nor am I on
> board with any entity campaigning for it. It was an opinion, nothing
> more. And all ideas have flaws, something else to keep in mind.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
> The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
> Message: 14
> Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:38:05 -0500
> From: Angie Matney <angie.matney at gmail.com>
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Parenting classes
> Message-ID:
> 	
> <CAN4Q-Eo4TVS+Y2AZYuzcfZDE23CaL5Q2Piq7=+KJUPX-H6a0mw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hi Bridgit,
>
> While I agree that such information would be beneficial to all new
> parents, I have to agree with Jo Elizabeth: If all new parents were
> required to take (and, presumably, pass) parenting classes, people
> with disabilities would suffer. We read on this list all the time
> about the additional hurdles would-be adoptive parents face if they
> happen to be disabled.
>
> Because the state is choosing whether or not to place a child with
> potentially adoptive parents, it has the right to require that they
> take certain classes. The government is not involved in a couple's
> decision to biologically have a child. If the government required
> parenting classes, the issue of reproductive rights would come into
> play. (And I think that enforcing such a requirement would be
> logistically problematic, to say the least.)
>
> My above comments have nothing to do with whether or not it would be a
> good idea for all parents to be exposed to the infromation adoptive
> parents receive in parenting classes; in fact, I think there would be
> lots of advantages for all parents in access to such information. I
> guess I like your idea in theory but can't advocate for it in
> practice.
>
> Best,
>
> Angie
>
>
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