Parents should control kids during fundraisers




Parents should control kids
during fundraisers


This is now the time of year that most school districts, including Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD), send out their students to solicit for the purchase of candy, wrapping paper, magazine subscriptions, cookie dough, CDs, whatever, as a means of fund-raising.


Although most schools discourage door-to-door solicitation, kids still do it. The schools and parents need to do a better job of preparing their charges with this task. Just yesterday, two students from A.E. Wright were dropped off into my gated community (not their own) to hit the neighborhood. When they came to my door, I politely declined to purchase anything, as I have two school-age children of my own. I was very cordial and even wished the boys luck in their sales venture.


Once my door was closed, these boys sprayed my front door and window with water from water bottles they were carrying, then proceeded to go into my open garage door for some more hi-jinks. I heard noise, so I came out to catch them in the act. One boy ran away, and the other stood there proclaiming his innocence but acknowledged his friend was being stupid. When I asked this stunned 12-year-old why they were spraying water into my garage (where as an artist I had a painting I am working on), he had no answer, but the typical pre-teen "I dunno."


Are our youth so unfamiliar with being turned down that they resort to vandalism when they get an answer they don’t like? Is this the kind of ambassador A.E. Wright wants out in the community? Parents, don’t just drop off your kids to make a lot of sales in different neighborhoods if you aren’t willing to coach them on proper etiquette and courtesy.


These students never identified themselves by name or where they were from, just, "Wanna buy some magazines?" I had to do all of the quizzing. Most disheartening was their unapologetic attitude, even when confronted.


Parents need to spend more time making sure their kids learn right from wrong and to accept responsibility, and less time helping them get that big sales prize.


Pat Knepley


Calabasas



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *