To the editor:

OK, so now the state wants to monitor the fitness activities of our school students! Who will be responsible for this – the teachers? What next? Teachers are already responsible for monitoring what a student wears to school and monitoring what a student eats. Where are the parents in this equation?

There is no dispute regarding the correlation between unhealthy eating and limited physical fitness and overweight or obese students. Again, where are the parents? Teachers can provide information, offer physical education classes, monitor performance and provide feedback, but to no avail if the parents are not actively involved.

Let’s say the schools are now required to monitor overweight students and provide that information to the state. What do we do if students return from summer break and are still overweight, or heavier? Fire the teachers for not doing their jobs? Make students eat more fruits and vegetables at school? Make students attend “remedial” physical education classes? Put the entire school on probation?

As one parent says, “they spend more time playing video games and in front of the television.” Well, who is responsible for that? Should we condemn teachers or place more requirements on them as a result of parental neglect?

It seems the schools are trying to become all things to all students. If we continue this trend, we will surely fail. Parenting and parent responsibilities are 24/7 requirements and we should not blame the teachers or schools for those neglects. We should heed the advice of an old English proverb, “One Father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.”

Ken Phipps,

Lawrence