Your Unpopular Opinions

[KateP85]

I agree with so many of these opinions, either they're not really unpopular or I am just very opinionated! I think sometimes people are afraid to say what they think on these boards because others are so quick to scramble up on their high horse and judge, and who wants to justify themselves to a bunch of strangers?!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

i'm offended that the waldo tunnel (aka-'rainbow tunnel') is being renamed for robin williams,

Oh, no!!! I liked Robin Williams, but this is just wrong. Who's made the decision to do that? I want to write a letter.....

 

[Kimberlyann11]

IMO, spanking is a way for parents to get out their frustrations because a child disobeyed them. Not a punishing act. More of a "I am ticked off that you made me angry so because of that I am going to hurt you" kind of thing. Probably also not a popular opinion.
Drove me crazy when on Facebook and I saw all of these "My parents spanked me as a kid and because of that I am a great human being" kind of posts.

And the people who say that are usually the opposite of "great human beings".

 

[mjkacmom]

cursive should continue to be taught in the public schools.

'home economics' should be a required course in the public schools (it's not even offered as an elective here yet b/c my kid is in special ed he gets it in the form of 'life skills'-heck every kid should graduate high school w/some time spent on consumer math-budgeting, taxes, credit, college cost vs. anticipated earnings in a particular career...., meal planning and preparation-including healthy/budget conscious, housing options/costs, basic upkeep/home safety...).

parents are not obligated to fully (or even partially) fund their child's college education.

charging 'rent' or 'room and board' to an adult child who is employed but continues to live in their parent's home is not evil or greedy-it teaches responsibility and an awareness of what 'real life' costs (and turning around and handing that money back to the adult child when they decide to move out on their own makes a mockery of the whole learning experience).

I agree it's all of these! Heck, my younger kids struggle to read cursive - that's crazy! My kids all tested into the GT program, my oldest graduated with a 4.3 GPA. I wish they offered life skill classes to everyone. Our state requires a small amount for everyone (mine chose cooking), but book smart doesn't equal life smart. As a parent, I did manage to teach most of the necessary skills, after some "are you kidding me?!" moments. There is more to education than advanced calculus and AP physics, more important things to learn.

I paid rent when I graduated from college, until I got my own apartment. I will charge my kids, as well. We are paying a part of their college costs, what we can afford to pay.

 

[marmalade]

I think homework for elementary students is not necessary at all and in some cases causes more harm than good.

 

[smokeyblue]

People have become way too cynical and use the internet/social media as a beard for bad behavior.

 

[NewRVLady]

People who feel once their kids graduate High school-that they are on their own and refuse to offer any financial support for further education.

DH & I have young relatives whose parents felt that way. we look at them now-grown and they have LOWER LEVEL JOBS AND STRUGGLE ALWAYS WITH $$.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I feel that it is a parents job to provide for their child's higher education. DH and I chose to have one child, because kids are expensive!

DS is in college, and to me, college is his job. He does not have a job right now - there is a time when he will have one - but now is not the time. He is attending community college full time, and is on the basketball team as student manager. Between all of that, squeezing in a job right now is not in the cards. And as parents, we are more than happy to make sure he has the necessary supplies and funds needed to make sure that he will excel later on in life, by going to college and working on his future career.

 

[Wendy31]

I think that except for a very, very, very small number of people with a real diagnosis the whole gluten-free thing is nothing but a fad.

I think many food allergies are overblown just to make the children feel special.

Many children are labeled as ADHD/Aspergers/oppositional defiant or whatever the "in" term is nowadays just to absolve parents of any responsibility whatsoever. "Oh, I know he shouldn't be screaming and running around in the library. But he has ADHD. There's nothing I can do about it." (And for the record--I have a brother who is autistic, so not a foreign concept to me.)

Don't understand the hype about Dole Whips or Frozen.

"Participant" is not deserving of a trophy.

The Kardashians just need to crawl under a rock somewhere.

Parents should need some sort of certification in order to homeschool. When I see a parent who can't write a proper sentence say they're homeschooling, I cringe.

I'm sure I'll be able to come up with some more.....

(bolding mine)

We homeschool our children, &, in a way, I agree. I don't think a person should have to be certified to homeschool, but I think a person should recognize & be self-aware enough to realize whether or not homeschooling is a good "fit."

I belong to a homeschool group on Facebook, & I cringe at the way some of the moms write. It's one of my pet peeves, & I wish they'd realize what a bad name they're giving homeschooling.

That said, I know some teachers who also can't write. As examples, one spells "of course" like "of coarse," & another types "I seen." So it's not just a homeschooling teacher problem.

We told our older 2 that they couldn't get Facebook pages until they could demonstrate good writing skills, & they both know better than to ever write "your" when they mean "you're". LOL!

I think homework for elementary students is not necessary at all and in some cases causes more harm than good.

I agree, & *that* is one of the reasons we homeschool! When our older 2 were in elementary (3rd & 4th grades), they were coming home with so much homework! We worked on homework basically from after dinner until bed time, & most of their homework required parental involvement which was fine. However, I determined, I'd rather do schoolwork w/ our kids during the day & have our evenings free for family time - or, conversely, sometimes have our days free and have school in the evenings.

We are fortunate to homeschool in a very homeschool friendly community with all kinds of opportunities for our children, so, while I don't think we're "better parents because we homeschool," I don't think our children are too sheltered or "isolated" either. We are also in a state where there are some state oversights & requirements for homeschooling unlike other states where there are no specific homeschool requirements.

 

[mjkacmom]

I feel that it is a parents job to provide for their child's higher education. DH and I chose to have one child, because kids are expensive!

DS is in college, and to me, college is his job. He does not have a job right now - there is a time when he will have one - but now is not the time. He is attending community college full time, and is on the basketball team as student manager. Between all of that, squeezing in a job right now is not in the cards. And as parents, we are more than happy to make sure he has the necessary supplies and funds needed to make sure that he will excel later on in life, by going to college and working on his future career.

Would you feel the same way if your son chose a more expensive education. We only saved around $150,000 for college for our 5 children. Sure, we could afford to fund community college for all of them, but I can't see any of them staying home, never mind community college. Both DH and I went away to college, he has his MBA, I'm 2 classes from my MA, and we both feel the exoerience of going away to college is worth the price tag. Dd19 is hoping to get an RA position to help with expenses, and all of them are expected to work their butts off during school breaks.

 

[JaxDad]

I think homework for elementary students is not necessary at all and in some cases causes more harm than good.

I agree, & *that* is one of the reasons we homeschool!

But if you homeschool, isn't all schoolwork "homework?"

(Just trying to be funny...)

 

[Wendy31]

Exactly! Yes, it is!



And we decided, if we were going to do homework all night long, we could just as easily do it during the day!

 

[NFLDERS]

Would you feel the same way if your son chose a more expensive education. We only saved around $150,000 for college for our 5 children. Sure, we could afford to fund community college for all of them, but I can't see any of them staying home, never mind community college. Both DH and I went away to college, he has his MBA, I'm 2 classes from my MA, and we both feel the exoerience of going away to college is worth the price tag. Dd19 is hoping to get an RA position to help with expenses, and all of them are expected to work their butts off during school breaks.

Work their butts off? Do you mean "gainful employment?" Which is exactly what our sons were expected to do!

 

[Minion89]

I agree with a lot that has been posted, and I thought of several more:

Other than for special occasions, manicures are a big waste of money.

Plastic surgery should only be allowed for medical reasons. Just because you are unhappy with the look of your nose (for example) does not mean you should be allowed to get it surgically fixed.

Celebrating holidays with just immediate family is the best. This mainly has to do with my family history, but I love how there is no pressure to have to go anywhere or entertain guests.

Black Friday is for inexperienced shoppers. You can get just as good, if not better, deals year-round.

Shonda Rimes is overrated. I do not understand the obsession with any of her shows.

GoFundMe needs to be shut down. Too many people misuse it and scam people into giving them money.

I wish people would stop trying to find unique or trendy names for their children. I recently read online that someone named their child Hashtag. Really, what is so wrong with having a normal name?

Panhandling should be illegal. If a person can stand and hold a sign all day, they can earn money doing the same thing for a store. Also, don’t hold up a sign saying you have no money while you stand there talking on your iPhone.

Lastly, please do not hassle or question me about what I’m buying at stores (especially grocery stores). It is none of your business why I am buying a certain item or why I am buying a certain quantity of an item. I understand most of the time people are just trying to make small talk, but I do not need or want a lecture as to why I should or should not be buying that item.

 

[rszdtrvl]

Would you feel the same way if your son chose a more expensive education. We only saved around $150,000 for college for our 5 children. Sure, we could afford to fund community college for all of them, but I can't see any of them staying home, never mind community college. Both DH and I went away to college, he has his MBA, I'm 2 classes from my MA, and we both feel the exoerience of going away to college is worth the price tag. Dd19 is hoping to get an RA position to help with expenses, and all of them are expected to work their butts off during school breaks.

My son is starting out at community college, and after 2 years plans to transfer to get a degree at a 4 year college. Nothing wrong with starting at a more inexpensive college.
I discouraged an expensive college, as DS did not have the best grades in high school, and I wanted him to make sure he knew what grades were expected in college. So far, so good!

 

[jrmasm]

I think emotional support animals are a crock of crap and that service dogs should be certified.

 

[mjkacmom]

Work their butts off? Do you mean "gainful employment?" Which is exactly what our sons were expected to do!

I was relying to a PP who stated that college was the job. In this competitive job market, those graduating with a solid employment history have an edge.

 

[disykat]

Yep. My opinion is that a kid who makes it through college without ever having a paid job, and even more specifically one in some kind of low wage customer service, has lacked an important part of his/her education.

I have to say - OP thanks for the thread. I can read the ones I disagree with without feeling the need for rebuttal and it's fun posting my own opinions too.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I was relying to a PP who stated that college was the job. In this competitive job market, those graduating with a solid employment history have an edge.

So true. Even 20 years ago, DH and I were getting better job offers than our friends in the same class, straight out of graduation largely due to both of us having a decent amount of work experience to go with the degree.

I think I would encourage DD18 to take fewer classes and an extra semester or two if needed so she could work, or volunteer regularly if she could not mange both at once. Besides, it'S nice to have some balance and not focus on all one or two things

 

[ronandannette]

I agree with so many of these opinions, either they're not really unpopular or I am just very opinionated! I think sometimes people are afraid to say what they think on these boards because others are so quick to scramble up on their high horse and judge, and who wants to justify themselves to a bunch of strangers?!

Not that...I'm never afraid. But I also don't chime in to every thread, especially those where the bulk of the conversation is opposite to how I see things, because I don't feel the need to try and "school" anybody. Many times that's what ******* feels like on the DIS - people seem to believe they can argue others off of their positions and when that doesn't happen, they get offended. Or sometimes they start out offended, basically daring anybody to counter their views. I'd rather observe from the sidelines than wallow around in that. It's the rare thread, if the topic is basically ideological, that can really endure much point-counter point. Heck, we can't even agree on objective things like what day Halloween is supposed to be!