Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Don’t make kids pay for activities

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, April 26, 2001 | 8:22 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Reach her at deskin@ lasvegassun.com.

"For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do" -- Isaac Watts.

In searching for necessary budget cuts, Clark County School District officials might be considering requiring students to pay in order to participate in extracurricular activities.

One would hope they aren't serious. That is the wrong way to go.

My parents had a theory about raising children. Give them plenty of activities to occupy both mind and body and they will be too exhausted to get into trouble. They encouraged my siblings and me to become involved in extracurricular school activities. I did the same for my children. Looking back on some of the lean times, I know my parents would not have been able to pay a fee to allow us to play in the band, act in school plays or compete in sports.

Whether it be the arts or athletics, extracurricular activities are as much a part of the whole learning process as the basics. The children who might need these activities most might just be the ones whose parents could least afford to pay. Extracurricular activities would then become the sole province of the wealthy, depriving the financially disadvantaged.

I won't even discuss the complicated process that would be required in order to set up a formula for paying.

Forcing parents to pay to allow their children to enjoy the benefits of these activities is not a viable solution.

So back to the drawing board. *

How can anyone believe that Internet gambling will not produce a horrendous social problem?

Compulsive gambling is an addiction and the opportunity to gamble in the comfort of your own home is like handing a needle to a heroin addict.

In a note, Dr. Marietta Nelson suggests that "all students should have more courses in preparing for the real world, such as a cooking class required some time during junior high or high school, and a course on how to do car maintenance and repairs, which would include changing a tire or checking a battery. The two subjects might even be combined just to teach the very basics to all students. Simple child care could be included."

Dr. Nelson has pinpointed a real need in preparing our children for the "real world." *

"Weakest Link," the highly hyped new TV game show, is the weakest. Admittedly, a problem hearing and understanding the emcee, Anne Robinson, causes the program to lose appeal.

I'm sticking with Regis and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" *

A bit of Las Vegas trivia: In 1954 Las Vegas was governed by a mayor and a board of three city commissioners. Clark County was governed by a three-man Board of County Commissioners. *

Our schools should be teaching the three "Rs" -- reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic.

Parents should also be teaching the three "Rs" -- respect, responsibility and reliability.