My kids attend a Waldorf school that, like many Waldorf schools that
struggle somewhat financially and strive to provide education that's
within the reach of families in various financial circumstances, relies
heavily on fundraising throughout the year to make ends meet. So the
annual benefit auction is a big deal. The first few years we were with
the school, the auctions were child-friendly: after all, the auction
was, in essence, *for* the kids, in a way, as the money received went
directly to the school and providing materials and eduction for them.
My kids loved the magical atmosphere and flitted from room to room,
sampling delicious food and reporting on important items that they
wanted me to bid on in the hopes we would win them and take them home.
We all looked forward to the auction all year.
Then the auction
committee decided to make it an adult-only event and discouraged
children from attending. It felt like some of the heart went out of the
event for me then, and it became yet-another chi-chi occasion of the
sort I avoided anyway, chock-full of people wearing clothes they
normally wouldn't, laughing too loudly and generally not being
themselves. Not having a babysitter handy, I stayed home that first
year. The second year of adult-only I stayed home out of protest. It
wasn't fun anymore, not for me.
I guess this is a sensitive issue and
it's being pondered over at The Wall Street Journal:
while I'd never insist that my kids attend a gathering and would never
knowingly taken them where they weren't wanted, I agree that if my kids
aren't invited it's likely I'll stay home. I have taken them places
where they were ostensibly and grudgingly welcomed, and none of us were
comfortable. So why bother?
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