Voicenotes

A Letter to the NYS Board of Regents

by rochel Schwarz

I’m a mother, and my child is mine, a gift from G-d.

I’ve always dreamed and longed for motherhood, and for nine months carried my precious child inside of me, enduring the nausea, the aches, the tiredness, and emotional ups and downs that only a woman can understand.

I labored with him for hours, softening the ache of each contraction by thinking about the pure soul about to be entrusted into my care.

I cared for him as a helpless infant, feeding him, washing him, clothing him, cuddling him close when he cried, delighting in his happiness when he smiled and laughed.

I watched him grow from a tiny infant into a charming toddler, all the while giving him the love, support, and tools he needed to develop and mature.

I taught him to choose right over wrong, good over evil, and truth over lies. I stressed the importance of values, ethics, and morals above all else.

Now I imagine myself standing at the bus stop together with my toddler-turned-little boy, on his first day of school. His little stomach flutters with excitement, mine with an added touch of anxiety and a whispered prayer for his continued success as he moves on to this next stage of life.

I lovingly packed his bag with his snacks and supplies, tucking in a surcomes to a stop in front of us. I give him a hug and a kiss as he steps on, then wave to him as he peers out the window, his face glowing with excitement and joy. I wave as the bus pulls out, continuing until it disappears down the street.

I turn to go home, and my pure, innocent and impressionable son continues on his way…. …to the school of your choice?! To learn the subjects of your choice?! In the way that you demand they be taught?!

He’s my child. I’m the one who stayed up nights with him when he couldn’t sleep, and who brought him to the doctor when he wasn’t well. I am the one who worried, and will continue to worry, about his wellbeing every day. How dare anyone even suggest that I be held in delinquency over the decisions I make, the ones I know are in my child’s best interests?

After all that I invested in my precious child, can it be that I will not be able to educate him the way I feel is best, the way that my mother chose for me and her mother chose for her? The government should never be able to intervene in a woman’s choice regarding the child she brought into this world. Never in the recent history of New York State has such anti-women legislation been considered.

The very proposals have been a blow to my gut, leaving me shattered and scared over the future of my child. I beg you, as an Orthodox Jewish woman and mother, to allow me to educate my child the way I know is best for him. The way that I know will ensure he becomes a fine, upstanding citizen and contributing member of society, a son I will be proud of.

He’s my child. I’m the one who stayed up nights with him when he couldn’t sleep, and who brought him to the doctor when he wasn’t well.

prise little treat for him to find at lunchtime. I dressed him in his brand-new outfit, embraced him and calmed his first-day-of-school fears. I snapped a picture of my adorable little boy as we left the house, preserving his excitement for posterity.

The school bus turns the corner and