Home Sweet Home!

As part of a homeschool civics class comprised of students in the 7th through 10th grade levels, students were asked to write opinion editorials on topics of their own choosing which reflect current themes in governance and policy-making. Over the course of the next few weeks the class will be tracking the views of and commentary on their op-eds with the goal of generating as much meaningful community engagement as possible. A prize will be awarded to the student who is most successful at generating meaningful community engagement with their op-ed. Thanks so much for partnering with us to create this experience for the children and teaching them to be actively involved in the governance of their community!

by HSC10

Many people from many places are moving to my lovely state. The state that I’ve been born and raised in and have seen a very comparable and dramatic change. Idaho. Idaho is a state with such a variety of things to do and so many different beauties! Some of the most notable changes are the amount of building and industrialization that’s happened, newcomers that aren’t always respectful, the treatment of locals by the newcomers, and the effects this is having on the values of native Idahoans.

The growth and new construction that I have seen here in Idaho are imprudent. I especially notice the change when I think back to how things were when I was little. It makes me sad to see the beautiful scenery ruined by the building process. For instance, the lot right next to me had three magnificent living tamaracks that looked especially stunning in the fall. They were cut down and built over with 2 new homes just last year. I have already seen this happen in my old town and pray it doesn’t keep happening here in Sandpoint.

Next, what feels like a majority of people that move here have been relatively disrespectful to me and other local Idahoans I know. They often come into my precious Idaho as if they are better than me or like they are of a higher priority. If one decides to move here, please regard the locals and respect our values. We value family, helping one another, and looking out for each other without overstepping privacy which is also a major value. When one moves because of his or her state’s politics, I would like to encourage that they leave their politics there before coming here. I recommend learning the ways of our state because most of us like it the way it is, like me, I live in a small town, and I would say that almost all of us like it small, so don’t bring a big-city mentality to our small-town charm. Sun Valley, the town I moved from, got all caught up in the big city ways, and I don’t want Sandpoint to turn into that.

Now, that leads us perfectly into something I could write a whole other Op-Ed on but will touch lightly on for now. I would like to point out that the Idahoan kids are actual people, so don’t come here and treat us like we are stupid. If we do something wrong, don’t freak out and rudely scold us. Instead, politely tell us what we should do to stop or fix the problem. Rudely scolding us makes us want to retaliate, which we know better and, refrain from doing so. A perfect example of an uncalled-for reprimand was one time a friend of mine was playing with his dog in the street when one of the neighbors completely misunderstood the situation. She thought he was hurting his pet. Instead of coming over and talking to him about it to gain a better understanding, she immediately posted what she thought she saw with exaggeration on social media. She said there was a dangerous kid harming an animal. This lead to some serious threats, one of them being that if he was found he was going to be beaten! The right thing would’ve been to talk with him or his parents about what she thought she was observing. Instead, it escalated to a more threatening situation.

I love my state and want to preserve its goodness. I love seeing people come, enjoy, and relax in what Idaho has to offer without endangering it. We Idahoans are all about livin’ and lovin’

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