Appendix 4: “Why I Won’t Send You to the Municipal Kindergarten”

Appendix 4: “Why I Won’t Send You to the Municipal Kindergarten” ©2020 Do-Iho Drengbu I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten not because I don’t want you to broaden your experience in a stimulating environment, but because I want you to be a Tibetan child in more than just name. [...] I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten not because I do not see the value of pre-school education, but because I am not comfortable with a principal telling an audience that “A Tibetan-speaking child is not a good child.” I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten not because I ignore the merits of studying a variety of subjects, but because I fear the onslaught of mainstream education. [...] I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten not because I don’t appreciate the beauty of fancy classrooms and nice playgrounds, but because I want to set my inescapable responsibility to you straight. [...] I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten so that you are nourished by the milk of the white-coated yak cow and the whiteness of fresh Tsampa. [...] I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten wishing our family members to declare without reservation before the tombs of our ancestors that “I am your descendant.” I won’t send you to the municipal kindergarten because Jomolangma is the crown jewel of mountains, and the Potala palace is so magnificent.