Proud to be a parent in school district

In response to your recent story regarding the lawsuit filed over the Encinitas’ school district yoga program, I am a parent in the EUSD and my daughter is in first grade at Capri. 

Clearly it is a challenging time for the school district as budgets are tight and our national education system is challenged. At the same time, I am very proud to be a parent in the EUSD as I feel that our public educational system in Encinitas is exceptional and I am delighted that I have the opportunity to send my daughter to public school.

There are many areas of the country where, as a responsible parent, I would not have this option.

We all have a responsibility with our children to teach them the values required to peacefully coexist in this world in the future. Our society, while exceptional in so many ways, remains plagued by conflict and an inability to effectively deal with the many challenges that face us.

I am a spiritual person that was raised as a Roman Catholic. There are a few things that I take exception to in the teachings of the Catholic Church, although I believe that we have the ability to make the world a better place by respecting each other, being kind to each other, building a society, and peacefully dealing with our problems. In fact, these are several of the pillars in the EUSD value system.

I became aware of a petition to terminate the Ashtanga Yoga program on religious grounds several weeks back. As this petition was rejected by the school board, Mr. Broyles, for what I believe to be very personal and selfish reasons, has decided to file a lawsuit.

While I try to be respectful of all opinions, it is my feeling that this is purely an example of religious zealotry and totally without merit. I am very proud of the Yoga program at EUSD and delighted that my daughter is fortunate enough to have this opportunity within her public school system. There is no religious component to this practice, but rather a spiritual one that solely reinforces the values that we try to teach our children at EUSD, and that are required for the long-term future of our society.

Please see this lawsuit for what it is, an attempt to revert to the myopic and ineffectual teachings that are unlikely to make a difference in our world.

We need to embrace the new philosophies that have the potential to make our world and our society a better place. It is unlikely that we can achieve better and different results by doing things the same old way, but by challenging the way things have been done in the past, and searching for new methodologies that are in alignment with our values can we truly achieve evolutionary progress.

Matthew Jenusaitis is an Encinitas resident.