By Deb Boelkes
Since the onset of the pandemic, working parents of school-age children have had to manage the education of their children while also managing their own careers.
Who could have imagined that schools the world over would shut down, not just for weeks, but in some cases for over a year? Who would have ever thought that a public-school teacher, whose salary is paid by taxpayers, could either refuse to teach or be disallowed to teach by the teachers’ union unless specific union demands were met?
Childhood education has certainly changed since my grandfather was a boy—at the turn of the last century. I recall him telling me how he attended school in a one-room schoolhouse in Kansas. The students in his class, mostly between the ages of 6 and 12, either had to walk to school or ride a horse shared with siblings. There was no carpool or school bus. Some had to walk two hours each way.
The schoolmarm, who was responsible for teaching students of all ages and at all grade levels, had a contract with the county school board that stipulated she could keep her job only while she remained unmarried and demonstrated high moral character.
120 years ago, teachers were highly valued but paid very little. They were responsible to perform all janitorial work, they disciplined the students, and were required to read the scripture to the class at the start of each day. They received no paid days off. They had no “planning days” or spring breaks or summer vacations.
My grandfather’s parents owned a farm. The entire family, nine children in all, began their day at 4:30 AM. Before going to school, my grandfather milked the cows and his youngest sister gathered eggs. After completing their morning chores, the children walked to school together, through winter storms and summer heat until, one-by-one, they graduated 6th grade.
The only days they had off from school were during harvest season, when they were expected to help the family bring in the ripened crops. When each child grew strong enough to perform regular farm labor, they quit school to work full time on the farm. My grandfather ultimately left the farm at age 18 and became a successful businessman.
After World War I, to improve literacy and discourage widespread child labor practices, public education in America became compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 16. As a result of such mandates, parents thereafter expected their children would be well educated.
Fast forward a century. When COVID hit and schools everywhere shut down, parents had little choice but to personally take on the responsibility of educating their children themselves, at least until local school boards allowed and enabled teachers to conduct classes online, if not in-person. Parents who had multiple children at home not only had to juggle their own remote work schedules, they also had to manage the time sharing of their computers and help the little ones participate in on-line classes.
As a result, many parents, who pre-COVID paid minimal attention to their children’s schoolbooks or course content, quickly discovered school curriculums were not at all what they had assumed. Some were so appalled by the content of state-mandated textbooks and on-line lessons, they concluded they had no choice but to find more acceptable educational alternatives.
Some parents who never considered doing so before, elected to home-school their children. Some tell me the results have been nothing short of phenomenal, with their children advancing far beyond the level they likely would have otherwise, in a traditional classroom environment.
One seven-year-old I know, who now studies under the tutelage of both his mother and father, has not only advanced to the fourth-grade level at his tender young age, he is also writing a book on nebulas! Granted, his parents have home-based businesses and are in complete control of their work schedules.
Another young couple I know took a very proactive approach to their daughter’s education a few years back, well before the pandemic hit. When their first child was just two years old, these parents diligently previewed their public-school’s curriculum. They were so disappointed by what they saw and heard from other parents, whose kids were already in school, they decided to raise the funds necessary to establish their own public charter school—not only for their own daughter, but for the other children in the community, as well—an enormous undertaking.
Although neither parent had a career or even a degree in education, they both had a very clear vision for the kind of education they wanted for their child. Thanks to their unrelenting determination and dogged perseverance to make their vision a reality, their envisioned free-to-attend public charter school is now completing its first year of operation, with 450 kindergarten through 6th grade students in attendance. The school will add another grade level every year hereafter until it ultimately offers a full K-12 program.
This “classical academy” emphasizes traditional learning in liberal arts and sciences, virtuous living, and civic responsibility. Latin is taught to all students from first grade on. The school’s culture demands moral virtue, decorum, respect, discipline, and studiousness among the scholars and the faculty. Every teacher is an exceptionally knowledgeable heartfelt leader who is passionate about the school’s mission and traditional teaching methods. Enrollment requests for next year currently exceed 900, for an allotted 750 seats.
This public charter school is successful by any measure. It is living proof that parents need not have a doctorate in education, or great wealth, to ensure their children receive an outstanding education. All it takes is determination and a willingness to accept the responsibility to do what it takes.
Think about it. Isn’t raising children to become knowledgeable, discerning, self-sufficient adults the most important job a parent has?