As a L&D Professional and former classroom teacher, 2020 terrified me. Not just because of Covid itself but because of the absolutely HORRIBLE way that, at least in my observation, every single educational system in the US addressed the concerns. I waited for the US Secretary of Education to step forward with a plan and reassurance. Then noting that nothing happened (maybe I thought because of politics), I waited for at least one state head of education to come up with something....nada. 50 states each with it's own department of education, and a federal government, and when presented with the problem of teaching our youth in a format vastly different from what is traditional not a single one took the reins with a good systemic way to address it?
I wondered why colleges and universities that had instructional designers on staff didn't offer any solutions since they had been delivering distance classes for decades. I wondered why they weren't using these experts in teaching that they were paying at public colleges and universities to teach K12 instructors how to pivot to online instruction. I wondered why we were still trying to fit 2020 education into a format created during the agricultural age and refined during the early industrial period.
I wondered, until I didn't wonder anymore.
I stopped wondering when I accepted that the purpose of the public educational system in this country is NOT to educate our children, but to prep them for the system. To teach them the rules and how to play the game....but not necessarily how to think. Those who flourish in the public educational system have learned to play the role they have been assigned well.
As I raise my youngest son with this new understanding, I'm more and more called to Home/World/or Un-School him. I'm blessed with the experience and education to be able to create a MUCH better educational journey for him. My only persisting negative thought about the whole venture is echoed by his father....socialization. But the more I think about it, them more I'm convinced that the way our children are socialized in the public school system is the biggest reason NOT to send them.
What are your feelings, thoughts, or ideas about socialization and home-schooling your child?
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