It’s a shame that it took a global pandemic that killed millions of people to get Americans to care about how the public education system operates again. Outside of a few instances (which I will touch on later), parents have turned a blind eye to–or even celebrated–acquiescing more of their responsibilities for child rearing to schools.
In the early days of public education in the U-S, the school was responsible for three things: Providing the building, the teacher and the books for the courses to be taught. Parents got their kids to school on their own, made sure the kids had food, and got them back home on their own.
But then around the 1930’s, somebody in public education said “We should really use a big vehicle to drive around and pick up the kids and then drop them off after school!” And some parents said “Yes, you should drive my kids to and from school!” and taxpayers footed the bill to buy buses and hire drivers.
Shortly after that, somebody in public education said “I notice not all the kids bring a lunch with them every day. We should feed the kids while they are here.” And some parents said “Yes, you should feed my child!” and taxpayers footed the bill to build kitchens and hire cooks.
And then somebody in public education said “It’s not particularly fair that Black kids continue to go to the second-rate schools built for them during the era of segregation, we should use our buses to swap them out with some of the white kids in the nicer neighborhoods!” And some parents said “HELL NO you are not sending my kids to that decrepit facility on the other side of town!” and went on the warpath–and taxpayers footed the bill for lawyers and lawsuits that went all the way to the US Supreme Court–where the anti-busing forces lost.
And then somebody in public education said “Some kids are going home to empty houses now that more women are working. We should offer activities to keep them here instead!” And some parents said “Yes, you should take care of my kids until I get home from work!” and taxpayers footed the bill for after-school programs.
Then somebody in public education said “Some kids are coming to school hungry. We should feed them as soon as they get here and at noon too!” And some parents said “Yes, you should provide my kids with two meals a day!” and taxpayers footed the bill to buy more food for school breakfast programs.
Then somebody in public education said “Parents aren’t doing a very good job of teaching kids about sex. We should be the ones to let them know about the ‘birds and the bees’. And some parents said “Yes, I shouldn’t have to talk to my kids about that subject!” while others said “How dare you even bring up such a dirty topic in our schools!” and taxpayers footed the bill for free condom programs in high schools and middle schools.
Then somebody in public education said “As long as we have kids here eating breakfast, we may as well give them something to do!” And some parents said “Yes, you should take care of my kids as soon as they get up in the morning!” and taxpayers footed the bill for before school activity programs.
Then somebody in public education said “I don’t think parents are doing a very good job getting their 5 and 6 year olds ready for learning. We should start bringing kids in before that!” And some parents said “Yes, you should start teaching my children at the age of four!” and taxpayers footed the bill to hire teachers and build classrooms for four year old kindergarten programs.
Then somebody in public education said “These 4 year olds we are teaching now are still ill-equipped to learn, we need to bring them in even earlier!” And some parents said “Yes, you should start taking care of my children every day as soon as they are old enough to walk!” and taxpayers footed the bill to hire day care workers and to build classrooms for early childhood learning programs.
Then somebody in public education said “We can’t expect every child to come to school knowing how to speak English. We should teach them in their native language!” And some parents said “Yes, our kids shouldn’t have to learn in English!” and taxpayers footed the bill for translators and learning materials in dozens of languages for English as a Second Language programs.
And then somebody in public education said “More kids are coning to school with behavioral issues, we should really get them on medications, make sure they take them and provide counseling on-site!” And some parents said “Yes, you should be my child’s on-call medical health professionals!” and taxpayers footed the bill to hire more school nurses, counselors, and even psychologists.
Then somebody in public education said “Some kids don’t get enough food when they aren’t in school. We need to feed them all the time!” And some parents said “Yes, you should feed my kids every day!” and taxpayers footed the bill for summer and weekend feeding programs.
But then the pandemic hit, and a lot of people in public education said “It is too dangerous for us to have kids in school from sunup to sundown, to feed them, to drive them around, to provide free one on one tutoring, to dispense their attention deficit disorder medications, and to provide mental health services. Parents you are on your own!” And nearly all the parents said “How could you do this to us!! We can’t be expected to provide our children’s basic needs, monitor their activities, AND make sure they are actually learning what they need to know to be functioning adults!! You….You are supposed to do all of that!! You are THE SCHOOL!!!” And now those parents are running for school boards all across our area and the entire country–hellbent on exacting revenge for the (temporary) loss of all the benefits the taxpayers have been providing them with for their kids’ entire lives.
These challengers are campaigning on some platform of “freedom”–but what many don’t realize is that they are actually pushing just as hard for the “dependence” that the people they are looking to unseat feel it is the “Big Government’s” role to provide.
