The Case for Embracing Alternative Education Now
Maybe this is actually a golden opportunity for alternative education. Rarely has there been a greater imperative to provide both care and education while keeping us all healthy.
I read it again today, “The kids need to be in school.” I have a more nuanced view.
Many, not all, kids benefit from being in school. All kids benefit from appropriate educational experiences.
As a society let’s use the pandemic as an opportunity to expand our concept of education beyond traditional schooling.
The kids need to be safe. The kids need to learn and grow and try new things. School has often been a place where kids were safe to learn, grow and try new things. School certainly is not the only place where kids can thrive.
Homeschooling is the obvious alternative, but I think there is space for innovation. The pandemic has already shown us that we can embrace new teaching and learning methods quickly. Remote learning 1.0 wasn’t a win for most kids. But, let’s not convince ourselves that traditional school is the only way for kids to learn.
Schools and teachers have lost their lock on information thanks to the internet and mobile devices. You, and your kids, can learn anything, anytime and anywhere.
Of course, teachers can still provide a rich learning environment and develop an invaluable rapport with students. However, let’s not forget that some kids do not thrive in traditional school.
But, why should you listen to me?
During my 19 years as a science teacher I worked with hundreds of high school and college students, including many supported by special education plans. Three of my four children attended our highly-regarded local public schools. My fourth would have gone to kindergarten this year; instead she’s joined her older siblings at our home school.
My own formal education was rigorous to a fault: I used my high school AP credit to graduate early from an Ivy League institution. I went on to earn two Master’s degrees. It was an education marked by breadth and often lacking passion.
When I had my own students, I embraced the chance to make a 180-degree turn. I focused on connecting with students, respecting their questions and uncertainties.
I left teaching about three years ago due to concerns about gun violence. Years of practicing hiding from active shooters followed by a threat in my own classroom drove me away. About two years later, I began homeschooling my children.
Since leaving the classroom, I’ve trained to become a professional photographer through independent study. I now run my own photography business.
Homeschooling allows for maximal learning flexibility and that can be alarming to traditional educators and challenging for parents.
Let’s look at the response to homeschooling then consider some alternatives.
There is genuine concern for kids who don’t attend school. Devoted teachers want the best for all young people. For many students, school is the safest place in their lives. For some students, the adults at school are the only stable adults in their lives. Compulsory schooling is the only way to screen for child abuse on a near-daily basis. Those are tough and uncomfortable realities.
Public school is very carefully planned. The Common Core, for example, was designed so that if a student moved from one state to another, they would be at about the same place in their learning. Detailed record keeping helps teams of teachers, counselors and administrators help struggling students.
It’s the rare teacher who raves about the Common Core because it stifles creativity and feels very confining to everyone. Yet, like a seat belt, it keeps kids on a stable path through life’s bumps.
But, remember, kids don’t have to take “The Public School” highway. There are lots of paths from naïve child to well informed adult. And kids don’t need confining seat belts while hiking!
There isn’t a biological mandate for 180 seven hour school days per year. That is an artifact of the Industrial Revolution and farming lifestyles. Our modern economy depends on that schedule. Teacher’s contracts are mapped out around that schedule. Our kids’ can thrive in a variety of rich educational settings.
For example, Vermont has a system that holds homeschooling parents accountable for their children’s education while also giving lots of flexibility. Within public schools, there a wide array of styles and methods meet the needs of different groups of learners.
Homeschooling can feel like a threat to teachers’ job security and personal integrity. Teachers are professionals. Most take a very devoted approach to their work and believe they know best how to educate young people.
As a former teacher, at first I found it really intimidating and a bit cavalier to think I could step into all the public school educator roles. From classroom teachers to counselors and special educators, there were a lot of shoes to fill! And, as expected, it is a big job.
Here’s the catch: teachers know how to teach in schools. I would never advise anyone to walk into a classroom and try to take over without extensive training! Working in a school is tough business. Teachers manage large groups of students as well as the expectation that those students will master very specific subjects over a limited period of time. If you home school your kids, it’s just your kids and, at least in Vermont, you only need to show progress over time in key subject areas. There is no “Common Core” for home schooled students.
Home school parents can also “count” learning that happens anytime, anywhere. Kids are some of the most curious people on the planet. They are always learning, most especially in their free time. You just need to catch it and encourage it. Julie Bogart’s Brave Learner Blog is a great starting point for learning how to use play as a catalyst for learning. (Spoiler alert: this is the fun part of home schooling and your kids probably already do it.)
By homeschooling, you are not saying you can teach in a school better than professional teachers. You are simply choosing a different path for your child(ren). And, you can pull in outside help as needed. (Why Are you Still Sending Your Kid to School by Blake Boles is a great starting point.) No need to feel like any toes are being stepped upon. Public school does a great job meeting the needs of some students and families.
If too many people home school their kids, teachers will lose their jobs. This is a tough reality. When student enrollment drops, school boards need to let teachers go. Union contracts are very specific about this. It is always the teacher lowest on the seniority list in each department.
School enrollments in Vermont have been dropping for over a decade so this concern was top of mind for many before Covid-19.
It’s just part of being on the team: you stick together and fight reductions in staff, every single time.
So whether consciously or not, teachers are never going to encourage students to leave schools in their district. Besides, they probably like your kids and would miss them.
We have built an economy that depends on schools to care for young people in large groups so that most adults can do other work. Parents need to work. Most of that work is incompatible, or at least challenging, with simultaneous childcare. The pressure on school administrators and government officials to “keep track of kids” for economic reasons is enormous and real.
You don’t have to work in education long to learn that if you want something, you frame your argument around how it will help the students, not the adults.
In 2021, don’t say, “The parents will go crazy. The economy will tank!” Instead say, “The kids need this. School is essential for all kids.”
Yes, quality care and education is essential. But, can we step back in this wild and tumultuous time to ask: what other ways can we provide quality care to kids of all ages?
Maybe this is actually a golden opportunity for alternative education. Has there ever been a greater imperative to both provide care and education while keeping us all healthy?
Home school and pricey private schools shouldn’t be the only options.
Every child in the US is legally entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education. These are called “FAPE Rights.” Outdoor and off-site educational opportunities with smaller groups might actually be more appropriate than mandating children to eat lunch together in a cafeteria or travel in crowded hallways between classrooms.
If ever there was a time to think creatively about public education, this is it! Educator workshops are filled with buzzwords like real life experience, hands on learning, problem based learning, alternate solutions, differentiated instruction and more. No one is advocating lectures, worksheets and rote practice any more.
This is our chance to show the kids how to grow, learn and try new things. (Yes, that is what we expect of them.) We are faced with a huge problem. We didn’t think the pandemic could get worse, then Delta came.
Let’s embrace all the skills and technology at our disposal to create learning opportunities for our kids that will allow them to thrive. Kids are naturally inquisitive and eager to learn. Let’s give our kids some opportunities we didn’t have (active shooter drills and crowded hallway pandemic panic attacks don’t count here!).
We can create possibilities between crowded one-size-fits-some schools and going it on your own homeschooling. Let’s give the teachers a chance to raise their voices to offer suggestions, without fear of a reduction in staff. Let’s release the pressure to meet state standards during the pandemic. Let’s look for growth over time in our kids and in the systems we use to educate them.
