What if Public Schools Weren’t an Option?

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In the midst of all of these heated debates about sending our kids back to public schools this fall despite the rapid increases in COVID cases, I couldn’t help but wonder what if public schools weren’t an option? What if things went back to what it was like prior to standardized schooling? What if parents took an active role in educating their children in all avenues of life again? What if families were forced to live on one-income again?

I am NOT saying you’re a terrible parent if you have made the decision to send your child back to public school, but I AM giving you food for thought!

  • I am telling you that you might want to consider the alternative.
  • I am saying your excuses have become non-existent.
  • I am saying that there is far more at stake than you may realize.
What if Public Schools Weren't an Option? 1

Education Returns to Being Parents Responsibility

Prior to public schools being opened, parents were the ones who raised and trained their children. Due to the lack of quality safe environments and education being administered within our local public schools, I have chosen to homeschool my children almost since day one despite the hardships it has placed on our family. My kids may not be overly brilliant in all areas, but I can assure you they can keep up with the average public school student in the results they provide. In fact, they have actually scored higher on standardized testing.

Am I saying this to brag on my teaching abilities?

NO, I’m not because I’m far from the perfect teacher, and I also enlist my kids into MANY online programs that TEACH my kids for me. We have used Connections Academy for MANY years and I will sing their praises till the cows come home. The only reason we switched off of them is that they wanted Zeva to go to Columbia numerous times for specialized help. Since it is a public school, I either honored their requests or took her out. If they had been able to accommodate my schedule a bit more or even meet me closer to home, I would have gladly stuck with them. But they are a business and not a small town person able to help out and be flexible.

But we have found MANY other resources to help with our kids to learn independently. Our kids learn a lot of things on their own, and my husband and I are there to help them when they request it. (Sometimes, when they do request help I will deny giving it to them because I know they are just being flat out lazy and not attempting to pay attention to their lessons or doing added research on their own.)

Parents Teach All Areas of Life

As a parent, I’ve been able to teach my kids my beliefs about life in general. They have been able to see me grow a successful business and sell it and start again. They have seen how I make time for them, but yet pursue my passions and work for a living. They get hands-on experience in running a home, maintaining a house, cooking, cleaning, and learning how to balance school with life’s pleasures.

My in-laws have taught my kids many things that aren’t taught in lesson plans from gardening, canning, crafts, art, and a long list of other things. That has been one of the biggest advantages to us homeschooling our kids throughout the years!

One thing about a child going to public schools and parents working full time, there is little time left for building lasting family connections. While my kids can easily get wrapped up in their own worlds playing on their electronics, you can bank we still have tons of time together that we would not have had otherwise.

What if Families Were Forced to Survive on One Income?

I’ve been a single mother raising a daughter without assistance from my ex for extended periods of time. I know first hand the struggle is real when you’re trying to maintain a home on one income. But one thing I did learn during that period of my life, is that we can live without many of life’s luxuries when we are forced to do it. In fact, I felt life was better for me during that time frame because I spent time pursuing things I wouldn’t have otherwise done.

I find that many of our homes (mine included!) are filled with unnecessary things, expenses, and our lives are full of activities we could stop doing. If we took inventory of our spending habits, the things we choose to hang onto rather than declutter, and the activities that cost us added money, we’d find that we could most likely survive on one income with a bit more penny-pinching.

If we do survive on one income in families that have both parents still in them, we’d find that relationships all around would be stronger. When my husband worked, he came home to a home-cooked meal, a clean house, and everyone eager to see him. I was well relaxed because I wasn’t stressing over making money because we lived a simple life. (There were days that the kids stressed me out to no end, please don’t think it was all a bed of roses because it definitely wasn’t!) But the reality is I was able to be there for my kids AND my husband. Now the roles are revised due to him getting injured, but the point remains the same, one of us is there for the kids and the other spouse.

Are we giving up fancy vacations, a better home, and many other materialistic items in life? Yes, we are! But we are gaining the chance to have lasting relationships. We are making a positive impact on our kids’ lives now and in their future. Is it always easy to see someone else have things nicer than us? NO! This is especially true when I know what it feels like to have all of those things.

Then I look at my kids playing with each other or showering me with hugs and smiles, and I know I’ve made the right choice. I know that they will cherish this time when they are older. They will understand the sacrifices. They will value how much time we’ve devoted to their education and them having the opportunities to soar in any direction they want to go in once they are eighteen.

Quite frankly, if we got some of the funding that is offered to public schools for educating our kids, then it would be a lot easier to survive on one income. I have noticed that many public school children have been getting tons of extra benefits already throughout COVID. I won’t lie it irritates me to quite a bit, but the benefits of homeschooling our kids outweighs all of that.

Are ALL Families Able to Homeschool?

I’ve always said that homeschooling may not be for everyone, but with the whole COVID situation, I can’t help but question that mindset! The reason I question it is because, with the advances in technology, there are various forms that a parent can choose to homeschool their kids. I know you’re going to say there are plenty of parents that don’t have the patience or the time to do this, but the entire US was forced to do it. Low and behold, they found away!

My biggest issue is the lack of high speed broadband Internet available to everyone! I know I pay an arm and a leg to have the Internet here and have enough of it for our needs. We have been promised for YEARS that we were going to get it here, but it hasn’t happened yet. My kids have done school work on their phones more times than I can count due to not having enough Internet available to them.

Our kids’ education and futures should matter enough to us as their parents for them to be a priority. Their health and well being should matter enough.

Don’t hand me the whole socialization bull crap, my kids do NOT meet strangers. They only meet future friends, and I’ve placed them all in many different scenarios in their lives and they socially blossom just fine. My youngest son goes through shy stages, but guess what, he’d do the same exact thing if he went to a public school!

If you throw out abuse as a reason to keep kids in public schools, let me tell you as a survivor of VARIOUS kinds of abuse, the abuse will happen whether they are sent to public schools or not!

Vast Difference in Teaching Versus Other Essential Workers

I have seen tons of posts from people complaining about teachers thinking they are better than other essential workers, but I believe these people are missing the entire point. The reality is that kids are well-known for NOT following directions. They do NOT see the dangers around them. Teachers can clean and set up things to keep children and themselves safe, but the reality is it’s not possible! Shoot even teenagers don’t take to heart the gravity of our current situation.

While kids may not be as inclined to die from COVID, there are still PLENTY of children with low immune systems. They can become carriers of COVID and not even realize it and transmit it to other family members. This is especially true for grandparents who do help parents with child care.

Plus, I do feel teachers did NOT sign up to put their lives at jeopardy to teach our children.

I work full time and homeschool my kids. People always find a way to handle situations and problems that matter to them. I would think you’re child’s safety and that of other family members should matter to you the most right now.

What would your life look like if public schools were not an option?

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About Crystal @ Sharing Life's Moments

Crystal is an SC native a wife and a homeschooling parent to three kids and dogs who blogs at Sharing Life's Moments (https://www.sharinglifesmoments.com). I'm an avid book lover, movie viewer, ATV rider, and nature enthusiast.

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13 thoughts on “What if Public Schools Weren’t an Option?”

  1. Thanks for this post.
    You mention some really valid points.
    We are toying with the idea of my husband staying home and homeschooling the kids this year as I am in a university co-op work program this fall.
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
    • I’m so utterly glad that I didn’t offend you with this post. That has been my biggest concern since I hit publish on it. I do believe every parent has the right to make whatever choice makes them comfortable, and this one has definitely got to be an extremely hard one to make.
      I do feel that for everyone’s best interest that homeschooling right now is the best option, and I’ve shared the reasons why in this post in hopes that it will help someone see even more reasons to make that choice right now.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I do wish you nothing but the best through all of this. I hope to see you again.

      Reply
  2. I think this is really interesting. While we have been at home with the kids I realised it’s a lot more than just teaching maths and english. It’s about meeting their own learning needs and helping them develop the skills they need for life. the biggest difficulty has been their ability to mix with other kids for play and social skills I think and really it’s this they want to go back for. #kcacols

    Reply
    • While I agree some kids miss being back in school due to social interactions, but there are still plenty of kids who don’t like going to school for the same exact reason because they aren’t treated well.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.

      Reply
    • Your question is a valid one. I thought ever since you posted it and well into the night. This morning I got out of bed early and wrote a response for you.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I really do appreciate having open debates in a healthy manner. I believe everyone has a right to their opinions. I do think we should all be challenged in how we think and do things. I do hope to see you again soon.

      Reply
  3. An interesting post. You make some very good points and I think in the current climate a more permanent approach to home schooling maybe something more people should consider. However I do think it is a very personal decision that needs to look at the individual child’s needs. You’ve certainly provided some food for thought though.

    Katrina x

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
    • I completely agree with you that parents have to make the decision that is right for them and their families. That’s why I stressed from the very beginning I don’t think anyone is a bad parent if they choose to send their kids back to public schools. After all, we can’t live in fear forever! I did want to add extra food for thought with the decision they are making.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I do hope to see you again soon.

      Reply
  4. To be honest I think it’s a hard decision to make.
    Homeschooling didn’t go too well for us, but if I could work out my boys learning styles Im sure things would out. I love learning and education.

    Reply
    • I agree it had to be near impossible to make that choice this year. If I had typically sent my kids to public school like I had hoped to do had I gotten approval to send them to a different school, then I would have been on the fence about this whole ordeal myself. On the one hand, we can’t live in fear. On the other hand, though, seeing what is already happening with the kids and teachers in the schools that have already started for the year, I am even more concerned than I was when I wrote this post. I can only hope that parents don’t end up losing their children forever by taking the chance to send them back to normalcy to early.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. By the way, this is a great blog to read to help with determining your child’s learning methods and she even links to her curriculum suggestions for each kind. šŸ™‚ https://naturallyanita.com/how-to-find-your-childs-learning-style/

      Reply
  5. We are currently travelling and home schooling our children. Itā€™s great having the option to spend more time as a family.
    It would be great if more people could do the same. #kcacols

    Reply
    • I agree. You don’t see the full advantages of homeschooling until you get into the swing of things which can take a while. Are you sharing your traveling experiences anywhere online?

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.

      Reply

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