On this rainy Veteran’s Day morning and on the heels of one of the largest midterm elections in American history, I woke up considering the “whys” of public education. I quickly found myself looking up some information on the historical why behind creating a compulsory education system (this can 100 percent become a rabbit hole if you let it, our system is fascinating). Hours later, one particular article stuck out to me. It highlighted that by the mid 1800s there were three basic assumptions related to the creation of public education by the mid 1800s. These assumptions include: that schools should be free & supported by public tax dollars, teachers should be trained, and children should be required to attend school (Wendy Patterson, Buffalo State University website).
None of this felt far-fetched to me, this had connected to everything I have ever learned about public schools. What these assumptions do not provide is the “hows” and “whens.” These are the factors can lead to very passionate discussion and debate that this entry will not dive into yet. What it did leave me with was the lasting thought of “why” I sent my own children to public schools, especially in a world with so many options. I mean we have everything from home school to school “at home” (aka virtual school). I quickly realized that I sent my own kids because I believe in schools. I stand committed to our public education system because I see value in my kids learning from different people. More than just me and my close circle.
As public-school students they were able to see how people approach the world from their own unique lenses, to meet kids who don’t always share in the same stories, to create their own perspective (that is not a mirror image to my own), to learn compassion and kindness in interacting with their peers, to see conflict resolution in real time, and to have a better overall view of the world around them. Have they been “hurt” at school? Absolutely, beyond a shadow of doubt. Have I been pained by watching them hurt in this world? Absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt. But these moments make us all human. I realized I sent them to school not just to meet an expectation or learn all of the national education standards, but to be empowered and become their own person.
While this is my why, I know everyone has their own. It may stem from their own experience in the classroom, where they grew up, the resources made available to them, or maybe the challenges and barriers they have faced with their own children in the system. Each why is one piece in the puzzle that drives the system that runs every day. With all of the conflict going on related to the discussion around education, it is important that we reconnect to our why. Perhaps this means we spend more time considering why we send our kids each day and what we want them to take away from their experience.
Most schools are 35-40 hours a week for nine to ten months of the year, so we have to ask what do we want them to take away from their time? Obviously, we want them learn how to read, write, and compute math, but what other skills do we want them to take away? How can we as parents support this purpose and the educators tasked with caring for our kids each day? A teacher friend once said to me that “she loves shaping little humans,” so if humanity depends on us working together than we need to get busy. We have to begin seeing this as an opportunity to have a deeper conversation to grow. If we begin all of our decisions with connecting to our why as parents, we can stop getting pulled into the sound bites and connect to the kids sitting in our own living rooms. Maybe we need to just take a moment and ask them their thoughts and more importantly their why.
“From 1871 to 2021: A Short History of Education in the United States” by Wendy Paterson. https://suny.buffalostate.edu/news/1871-2021-short-history-education-united-states