Is it a perfect storm in education?

I was educated in the suburbs in a few of the top school districts in the country. I glided through school until my teen years. That is when my parents had a nasty divorce. My father, for as brilliant and over-educated as he is, didn’t really give a shit about our education. My mother was so depressed about where she was in her life, she barely moved out of bed for a year before focusing mainly on herself to move on with her life. This is when I was 15 on the cusp of 16.

The good news for me is I got a dilapidated ’73 Mustang convertible that got me back and forth to multiple jobs and out of the house. Education? I figured out how that I had enough credits by my senior year in high school that I only had to take 3 classes that year and I could get out of school at noon. The afternoon was about working in my job not working the books.

I graduated and convinced Simmons College that even though my SAT scores were abysmal, my grades shockingly were quite decent, but my desire to take over the world and carry three jobs during high school impressed them. They accepted me. It changed my game.

I paid attention in college, got really good grades, spent a semester abroad, and took control of educating my brain. I am still missing major parts particularly when it comes to the English language but the rest has essentially been self-educating myself.

Kids who have been homeschooled are a bit like hothouse tomatoes. The reality of their world is locked and loaded among the people living in their house. Socialization opens our eyes to a whole different world. The majority of those kids have a true passion for learning because of the way they are taught, what they are taught, and perhaps how they are taught. A full mind is important.

The socialization piece scares the shit out of me. Every family I know with kids in the house is grappling with this. Being 13 and locked down in your home is a recipe for disaster.

Many kids are taking to home school during the pandemic because there is no other choice. Right now the ability to change how we teach students is a tremendous opportunity. Not only from the cost but how to engage. I wish someone had paid attention to me in the K-12 years. When you realize nobody is paying attention, it is easy to go off the rails. Plenty of parents care but can’t be present all day for the homeschooling that is now taking place.

The question the entire education community should be asking itself is how to do we embrace change and create an equal and better system? If not now, when?