I am a parent of public education students. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, a lot of changes took place at lightning speed and the way kids attended school was one of the biggest.
Knowing that no one – at least that’s my perception – was prepared for times such as these, I think the school systems did the best they could in a moment of panic. I know the stress I had figuring out how to adapt my work schedule and responsibilities, kids at home, my elderly mother, etc.
Now we’re technically into summer break. People are wondering what next year will look like. Will the kids go to school? Will they be continuing remote learning? How will everyone stay safe? What are the risks? I have read comments from teachers from across my state and there’s a lot of talk about how teachers are tired of feeling like “glorified babysitters” when the topic of returning to school for the benefit of the economy comes up. Those posts and comments usually spark a great bit of support. For the record, I don’t see teachers as glorified babysitters, and I full well know the importance of an education, especially when our state of West Virginia has one of the nation’s highest child poverty rates, according to the Children’s Defense Fund. And I am going to push back on these frames of thought?
Business Hours
First of all, kids go to school and parents go to work. It’s not the parents who decided that schools would run Monday-Friday during “normal business hours.” And I’m going to go you one better; if you’ve ever attempted to reach a teacher after 4 p.m. then you will see that the business hours of teachers aren’t even banker’s hours, so there’s that.
But society is designed to run on a Monday-Friday business model. Stop laying it out as if parents are wrong to be expecting the education system to keep up with that end of the bargain. Working hours that our kids are in school is what most parents I know strive for. Is childcare an obstacle when there are interruptions to that schedule? Absolutely, especially now that camps are closed and child care centers aren’t all operating at mass capacity. It is also a hefty financial issue for too many as well.
Does that mean that we feel you’re the replacement for child care? No, and if you do, then sit with yourself for a while and examine how well you feel you’re doing your job. Make sure that parents aren’t being blamed because that’s the easiest route. Focus on your job and role with these children because that’s what you have the power to change. Everything else is a divide.
I don’t believe public education in West Virginia has ever been stellar. Remember, there was a time in the not-so-distant past that had young boys working in mines. There are probably still some areas of the state where young men are expected to spend the majority of their lives underground. We’re still stuck in that mindset that mines, and now, the oil and gas industry, are the only ways to a good financial life. I have spent time with high school students whose only plans are to move a couple hours across the state and work the pipeline with their dads and uncles. When I asked what they would do if that didn’t happen, they had no answer.
Elect Jobs
West Virginia isn’t overflowing with jobs that pay a living wage, which leaves me feeling confident enough to say that this fact is why education doesn’t seem to be a priority to a lot of students and their families. Knowing you’re not going to leave the state, knowing that you aren’t going to make enough money to meet your basic needs, and knowing that your family has lived like this for generations and is “just fine” … well, what part of that makes you want to be all that you can be?
Education in West Virginia is a responsibility that doesn’t always have a reward as great as the effort. Is this the same for every family in every area of the state? Absolutely not, but is it something to consider when you’re considering families and counties have lived in poverty most, if not all, of their lives? I believe so.
The push for a livable wage doesn’t only benefit those who will work those jobs. A better economy and job opportunities will create a better state, both physically and academically, for everyone. When you raise the bottom, the top floats. Improving our education system has to be done, but we might have to work on building a better economy first.
Learn candidates’ plans for jobs. Hold them accountable. Learn how to see all sides.
Onward,
Amy Jo
