so trump and devos order everyone to go to school, which in my opinion ruins the schools. they can't test everyone who walks through the door, so the teachers are vulnerable, and will take a family leave if they're smart, or just get out. every set of parents who can, will homeschool, for as long as they can. there is not the money to make it all work and they won't provide it. on the contrary, as they've said, they will only withhold money if they can, if someone wants to make distance learning possible. one can only conclude that they are out to kill our children and their parents.

i've been reading about the pioneers, who really lived in a different world. they would work twelve hour days, and would often be educated for only a couple of weeks in the winter. parents cared intensely about what they learned and how they learned it. sometimes parents would band together with other parents in a neighborhood and make a school, usually the one-room variety, where everyone of all ages would be educated in the same room. parents would take turns so they'd teach one day a week, or maybe two. collectively the neighborhood would provide the kids' education.

this system actually worked well, and believe it or not, kids were better educated back then. if you look at only the ground they covered, they covered way more ground than we do today. today we argue about whether to teach cursive, and we teach only the thinnest and shallowest version of history. no latin, no any language, no grammar today. memorizing state capitals, or spelling anything, out the window. back then they actually knew quite a bit more when they got out of school.

in addition, they knew how to cut logs, build a fire, seal the windows, shovel and get the snow off the roof, as this was all required just to keep the schoolhouse running. but the reason they valued education, frankly was because the rest of their lives were so tough. education was seen as a way out, or a way into a gentler world.

today kids don't see it that way, or at least, very few do. many kids are from a generation whose parents got screwed by the schools, in the sense that they became anti-education and voted for trump. whatever we were supposed to be teaching them, they didn't learn critical skills, and they send their kids to school now, mostly so they can work, or because they have to. to the question of whether they value education, well, some do, for sure. but most value it less because there is less proof that it does anyone any good. the educated are just as unemployed as anyone else, and trump is doing nothing to improve their lot, or make anyone want to be a teacher.

i think we should use the pioneer model when we start over. for starters, don't send your kids back to school until they are safe; this could be a year or two. make a system, whether you get together with your neighbors or not, where you cover your bases with your kids' education - the schools may help you with this, or they may not be able to. i actually think we are on our own here, as a culture. we can have our jobs, and make money, and live in the world without getting covid. but if we care about our children's education we may have to go a little out of our way to make sure they get one. the government just isn't going to provide a good one any more, at least for a couple of years.

in the future, i think we'll need a practical, nationwide commitment to good public schools. i honestly don't believe we have one now, or we wouldn't even have devos in there. to me she represents a significant minority (the 31% who voted for trump) and their complete disregard for good national education. you don't hear trump or devos talking about a national commitment to a good education for all american children. they don't even have that commitment themselves. so this is something we need to work on as a nation. hopefully biden is up to it, or at least willing to appoint someone who cares.

but i wouldn't even wait for biden. do you think some new president is going to come in and superimpose a national commitment onto an education system that is in shambles? i don't think so. it will take dozens of years to put the pieces back together. in the meantime, those who figure out this home0schooling business will be the ones who actually educate their children.