Schools should come back, but let’s not forget the important lessons for the home

It is true that children shall be returning to an imperfect education system: one that favours spoon-feeding and emphasizes the regurgitation of information.

As the next week of lockdown approaches, many youngsters might have been content to think that school was out for summer, allowing plenty of happy time for baking, sunbathing, or reading with the family… But, as part of an important plan to re-open Britain, the government has announced that schoolchildren will be returning to the classroom and playground from June 1st. This significant step in the phased exit from lockdown might induce an element of dread; as the thought of the school-run remerges in our consciousness.

How many parents have been conducting proper ‘homeschooling’ during the lockdown? Most, of course, have not set curriculums or created assessments, and instead have been facilitating the review and reinforcement work that has been set by schools. Some of these comprehensive reading exercises or mini research projects have been aimed at keeping children occupied and interested; or to marginally expand their knowledge. However, much of this work has been internet-based, with little evidence of academic progress as a result.

One of the negative consequences of expecting each child within a household to log on and complete online learning activities is the limited amount of screen-time they have. Many families are unable to provide each of their children with their own screen to work from (and why should they?), especially when both parents require a tablet or laptop to work themselves. One can only imagine the difficulty in having a strong bandwidth when everybody is surfing the net for school and work. 

The closure of schools across the country and the alternative teaching and learning arrangements at home may have caused some of us to reevaluate the purpose and effectiveness of the schools our children are sent to. An attitude I share is that we must allow schools to do what they are good at: the tedious things busy working parents do not have the time to do. But it is important to remember that parents are the first educators of their children – and the most important actors in demonstrating and teaching virtue. Some erroneously discard these responsibilities and, thus, expect schools to provide a complete, well-rounded education for their children in addition to total religious and moral formation.

The closure of schools has perhaps reaffirmed the truth and reality of strong families.

The benefits of a family that has an abiding love for history and science; an appreciation for art and music; and which laughs and eats and prays together are innumerable.

And though so much good can happen at home where children may play more together and enjoy creative pursuits, we cannot just assert that schools have no value or merit, or that broken homes and dysfunctional families do not exist. 

When home and family life breaks down, the consequences reverberate far more than many of us realise or like to admit. There is no suggestion here that an unhappy couple must stay together – separation is sometimes a sensible, though unfortunate, move. The implications of divorce, however, are often disastrous. When the institution of the family fails to function as it ought, society bears the brunt. Many of today’s social ills find their origin in collapsed family structures and destroyed relationships.

Far too often, schools are forced to act as secondary parents to children (mostly of deprived and low socio-economic background); with boys and girls arriving unable to dress themselves properly and without the skills that really should have been cultivated in the home. Such a reality is an all-too-familiar symptom of a familiar family not functioning as it ought.

I am certain that in some households, parents will be rejoicing at the news that their children shall soon be out of the house and in the company of their friends. The social aspect of school is an important one – as is a sense of structure and routine. At last, introverts can have some alone time, and carry on with their chores uninterrupted.

It is true that children shall be returning to an imperfect education system: one that favours spoon-feeding and emphasizes the regurgitation of information. And whilst there have been concerns that children shall be exposed to mixed messages and moral confusion, children who are taught to think and produce a reasoned argument at home are well equipped to battle against modernist ideas at school. Parents have an important responsibility to form their children, and to be aware of schools that do not meet their children’s needs, presenting, instead, a moral hazard.

Society functions best when its institutions do exactly what they are designed for, and do so well. We should welcome the reopening of schools – but should also champion strong families, where there is so much more happy learning.