Schools -Observations From On The Porch Bonus

Sept 15 deadline for feedback on guidance for all Virginia schools
https://www.doe.virginia.gov/programs-services/school-operations-support-services/cell-phone-free-education-in-virginia-k-12-public-schools

Legislation was introduced in the General Assembly that schools air quality needed to be improved and I quote “mandate a process to ensure all necessary repairs, leaks and mold remediation are taken care of in a timely manner” but it failed to pass because it’s too expensive to make sure every school is a meeting place that doesn’t make kids sick. In all the possible types of school settings; there are two main variables - facilities and responsibility. I’m going to touch on facilities first. Let me put it this way; warehousing people is expensive. We are warehousing kids in the schools & the facilities require upkeep. Most of them go home at night but then they go right back to the warehouse to get in line for their government-curated content. Almost all of the schools need an overwhelming amount of remediation and repairs. Let’s close them in rotation and get them fixed. Pull out all the studies already done that were set aside. Fix the school that needs least first so you can work out the bugs of the student’s temporary arrangements. Draft churches and the PTA and civic associations to offer assistance & support to the families that prefer a different arrangement from covid-style zoom. Most of all, examine how much of the funding for eduction services has been offered by the state while the city has neglected to claim it. RVA’s motto could plausibly be “Leaving money on the table”. SO, you say “what kind of student arrangements are you talking about?” The state has just passed alot of legislation that I find interesting. For instance, if an organization opens up to kids and has facilities that meet state guidelines for childcare or schooling - they don’t need to get a new zoning to have childcare or a micro-school. Micro-school? Imagine a pod but larger, maybe 5 or 6 families sharing the cost of paying a couple of teachers and operating as a co-op. A pod? Imagine a two family group meeting in a home where the teacher comes in for classes and works with the parents or grandparents. All of the classes have the Internet as a major resource; just like the current government school, the non-government chartered school and the traditional home-schooler. By responsibility, I mean who is it that has the authority to choose a curriculum and be accountable for growing that child to a maturing intelligent inspired creative civically-educated motivated & unique human with prospects for thriving and continuing growth! The original authority is of course the parent. Deciding which curriculum to use is part of it but it includes “what is most effective for my child’s learning pattern & temperament. What time frame is best for my family’s schedule? Which of my tribe is ready to step into a teaching role with me and the professionals to stay strong and focused for my child’s growth. The child & parents are naturally and ideally the center of the equation. Currently, in the government school, the parent is the follower and the child is the product. It works like this - the Individualized Education program aka IEP is offered as a prescription to parents who know their child is not the size that fits into the “one size fits all”school program. Labels are important for many reasons. Basically, we feel like we can control something if we can label it. IEP has “individualized” in the name and what is offered is customizable to a degree. If we were talking about a jacket, it would be like choosing between buttons or zipper but still being stuck with an incorrect size or poor materials. The parent is often hesitant about whether to accept the IEP. IEP creates a profile for a child that gets them access to some things and blocked from others but it often comes with stigma, the label of “problematic”. Occasionally, the label is not applied to the child but the parent. You know, the persistent parent that nags about inadequacies. Accepting the IEP bundle is like buying a program suspecting you’ll only use half of the products but you can’t buy them separately. So you are now plugged into a whole program you may regret but you cant pass up the parts you need. The alternative is to reject the program and maybe stand alone. You wonder if your crew can make time for your need. If your network of family or church can do the extra watching or teaching to support your need to be flexible and creative. If the IEP says that child cannot or will not be accepted into the classroom without being medicated, then that’s that. Changes could be made to the current system that would empower the parents who are struggling to do the right thing for their kids.
Produced By John Hundley
Your Host Tracy Hundley
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