It Takes A Village, But Blame The Public School

                We all know the African saying “it takes a village to raise a child.” However, when it comes to discussing the problems plaguing public education, the rest of the village gets a pass. 

                There is an expectation that public schools are supposed to take children however they come to their door, educate them and turn them into productive citizens.  Absent from this idea is that some children come to school broken and in turmoil with greater things impacting their lives that affect learning.  When children come to school hungry, schools feed them, when children are homeless, schools provide transportation and clothes, and when children have behavior problem, schools provide behavioral assistance.  Schools do more for children than any other entity and sometimes more that the parent(s).

                There is a tendency to forget that parent(s) are a child’s first teacher and children model themselves based on their parent(s) conduct.  When a child comes to school without some preparation for school, the parent is not penalized for their child not being school ready.  When a parent doesn’t read to their child, work on writing, or provide a foundation that encourages learning, the school is blamed for not being able to engage the student to learn. 

                When a child suffers trauma and is in a mental health crisis due to abuse and neglect, the school is expected to keep the child on educational tasks regardless of if the child is unable to perform.  Social Services is not held accountable for ensuring the parent(s) are taking their child to their appointments.  When a child is placed and discharged from a hospitalization program or a residential treatment facility, the school is rarely notified and finds out when the child returns to school.  Many times the school receives no paperwork on how to support the child after the discharge.  The school is not notified about the nature of the discharge.  Lastly, if the child begins to regress and the school informs social services, many times the school is blamed by social services for the child’s regression and the school is left to try and educate a child who is in need mental health services and is not receiving them.

                Finally, when a child bullies and assaults other children and in some cases, assaults the teacher, the school is blamed for not having a safe environment.  Blame is not given to the violence the child may witness in their home or community, blame is not given to parent(s) who do not provide a filter for the child and allow the child to watch violent television shows, movies, and play violent video games.

                It is important to understand that the dislike for learning, inappropriate behavior and violence that occurs in public schools is not created by the school, it is brought to the school by the child.  Unfortunately, with many public schools being in communities in crisis, the school will have a large population of children whose academic, behavioral, and mental health challenges can overwhelm and school and a district. 

Schools are supposed educate children, parents are supposed to raise and nurture children, social services are supposed to protect children.  The school cannot be the only institution held accountable for when parents fail to parent and when social services fail to protect children.