An Important Reminder to Parents About Pandemic Education
Pictured above: The Pope family enjoying a meal together after sharing their day with us on the Perimeter School Instagram account.
By: Bobby Scott, Headmaster Emeritus
Each covenant family is currently writing its family history as to how it is responding to this pandemic.
As Perimeter School has reminded you (perhaps excessively) over the years, YOU are the primary educators of your children. This is not meant as a guilt trip, but it is meant to give you the privilege and confidence to teach - not necessarily with formal instruction (as our teachers are still working diligently in this area) but with leadership, love, and guidance, especially during this unprecedented time.
Your Current Lesson Plan
Date: Spring, 2020
Sources: News networks, media outlets, the president, the vice president, the governor, mayors, the surgeon general, doctors, the CDC, online newspapers, your family members, etc.
Methods: Discussions with grandparents/parents/siblings/others (virtually or at least six feet apart), family meals, arguments, acts of random selfishness, occasional deep conversations, walks along the way, reliving memories, playing games, discussing movies, etc.
Informing Ideas: Living in unprecedented times, seeing something your parents have never seen or thought about, watching how people should and should not act in a crisis, utilizing science at its best, praying regularly and passionately for wisdom, realizing the mortality of persons, seeing what it means to die alone, embracing the mercy and compassion of God reflected in people serving others, hating the rapid spread of disease, observing the different ways that nations deal with pandemics, cringing over the irresponsible practice of religion, hearing folks attaching blame to try and abate their insecurity, abuse of and submission to authority, listening to wise counsel, creatively lifting others from despair to hope, etc.
Subjects: Every conceivable subject area can use COVID-19 and its ramifications as a case study. All the information we have seen in the media falls under some area of school curriculum. Every living book we read has a theme reflected in a current story.
Rationale: When Jesus called us to allow our children to come to Him and rebuked those who did not, He was not inviting them to a “Disney” world. The invitation meant His embrace in every moment of life. Preserving childhood does not mean that young children should be shielded from this crisis at their level of understanding. In fact, we are all to become like children in their example of hope, simple prayer, and total trust that their Father holds them close.
future lessons learned
Years from now your children will be saying, “Do you remember during the ‘Corona Crisis’ when we …?”
Not all of those memories will be positive, and that is absolutely okay. The sanctification of your family grows out of relational brokenness not feigned optimism or separately staring at your screens all day. When this sheltering and sweltering at home subsides, we will be better for it if repentance, apologies, and forgiveness have increased.
Maybe you will have that conversation that you have always needed to have or will hear that laughter you have not heard in a long time or see the heart of a family member exposed amazingly for the first time. This is family history and true covenant education.
Your children are not going to flunk out of school if you ignore an online lesson to read a book together or make cookies or plant a garden or even have a huge argument over something that leads to tears and hugs. Frankly, those are the memories that will last and the history that needs to be made.