Education Without School

When it comes to history, often our memories stretch only a short distance toward past events. We assume this is the only time that a pandemic affected children’s education. This isn’t our first time, nor will it be the last. Truthfully, over centuries, education has evolved and should continue to do so for the sake of our children. Since 3000 B.C., our species has survived at least 20 terrible epidemics and pandemics and countless less severe ones. These plagues ravaged civilizations and altered the course of humanity. Pandemics are global outbreaks of disease that can affect millions of people. The most well known of such plaques is the Black Death. Also known as the bubonic plague, it occurred during the 14th century. It is believed to have originated in China and spread along trade routes, eventually reaching Europe in the 1340s. The most heavily impacted countries were those in Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, but the disease also spread to other parts of Asia, Africa, and th...

  The history of home education in America dates back to the colonial era, when parents often taught their children at home due to the lack of formal schools in many areas. However, the practice of home schooling, as we know it today, did not become widespread until the latter half of the 20th century. During the colonial period, many families lived in rural areas where no schools existed. In these cases, parents had no other choice than teaching children themselves, or, if wealthy enough, hire a tutor to teach them. This was a common practice among the upper and middle classes, who could afford it. The first known instance of homeschooling in America occurred in the early 1600s, when Puritan settlers in New England began educating at home. At the time, these settlers believed that education was a religious duty, and that children should be taught to read the Bible and understand religious doctrine. This emphasis on religious education continued throughout the colonial period, with...

                              I still remember, even today, the excitement I felt getting the 120 Crayola crayon box as a little girl. The newfound ability to design and draw with so many colors astounded me. I could color trees and leaves the way I saw them in various shades of brown and green, not just one. I sat on the cool tile floor in our living room with copy paper spread around me like a patchwork blanket covered in a multitude of colorful sketches.       My love for art and expressing my imagination through it increased as I learned more and took more classes. When I reached adulthood, expensive pens, paints, and other materials limited what I could create and how often. The bargain products that produced lackluster results were the ones that I resigned myself to using. At least this gave me the chance to put paintbrush to canvas, and that alone brought me great joy. I agonized o...