Schools throughout the world may be closed for the rest of the academic year, but digital classrooms and e-learning have swooped in to fill the gap left by the closure of these institutions. For most families, anyway.
One mom, however, is done. Sarah Parcak, a “Professor, Egyptologist, mom, [and] 2020 Guggenheim Fellow,” went viral for sharing the story of how and why she pulled her son out of first grade.
This mom went viral for sharing why she pulled her son out of school for the rest of the year.
“We just wrote a hard email,” Parcak’s viral Twitter thread begins. “I told our son’s (lovely, kind, caring) teacher that, no, we will not be participating in her ‘virtual classroom’, and that he was done with the 1st grade. We cannot cope with this insanity. Survival and protecting his well being come first.”
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Parcak continues her thread by explaining that both she and her partner are incredibly busy, making the sudden addition of “homeschooling” seem particularly difficult to manage. Her son has a better chance at happiness, she figures, if the time he gets with his parents isn’t spent on “crappy math worksheet management.”
“Managing his education is a bridge too far right now,” Parcak continues. “The thought of homeschooling makes me want to barf. It’s a f*cking joke.”
She then goes on to share how her son is spending his time now that he is not going to school. “He reads a lot. Plays outside a lot. We read to him a lot and talk to him a lot. He gets history lessons. There is an app where he can choose books to be read to him. We watch a fun movie every night. He plays playmobile with my husband (mega imagination),” she says.
“Our goal,” she adds, “is to have our son come out of this happy and not be long term emotionally scarred (lord knows life will do that anyways). F*** worksheets. F*** sh***y math worksheets especially.” She then added one more “F” directed towards President Donald Trump.
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Parcak adds that she understands her decision may not be for everyone. “You do what’s right for your family and mental health,” she says, before adding that kids who are slightly older than hers may have an easier time adjusting to digital learning and “independent work.”
Parcak concludes her thread: “I give you permission to Let It All Go. It doesn’t f***ing matter. School doesn’t f***ing matter right now. All your kids will remember is how they were loved. Promise.”
And while Parcak certainly received a number of comments judging her decision and the phrasing of her viral thread, most people (and most parents) found all of this inspiring.
“Frankly, if an educational system (and for that matter, an economy, democracy, society) is so delicately balanced that it can’t take a (relatively brief) pause to keep people physically and emotionally healthy, then it is fundamentally broken,” one of the top responses reads.
“I’m a teacher and I get it,” another response reads. “It’s okay. We are all in survival mode. Do what is right for your family and stay safe.”
Amen to that.
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