The waning days of summer are here. The days are noticeably shorter and there's a hint of fall in the air. Labor Day is just a couple weeks off. Back to school sales pop up everywhere. In some parts of the country, school started this week. Within a month, children nationwide will be back in the classroom. The start of a new school year prompts families to reengage with the education of their children. 

        

There are precious few good changes that came out of the country's COVID-19 experience but at the top of the list is parents' exposure to the actual teaching their children received via lessons viewed on the family computer. Many parents were shocked at what they saw and heard. Now, a few years later, parents need to continue to be on the alert for the content of lesson plans, new school rules, opportunities to opt out of lessons they do not want their children exposed to and the wide range of opportunities schools have to shape the thinking and morals of their students.

 

One new welcome change is the move to restrict or ban cell phone access during the school day. A Pew Research study over a year ago found that 72% of high school teachers say phone distractions are a major problem in the classroom. Teachers report that many students simply mentally check out of the classroom instruction lured by a personal device allowed in schools. Screen availability also leads to less personal interaction and conversation among students. 

 

Thankfully, thirty-three states have now severely regulated the use of student devices and when this is done teachers report students are reengaging with one another in personal conversations in the halls or cafeteria. Great news to hear!

 

Parents are also being challenged to limit screen time at home. Screen time can range from seemingly innocuous video games to TikTok to pornography. Every hour on a screen is an hour a student is not playing sports, engaging with friends or classmates, reading a favorite author, learning a new skill or just free range playing outside. Life lessons that come from winning and losing, making new friends, and exploring the neighborhood go unlearned. 

 

In our neighborhood, parents proudly display a sign of congratulations when their son or daughter graduates from 6th grade. I am regularly shocked to see the signs in the front yards of homes I didn't even know had a student that age. Even though I regularly walk our dog at different times of the day, many of these homes have no signs a child that age lives there … no bicycles in the driveway, soccer net, basketball hoop or other evidence of outdoor activities. You can't help but wonder if the child is holed up inside on a screen. Now that schools are doing their part on this front, parents should be reviewing screen rules at home, too.

 

Finally, parents should engage with their children's schools through both individual classrooms and broader policies that could impact their students' future. Our local public school system, Fairfax County Public Schools, was rocked last week by allegations from two former high school students that teachers had encouraged, arranged for and paid for abortions for them with no parent involvement or knowledge. It doesn't get more shocking than that! The teachers involved apparently thought they knew best and left the parents of the girls completely in the dark. How dare they! 

 

Apparently lax oversight and a permissive culture led to school representatives feeling they had the right to intervene in life changing decisions for teens.

 

Heavenly Father, the children you gave us are precious. Be they our own children, grandchildren, extended family, neighbors or young ones in our church community, each one is a gift from you, made in your image. The schools they attend play a major role in shaping their values and outlook. Help us become full partners with the schools in the lives of those we love. Lead us to examine curriculum, spark conversations with our children, attend school events, follow the news on school board decisions and coordinate with others when action is needed. Prompt us to be affirming when it is warranted and challenging when it is not. And, guide us in our conversations and actions so the school age children in our lives will feel comfortable talking to us about classroom and school activities.

 

If you have been following the news lately you are likely shocked at the depth and breadth of news coming out of Washington about the decade-long conspiracy to destroy Donald Trump. Like unpeeling the layers of an onion, declassified document after declassified document is revealing the extent to which elected officeholders, appointed officials or permanent government staff undermined first candidate Trump and then President Trump. 

 

As one who has lived and worked in Washington for decades it is simply breathtaking! When I was a political science major in college my favorite poster adorning my college dorm room was a beautiful backlit nighttime photo of the U.S. Capitol with the words "Here sir, the people govern" emblazoned below the dramatic photo. What we have recently learned and are still learning is how this central idea of America has been subverted.