Given the many negative attributes of the current school system, if parents are financially unable to provide an alternative, what encouragement can you give them and what advice about how to help their children cope with the experience of public schooling?

The first thing we would say is to become involved in their child’s life to the extent they have good lines of communication with their children to make clear to them through word and deed that the child will not be judged by the parent and can come to them with fears and questions about what they experience, what they may have trouble with, what they struggle with, and get true assistance from parents who are loving, nurturing, good listeners, and very much want to support their child and help them overcome any difficulties they encounter. Children are very sensitive to parental expectations and often are over-concerned about showing any weakness, and will keep things hidden from the parents because they don’t want to let their parents down, and do not factor in that parents can be a tremendous resource to help them cope with difficult situations and even bring in extra assistance when that might be needed. This usually only comes to a head after there is ongoing failure for a significant period of time and then eventually a parent-teacher conference brings this up for discussion, by which time there may be much damage already experienced and habits formed that are difficult to counter, and even getting at the source of the problem may be difficult when students will not be forthcoming in any discussion with an adult no matter who it might be. This can be avoided by having good relationships with the children. By doing parental teaching, to model what it is like to have an adult who wants to encourage and inspire them lovingly, when children experience this with their own parents and encounter the opposite at school, they will be more willing to talk about this contrast and the parents can then be reassuring and supportive of their children in coping with the less than desirable situation, and may be able to improve the school setting, in some instances at least. But without any feedback from their child, things can go on for years and many dire consequences build over time without anyone being aware. The typical situation is students muddle through but, in the end, have become soured on learning and not being inspired and seeing even the potential within themselves to use learning as a springboard for achievement in doing something greater, something more demanding, and to have challenges involving learning within a career, but seek something to avoid such experiences because it has been so onerous in the way they lived through it in the school system. This is the great harm we speak of when asked about how education is conducted in the human culture, that it is very much a deadening influence on creativity and learning despite its stated purpose and significant expense, and with all the oversight and attention to detail and the many creative attempts to tinker with the curriculum and teaching approaches, things often get worse rather than better. This is purposeful and should not be dismissed as an exaggeration or a conspiracy theory. It is cold, hard reality and the end products of the educational system are clear evidence that it is largely a failure in doing what it is supposed to—inspire the young and encourage them to be the leaders and innovators of tomorrow.