At Blacksburg New School, we believe in the old proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child.” In this modern era, there are countless challenges to overcome when parenting. Organizing playdates, finding extracurricular activities, navigating the dangers of the internet, and creating family rules and expectations are a lot for one set of caregivers to handle on their own. In earlier eras, parenting was a collaborative process. As multi-generational households were more common, or with more community elders nearby, advice and experience were immediately available. When children played for hours outside of the house, they had the helpful and watchful eyes of any adult in the community looking over them. But in this fast-paced 21st century, parenting has often become an insular activity. But at Blacksburg New School, that does not have to be the case.
We have a unique opportunity, as members of the New School community. Our co-op culture, with a focus on community-building and an appreciation for the value of collaborative effort, makes this a perfect place to bring back the concept of a “Village.” There is no need for us to try to figure things out all on our own or to reinvent the wheel for every parenting topic. Some of us have experience with the transition from middle school to high school. Some of us are well-versed in navigating the various team sports offered in the region or in finding summer opportunities. And for topics that are more difficult to handle, we can invite other specialists into the school to help us.
To that end, this year we are implementing a goal conceived of during our strategic planning meetings - a series of “Village Talks” for our community. We can easily envision how useful it will be for our community to discuss various parenting and educational topics. The challenge is in starting new habits within the school community, and having members “buy in” to the value of these get-togethers. After the experiences with remote learning during Covid, we appreciate how important it is for all of us to get together in-person, for true face-to-face connections. We also recognize that families have different schedules and commitments, so we would like to offer these on a variety of days and at different times. Perhaps one time it could be held right when school ends, with an open playground to keep the kids busy, and another time it could be held later in the evening. This way, more of our community could participate in these “Village Talks.”
Recently, we invited caregivers and teachers to a professional training on internet safety presented by a high-tech crime specialist. Offered on two different nights, this two-hour presentation helped educate on the dangers lurking in cyberspace, and the ensuing discussion offered strategies and tips for setting household rules and boundaries for the use of technology in the home. The following month, we scheduled a “Village Talk” about topics and ideas presented in Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation. This discussion of the impact of smartphones (and social media) on the minds of developing children opened up conversations in our community about how to address this issue in our own families. We are also considering a future topic that focuses on play: its importance in the lives of children (and adults), how it is changing, and finding the time and space for it.
Raising children in this day and age is always going to be a challenge. So much is new and different compared to what our own childhoods were like. As parents, what concerns us today isn’t necessarily what concerned our parents decades ago. But we don’t have to figure out all of this on our own. At Blacksburg New School, we believe it takes a village.
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