Results of a new Gallup poll released last week may give us the sharpest look yet at how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted American education and what may lie ahead. According to the poll, parents’ overall satisfaction with their child’s education dropped 10 percent over last year, while at the same time the number of parents saying they will choose homeschooling doubled in 2020 to 10 percent.
Throughout the summer, parents have expressed their frustration with back-to-school plans, including disappointment over continued remote learning and strict social distancing requirements. Homeschooling registrations soared across the country, and many families began to spontaneously organize “pandemic pods” to offer small group learning and social interaction for their children. Opting out of conventional schooling this fall for homeschooling or “podding” has become not only acceptable but widely embraced.
