10 Things That Public Schools Should Stop if They Don't Want to Be Called "Babysitters"

You may be familiar with the claims of some critics who have described the public school system as a form of 'babysitting'. Perhaps you think this is an exaggeration, but is it? We can objectively examine the structure and the activities of the public school system and see some obvious signs that it is more like a babysitting service than a system of education: a a system that must obviously prevent its wards (students) from dying or getting hurt, but where other goals, such as learning critical skills, are much less consequential . Let's look at the details and the evidence. We have outlined ten ways that the public school system is more like babysitting than an education system.

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Evidence 1: Grade Inflation

Objectively measured learning is critical

If you feel strongly that the public school system is important because it provides a valuable service to our community in educating students, then there needs to be a high level of accountability in verifying that it is actually achieving this goal. To ensure that students are truly learning what they need to learn, it is necessary to objectively measure that students have learned the subject matter: either they have learned the materials to an acceptable level or they should fail. Otherwise, this system is a kind of childcare dressed up as education.

And yet, extensive reports of grade inflation as well as the reduction in standardized test scores across the country clearly show that students in the public school system are not learning to the level that is necessary and expected. Even worse, there are widespread anecdotal reports of students that are unable to read or do basic math receiving a high school diploma all across the country. All too often, it is easier to pass a student rather than do the hard work of teaching them to read, do math, or learn reading comprehension.

Students are attending public school for their entire childhood only for school administrators to pass failing students onto the next grade level and graduate from high school with low math and reading proficiency. Grade inflation is not OK and totally counts as babysitting. It is also educational neglect. Click for more info about grade inflation and low proficiency.

Evidence 2: a relaxed dress code

School exists to prepare children for the real world. Right? Well, in a civilized society and in the workforce, people are expected to dress themselves appropriately for the occasion. Allowing children to attend school dressed in blankets, overly sexualized outfits, pajamas or slippers is what would be acceptable in a babysitting setting, not an educational or a professional one.

Parents are responsible for sending their children to school dressed correctly and a child should be turned away if they are not. Its not the responsibility of the school system to be a parent, only to assert that the minimum requirements for admitting a school, which includes appropriate dress.

Click to see this video of teachers "dressed up as students".

This video is not funny.

Stop allowing students to attend tax payer funded school dressed like this.

Evidence 3: Omitting necessary skills to enter the workforce

Students are leaving the public school system and entering labor and economic markets completely unprepared. They need to be taught critical skills, such as how to reason, judge, and discern in making decisions, how to interact with coworkers, how to resolve a dilemma, how to work towards goals, preparing for an interview, how to write a resume, how to speak professionally, how taxes work, and how to get things done. Public schools omit these important life skills from the curriculum which makes it more like childcare than education. A babysitter isn't responsible for teaching your child how a credit card works or how to budget, and the public school system is treating students in the same way. Click to see our article about preparing your homeschooler for the workplace.

Evidence 4: The prevalent use of non-educational

screen time in class

Watching movies: tax payers are paying the salaries of "licensed and qualified" public school teachers to teach and educate, and yet many teachers will regularly let their students watch movies (non-educational ones) in class. Do you remember watching the Simpson's or Batman in english class (or other movies)? I do. The teacher's use of such materials strongly suggests that public education is more of a form of running out the clock rather than achieving educational goals.

Chromebooks for kids: providing children with excessive, passive, unsupervised laptop usage is babysitting, obviously. Students are also using AI to cheat on their assignments. See this link and this link for more info. For hundreds of years, kids have learned effectively from the chalkboard and books. We don't need every student to have an iPad, and they should only be using computers in a technology focused class for learning about how to use technology.

Relaxed smart phone policies in schools: Schools that allow students to have 'round the clock access to their smart phone apps in class is babysitting. See our article for information about why school districts are banning smart phones.

Evidence 5: Holiday parties

Classroom celebrations have nothing to do with meeting reading, writing, history and science proficiency. Who is paying for the food and party favors? Instruction time is waisted on exchanging valentines while schools are graduating illiterate adults. Stop it and focus on the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic. When every student in class has passed a standardized test for their grade level, then it would be ok to have a party.

Evidence 6: Before and after school care

This is obvious tax payer funded babysitting for families.

Evidence 7: School provided transportation

Students that are in the "care" of bus drivers instead of their parents for extended periods of time is another form of childcare. Much of public education seems to employ techniques for running out the clock each day, and school provided transportation is one of those mechanisms. Parents are responsible for their family's transportation to and from school. Parents should make other transportation arrangements for their children if they have a scheduling conflict. School busses are also making the news daily for accidents, violence, criminal bus drivers and other serious incidents that should not be ignored. Click to see our article about the school bus incident epidemic.

Evidence 8: Taxpayer funded breakfast and lunch

Just like a daycare includes meals in their enrollment fees, public schools are using our tax dollars to provide "free" breakfast and lunch for the entire public school population. Tax payers are exasperated with the amount of "free" childcare that they are forced to provide public school families. If school hours must operate through meal times, then parents should send their child with a packed lunch box. A nanny would be responsible for feeding a child, not a teacher and not a school system.

Public school is not a charity. There are many private charities and tax funded programs already in place that can provide food assistance to low income families.

Evidence 9: After School Sports

Teacher salaries in running after school sports, the students time away from their parents and the financial costs of these programs are excessive and count as babysitting. They are also providing an avenue for boys to change in girls' locker rooms and win trophies in girls' sports competitions. But more to the point: after school sports program operate as simply another babysitting mechansism. Kids get to stay at school longer, so that their parents don't have manage them.

What about those families who cannot afford sports? Public school is not a charity. If you feel that your neighbor should be able to play a sport, then you should charitably gift them a check for their baseball or gymnastics fees. Or, support a small business by helping set up a scholarship fund at your local indoor soccer facility or dance studio. Stop voting for your neighbors to pay for other people's babysitting. And really sports should be a private function so that the public education system can focus on the basics.

School athletic achievements mean nothing if students are graduating illiterate.

Evidence 10: Non- educational field trips

There is no reason for public school students to spend the school day at a theme park on a tax payers dime. Stop it.

Moving forward

As you can see, there are many tax funded non-educational activities that fall outside of math, reading, science and history. Due to the low proficiency of these important subjects mixed with the growing list of obvious childcare programs, public school has correctly been labeled as "babysitting". Tax payers are correct in protesting the high public school costs, endless budget increases and the concern over the stewardship of our tax dollars.

We implore American voters to take education seriously. Stripping away any number of these activities from the school budget and schedule would greatly improve public schools. It would improve the integrity of the public school high school diploma. It would improve tax payer confidence because they would see that the government is not defrauding them in this area. Removal of these activities would also make public school a legitimate and credible education option for families. It would also create a more fiscally responsible education system.

Until public school becomes more educational and less like babysitting,

STOP FUNDING IT!