After the pandemic, let’s not forget these distance-learning lessons on freedom, duty

Seven weeks of distance learning: DONE! We’ve been doing inexplicably well at our house thanks to a daily 10 a.m. “school” start time that kicks off with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. Everyone gets dressed, makes their beds and then we’re off and into reading, writing, math and spelling. We have an hour for lunch and recess, and then wrap up at 2 p.m. I fully credit the bed-making for productively launching us into our days.

Is it easy? Of course not. We’ve had great days and awful days and days filled with tears and screams as well as giggles and jumps into our pool. (I’ve been journaling our experiences and emotions on my blog since this unprecedented debacle began.) I want my kids back in school ASAP — we all do, right? But, while I have my daughters’ attention, you bet I’m going to teach them a few lessons they otherwise might not learn if it wasn’t for this COVID-19 situation. Some of our recent vocabulary words:

Civic duty: What we need to do to serve the overall good of our community, ie stay home. (This was our very first lesson, when we didn’t yet know real-time, localized data about this virus.) We will always do our civic duty for the good of our country.

Tyranny: What happens when your civic duty is taken advantage of, when you realize that current facts, data and real-life happenings are not logically adding up to create the positive outcome you were once enthusiastically contributing to (with your original act of civic duty). We will not blindly accept tyranny, even if it is shrouded as “protective measures” that a government leader instructs us to do, to convince the masses they will not be ‘”safe” otherwise — regardless of localized data, millions of furloughed workers and hospital & health-care systems dangerously close to collapse.

COVID-19 has delivered whiplash education for learning how to listen carefully, when to think analytically, who to believe, what to read and accept and where to walk around in your own neighborhood so you don’t get publicly shamed for not wearing a face covering outdoors (despite keeping more than 10 feet of distance between you and the next guy). Living in Los Angeles is proving to be disappointing — in leadership and in the public’s common sense.

I’ve wept over the devastating loss of lives (yes, this virus is real) .... yet I’ve also wept about our loss of many basic freedoms irrationally revoked due to fear and near-dictatorship directives. Because, “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” (Thanks, John Adams.)

Take advantage of this distance-learning time to really teach your kids. Because I’m teaching mine. (I should note that “Indivisible” is in our vocabulary lesson next week.)

Jill Simonian was born and raised in Fresno and is creator of TheFabMom.com. She is a Los Angeles based TV/media contributor and author of book ‘The FAB Mom’s Guide’ for first-time pregnancy. Connect with Jill on Facebook and Instagram @jillsimonian.