Spirituality Finds a Place in the New ‘School House'

The morning sunlight pours into the kitchen of the Bell home, illuminating the countertop that serves as nine-year-old Ruby's classroom desk. Her mother, Sarah, sits beside her as Ruby pays attention to her teacher via computer.

For many children like Ruby, education is now presented and received at dining room tables, in kitchens, basements, and bedrooms: the new "schoolhouse."

But when school buildings shuttered their doors in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Jehovah's Witness families turned the challenges of remote learning into an opportunity to expand their children's education through spiritual activities.

"The pandemic upended our entire educational system," said elementary school principal Greta Hawkins. "Parents must realize that now more than ever they need to take a proactive interest in their child's education."

For many parents accustomed to sending their children off to school each morning, taking a more active role in their child's education has been one of the most difficult challenges of this "new normal."

"At the beginning, all the questions were there, and that can make you uneasy as a parent," said Erroll Peters, who attends a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in New Orleans. He added, "My daughter also asked us what's going to happen, but we just didn't know." Because of the pandemic, the Peters children, Leah, 14, and Erroll Jr., 12, were soon confined to the family home.

The same feelings of uncertainty are familiar to Jackson and Sarah Bell, who attend a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Oklahoma City with their two children Ruby, 9, and Wyatt, 12. "We had just hit a sweet spot with our routine. Suddenly, we have kids at home all the time," Sarah explained. Despite the challenges, the new circumstances have allowed the Witness family to include spiritual activities as part of the children's daily education.

Though the Bell family has always enjoyed spending time together, the 24/7 close proximity has brought on a touch of sibling fatigue. "We try to keep a positive perspective, but we also try to be very real about how we're feeling," Sarah said.

Some families have found that the best education happens beyond the walls of their "schoolhouse" — with what educators call authentic or project-based learning. This learn-by-doing approach "requires developing skills in critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and various forms of communication," according to PBLWorks, a nonprofit organization focused on project-based learning.

Because distance learning limits the time children have to dedicate to such subjects as art, music, and other electives, Brandy and Danny Dykes enlisted their 19-year-old daughter, Gwen, to help her younger sisters, Giselle, 16, and Genevieve, 10, with finding creative outlets. "I remember when I was in school, all of the extra things like art and recess were fun, but not being able to do them anymore must be hard," Gwen said.

Gwen invited local families from the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses that the Dykes family attends in Spring, Texas, to join in performing stories from the Bible in home videos. She wrote a script, and each family signed up for a different scene to video at their own homes. Some acted in full costume with green screens, others made drawings, and some even did stop-motion animation.

"It has been a way for the kids to express themselves, but they're also learning," Gwen said. "We've even had adults participate because it's so much fun." The group has produced two videos so far, and they plan on tackling another soon.

"Witness parents are handling their children's education in a way that is worthy of imitation, perhaps because they have always had a structured educational program for their congregation meetings," said Principal Hawkins, who also attends a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Despite the circumstances, distance learning has allowed the Peters to spend more time together as a family. "We try to communicate daily. We go out as a family and ride bikes. We get with other families virtually and play games," Erroll said.

"The pandemic has made us closer," his wife, Christina, added. "We really didn't think it would last so long, but we're each other's support system."

Providing a structured education — spiritually and academically — is important to the Bells. This has helped Ruby and Wyatt not just survive but thrive. "It's more than getting by," Jackson explained. "We've seen them make progress."

The Peters family shares the same feelings. "I think my son is excelling even better," Erroll said. Furthermore, this experience has changed his view of education and all the work that goes into it. He shared, "I really appreciate school more than ever before."

More information on how families can succeed at distance learning and on the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses is available at jw.org, with content in over 1,000 languages.