PAHOKEE — Amanda Ramos of Pahokee has been home-schooling her children since before the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into education but says that for any parent who chooses to try this, it is a nearly insurmountable challenge, especially if you’re trying to work a full-time job simultaneously.

In fact, nearly impossible.

“I homeschooled my kids from kindergarten to fifth and third grades,” Mrs. Ramos said, explaining that “I was home-schooled, so doing the same with my kids was a no-brainer. When the curriculum (the same that is used at our school of choice — The Shepherd’s School in Pahokee) we have chosen for our children is taught properly, it is a full-time job. There is no way to work a 40-plus-hour-per-week job and homeschool your child.”

Mrs. Ramos and her husband, Aaron, have been married since 2000. She works at a local health care facility full-time. They have three boys: Jonathan is a senior in high school at 17; Mason is a 14-year-old who’s in ninth grade; and 7-year-old Lincoln, now in second grade, has never been schooled at home.

Well, “except for (during) COVID, but you really can’t count that because he didn’t learn anything. His summer started in April,” Mrs. Ramos said laughingly.

Relied on grandma at first
“My mom schooled them until then; when I became a stay-at-home mom, I took over. I stopped homeschooling when I found a school in the Glades using the same curriculum but quickly saw they were not teaching it effectively. It wasn’t for us, we decided. I was not happy with their performance, so I found their current school and have not looked back.

“At the beginning of COVID, I was getting home from work at 9 or 10 p.m.; on two occasions, I worked until 12:30 a.m. and 1:15 a.m. Oftentimes, my first grader was either too tired to work with or already in bed. We had to cram a week’s worth of lessons in on Saturdays and Sundays. Obviously, he was not truly learning the information.

“I also have a home business and household duties, all of which were neglected until the weekend. It is impossible to fulfill so many roles and to do it in a 48-hour time span.

“My children’s education is as important as their health. Of course, I am not sacrificing their health, nor am I using the school as a babysitting service,” she related.

Disappointed after research
The Ramoses have done some research. She explained: “The data that the state is providing are very flawed and leave me with more questions than answers. I cannot make an educated decision with the lack of information, constant misinformation and incidents of false information that have been repeatedly displayed by those who are supposed to making these guidelines and regulations on our behalf.

“Tonight, I spent some time perusing the Florida disaster website. As of Aug. 5, there have been 3.8 million COVID tests performed; only 13% of those tests were positive. Of that 13%, only 1.5% are listed as having died from COVID. However, recently it has been reported that those numbers are inaccurate as incidents of false reporting are coming to light,” she said.

So the Ramoses are sending their boys back to school and hoping for the best, but only because they are more or less forced to since they decided they cannot do it themselves. Their kids’ first day back was Monday, Aug. 10.