Parents should continue to become more involved with their

The wise jurist Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit upon the high court of the United States, spoke with clarity of heart and mind when she declared: “Parents should continue to become more involved with their communities, and more involved in their children’s education.” In this simple yet profound truth, she reminds us that the strength of a nation is not secured only in courts or legislatures, but in the daily bond between families, schools, and the neighborhoods where children grow. For the home is the seedbed, and the school the sunlight, but it is the whole community that nourishes the roots of a child.

The meaning is both timeless and urgent. Parents are not only caretakers of bodies, but stewards of minds and shapers of souls. To entrust education wholly to the state or the teacher, while remaining absent, is to abandon half the duty of parenthood. When parents walk beside their children in learning, when they ask questions, read together, and guide their curiosity, they affirm that knowledge is not a task imposed but a treasure embraced. And when they engage with the community, they weave their family into the larger fabric of society, teaching children that learning is not for self alone, but for service to all.

History reveals the fruit of such involvement. In the early days of American democracy, the village schoolhouse was not only built but also sustained by the labor of parents and neighbors. Men raised the walls, women sewed the curtains, and families together ensured that every child could learn. Out of such small schoolhouses came leaders, inventors, and citizens who built the young republic. By contrast, in times and places where families withdrew from education, ignorance spread, and tyranny found fertile ground. For as Thomas Jefferson himself taught, the safeguard of liberty is an educated people.

Consider also the story of Booker T. Washington, who as a boy was born enslaved yet hungered for learning. His mother, though weary and burdened, encouraged him to seek knowledge at night after long hours of labor. Later, entire communities of freed men and women pooled their scarce resources to build schools, brick by brick, desk by desk. They understood O’Connor’s wisdom: that only through the combined effort of parents, communities, and teachers could children rise to a higher destiny. Their sacrifices bore fruit not only for their children, but for generations yet unborn.

The power of O’Connor’s words also lies in the reminder that education is not only about textbooks and lessons, but about values, citizenship, and character. A child may learn mathematics in class, but it is at home they learn honesty; they may study history, but it is in the community they learn responsibility and service. When parents involve themselves in schools, when they join hands with neighbors, they create an environment where children not only acquire knowledge but also wisdom—the kind of wisdom that sustains free societies.

The lesson for us, O listener, is clear: do not abandon the schooling of your children to distant authorities. Take interest. Ask what they read, sit with them as they write, listen to their questions, and seek answers together. Attend meetings, support teachers, and stand as advocates for fairness in education. Likewise, strengthen your community, for children grow not in isolation but in the shared life of neighbors. Let every home, every street, every gathering place become part of the great classroom of life.

Practical action is within the reach of all. Volunteer in schools. Read aloud with your children. Mentor those who have no guidance at home. Organize communities to ensure that no child goes hungry to class or without the tools to learn. For every act of involvement is a thread woven into the larger tapestry of education. And in that tapestry lies the destiny of a people.

Thus, let Sandra Day O’Connor’s words be remembered not as suggestion, but as commandment: “Parents should be more involved with their communities, and more involved in their children’s education.” For in the union of family, school, and society lies the enduring strength of a nation. When parents step forward, communities thrive, children flourish, and the future shines with the promise of wisdom and liberty.