Frida nods. She’s not sure what to say. There might be hidden devices recording them. She doesn’t know anyone who spanks, wants to believe that spanking is worse than leaving, that she’s different, better. But the judge said she’d traumatized Harriet. Harriet’s brain, the judge said, may develop differently because of those two-plus hours alone.
Ms. Gibson enters the auditorium and climbs up to the stage. She taps the microphone. “Testing,” she says. “Testing.”
This morning, they meet the program’s executive director, Ms. Knight, a towering blonde in a beige skirt suit who’s unnaturally tan for November. Ms. Knight removes her jacket, revealing a body that’s been bullied into bone and gristle. She wears her hair long and fluffy, like an aging trophy wife.
The mothers fidget. Ms. Knight’s diamond ring catches the light. She shows them charts that demonstrate the link between bad parenting and juvenile delinquency, bad parenting and school shooters, bad parenting and teen pregnancy, bad parenting and terrorism, not to mention high school and college graduation rates, not to mention expected earnings.
“Fix the home,” she says, “and fix society.”
Training centers are being developed all over the country, Ms. Knight reports, but these two are the first to be operational. This one for mothers, another for fathers across the river. Governor Warren won the first bid. There will be periods next year when the parents will train together. They’re still working out the details for co-ed lessons.
“You’re the lucky ones,” she says. Only a few months ago, they would have been sent to parenting classes. They would have studied an outdated manual. But what good is learning about parenting in the abstract? Bad parents must be transformed from the inside out. The right instincts, the right feelings, the ability to make split-second, safe, nurturing, loving decisions.
“Now, repeat after me: I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.”
A slide appears with the phrase in all caps. Pale pink letters on a black background. Frida sinks lower in her seat. April mimes shooting herself in the head.
Ms. Knight cups a hand to her ear. “I can’t hear you, ladies. Let me hear you say it. It’s important that we’re all on the same page.” She speaks slowly, enunciating each word. “I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.”
Frida looks to see if others are playing along. This whole year may depend on playing along. Renee said to take a micro rather than macro approach. One day at a time, one week at a time. Closer and closer to Harriet.
Someone behind them says this must be a joke. She calls Ms. Knight “Dictator Barbie.”
Ms. Knight tells them to chant louder. Frida cringes, but eventually, she too mouths the words.
Finally satisfied, Ms. Knight explains the rules of conduct. “You’re expected to treat the state’s property with care. You’ll have to pay for any damaged equipment. Your rooms will be kept clean. You’ll treat your roommates, classmates, and one another with the utmost respect and consideration. With empathy. Empathy is one of the cornerstones of our program.”
She continues. “Drug or alcohol possession, consumption, or smoking will lead to automatic expulsion, and thus, the termination of your parental rights. There will be weekly check-ins with a counselor, who’ll monitor your progress and help you process your feelings. We’re all here for you, ladies. Drug and alcohol support groups will meet each evening after dinner. You’ll have some grooming privileges, as well. We know you still need to feel like yourselves here.”
Of course, Ms. Knight says, there will be no fighting, stealing, or emotional manipulation. “Now I realize we women can be competitive. There are a thousand little mental games we can play. But you should want your fellow mothers to succeed.” They should think of the school as a sisterhood, get invested in each other.
“I don’t want to hear about any bullying or rumormongering. If you spot one of your sisters engaged in an act of self-harm, you’ll report her immediately. We have mental health professionals available to you twenty-four-seven. We have a hotline. There’s a phone on each floor of Kemp House. You may find yourself discouraged. But you can’t stay in that hopeless place. Remember, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is your child.”
They’ll train with a cohort of mothers based on their child’s gender and age. It wouldn’t do to have mothers of teenagers training with mothers of infants. Class sizes will be kept small, for the time being. Each mother will be assigned to a cohort based on the age of her youngest child. Mothers of girls and mothers of boys will train in different buildings. “Girls and boys have such different needs,” Ms. Knight says. Mothers of both will report for extra training three evenings a week and every other weekend. Mothers who have multiple children, as well as addiction issues, will be extremely busy.