I wrote this on Facebook, but not everybody is friends with me on FB and this needs to be said.
Time to go a little off grid.
I’ve been reading a lot of social media posts about parents being frustrated. Trying to homeschool (or, really, oversee schooling provided by teachers and feeling incapable because they are not trained teachers and not trained on platforms being stuffed down all of our throats) while doing all of their other usual life stuffs has them broken down, frustrated, and anxiety ridden.
I get it. I’m a high school teacher who has students still taking a high stakes exam in May. I have a toddler who’s at home. I just finished up work for another Masters. Plus, all the other life stuffs like everybody else. There’s my ethos for what I’m about to say.
When it comes to the school stuff - slow your roll and take a breath. For the secondary kiddos - encourage them to do what they can with what they’ve got. Fighting you still? Encourage them to simply read. I don’t even care what. Reading is one of the singular best things any child of any age can do to boost their capabilities in any subject. I realize I’m biased because I’m an English teacher, but really. Every subject uses language. Every subject uses reading. (Yes, even math). Ergo.
Also. Audiobooks - count. Graphic novels - count. At this point, I’d even be thrilled if my students were reading celebrity magazines, if they’d analyze how the language is being used to persuade the audience. Everything can be used for learning. Movies? TV shows? Old enough to know how to talk about character and old school plot development? Cool. Easy to find plot lines online. Do that, kiddo. Submit to teacher. (Ok, maybe ask first, but the point remains. There are options.)
Is the platform their struggle point? Encourage problem solving skills of looking up other places to learn the information, like Khan Academy or basic use of “the Google”. Encourage the learning of proper email techniques to email the teacher directly and ask for other materials.
And for the younger kiddos who aren’t self-sufficient - I really get it. Going from teaching the big kids to a toddler is a SHOCK to the system. Am I doing as good of a job as her teachers? Nope! Is there a little too much tv happening up in here? Yup! Are we taking advantage of any opportunity to count things and learn letters, like we used to do on weekends (that are never ending in the worst possible way now)? Yup. Read, read, read. Any break for reading is excellent. Is that good enough?
For now? Yes. Yes, it is. Because it has to be. I’m still getting up between 4 and 430am, because that’s when I have me time and then can actually get some work in. I work into the evenings and in random pockets of time, because that’s all I’m able to do. We all have different schedules now and we all are having to find ways to adjust.
Including the school systems. The adjustments are awkward - across the board in all neighboring counties. Things are going off rails left and right (technology is great - until it isn’t) and we, the teachers, are doing the best we can for our students (and their parents) with what we’ve got. And the same can be said for parents in doing the best they can with what they’ve got.
I get the struggle. I get the fear your child will fall behind. I get the concern that they’ll fail, they’ll never go to college, and then be ruined for life. Ok, so maybe that’s a little overdramatic, but it’s also the point. Your kids, and you, will be fine. We, the teachers, will do what we do best next school year and get to work, working with every child to get them back into the swing and caught up if they’ve fallen behind. It’s quite literally our job, and for most of us, our passion.
So. Please. Please. Please. Do not let the schooling part of all of this be your biggest stressor. Please. Please. Please. Don’t let this be what breaks down your parent/child relationship. Work together as you are able, understanding not everybody has the resources or time, and then find other ways to engage. Read a book together and talk. Find a show together and talk. Take up a new hobby together and talk. Cook together and talk. I realize this all sounds idyllic. Again, do what you CAN with what you HAVE - as little or much as that may be.
Stay safe. Stay well. We are all in this together - even when our situations look drastically different.