Everyone is concerned about their child’s education in lockdown

Here, I am suggesting that you keep the long view of education in mind. Making a judgement on the effectiveness of on-line learning is almost impossible in the short term. The results of student performance are all about longitudinal studies over many years. I have no doubt there will be plenty of these studies in the future. However, in the shorter term as we live with on-line studies for students, the question remains, how can I best help my child?

Try not to focus on what your child has missed from not being at school. The education system will need to take stock of what this means in education for the future.

As we live with on-line studies for students, the question remains, how can I best help my child?

As we live with on-line studies for students, the question remains, how can I best help my child?

I suggest the following plan for children starting school and in the early years of primary education. Here, I am really thinking of that age where children are learning how to read and write.

  • Read each day to your child. Get them to follow the story. Children love to mimic and repeat the words of the story back to you.

  • Encourage them to read as much as possible. Talk about the story and engage in conversation about the plot, theme and the words used.

  • Have charts around the house with basic phonetic rules. This is great for the prereaders. Also include number charts. These are obtainable on-line or even in your local newsagency. Don’t get too caught up with the detailed ones. Young children need exposure to words, sounds and numbers. Talk about them and refer to them throughout the day. Play games and recite poetry. These are great tools to kick start reading.

  • If your child is literate to some degree, they can manage the on-line material more easily. Teachers are becoming more skilled in setting work that suits the child on-line. Just be a guide and direct them when necessary. If possible, go through the plan for the day with them and at the end of the day talk about how they went with the work. Praise them for putting in the time and effort, not so much the quality of the work. This is more about rewarding the process, not the outcome.

  • Keep the day balanced so that your child will know that recreation is part of their day. This gives them something to look forward to. Let them take small breaks. In a normal classroom, conversation is important as part of the learning process. Try to talk to your child throughout the day and ask questions about their work. Make suggestions and question occasionally why they choose such an answer. This is all part of what happens in a classroom. It is most definitely not a silent environment. It is a busy, often noisy environment, with multiple activities happening at the same time.

  • To get the best from the on-line studies, talk positively in the morning about how the day will look. Consider where your child is set up and make sure they are not in isolation for too long a time. Let them feel, that their learning space, is all their own and they don’t have to relocate at the end of the day.

  • If the teacher writes back some positive comments, print them and put them on display. Younger children will enjoy seeing their art work around the house. Now is not a time to worry about neatness and correctness. It is also not a time to talk about failure and poor performance. Show confidence in your child’s intelligence and ability to be successful. Let them feel comfortable talking with you during the day and displaying their work for all to see. Be impressed with their efforts and not their outcomes. If they develop a strong self-concept, they are more inclined to succeed academically. The message you want to give them is that they are developing into strong self-learners. You, the parent are setting the stage for your child’s growing perception of themselves as effective learners.

In our current world, we are always talking about student performance and measuring success. I suggest, that we have less of this ‘being accountable’ talk and more about the positive progressive steps a child is taking along the way. Each day should be another successful day of good learning. It should not be about simply measuring performance from on-line work. I have always felt strongly about this as a Principal, and I am more so now that children have the burden of working on line. 

In terms of change, learners inherit the earth,

While the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with world that no longer exists.
— Eric Hoffer

Another lockdown and more home schooling. How important is it?

Let’s take some pressure off ourselves and look at this lockdown week. Schools are busy writing reports, and summating work etc. Their focus is very much on these midyear reports for which teachers are so accountable. Given their work overload, I would be surprised if work set online would have high expectations as the teachers have limited time to plan for these online activities.

This week I would be encouraging the children to fulfil the teacher’s requirements, but also concentrate more on keeping up the reading and working on progressive projects etc.

This is also a week for once again capitalising on time together. In the early days of winter just get outside, bike ride, walk, jog, play games etc; that will take the focus of yet another lockdown away from everyone’s minds.

 We certainly can get caught up with negative rhetoric that is around but by focussing on some positive experiences together as a family especially engaging in happy physical activities, the time will slip away.

There are some important conversations worth having with children as we enter a time of more anxiety around the pandemic.

Consider:

There are some important conversations worth having with children as we enter a time of more anxiety around the pandemic.

There are some important conversations worth having with children as we enter a time of more anxiety around the pandemic.

  • Keeping up to date with the current situation. Discuss this with your child and make the conversation age-appropriate. Keep the information simple to grasp and invite your child to ask questions that may be troubling them.

  • Many newspapers present very distressing news items. It seems they are all about the blame game and sadly remind us of the worst of the situation. Be careful about what printed material is in front of children. Disturbing headings can build anxiety. Keep to the facts. Control the accurate facts around the children.

  • Talk about the incredible and speedy breakthroughs we are having with vaccines. This is a wonderful conversation about how science is such a gift to humanity. It is also showing the amazing ingenuity of the human race. This is a great time to learn about other scientists and their amazing breakthroughs in science.

  • Keep an eye out for the information sent home from school. The staff are struggling through these difficult times and will want to offer the best to their children. Do not compare how different schools are responding to the lockdown. All school environments have their own approach to working through issues and especially now they need your support and reassurance.

  • Keep in mind that we are living through very different times and our societal responses to the changing virus are never planned in and for the long term. It is all about short term responses to changing virus conditions.

We are teaching our children to be resilient and tolerant of change that will help everyone. This is a new phenomenon and it is all about empathy and the Common Good. This is a great time to talk about the importance of the Common Good. This is a big challenge for those that focus on the Me generation.

Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.
— Helen Keller