Navigating the challenges of your child's education during COVID-19 school closures can be both challenging and perplexing, but as a former Montessori, high school and college educator (and perhaps most importantly a dedicated parent), I know that what other parents want from their children's school year experience is simple: effective student learning outcomes - regardless of the pandemic or the political pandemonium accompanying it.
This blog posting will provide the insights and tips that any caring and responsible parent of grade school children can utilize to ensure, enhance, and enrich their child's distance learning experience and close gaps that can threaten the attainment of their education goals - causing them to lose an estimated 7 months of learning.
1. SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER
Never has there been a more important time to establish and maintain a good relationship with your child's teacher. Lack of communication between government, school administrators, teachers, and parents can make you may feel like a spectator in your child's education, and thus feel an impotence that you have never felt before. Remember that your child's teacher feels the same way. They signed-up to be (in-person) teachers - not politicians or medical professionals. They need compassion and parental engagement, which has always served as a harbinger to better academic performance. That will hold particularly true in remote learning environments - especially for low income and special needs children. Empathy will serve as a genuine and instantaneous bonding mechanism for teacher and parent.
2. FORGE A TEACHING PARTNERSHIP
Parents and teachers were always supposed to work in tandem with each other for optimal student learning. Now, during a fragile time where children need them to, they must. Teachers staying attuned to student engagement, and parents keeping abreast of teacher's classwork assignments is crucial. Students will benefit greatly from designated one-on-one teacher/student Zoom sessions for clarification or amplification of subject matter. Parent's can help their children maximize one-on-ones by preparing them ahead of time to present the work in question, or provide examples of work that teacher assistance is needed on. Shared accountability is the goal.
3. CREATE A STUDY GROUP
Yes, grade school children can benefit from study group collaboration the same way that high school or collegiate students can. They just need parental assistance to do so (if not technically then organizationally). If your child, or one of your child's classmates displays prowess in a certain subject, why not set up a Zoom call with other students who may not be as adept in that subject for a parent-assisted tutorial? Once executed, you will find this is also a GREAT way to build community and camaraderie. See what science says about children's study groups here.
4. INCREASE HOMEWORK
Many grade schools are reducing if not eliminating homework. They cite a host of studies which assert that homework does NOT increase academic achievement. This is more reflective of the specific type of homework and homework instruction given, than the efficacy of homework in general. Distance learning provides ample opportunity to correct this homework misnomer. Emphasis on allocating time for proven learning strategies, retrieval methods, reading, and math will help grade school students develop the critical study habits and homework execution skills that are essential for college success.
5. SUPPLEMENT, SUPPLEMENT, SUPPLEMENT!
Chances are your child's distance learning class will not have as robust of a curriculum as their normal in-person learning class. Elementary school children will be receiving an average of 2 - 3 hours of "instructional" time, each school day. Don't protest this fact; embrace it. Once you've cleared your mind about what teachers are doing during the remaining time that they would normally be teaching, check your state's content standards for your child's grade. This is one of the most savvy (and stress reducing) activities that parents can undertake to make sure that by the end of the year their child checks every box listed for their grade level. Additionally, obtain workbooks such as Brainquest, and sign-up with sites such as education.com and K5 learning.com to get worksheets for your child's grade that can be used to complement and/or supplement their distance learning curriculum.
5. SUPPLEMENT, SUPPLEMENT, SUPPLEMENT!
Chances are your child's distance learning class will not have as robust of a curriculum as their normal in-person learning class. Elementary school children will be receiving an average of 2 - 3 hours of "instructional" time, each school day. Don't protest this fact; embrace it. Once you've cleared your mind about what teachers are doing during the remaining time that they would normally be teaching, check your state's content standards for your child's grade. This is one of the most savvy (and stress reducing) activities that parents can undertake to make sure that by the end of the year their child checks every box listed for their grade level. Additionally, obtain workbooks such as Brainquest, and sign-up with sites such as education.com and K5 learning.com to get worksheets for your child's grade that can be used to complement and/or supplement their distance learning curriculum.
6. ESTABLISH A DAILY EXERCISE AGENDA
Children get more than fun out of recess; they get valuable exercise, which plays a vital role in stimulating brain growth and boosting cognitive performance. Of course recess in the home or in the backyard is not as enjoyable without friends, but sans the social aspect, exercise - any form of exercise - elevates well-being while reducing feelings of anxiety and depression. Simply put, exercise must remain a part of every child's daily homeschooling agenda.
In conclusion, whether you act on any or all of the above suggestions, create a "pandemic pod," or hire a Zutor, the point is that you, as a parent, are being proactive in preventing damaging learning loss that your child may have difficulty overcoming.
For those of us parents who didn't choose distance learning, we are counting the days till it's over...but until then, we must be focused on making the (virtual) schooldays count for our children by working strategically, collaboratively, and positively with teachers to close the gap in distance learning.
In conclusion, whether you act on any or all of the above suggestions, create a "pandemic pod," or hire a Zutor, the point is that you, as a parent, are being proactive in preventing damaging learning loss that your child may have difficulty overcoming.
For those of us parents who didn't choose distance learning, we are counting the days till it's over...but until then, we must be focused on making the (virtual) schooldays count for our children by working strategically, collaboratively, and positively with teachers to close the gap in distance learning.
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