Virtual School is trying to take us all out!
Well, we are a several weeks into virtual home school. Last year we had a test run from April to June, but lets be honest they were not as organized as they are this semester. Thank goodness though. Currently all 4 of my children are going to school virtually. Our entire school district in a little suburb in WA state is virtual. I have a senior, junior, freshman and a 7th grader. Chile send help is all I have to say. I have a full time day job and have worked from home for the past 9 years. Needless to say my rhythm is thrown off. They all take 3 classes, 3 times a day at the same time which is helpful. I have 3 alarms set and I check on all 4 of them to ensure they are woke, yes it’s that real. These children will not hesitate to go back to sleep. I started off preparing lunch for them daily, but with my meeting schedule changing daily I have been inconsistent with that at best. All 4 of them are in separate rooms so that they can hear clearly as each teacher facilitates. I feel like the parameters the school has set up is an attempt set them up for success, if they actually do the work. The issue I have is that the one size fits all approach just doesn’t work for all children or families. You have parents that can’t micromanage their children’s actions, they definitely shouldn’t have to, but some of these kids need an extra push to remain focused in between classes. Ultimately it is on the students to stay focused and to complete their homework, but we all know that each child is very different.
Before I go further into talking about the parent point of view, I want to discuss the impact it is having on our children. I’d say three out of four my children genuinely dislike virtual school. Those three are the ones that generally need an extra nudge during regular school, let alone a self directed type school. Two of the three feed off of social interaction. The third just likes to have the option and thinks school is a waste of time. That in itself is a whole other topic. One of them is extremely sad with quarantine, my social butterfly of the bunch. Below, I have three reasons why virtual school is a bust for our children:
Teachers are not spending enough time teaching-It is definitely odd teaching virtually. However, in class they would literally be teaching for the entire period. They need to figure out how to have more interaction with the students. Get them involved in the curriculum. Do some break out sessions. Have the students share their key learnings. Tie the curriculum to real life examples, in order to help them relate to the information that is being taught. In some classes they are online for like 10 minutes and then they send them off to do virtual assignments. Due to this, students are left feeling like teachers don’t care and in turn they aren’t retaining any information. The students feel that virtual school is about throwing a bunch of assignments at them. Many kids are just doing the work to get it done vs. doing the work to gain actual knowledge. This is helpful to no one.
There is a lack of encouragement- By nature MOST teachers are encouragers. They see students that are struggling in class and they go to their desks to see how they can help. That element is missing virtually. In some cases the teachers are reaching out to students with low engagement, but checking in and actually giving guidance is two different things. The lack of interaction with the teacher is hindering. Virtual teaching does not consistently inject the encouraging environment that actual school does. Teachers need to figure out how to engage different types of learners. They also need to ensure that they are being cognizant of students that may have an abnormal home situation.
The lack of social environment- Some students thrive in the presence of others. Maybe you were the student that was always listed as being a little chatty in class. How well do you think those kids are fairing in the virtual environment? I can tell you it’s not going well. Couple that with the lack of interaction they are having in their real lives with people outside of their family, it is a huge shift for them. Then on top of that add in the complexity of having no one in class that looks like you. For those brown kids it can be a tough environment. Also it was never guaranteed that your friends would be in your classes, but the fact that they would catch them in the hallways or at lunch, was motivation enough to get through each class. All of these limitations are hindering a lot of kids. I’m not sure how we rectify this situation, but I know that some of these students are full on depressed. As parents we need to make sure we are paying attention to these signs.
All of us (parents) essentially could homeschool our children if we wanted to. There are clear reasons why we don’t. First, many of us have to work and do not have the time that it takes to teach them properly. Secondly, everyone is not qualified to teach, which is why a degree is required to do that job. There are levels to teaching and it isn’t for everybody. Third, the patience this all takes is that of a saint. Fourth, your organization skills have to be A1 to balance all of this, especially those of us that have multiple children. That in itself is a full time job. I mean, bless us all. These are all reasons why virtual school has proven to be challenging. The approach to have a one size fits all solution, just does not work for all. It lacks true understanding of each child’s home life.
So what CAN we do?
Be patient-I didn’t say be a push over. I said be patient. Hear them out. Get a clear understanding of what they are going through, before you yell or mess somebody up. I’m just saying… I’ve been known to go off about school work. Instead actually talk to them about solutions for any problems or excuses they bring up. I’ve noticed that my children could have a whole lot more ownership when it comes to their virtual learning. Ask them questions to allow them to tell you what they have been experiencing and what steps they have taken to rectify any issues they have run into.
Set clear expectations-Allow them time (not more than a week) to follow through on their plan-completing their homework, reaching out to the teacher for assistance, asking their friend or sibling for guidance. If you need to, set up a SMART plan and hit them with it. I haven’t gone there yet, but please note it is in my bag of tools. These kids are smarter thank you think. The key thing is ensuring that both you and them are clear on their next steps and the actions they are taking to improve their school performance.
Follow up-If you gave them a week, follow right on up when that week is over. For me, I get emails on Saturday morning that updates me on all of my children’s performance. At this time I am checking to ensure that they followed through on the expectations that they set for themselves. If there is no follow up on a plan, there is no point in setting one. Your children will definitely not take you seriously.
Hold them accountable-If your child has not followed through on the plan you should hold them accountable. For me that means restrictions on things that they enjoy. My kids all love the Xbox, being able to play it freely is contingent upon keeping their grades up at school. Since they have a shared den I will take it from everyone, even if one isn't up to par. Sorry not sorry, that encourages them to hold each other accountable.
I know this has been hard for us and we are no where near out of the woods yet. Some additional protips are to make sure you have the parent view set up on the school's website so that you can access their grades whenever you want to, as well as have them sent to you on certain days. Use your resources, if they have some socially distant places for your children to go for school…send them. Getting them out of the house is definitely a cheat code. Wishing you and your children a productive year of virtual schooling! In the comments share any tips that have helped with virtual school for you and your children!
