Remember in high school when a teacher tried to explain your need for algebraic functions to survive in society? Remember sitting in class and sucking your teeth at the thought of graphing inequalities as an adult?
Now you’re at the kitchen table staring blankly at your teenager’s math homework for the third straight hour. Since most school districts across the country closed their buildings for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, parents are “in loco doctorem” ― they’re the teachers now. All homework is technically classwork. Oh, and your teenager has barely left the house in two months.
However, state education departments still require districts to meet the educational needs of students at home. Administrators and education leaders have had to rethink the way in which schools deliver quality educational experiences without a definitive part of public education ― the ecosystem of collaborative learning that a physical school provides.
Therefore, the direct educational intervention that teachers, counselors, principals and other educators provide has been drastically reduced.
We’re Not In Kansas Anymore
Coincidentally, there has been an uptick in online tongue-in-cheek teacher appreciation jokes in the past month (National Teacher Appreciation Week was the first week in May). Exhausted parents have been fired from homeschool for skipping work, stealing supplies and drinking on the job.
Back at the kitchen table, not only are you trying to help solve for x, but you’re using a Punnett square to determine heredity (Biology), listing the major causes of the Punic Wars (World History), writing a literary analysis of a favorite song (English), recording an exercise routine (Physical Education), creating a presentation on corporate liability (Economics) and labeling 20 household items in French.
This doesn’t even include the technology students must navigate. Is the teacher using Google Meet or Zoom? Nearpod? What’s Desmos? How do you reply to a discussion board post on Schoology or Blackboard?
School districts are requiring students to complete the new learning assignments to earn credit for classes. While weekly assignments may seem minimal, they can add up quickly and leave you and Junior scrambling in June to submit everything before deadlines.
The whole experience is testing your long-term memory, your Google search skills and your patience.
How can you help them stay on track? Here are a few tips.
Get Involved
Make sure your contact information is up-to-date with the school and, for the love of Socrates, check your email. School leaders and teachers use a wide range of digital tools to update the community about expectations and important dates. You can also log in through the school’s parent portal to see your child’s grades and receive alerts to changes.
Some districts have been better than others at communicating these changes and expectations to students and parents. It’s likely that your student has received multiple emails from multiple teachers, all with assignment descriptions, standards competencies, links to learning modules (or Khan Academy) and a daunting list of deadlines.
If information is not readily available or is unclear, contact the teacher. Some parents are resistant to this, as they don’t want to seem foolish for asking simple questions or look like they’re not Tiger Mom-ing their children. Don’t listen to that voice. Again, school districts are rushing to adjust to this new norm, so information pushed to students can be complex, outdated or contradictory. And teachers are happy ― nay, ecstatic ― to help.
Sit next to your child and look at the expectations together. At this point, you don’t need to know if any work has been done ― you want to see what work is required, how to access it, the steps to turn it in and what the deadlines are. Once you have an understanding of the requirements, you can begin planning a schedule.
Create (and Stick To) Routines
If the inability to get a regular haircut has people protesting in the streets, think of the impact the absence of a structured school day has on students ― no rhythmic schedule of events, no chats in hallways between classes, no history class the exact same time every weekday.
Students rely on these structures to move through their day because they cue learned routines ― a bell at 10:30 means to leave Mr. Garrison’s math class and mentally prepare for Mrs. Frizzle’s science class. But where we have new procedures for going to the grocery store, we may not have the procedures for our kids to complete classwork assignments at home.
Agree on a regular time and place where your child can be comfortable and productive. Reduce the amount of distractions (including from you) and allow for breaks. The Pomodoro Technique is an easy and effective way to manage this time while decreasing interruptions.
The schedule does not have to be rigid and a one-size-fits-all will not work here. Some students work better in the morning when their brain is active and ready, while others prefer the afternoon or evening. The goal is to provide and support a structure that works for everyone.
Be Sensitive
The foundations that help us define our daily lives have dramatically changed over the past few months, and students’ perception of the world around them has changed as well.
Students may struggle to complete necessary work because they may legitimately not know how to do it, not know where to go to find resources or not know how to advocate for themselves in a digital learning environment.
Whatever the case, be sensitive and listen. Ask questions ― try to understand their position (even if it’s plainly obvious to you), and help them find the resources they need to be successful. We’re all writing this lesson plan as we teach it, so it’s alright to not have all the answers. Be a guide.
Motivation is a Team Sport
Do you know what two things will motivate a class full of resistant students more than the threat of extra homework or a pop quiz? Tangible success as a direct result of conscious, deliberate effort … and candy.
Create an accountability system. This could be anything ― a table with assignments, meetings and due dates; weekly check-ins with teachers; a review of completed assignments. Agree to rewards for staying on task and mark off completed assignments as they are accepted. Celebrate successes when time is managed appropriately.
And now that I have just saved you all this time, look up a former teacher and send a nice email.