Dear Schools, We Should Just Forget Remote Learning Right Now

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Y’all. I have never had a greater respect for teachers. This homeschool stuff is HARD.

I understand WHY schools are still having assignments, teleconferencing, emails, google classroom meetups, and whatever else they have come up with to further the education of our children.

BUT, maybe now isn’t the time. Hear me out.

I GET that the teachers are doing their jobs. I GET that our children regress in their learning during long periods of non-classroom exposure — like summers. I get that.

I also get that this is an unprecedented time in our history.

Things are not normal at home. Homeschooling would be stressful under the BEST of circumstances — and this is NOT the best of circumstances.

People are rapidly getting sick, and we are all stressed about that. People are dying, and we are being told there is NOTHING the hospitals can do, and they’re running out of equipment and ideas.

People are TRYING to figure out how to work from home.

We are confused, and we are trying not to panic about any of that.

The government is mandating shelter in place orders, and it’s hard to explain to our kids why, especially when we are trying to grapple with it, ourselves.

While all this is happening, I am trying to help my elementary school son with new math — and I’m old.

I am trying to help my middle school daughter with English and Grammar, when I don’t remember what the heck a predicate is, or the difference between onomatopoeia, a simile, or personification.

We just got grades back from the school work packets we turned in two weeks ago, and my daughter went from having a 96% in English, to having an 85% in English.

How is this helping? If anything, it’s frustrating the heck out of me, confusing the snap out of my kids, and making an already very bad situation, an even more stressful situation.

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Enough is enough. Please.

It is fine and dandy to have story time with the teachers online. It is GREAT to have them go explore virtual museums and historical sites. It is even okay to have them do some of those cutesy math game websites.

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BUT, it is not okay to hold them to such a high standard, when the world is in chaos.

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I understand that not every kid has access to a computer and internet. My children’s school has checked out chromebook to the kids, and they have daily free wifi in the parking lot of the schools.

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This is WONDERFUL, but DON’T demand the kids do HOURS of hard work on those computers.

Give them — and us — a break, please!

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I’m not saying it is the teachers’ faults. I love and respect the teachers. I know they are frantically struggling to come up with assignments, and they, too, have families to worry about at home.

We all need — and deserve — to chill just a bit during this time.

I’d rather focus on keeping my family safe and well, than worry about teaching my son long division and geometry — which I nearly failed.

I’ll step down off my soapbox now and if you’re reading this, tell me how YOU feel!

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8 Comments

  1. Well, here is my unpopular opinion. I like continuing school. It helps my kid have some structure to their day, and really, we had nine weeks of school left when then all began. Missing nine weeks of a school year is missing 1/4 of the year. Without continuing learning, even if it is difficult, these children will not be ready for the next school year, thus making that year more difficult. Now, I am a teacher as well as a parent of two school-aged children, so I see both the parent side and the teacher side.

  2. I wrote a very similar letter to my district and to Mark Johnson (I also live in NC). You are spot on!

  3. I am a home schooler and am finding this time overwhelming, finding it hard to keep the normal going, missing our normal routines and contacts… as someone already used to the set up it really is unprecedented times and the emotional and mental demands on us all are extreme. We will all settle to this as best we can and all need to extend the arm of grace to each other.

  4. Thank you for so aptly putting into words what so many of us are feeling. This is hard! Everyday I feel as if I have to choose which child’s homework gets highest precedence. I love our teachers, but this time should not be adding stress and pressure

    1. I couldnt agree more!!! Everyone just needs a break to really let everything that’s going around us sink in a bit. Let the kids have a break too so us as parents can try to explain the best we can what’s going on in the world and let us focus on our family for a while. We all need eachother right now.

  5. Totally agree, and being totally honest I just want to make the most of this time that I have with my children, is that so wrong?

  6. I completely agree! My husband is a pharmacist and still has to go to work. We take our temperatures every morning. The corona virus is very real in our house. So, we take that and add in that our kids went to school one day and their world was normal. When they got home, their world had completely changed. They can’t see their friends, can’t compete in the state academic competition, no swim practice, no golf practice, no time to just be with your buddies and be silly and laugh…
    But yet…but yet, they are expected to perform as if the world hasn’t changed. In fact, let’s push them a little more so we can maintain our rigorous curriculum.

    Yes, you struck a nerve. I will get off the soap box for the next person.?

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