WHAT HAT AM I WEARING TODAY?
There is no doubt at all that the safest place at the moment is at home. We are not stuck at home, we are safe at home. You might think that having four boys, two in Primary School and two at St. Peter’s College that there might be an objection or two about being locked down at home, but surprisingly they all understand the magnitude of the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation and are happy to be safe.
Working from home myself during the pandemic makes the learning situation easier for me. What is easy to forget is that we are not home schooling, we are remote learning. The teaching of my children is still solely the responsibility of the schools they attend. Primary school is set up brilliantly; they log on each morning to a daily update of their learning goals. Everything is set and all the resources they need are available. I gently guide them to continue to ask their teachers questions, rather than me…as I said, it is remote learning, not homeschooling.
My Year 9 is missing his mates. For the Year 9 cohort being such a tight and cohesive group, the changes are profound. The teachers are combating these changes extremely well and the learning lessons are comprehensive. The social aspect is the challenge.
My Year 12 son is finding the learning process is set up well, but missing the teaching strategies that he would get within the classroom. The teachers are choosing how they teach each individual subject, be it a full video lesson, or set the work with little tuition and he at this time finds the differences challenging. But he is head down and ploughing through his workload, still completing his SACs and tasks.
So all in all, my home is a mini school, and I am the guide…not the teacher. This I feel is the largest challenge of remote learning. Our children are going through one of the biggest events of their (and our) lives and they will come out stronger, more resilient and with a level of confidence they may have lacked before. Encourage their independence, to try and to look for support in the right places, and they will flourish. My hat today is the guide not the teacher.
Naomi Bartlett – Clyde North Campus Parent
