DAY 126

Way back on March 14th when I wrote my first post in this blog I could not have imagined that we would be facing another school year with this virus hanging over our heads. But here we are. I have been getting emails from our school district about every week. They vaguely discuss what might be happening in the coming school year. We have gotten two different surveys to fill out and return letting them know what we plan for our kids. Will we be putting them on the bus? Are we in favor of in-person classes? How comfortable are we with a mask requirement for BK - 5 students in the hallways? And a whole lot of other questions. I have filled out these surveys and returned them. It is mid-July and I still have no clear idea what they plan to do, or when.

The more I listen and read about the possibilities and talk to other parents about what they think, the less inclined I am to send Miss Ten into a classroom this fall. I am honestly more concerned about the effect of the stress and anxiety of being in a classroom under the conditions that they are planning than I am about the actual virus. With a teacher who is stressed out to boot. I have seen first hand that kids will not social distance themselves without constant reminders. They will share materials and germs at will. Classrooms are Petri dishes on a normal basis, and I can't imagine the frequent cleaning and handwashing will make a big difference. Many children were already stressed out in school. Adding a whole new level of stressors cannot be a good thing for them.

I am also not enthused about whatever distance learning plans the school district might be putting in place. I know that they did the best they could in the spring on the spur of the moment, but it was less than impressive. As an experienced homeschooler, I can come up with far more engaging ways for her to learn, without relying on a compute/tablet/whatever. Kids showed up on the planet ready to learn. As long as they are exposed to a rich variety of experiences, they will learn.

I think that we have a real opportunity here to re-imagine and reinvent the way we educate our children. Warehousing them together for many hours five days a week is not the most effective way to encourage learning. I know from experience that two hours a day spent on academics is plenty. Throw in some art projects, physical activity, and music. Read and write something every day. They need no encouragement in the technology department!

My heart goes out to the parents who have to leave home for work, who have to choose child care or school, who will have to try and guide their children through online learning while trying to maintain their careers. The choices and sacrifices required of us all are incredibly difficult. To all parents, whatever choice you make is the right one for your family. Know that you are doing your best under ridiculously horrible circumstances. You and your kids will be stronger for going through this.