5 THINGS YOU CAN DO AT HOME TO ENHANCE YOUR STUDENT’S SCHOOL YEAR
It’s August. Around the country, schools are making their best calculation about whether to open or not. Some advocates point out how unprepared we are with the physical and human resources needed to reopen, others point to the “young minds going to waste” if we do not find a way to get students back in classrooms. One thing is for sure: we’ll need to be flexible and adaptable to make the most of this school year.
I led a team of teachers in conducting Virtual School via Google Hangouts, from March 16-June 5. We worked with several thousand high school students across Summit Public Schools, meeting every day live and providing individualized feedback to students online. Developing content was easy, but facilitating discussions and collaboration was hard. What we saw was that students who were already ahead pulled more ahead, and many of those who were struggling with attendance, engagement or academic performance fell even more behind.
Part of the challenge students face is that education is a deeply personal endeavor. Connecting with your teacher and classmates via Zoom just isn’t the same as sharing materials, working in groups together, or getting a high five as you enter the classroom from passing period. Technology puts another layer between us trying to connect as humans, whether that’s a faulty wifi connection, a broken webcam or a delayed system update. That takes away so much of the motivation, joy and engagement that students often get from school.
When I look at this challenge as an educator, the easy part is the content. We already have excellent learning platforms and resources like Khan Academy that can help students develop their skills. The part that will be much harder to replicate is the social emotional development, organizational skills and maturity of students who are getting much less time with peers and within the structure of schools. Fortunately, there’s so much that can be done at home to offset that. Here are a few of the things I’d recommend.
Set goals together: The extra time your child spends at home this year isn’t a break or vacation, but it’s not school as we know it. Use the start of the year as an opportunity to set some goals with your child for this unusual time. It could be a topic your child wants to learn more about like the Vikings, a skill to develop like playing violin, or an accomplishment they aspire to, like writing a novel. Talk about what resources would be helpful to have and maybe even set some milestones along the way.
Plan for the joy: In school, we celebrate students’ achievements and recognize excellent work regularly. This provides good examples for student work or behavior and also validates hard work. If your child accomplishes the goal they set, how will they share that and how would they like to be celebrated?
Designate a point person for academics: Ideally, one person in the family can be a point person checking in on academic progress. This looks like ensuring homework is done and advocating to school if more support is needed.
Embrace chores: A crucial skill developed at school is time management and executive function. Assigning your children at home a share of chores provides an arena to practice managing their time, keeping to a schedule, and completing a task well.
Everything is a learning experience: We know about lemonade stand business lessons, and there are so many more things we do for fun that can teach critical thinking skills. Building a skateboarding ramp in your driveway is a physics lesson. Making gourmet lunches is nutrition and chemistry. Discussing a movie as a family is literary analysis.
Taking these steps won’t be easy-- we’re all busy, and COVID has taken away much of the predictability of our lives. And yet, to the extent that we’re able, COVID can be a chance to re-engage with the education of our children, and I suspect, to re-engage with our own curiosity as well.