We are in week four of the pandemic social distancing, what some call the "quarantine". The time we wished for with our families now is becoming at times drudgery, as it seems never to end. Your mother used to say, "Be careful what you wish for." I, like the above spider, wish I could sleep over at Worm's house tonight.
At some point, I wanted to spend more time with my kids, and I'm very thankful for being able to do that, along with the fact that we are healthy. My heart goes out to all those with COVID-19, in particular those who have lost their lives or a loved one's life to this virus.
At some point as well, I wondered what home schooling would be like. I am aware of all the wasted time in schools, due to the size of classrooms and limitations, as well as scheduling. Same goes for traditional work, especially office life. So I thought home schooling would help save time.
It can save time. But it does not save headaches. I like using computers. I consider myself pretty savvy. But I'm tearing my hair out trying to keep all these sites and login information straight: Zearn, Google Classroom, Blackboard, ScootPad, Quizlet, BookFlix, and probably a couple of others I forgot. I have my logins on an Excel sheet for reference to log into those sites that ask me to change my password every five minutes. Now I have to keep track of more logins and screenshots. Will I ever be able to get back to my writing and editing?
I love my kids, don't get me wrong. I will help them over doing anything else. But there are literally days when I just can't...and I know I'm only stating what my peers already have said.
I have never, ever commented negatively about my kids' teachers, because my siblings were both teachers and I try to teach my kids respect. But now, I wish I could give every teacher I've ever know a million dollars each! This is hard work. Understandably, your own kids don't listen to you as familiarity comes into play and they push those buttons. But even so, teachers typically are responsible for 20 or so kids per classroom, not just two or three. Respect. Lots of it.
Do I still want to home school my daughter some day? If I had to, I would. My daughter is willing and flexible now, but she is just six. Would she continue on this path? I'm not naive, so I will say, NO. So do I still want to home school some day if given a choice? Perhaps not. As for the older kids, my son included, school work is not meant to be all homework, particularly if you have great disdain for homework and are not organized or focused.
I realize my daughter also enjoys her social life, but that would be part of our process if we did home school. That would not stand in my way. What would stand in my way is my obvious inability to teach. I did not get the teaching gene, at least not for pedagogy. I can impart some knowledge to adults, as evidenced by the few years I taught junior college and then adults in the workforce. As far as I know, most of them have been successful. Beyond that, I am a big fat NON-TEACHER.
Please take a moment to thank the teachers in your life, even if they are your former teachers or your friends' kids' teachers. Please. Please hope and wish that they all get the pay and recognition they so deserve. If this pandemic has taught us one thing, it's that the actual essential workers (beyond the medical and food service personnel), are, indeed, our teachers.
Thank you to all who have and still do give their lives to kids by teaching. Thank you!
Comments