Learning disruptions continue to frustrate parents, teachers and students across Canada and the United States. We all had high hopes that the Covid-19 pandemic would be entirely over by now, and education and life as we once knew it could continue as usual. Yet, we are entering the third year of the pandemic and are rattled with learning disruptions to this day. Maybe you have been trying to ride it out, but you’re now finding that these disruptions are causing your children to struggle intensely with their education. What are some things that you can do to manage disruptions to learning?
Concerns of ongoing and past learning disruptions linger everywhere.
Hundreds of students in Quebec, Canada, have been prohibited from attending school. According to CBC News, hundreds of students in Montreal are awaiting approval from Quebec to approve English eligibility. EMSB says they want to welcome all students but cannot without the ministry’s permission. As a result, hundreds of students are unable to attend school. How can these parents manage disruptions to learning?
Additionally, parents, teachers and students across the United States are struggling with recovering from pandemic learning and the trauma that unfolded at the end of the 2021-2022 school year in Uvalde, Texas. Many parents and students fear attending school after such a horrific event.
In New York City, many educators are highly concerned about the academic and emotional effects of the pandemic on their students as they enter the third school year since the beginning of the pandemic. A survey of 110 educators was conducted by the nonprofit Educators for Excellence and found that roughly 80% of respondents reported that their students are in worse academic and emotional shape than before the beginning of the pandemic.
As educators, parents, and students prepare for back to school in British Columbia, Canada, there remains a serious concern as to what the new school year will bring when it comes to the spread of communicable diseases, including COVID-19. Even if there are no school shutdowns, many students will be out of school from being sick which causes parents to scramble to manage disruptions to learning for their children.
In California, students wait months for mental health help while councillors share that they are being bombarded due to the pandemic and pandemic learning. There is no ‘quick fix’ for the trauma and interruption of education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parents in Ontario, Canada, are highly concerned with the decrease in health rules that will allow students testing positive to attend school. Furthermore, many parents are apprehensive about the impending doom of the potential education strike due to educational contracts set to expire across Ontario.
What can parents do to manage disruptions to learning?
It doesn’t matter where you are, learning disruptions are frustrating for parents everywhere. These learning disruptions are frustrating for parents, teachers and students alike. This is why it’s imperative for parents to learn to manage disruptions to learning to help their children excel despite the uncertainties. Here are some simple steps to keep your child’s learning stable.
1. Weigh your options.
For a child to learn, they need stability and consistency. This is why weighing your options is a good thing to do. Take a look at alternative learning options like homeschooling or online schooling and decide if these are right for your family. Keep in mind that homeschooling offers the consistency to education that children need. But you will need to decide if homeschooling is a learning avenue that works for your family first. Check out this blog on why so many parents are homeschooling to learn more.
2. Plan a routine with your child.
If you decide to homeschool, plan out a homeschool routine for each day. Alternatively, if you keep your child in public school despite learning disruptions, plan out ‘off-day routines’ for days that your child might be home. Having a curriculum at home for those ‘just-in-case’ times is a great idea. That way, your child will continue to learn even if there are school closures due to strikes or illness.
3. Keep conversations open with your child.
We are now seeing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures on children’s mental health. Because as stated above, children need consistency and stability to learn and grow. When their lives are constantly turned upside down, it can cause a flurry of emotional responses. Keeping conversations open with your child is so important. Please encourage your child to ask questions and express their feelings to you. It’s essential that you don’t minimize, avoid or dismiss their concerns. Truly acknowledge their feelings and assure them that it’s normal and natural to feel frustrated and scared about uncertainties. And check out this excellent resource for kids to learn to manage how they think and feel.
4. Take time with learning.
Whether you are keeping your child in school and working on some extra curriculum at home, or you have decided to exclusively homeschool your child with the help of an excellent homeschooling curriculum and digital aids. If you aim to do 45-minute learning sessions with your child, start with 10 or 15 minutes and build up from there. Keeping lessons light and enjoyable helps them adjust to their new or additional learning in a calming manner.
5. Stay in touch with your child’s school.
If you have decided to homeschool your child exclusively, remember to keep in touch with your child’s school. Ask the school questions for further guidance, and explain the situation to your child’s previous teacher.
6. Join a homeschool group or parenting group in your community.
The upside to choosing to homeschool is that homeschooling has become a popular alternative to traditional learning. This means that there are plenty of people homeschooling, and they all have unique situations and ways of homeschooling. When you connect with these groups, you can learn more about how to homeschool your child more effectively.
7. Subscribe to the Schoolio Blog.
We are a team committed to helping parents and students thrive in whatever learning avenue they are in. Our blog provides countless helpful tips to help you and your child excel.
8. Connect with homeschooling experts.
Many homeschooling families are willing and able to share their knowledge on how to get started. Additionally, Schoolio Learning offers a Concierge Service to help you get started in whatever learning avenue you choose. Book a complimentary 15-minute Concierge Call today to get guidance on what products would best suit your unique learning situation.
Learning disruptions continue to be an unfortunate part of our lives today; rather than being upset or worried about it, you are taking the situation and looking for alternative learning methods to help your child excel in whatever situation you find yourself in.
We are here to remind you that you are doing an excellent job. Regardless of what learning avenue you choose for your child, you and your child will continue to do great! Because of the work you are putting in to help your child get through the learning bumps and manage disruptions to learning. Keep going; you’re doing great.
