Schooling in the time of Covid

So in March, our lives basically imploded.  For many Texas children, they went home for Spring Break and then did not go back to school.  We are day 120-something of social distancing and quarantine.  I know for me it feels chaotic.  I imagine for the children watching all of us grown-ish folx, this is a very confusing time.   

Now, if you remember correctly, my doctoral dissertation was written on unschooling, and pretty close to 100% of my writing and research during my doctoral studies were focused on homeschooling.  To say that my views and recommendations have been in demand is an understatement.  Now, I haven't gotten any media attention, thankfully, but many friends and family members have been reaching out.  So I'm going to give my perspective on the current situation.  I'm going to avoid the politics of it; that may become a post over on Wetback American since I try to keep my politics over there.  

Things to keep in mind as you read:

1 - I was a public school educator for 9 years.

2 - I was a private school administrator for 3 years.

3 - My oldest child, Gymgirl, has been educated with a mixture of private school and homeschooling.

4 - I believe in the power of children and as such, I am a firm believer in unschooling.

5 - My own education has been a mixture of public and private schools at the k-12 level and in higher education.

Okay so you don't feel mislead or like I'm hiding anything.  I will also admit, I have a lot of issues with public schooling, namely, it is schooling and not education.  Again, I'm going to leave the politics at the door but if I'm not transparent then I feel like I'm trying to hide something or that I'm ashamed of something.

Now the meat of the issue:

Where should I put my children next year?  The only real answer is to do what is best for you and your family.  That is the beginning and the end of the conversation.  You can take what I say and other experts say into consideration but the decision is yours and yours alone.  

Things to consider:

1 - Can you keep your children at home, safely?

    Who can provide supervision?

    If my children are old enough to stay by themselves, who can be your backup if suddenly your children need help?  Last-minute illness?  No electricity?  Other safe spaces for them?

2 - What kind of learner is your child?

    Does your child need lots of structure?

    Do they go to bed late?  Are they early risers?

    Does your child have special learning needs?

3 - Does your child seek/need routine?

    This is especially important in light that school may close and open randomly throughout the semester.  

4 - Are you a seeker of routine?

    I love routine.  I need to know basically what my day is going to look like, my meetings or if I am on-campus or off-campus.  Honestly, sick days ruin my whole week.  I need a routine.  Public and private schools are more than likely going to have to close and reopen a couple of times.  Do you have a plan?

5 - What is your backup school plan?

    Like I have mentioned above.  Public and private schools are going to have to respond and follow state and local guidelines.  If your area becomes a hotspot and you are an essential worker, what is your plan for your children?  If there is an exposure and schools close for a day, week, month, what will you do?

6 - Does your child have any special medical needs/conditions?

    If your child were to get Covid, is there any reason for you to think your child would be hit harder, ie is your child high-risk or medically fragile?

7 - Is there anyone in your household or back-up household, who is high-risk/medically fragile?

    Again, this isn't a disease that is generally fatal for healthy people so it is possible that your household can get Covid and everyone does just fine.  You need to consider things like an older parent in the house, someone with a chronic health condition, and not just in your household but in the household of whoever is your backup in case of a shutdown.

    

As you can see this is an ultra-personal choice and frankly it is nobody's business.  If you are sending your children to school here is advice:

A - Prepare them with positive viewpoints of the situation.  Your hatred of mask, Trump, Covid, none of that is the teacher or school's fault.  Your children will reflect your attitude so fix it now!

B - Be prepared for chaos, especially at first.  So talk to your kids.  This is a brand new situation to all of us.  Yes, the first day will be strange and difficult. Again, it is not the teacher or school's fault.  

C - Prepare your sometimes people die talk.  I am praying that you never need it but get it ready.  More than likely your child will know someone who has lost someone to COVID and they'll bring that talk home.  Be ready.  If the health officials are correct, we will lose teachers and students.  Be ready.  It is a tough topic.  As an administrator, sharing bad news was always hard, and watching the effects on the class, students and teachers, was heartbreaking.

D - Find out the district's plan for exposures.  This is the hardest one really because there are so many unknowns.

E - Support teachers and school staff.  This is hard on everyone.  As school personnel, we love our students.  We want to get back to normal.  There isn't a teacher around that want to infect a child with COVID.  We are also human and have to work with the system and the rules set forth.  

Finally, my recommendations:

If you need to keep your child at home, I suggest looking into online computer-based schooling.  In Texas, we have a few companies.  I highly recommend K12.com  I have known people who worked for them and have seen a few students transition to this program pretty well.  Teachers and administrators are certified so the curriculum mirrors that of the public schools.  Before you pick an online school, check out their requirements for their instructors.  Not everyone requires a teaching license or previous experience.  This is nice option since your child has to log-on to do their work so they can create a routine and have support from a real person.

Also, you don't have to pick an online school.  You can unschool.  You can buy a prepackage curriculum like Seton Home Study (Catholic) or Abeka Homeschool (Baptist) if you want something with worksheets and books but not on screen.

No tee, no shade, you have to do what is best for you and your family.  It takes a village to keep your kids at home and not everybody has a village full of retired teachers ready to teach the neighborhood kids.  If you need more information or want to just talk it out, email me (martha (at) wheatlessmama (dot) com).  We can set up a zoom meeting.  This is hard.  You are not alone.  It feels like a political statement no matter what you do but seriously, keep your politics out of it and focus on what works best for you and your kids!

Quarantine Reflections

When we started this whole quarantine business back on March 16 or so, I had every intention of keeping a diary/blog a day thing and then reality set in pretty quick and here we are my first post since early February.  So what exactly happened to all of my plans?  Well honestly, I was going to write to celebrate my first half-marathon back on Feb 22nd and it was a whole different experience from my other races but here we are May 18th and no post on the half-marry.

I am one of those people that needs to feel inspired to write.  Even with a great topic, I need will, idea, time, and space to be in a magic blend to actually write anything so here we are May 18th, 2020 and I have the magical blend.  I've been working from home since March 20th.  I am not a stay at home mom.  I've been navigating the waters of working full-time from home while dealing with a 3-year-old that is thrilled I am home all the time so we can hang.  It has not been easy and yet I know I am in a privileged position.  I am working.  I still received a steady paycheck and have help from my parents and husband so that when I have meetings during the day/night whenever, I can find space to turn on Zoom and work.

Okay so I do want to mark what has happened.  I need to write down some reflections/diary entries so that much like my pregnancy with my oldest, I can go back and remember.  As a hard-core introvert, I have no actually struggled much with the being away from people but I am struggling with the being with people all the time.  I miss my commute.  I miss the time to think, to write, to reflect.  There are 6 of us here all the time.  It is hard to think.  So what have I been doing?  I've been running/walking/working out in my backyard.  I get up, dress out, and move.  I have basically cut a track in our backyard.  40 loops is a mile.  I'm working on cutting a slightly bigger loop.  Last week, I actually got a 10-mile run done, so like 400 or so loops!  Good thing I change direction every half mile or so.

There has been a blessing in all of this.  I have been able to spend time with Baby Lala.  I have been working long and hard since before she was born.  I was still bleeding when I went back to work.  I've been career focused or focused on getting my dad through cancer treatment and often times both.  I was selfish and took up running in order to survive the stress.  That didn't leave much time for being the mommy of a baby/toddler/preschooler.  Now I'm with her 24/7.  It is hard to balance everything so honestly I don't.  I'm either in mom-mode or in work-mode.  I move unbalanced and someday unhinged between these two worlds.  I have loved watching Lala mature and grow.  She has been teaching herself to read.  She is so strong-willed and strong physically.  She is a force to be reckoned with.  In short she is amazing and everything I would like to think I could have been if I had been born 2nd instead of 1st.

And there is time with GymGirl.  She is so grown up.  She is all of 10 but is going on 20 entirely too fast.  She is an artist, digital.  She creates.  She still has a laugh that lights up my world.  When she and Lala get going, I swear it is what angels in heaven must sound like. 

Yes, I'm ready to be back in my office.  Yes, I miss the days of being a hard-driving focused and ambitious career woman.  But for right now, I'm reminding myself to take the time to enjoy the total lack of balance in my life.  My girls will never be this little again.  Time march forward so quickly.  Normally I would have heard about Lala's adventures in potty training instead of being hands-on.  I would only have a couple of hours each day with my girls instead of spending only a few hours a day on work (well 8 hours but in chunks so it doesn't feel as heavy). 

It is funny, right before covid turned everything upside down, my husband had made the move to full-time podcasting so after almost a year of not seeing each other, we were finally back together everyday.  It was awkward at first.  It was like starting over again, learning to share the space again.  Quarantine has actually allowed us the time and space to get intimate again, not physically [well also physically] but intellectually.  It has been nice.

What have I lost in this time?  Well I did have a fellow colleague pass away due to covid.  I have missed working with my students.  I cried on what would have been their graduation day.  I miss running with my badass run partner.  I miss going to coffee with the 2 people who bother to give me time. 

Will I be different after this?  I hope so.  Hopefully more aware and appreciative of those around me.  You even know when life is going to turn upside down so you better look around, take a deep breath, and understand this moment will never be here again.  I'm making these the best moments of my life.  I pray you are well.  Maybe magic will happen again soon and I'll write more about my adventures in developing my covid routine!  Maybe not?  We'll see.