No doubt, opinions about remote learning are innumerable. Public schooling brings together very diverse families, all with differing priorities. When something as necessary as public education substantially changes, life changes. Children stayed out of school and stayed home. Home could have meant: two or more responsible adults working outside the home, one or more adults staying home – either working or not working, adults educated enough to feel comfortable administering school work, or not.

“I’ve Got This”

So, what grade level did you teach? Because no one but a teacher would have that kind of irrational optimism.

I was just kidding, -ish. If you were a well-educated, stay-at-home-parent, who didn’t have another job, you were fantastic! It may have been the opportunity you were waiting for to prove that you could do it better than the teacher—an easy way to earn that A you-always-knew-your-child-deserved.

We’ve always Home-schooled – you’re doing it wrong.

Awesome for your family. We didn’t choose this, though, and it isn’t helpful to give us a list of more things we aren’t getting right.

But many posts were trying to convert traditional school families to home-school families with the enticement of more autonomy. Since Remote Learning was anything but autonomous, that message may have been initially missed, but review some of these posts again and look for the invitation to join them in the fall as they don’t have to figure out on-what-or-where-the -teacher-wants-your-child-working.

New to Homeschooling? Get Started Guide

And some posts shared techniques from the home-school setting which are helpful in the remote learning surprise party you find yourself in:

HOMESCHOOLING YOUR AUTISTIC CHILD? 10 TIPS THAT WILL HELP! Tips about helping your special needs child with academics are probably very helpful!

The Ultimate List of Homeschool Facebook Groups

100+ Educational YouTube Channels for Homeschooling

Figure out the (each teacher’s) system and get to work.

Tips for Remote Learning During School Closures enumerates the ways parents should look for communication and feedback from teachers/schools. This post explains the ideal way a teacher works to communicate his/her lesson plans and learning opportunities via a learning management system and conferencing programs. I think some teachers should have read this. This post did an excellent job explaining what the teacher platform was for and the ideal use; educators fell a little short of this. Imagine a parent’s disappointment to know how these tools work and watch their child’s teacher not use them, or not use them well, or use them wrong.

eLearning With Virtual Activity Ideas also talks about the logistics of online learning by describing the required materials. This post points out that devices and Internet access were a factor in success. So was how teachers asked students to interact as well, assuming home printers were available, that parental guidance was part of the daily routine. This post continues and enumerates supplemental resources.

Forget about it; it is too much work.

Parents: You DO NOT Have to TEACH Your Kids During School Closure that attention grabber was, of course, what some families were starting to think on their own when the directions home were too confusing, detailed, overwhelming, and not helpful.

If we are honest, some families did not continue their children’s education. Some children worked, helped around the house, and some watched an excessive amount of YouTube. So that tells me we can send home tiers of work ideas. Reading is in every layer, but maybe some consumer science, some home economics, so financial literacy. Let’s make the families feel successful before asking them to teach something to their children they may or may not know about, because otherwise, they might forget about it.

Try these Supplemental Sources

These were great blog posts about supplemental resources. Using supplemental resources assumes the family has decided about core academics. But consider offering these resources important as core academics. These are the enthusiasm-generators! This will sustain the of joy of learning – or the absence of that joy. Apply as-needed!

Audiobooks with kids: tips for getting started

Homeschool Science Experiments for Kids You Can Do At Home

Everyone is hoping for any start of school like 2019 or earlier, but we may have episodes of the same remote learning we experienced this past spring. Let’s learn from what our parents let us know were challenges.