Families are adjusting to new kind of learning
In September, there was a choice to be made by families — do we enrol our children in virtual learning or in-person learning? There were many things to consider. The experience that parents and children had in March through the end of the school year was an influencing factor.
Meet the Wojtowicz family — Heidi, Daniel, Mattias, Mya and seven-month-old Lucas. Heidi, in her professional life, is an emergency room nurse at the Cobourg hospital. The family business is ByRite Heating and Air Conditioning managed by Daniel. Mattias is 10 years old in Grade 5. Mya is seven years old in Grade 2.
In the spring, Mom and Dad felt that online learning used many worksheets without a lot of consistency or learning. They had a choice in September between virtual and in-person learning. Their schedule was flexible. Heidi was on maternity leave and Daniel could plan work around the learning schedule if necessary. They decided to do virtual. They had the option to switch to in-school or back to virtual if need be.
Heidi points out that they weren’t home-schooling, but virtual schooling. There is a teacher assigned to a group of students. The teacher is available all day long with students logging in at 8:45 a.m. and everyone working together until 3 p.m. There are times throughout the day in which the teacher presents a lesson and the children then have time to do the work. There are two recesses every day in the morning and afternoon and a scheduled hour for lunch and recess.
There are two terms used to describe learning — synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous is when the teacher is live teaching one to one. Asynchronous is when they are given an assignment and they are to work independently.
The teacher is able to put a little timer on Google Classroom, the classroom learning platform, so that the children can see the time passing.
The teacher is able to be involved with what the child is doing and continue the teaching process with individual children. Children may put their hand up or push a button that signals that there is a question.
A rubric is posted, which gives examples of the different levels in the different subject areas for evaluation purposes. Assignments are submitted electronically and returned electronically.
Attendance is taken daily. The children have a separate French teacher and a separate music teacher two days a week. No lying in bed eating cereal in your PJs in the Wojtowicz household. As Heidi says, “You get out of something what you put into it.” Mattias and Mya treat this as a regular school experience. Heidi comments that the kids do miss the social aspect of school, but in school they were in their pods, distanced and masked.
Things are going well for Mattias and Mya. Mattias’s marks have improved as he is less distracted. Mya has always been a successful learner. In Grade 2, Mya has already established keyboard skills. And Mattias is learning dances of different cultures in music class. Learning continues.
Take-Away Tuesdays
The BCC is closed to the public during lockdown, but they are still offering Take-Away Tuesday dinners, soup and any other food items. There are six kinds of soup for sale — ham and pea, beef barley, chicken vegetable with rice, pork chop, roasted red pepper and butternut squash. Some soups may have a couple of size options! Please order and pay for your soup on the BCC website or call 705-657-8833.
Over the winter they will take a trip around the world ... with food! Check online for the yummy options.