School: Catch-22 for parents
TOUGH CHOICES: WHILE SOME HAVE TAKEN A CHANCE, OTHERS HAVE KEPT THEIR KIDS AT HOME
Parents with young kids are still not confident they will be safe from Covid-19.
For a lot of parents, it’s safety versus academic progress, but for others, these two are intertwined. Monday saw grades 6 and 11 being phased in, including some Grade Rs in schools that were deemed “ready”.
In schools like Nonto Primary School in Soweto, only one Grade R pupil was present that day – and even that one did not come back the following day.
Parents with young children are still against taking their children back because they are not confident they will be safe. The misuse of sanitiser and an unwillingness to keep their masks on for too long is among reasons why their kids are not back in school.
For some parents like Waheed Isaacs, whose daughter attends Grade 11 in Randpark Ridge High School, exams made it impossible to not choose to take his daughter back.
The whole weekend, Isaacs saw the fear is her daughter’s eyes and was “extremely nervous and worried for her”.
The school has reported two cases of Grade 12 pupils who tested positive for Covid-19 and was recently in the news for not following social distancing protocols.
That story added to Isaacs’ nerves.
For parents like Keabetswe Sampson, whose son is asthmatic and in Grade 6, back to school is not an option. She is still trying to figure out homeschooling, and if that does not work out, her son will have to repeat Grade 6.
“I cannot afford to homeschool, and even if I could, I would have to be hands-on, which I can’t because I am working,” Nonzwi Cekete shared.
For her and many other parents, back to school is her only option.
According to Jules Kynaston of Heart Mama Blog, “I’m very happy that my three kids are finally back at school in some capacity now and that the responsibility for distance learning is no longer sitting squarely on my shoulders. “They are really enjoying being back in a familiar school environment but the lack of physical contact and all the new rules is frustrating for them.” The school is well resourced, but the new normal still needs some getting used to, particularly for her children.
One mom’s back-to-school journey is riddled with guilt. Her Grade 6 daughter went back only because she had no other choice. “I don’t want my daughter’s learning to be delayed, but I also don’t want her to fall sick. I am putting my faith in the school, trusting that they are doing everything in their power to educate our children and keep them safe.”
More brutally honest parenting advice online parenty.co.za