Parents will get an education in new normal
Education experts share tips on decision to send kids back to school in virus era
The plans for public school next year are still being formulated but likely will upend every South Florida parent’s pre-coronavirus routine.
Students may be heading for their classrooms only two or three days a week, and learning online on the other days. Even as they attend fewer days each week, many parents fear their kids will be exposed to the virus on their campuses.
“Why risk letting my child catch, carry, suffer, infect others with the novel coronavirus? It’s just not worth the risk if we have another option,” Plantation parent Whitney Sich, 38, whose son is entering kindergarten, said in an email. “I see nothing wrong with teaching my son at a distance with the resources provided until circumstances/environment feel safer and more controlled.”
The view of Sich, who moderates the SoFlo Moms Facebook group, is in sync with a poll by the National Parents Union, which found almost three-fourths of parents want schools to delay reopening until coronavirus no longer poses a health risk.
So what are the alternatives? There’s home schooling, which include lessons chosen by the parent that often requires the parent to be nearby for teaching or assistance. Similarly, there’s Florida Virtual School, a structured series of lessons that are free for Florida residents. Application deadline for Florida Virtual School is July 25; the first day of classes is Aug. 12.
There are also private schools that may have smaller classes and are free to set their own safety policies.
But many parents can’t afford private school. And virtual school or home school won’t work for most working parents.
The choices are difficult, but parents can navigate the options through a list of these questions
we’ve compiled from South Florida education professors. Have them on hand as you figure out which kind of school will work best with your child’s personality and your own tolerance for risk.
How independent is your child? “It’s more challenging to do virtual school if your child is younger,” said Maribel Del Rio-Roberts, a psychologist and professor at Nova Southeastern University. The child will do a lot of sitting in front of the computer and will depend on the parent to figure out how to download lessons and what to do if the computer crashes or the power goes out in the house.
Virtual and home school pose challenges for older kids, too. Parents have to make sure they get appropriate social contacts, such as online games with friends they know, to fulfill that adolescent need to hang out with peers.
What is his or her personality? “Most kids benefit from socialization. They crave interaction,” Del Rio-Roberts said.
But at this moment, that interaction in a school building makes some parents nervous, she said.
“You have to feel the benefits of school outweigh the risks,” she said.
How much time and patience do you have to supervise online learning? “We as parents did not study to be teachers,” said Del RioRoberts, mother of a first grader and a fourth grader. “You have to consider your own personality. Are you gentle and patient?”
Which safety protocols will the school follow? Parents should check on mask policies, social distancing rules, class sizes, hand washing and building-cleaning procedures, said Dominique Charlotteaux, a professor of education and psychology at Broward College. Also, ask about school bus procedures, lunch rules and after-school activities.
What kind of training will teachers have as they combine classroom learning with online lessons? Charlotteaux said to check on how the kids’ learning will be evaluated and how teachers will be judged on their success.
Take a deep dive into how the lockdown has affected your family dynamics. Has your family bonded from the togetherness or is everyone stressed out? “If it’s causing tension in the family, it may be better to send the kids off to school,” said Jill Farrell, dean of the Adrian Dominican School of Education at Barry University. “There’s a lot for them to gain from socialization and interacting with their peers and teachers. Allowing children to be outside and running around, that’s not a bad thing.”
Talk to your healthcare practitioner. Farrell said to ask about the health risks of returning to school vs. having children learn from home.
In the end, you have to assess your own tolerance for uncertainty, Farrell said.
“Parents will have to go with their gut,” she said.