TEACHER, LEAVE THEM KIDS ALONE

Being a makeshift educator to her offspring during lockdown prompted to find out what real home-schooling is all about

ý There’s been a glut of memes about SA parents’ foray into “teaching” their housebound kids. Many are tinged with hysteria. “It may take a village to raise a child, but I swear it’s gonna take a vineyard to home-school one” was one of a number featuring alcohol in the equation.

With the Covid-19 lockdown and shutting of schools, parents (mainly moms) were jolted into the reality of having to take on their kids’ education. For some this has been a joy, or at least a chance to get greater insight into their learning. Others have been counting the days until their kids can return to school.

The fact is, though, that what most parents have been doing over the past three months isn’t home-schooling. Rather, it’s been supporting their children’s learning from home. By and large, schools have continued to take responsibility for creating and providing the curriculum. What we’ve been faced with during the pandemic is more like “emergency remote learning on an online platform”.

Clinical psychologist Ruth Ancer says parents have been struggling with this kind of schooling from home and putting pressure on themselves.

Ancer says it’s unrealistic to expect parents to school children like this, especially in SA, with such a huge gap in resources. “A lot of the private schools are very well resourced and most of the children at those schools have access to technology, but the majority of children in the country don’t have access to resources or technology. We’re talking about so many different communities.”

It helps when schools have been clear about what they expect. “What schools are obviously trying to do within the constraints of their resources is continue with activities, and it’s good for children to have some stimulation,” she says.

“My therapeutic approach is we all need to survive this. Our lives have changed so dramatically in such a short space of time … there’s so much pressure and we have to earn a living if possible.”

Ancer says parents need to relax in terms of schooling. “This is not a time for children to have to excel, to achieve their potential. This is a time when families just have to get through