Durable Human (2 book series)

Tag Archives: Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood

How and Why Home Can Supplement School

Four children take a break from school by playing together outdoors

There is lots you can do at home to help your child succeed in online school and be healthier and happier overall.

First, 8-year-old Emma changed her name to “Kitty” in the midst of a Zoom session. Another time, she tried to make her classmates laugh by showing them her bare foot. Fiddling with a glue bottle while her teacher was talking was apparently the last straw.

“We just want it to be a successful year for everyone,” the teacher said in a phone call home. The words she spoke were soothing, but her tone said otherwise. “You could hear she was upset,” recalls Emma’s mom, who herself was assigned homework. The teacher told her to clear off Emma’s desk so there’d be no further distractions.

All that in the first week of school for a kid who used her small summer allowance to pay for a math game subscription.

~~~

Last spring’s rush to online learning was understandably rife with problems. “For most, remote teaching did not work well,” contends David McKinnon, Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University in a presentation by Children and Screens. “Kids gained little or nothing, or regressed.” This time, schools have had more time to prepare. Still, he says, “creating a good remote learning program is a very challenging task.”

Teachers will try their hardest to give students opportunities for higher-level reasoning and independent thought along with the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. What may be lost for kids are the intangibles, like being able to express their feelings, move around, and build life skills. Supplementing those at home will go a long way toward keeping kids’ spirits up and their love of learning alive.

Continue reading

JOIN US

Sign up to receive Durable Human News

FREE DURABLE TIPS CARD

Receive a printable list of 7 durability-building habits for adults and kids

    © 2021 Austral Arc LLC Design by MonkeyPAWcreative.com.
    Some books and other products recommended on this site may be linked to the Amazon Affiliates Program. See Amazon Privacy notice.