Tag: coronavirus

Reclaiming Childhood

~ Kate ~ Leave a comment

It occurred to me today that we’re living in a world that is nothing like the one I knew as a child. Obviously this pandemic has drastically changed society, but even aside from that, our world has changed. Technology is abundant, but so are dangers and deception. Smartphones and tablets and screens are an extension of our body. Worrying statistics show us that childhood anxiety is on the rise. Families are being told that they function best when separated and are encouraged to enter their children into ‘the system’ earlier and earlier. A system where children have become victims to wicked and worrying agendas that are infiltrating our schools, our televisions, our lives, their childhood. We live in the age of social distancing, in a society where we are pitted against one another, where human connection is lost and undervalued. Education has become less about children, and more about adults.
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In this crazy and chaotic world, I want my children to be free. I want them to experience their childhood wholeheartedly and fully. I want them to run away from the bombardment of handheld screens and feel the grass under their toes and the sun on their face. In a world that is unpredictable and ever-changing, I want them to know that they are a part of a solid family unit and an eternal plan. I want them to learn how to safely navigate this new digital age without cyber threats and social media attacks and secrets and adult content and mainstream media. I want to treasure their innocence, rather than see it snatched away by today’s culture. I want them to love learning, to be curious and discover things, without being squashed by standardised testing. I want my children to run up the slide and climb trees without being told that it’s against the playground rules. I want them to connect with other humans. I want them go against every grain of this society that tells us how we should live our life. I want them to be free to be a child and to experience kindness, silliness, contentment, safety and joy.

Distance Learning in Isolation

~ Kate ~ Leave a comment

I hope that parents who are caught up in the chaos of distance education right now understand that this is not a normal way to educate, and it’s not an ideal learning environment for children. It’s not homeschooling, it’s distance learning in isolation. Teachers are working hard to adapt to a stressfully impossible situation but they too know this is not how children learn.

I’ve heard that many schools are implementing full days of online learning every single day of the week, meaning that students have to sit, desk-bound, at their computers for the entire day with a few breaks. It is not normal, nor is it healthy, for children have such a sedentary lifestyle. We know that screentime has an effect on children and teenager’s brains, and we know that sitting at a computer for an entire ‘school day’ at home is not going to be doing their bodies or minds any favours. Children need to move, chat, solve a problem by holding and touching it, build things with their hands, be in nature, have people to bounce ideas off, use concrete materials, exercise visual and spatial skills, and did I mention they need to MOVE?

It’s no wonder parents are finding this tedious and stressful, and that their children are unsettled or unstimulated. So if you’re a parent currently in the throes of this, be gentle with yourself and with your children (and the teachers), and remind yourself that is is not, ideally, how children learn. Take a deep breath, turn off the computer, go outside or just snuggle up and read with them. You are teaching them how to live amid a worldwide crisis. And most importantly, you are teaching them that they are loved and safe no matter what the situation or where they are.

A Poem for a Pandemic

~ Kate ~ 1 Comment

We can send our children to childcare,
but at schools we can’t teach.
We can visit the bottle shop,
but can’t walk on the beach.
Women are birthing
alone
by themselves,
while qualified graduates are looking for jobs
packing shelves.
While we’re all distracted
with what’s on the news and TV,
governments are changing policies
in places we can’t see.
We’re all virtue signalling
#stayhome! Save lives!
and mental health problems,
we’re already counting by fives.
We are doing this all for
health and wellbeing,
but now all these
unhealthy
unsolvable
world problems we’re seeing.
Unemployment, domestic violence –
they’re all on the rise,
and we celebrate that cities
finally have blue skies.
Such strange times we are living,
this waiting game.
It’s clear that the world
will never be the same.
From their comfortable mansions
celebrities post videos,
“We’re all in this together!”
…but people are feeling
more
isolated
than
ever.
It’s hard to live
when your freedom has been taken,
when your world has been shaken,
and full of misinformation.
Is there something behind this?
What is the reason?
The solution? The impact?
Will we recover from this season?
I’m afraid I don’t know,
nor do you.
But I know I am loved
and I know you are, too.
Don’t believe all you hear,
step in other people shoes,
and maybe for a minute just
take your eyes off the news.
In these challenging times
let’s embrace what is true.
Let’s love
give
pray
trust
discern
help
and pull through.

The Rise of ‘Homeschooling’ amid COVID-19…

~ Kate ~ Leave a comment

Isn’t it funny and amazing how the word ‘homeschooling’ has suddenly become a part of our everyday vocabulary? With the COVID-19 crisis, many schools are closed or parents are choosing to keep their children home. Almost overnight, people are no longer looking at others in shock when they reveal that they are homeschooling!

Let’s not forget though, that the version of ‘homeschooling’ currently happening is not typical. Home educated children, who are normally out engaging with their community, are confined by the walls of their home. We’re isolated, lacking social interaction, missing family and friends. Parents are stressed because they’re trying to work from home with little ones about, or they have lost their jobs completely. We’re living amid a worldwide pandemic. Homeschooling is not normally like this.

However, despite this, I am also seeing so much positivity surrounding homeschooling emerge during this time which makes my heart happy. Parents are realising that their children are still learning. It looks different, sure. But they are capable of learning away from school!

At the moment, social media is littered with happy photos posted by parents navigating this whole new home education thing. Sharing their little homeschool space they have set up, marvelling at how peacefully their children are working – or how chaotically joyful it is to have them around. Parents are posting pictures and videos of various educational activities they have been doing with their children. Many parents are even talking about how they’re not following a school routine, but have instead realised how valuable activities like gardening, sewing, cooking, playing and just talking and reading with their kids are. When I look at all of these families sharing their newfound homeschooling journey, I can’t help but notice a hint of pride in their posts – they’re proud of the fact that they have realised they can actually provide their children with meaningful, educational experiences.

Many people are also realising that in this current age, educational opportunities can be provided for digitally. You do not have to attend a brick-and-mortar school to participate in a class. Children are taking classes online, having video chats with teachers and other field experts, and participating in all sorts of online classrooms and conversations. What a blessing technology is! Obviously, it is not ideal to spend our entire educational lives immersed in a digital world. But, homeschooled children usually participate in a balance of real-life social interactions and online learning opportunities. This crisis has prompted many parents (and teachers) to realise that, thanks to technology, children can participate in educational experiences remotely.

When this is all over, and children go back to school as their parents head back into the workforce, my hopes are that many families might continue to homeschool after seeing such rich benefits (Side note: You don’t have to be a stay-at-home parent to homeschool. My husband and I both work outside the home!). I know that every family is completely different and that homeschooling may not fit with everyone or be everyone’s choice – and that’s okay! But I also hope that perhaps after this, homeschooling will no longer be seen as so unusual, radical or unacceptable. That society will have a new appreciation for home education and that we may better understand why an increasing number of families are choosing to homeschool their children. Because all of those wonderful things you’re posting about – the unrushed mornings, spending more time as a family, learning through real life – us homeschoolers get to experience those joys permanently.