Kay Hively: Home schooling during pandemic a learning experience for children and parents

Many parents have turned to teaching as schools across the country have been forced to close. As a result, a number of parents have learned that teaching is no small task.

Like teachers, parents love the children and hope to go a good job. They love watching as the children grow and learn. Like teachers, parents put all they have in the job. They rely on a tons of things for help. Things like textbooks, the computer, memories of their own schooling, and their own experiences. Most schools provide much help with lesson plans and other classroom materials.

Teaching two, or three, or even four children is very different from teaching 30 or more. Less preparation time is needed, less time needed for grading papers and reading assignments, and less time for one-on-one instruction all make home teaching easier.

All these things mean less time “teaching” and “learning,” time which makes more time for everyone to pursue other hobbies or jobs.

But, I have learned that many parents are having a difficult time working as their children’s teacher. Many of the classroom problems are no different than they were in regular school. Children who don’t like school, resent being there, and act up in the classroom, are much the same when learning at home.

Some parents who had problems with a teacher and schools in general still carry something of an attitude in their home schooling efforts. That seems to affect the home classroom, Although I heard about a mother, who after two weeks of home schooling said, “It’s NOT the teacher.”

Hopefully home schooling teachers and students will, over all, have a good experience with it. This is a time for these teachers and students to get some very special learning—both book and practical. If so, all are very lucky.

I know one parent who was homeschooling her two son and doing her job at home as well. She put a lot of effort into both. She also took time for a different kind of learning. I heard she got a couple of employment applications from her place of work and had the boys filling them out. A good skill to learn.

I understand the boys also got a lesson in making waffles for their own breakfast…cooking, another good skill. Some understanding of math make better waffles.

So hats off to the “new” teachers who have stepped up. May these parents and their children remember these precious weeks as special times which occurred during a very bad time.

And just between you and me, I think they will.

(Kay Hively is a historian, author and former editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daily News and Neosho Post.)