Opportunities in our Stuck-at-Home Schooling
From beginning of Now What? Stuck-at-Home Schooling, A Care Package for Creativity, Freedom and Active Learning, available on Amazon.
As the universe has basically put us in a collective time out and we sit in our corners (momentarily stunned?) thinking about how to emerge productively, we are faced with “different.”
Different tasks, different obligations, different approaches,
different focuses, different concerns.
We’ve been tossed out of our routines and into a swirl of uncertainty. If you can manage the vertigo, you’ve probably started looking around and wondering “seriously?!” Personally, I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality. So much is surreal.
Although my thoughts ramble from concern about my out-of-state first responder daughter and elderly parents to how to best use the food in the pantry to how many toilet paper squares are sufficient, I’ve reined them in to focus on remote learning.
With highest regard for educators, I first acknowledge that they have been thrown into uncharted waters. With their own children now learning from home and concerns for their own health and wellbeing, I applaud the resilience, compassion and dedication of each educator I’ve had the pleasure of encountering. Thank you, teachers and administrators, for responding to the necessary remote learning with grace and genuine concern for our students.
As the schools are figuring out internet meetings and classrooms and families are figuring out how to navigate employment, health, safety and close quarters, we can rest in the fact that education is more than black and white worksheets and purchased textbooks. Go ahead and rest for a minute, I’ll wait..
What if… this is a time of opportunity?
Yes, uncertainty. Yes, unknown. Yes, uncharted. Yes, challenges.
What if we add...
Yes to curiosity.
Yes to wonder.
Yes to flexibility.
Yes to choosing the best in this moment.
Yes to analyzing our standard routines and tailoring them to fit us better.
Yes to noticing what good could result from this time.
Yes to upleveling our family.
Yes to claiming our role as primary educator.
Yes to learning a whole bunch as we go along.
We are living immersed in endless educational possibilities. Everything you do, see, hear, read and notice is an invitation for education. DaVinci’s brilliance came from his constant observation and keen awareness. Kids don’t know him yet? Add him to your list.
Perhaps you don’t want a list and more involvement - I recognize this is difficult for you.
I invite you to lift your eyes to the horizon and walk through a bit of time investment on this front end.
(You’ve made it this far.) Trust that your time shared now can offer your child her own tools to use on her own for her continuing growth. Or, perhaps you do want more involvement - I celebrate with you. You may have been thrust into a larger role of scholastic educator, but the reality is family is the foundational educator for every child. Teachers assign the academics, but families have introduced the child to everything they have encountered. And, parents have been answering, “Why?” since the ankle-biter could talk.
We are living history. This time of pandemic will be in the textbooks. Simple discussion with your child is educational. We are living the evolution of science. We are learning about geography, cultures, government, business, public policy, social work, non-profits, ethics, health and science daily with this one event.
Life is a fully tenured teacher.
Curiosity paired with observation, awareness, attention and civil discourse is an excellent instructor. You do not need to know exactly how this will work. You do not need to know all the upcoming steps for success. You do not need to know how to be the career academic educator. You will succeed, fabulously, when you deepen into this moment and walk the journey with your student - side-by-side, hand-in-hand. Just because you are raising this child doesn’t mean you automatically know the strategy and action for all the unexpecteds.
Your superpower is your willingness to BE with your child.
Listen, notice, appreciate your child. With that, you’ve found the gift in this chaos. This opportunity to nurture your relationship and the love of learning offers a gift which will take root in your child’s heart and continue to blossom long after the N95 masks are tossed away.
Ok then. As long as we’re doing this, let’s really do this. Let’s enhance the academics with a focus on wholeness and wellbeing. Fun is an excellent propulsion. Adding playful and colorful to the school’s work will feed your possibly waning endurance too. For those feeling resistance, I realize you hadn’t planned on spending this time, but your schedule has already shifted. So, I’m not suggesting more work; I’m suggesting a fresh perspective. Let’s pretend like you’ll be stuck at home with your student either way. If you’re bored, she’s likely to be bored. Angry about it? Her too. Might as well add some enjoyable and creative moments. When’s the last time you burst into song? Silly looks different at different ages and in different families. Make it your own. From your time-out corner, you’ve been gifted with an invitation to deepen your relationship with your student and notice ways to nurture the best version of her.
What sparks your child’s interest?
What does she try to avoid? Why?
What ignites her curiosity?
When do her eyes light with excitement?
What challenges give her energy?
Where does she shrink?
Why does she shy away from certain topics? What new words can you offer to pull her back into those less favorite topics?
Does she like to create with her hands?
Pull things apart in order to put them back together?
Tell you every detail of what she’s thinking?
Write?
Color?
Play instruments?
I suggest we live fully in the paradox of the seriousness of the times and the joy of life-enriching activities. If we have to choose one or the other, the weight of the seriousness will shackle us before long. You’ve already been pushed through the door, and now you’re standing in the room. Flip on the light and look around.
