It’s been five months and counting since the coronavirus (COVID 19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Lockdown orders were put in place by states across the country to curb the spread of the virus. A lot of businesses shut their doors in compliance and children were asked to go home from school.
Well the effects of the virus are starting to cool off now, but most schools are still closed and kids have been forced to learn from home through remote learning. While this might have its advantages, I have experienced the disadvantages of remote learning firsthand and I would like to share my thoughts on its effect on our kids and schools generally. Firstly, before I go on, I would love to put it out there that I am not a parent and so my thoughts or opinion are not influenced by any parental emotions whatsoever. Although have experienced these effects firsthand an aunt to two handsome nephews. Negative Effects of Remote learning on Kids Two of my nephews are currently taking part in remote learning and I can say it helps sometimes. The ten year old is doing ok with his remote learning, he is very smart and gets his work done quickly. My other nephew is seven and in first grade and remote learning has been very though on him. He is a smart kid, but he does better with interaction from his peers and other kids, and this is something remote learning just isn’t doing right now. It is having a negative impact on socialization among children. A lot of kids out there find it way easier to learn in the presence of other children, and remote learning has a negative impact on those kids. It is not helping in building communication skills in children who find it difficult to interact with other kids and also make friends. Another draw-back to remote learning that I have heard is that kids are now on the computer too long. This is medically bad for their eye sight, as it can result in eye strain and some other optical complications. Remote learning time has also been increased to half a day, and this means that the kids are spending even longer time on their computer screens, which might leads to ADHD. Another problem with the computer learning is that most kids have a hard time seating still and staring at a screen for long a period of time, and with problems like these, our kids aren’t just learning at maximum capacity as compared to kids in other countries. Imagine taking a gym class online, it just won’t work and most teachers are complaining about it, as it’s really hard to monitor a child’s performance individually with remote learning. These are just a few examples on the effect of remote learning on kids, but what about its effects on parents? Both of my nephews I talked about earlier are one of the lucky few, whose parents happen to work from home but a lot of other kids are not that lucky. Most parents have to go to work and so do not even have the time to monitor the children’s remote learning classes. Sometimes one of the parents are forced to stay home in order to ensure that the class goes on as planned, and it’s not always easy. Some parents who need help understanding the children’s assignment usually find it hard to get in touch with their teachers. Situations like these can be hard for parents, especially single parents who are finding it difficult to create a balance between work and home, or parents whit have two or more kids. Positive Effects of Remote Learning But while there have been a lot of negative effects to remote learning, i have also seen a few positive effects. For one it is nice to actually get to see what the kids are actually working on. While they were in school it’s almost impossible to know what they’re doing or what they are struggling with. Also it has also helped kids to deal with their problems more creatively helping them to understand that the more work you put in; the more you’ll get out. In my interaction with a parent who was telling me how she felt about the kids studying from home, she had this to say. “My kids are set to begin in-person schooling next week, and we are all excited that they’re going back, but overall, I am grateful for the experience of having them home and being able to be involved with their classes for a while. I feel completely exhausted, but much more connected with them now.” My Final Words Remote learning was formed from a necessity brought on by the pandemic. It’s so amazing what we can achieve with technology, but we must be watchful not to let it become a norm as the negative effects obviously outweigh the positive effects. Hopefully things will go back to normal and kids can go back to learning properly and experience the normalcy of learning behind the desk.
5 Comments
Karine Gareau
10/16/2020 06:41:45 am
Thank you for sharing how difficult the pandemic has been and how you are dealing with it! Youre doing great!
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11/4/2020 07:15:30 am
We have five children. Three are in school and one is in preschool. My wife is a SAHM, and we were looking at potentially disenrolling and homeschooling if necessary. The last 3-months of the end of the previous school year were a complete mess and we didn't want to put our young children through the debacle of virtual learning again. Homeschooling really wasn't a route we wanted to take, so we are thankful our district is offering the in-person option. Our children have to wear a mask throughout a large portion of the school day, but at least they still receive the social interaction that is so critical for their development.
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11/4/2020 07:24:24 pm
Thanks for stopping by I visited your site and left you a comment.
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2/8/2021 05:25:09 am
Hello Marcie. I am coming to you from the Bloggers Pit Stop. I too am fortunate to not have had young children of my own in school during the pandemic, but I have 10 grandchildren ranging from 6th grade to university. Three are going to in-school classes (with periodic interruptions due to outbreaks); one is doing a hybrid mix (2 days in, 2 days virtual), and the rest are doing virtual learning. A big part of the challenge that I've seen is that the classes that went virtual during an emergency situation were not prepared to do so. The teachers did not have experience teaching virtually, and many are still expected to do both--in class teaching and virtual. That is a heavy load on the teachers and students. Of course, the problem is compounded, as you pointed out, because many parents are not available to properly oversee the virtual learning, as they have full-time jobs to support the family. One of my 15-year-old granddaughters has been attending online school as a choice since junior high. It is a school designed for virtual learning (with some in-person testing), and she is flourishing in that environment. I too look forward to the time when all children and parents who want in-person schooling are able to do so safely. I feel for those children who have missed important milestones outside the classroom, like graduation ceremonies, yearbook signings, field trips, and proms. In the big picture, I know those things are less important, but to a teenager, it's a big disappointment. Here's hoping we all act responsibly and get this pandemic behind us!
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AuthorHi, I'm Marcie Kenny, the women behind this blog. I am not a mother, but I am number seven in a family of nine. I worked in childcare for many years before retiring; now I enjoy blogging about all that I have learned along the way. Archives
October 2020
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