Parental Concerns with Homeschooling During COVID-19

Schooling at Home;
Parental Concerns
Dr. Riaz.K.Marakkar
riazmarakkar@gmail.com
Dr.Riaz.K.M, riazmarakkar@gmail.com 1

• If you remove all insects; life
in this universe end within
50 years
• If you remove all human
beings; all living organisms
flourish within 50 years

Introduction
• Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) since February 2020 has hit
the world
• The impact of this pandemic is affecting economic stability, social,
and children's education
• The government announced lock down for breaking the COVID-19
pandemic chain, namely all people to stay at home and stay at
home minimize activities outside the home.
• The policy took effect in the field of education where there is a
policy of closing schools temporarily and transferring the learning
process to home (study from home).

Principles of Home Schooling
• Human beings are diverse
• Curiosity helps to grow
• Human life is inherently creative
• Not command and control
• Its climate control helps in learning
• Focus is on Expansion
• Focus is on Empowerment
• Target Excellence

Types of people
• Immovable
• Movable
• Who moves

Home learning system
1. Learning from Home through online/distance learning
2. Focused on life skills education, including the Covid-19 Pandemic
3. Learning activities and tasks from home vary according to interests
and the availability of learning facilities at home

What they have to say….
• “Hum kya madad kare baccho ke padhai mein, hum toh khud
padhe-likhe nahi hai!” (How can we help in our children’s
studies, we are ourselves not literate!)
• “Hum principal ke samne kaise baat kare, hum toh utne padhe-
likhe nahi hain,” (We are not educated, how can we speak over
the principal of the school?)

What they have to say….
• “Whatsapp par diya gaya homework,
mushkil lagta hai aur samajh bhi nahi aata hai.”
(The homework sent via WhatsApp is tough and I am unable to
comprehend it.)
• “Mujhe darr lagta hai teacher se baat karne mein,
mai kya hi bolu unhe?”
(I am scared to speak to the teacher, I don’t know what to ask
her.)

Once Upon a time….
• Tiffin made,
• Bags packed,
• Books bought,
• Uniform ironed,
• Sent to school,
• Ensuring homework is done,
• Repeat….repeat .. and..repeat

Today … and Tomorrow ?
• Phone data recharged,
• Online classes registered for,
• Books collected from neighbours,
• Messages checked,
• IVRs listened to and tasks jotted down,
• Calls made to teachers,
• Repeat?.....

The Parent Trap……Initial reactions
• Learning at home is a barrier not only for teachers and students but also
for parents. Especially parents who are also implementing work at home.
• Home learning system adds to their burden in the current pandemic.
• Most parents are not accustomed to assisting children learning
• Limitations with the use of information technology tools
• Information about COVID-19 both through social and cellular media that
were troubling
• Limited fulfilment of basic needs, the threat of reduced family finances,
limited personal protective equipment
• Uncertainty situation for the end of the pandemic.

The Parent Trap……Later reactions
1. Parents feel overwhelmed by the task of children, because parents,
especially mothers have domestic tasks.
2. Lacking in the quality of children's education and can affect the stunted
growth and development of the child
3. Difficulty to deliver learning material.
4. Problems with communication technology
5. Family health
6. Stress.
7. Limitations of food logistics
8. Disruption of the family economy.

Parental concerns …….. How to…….
1. How to do digital quarantine
2. How to create space for learning
3. How to monitor the monitor
4. How to do digital recess
5. How to increase Face time
6. How to stick with old school
7. How to act as a group
8. How to plan the work and work the plan
9. How to prove that this is not a vacation
10. How to have fun
11. How to remain Technologically fit

1. DIGITAL QUARANTINE
• Consider limiting your children’s cell phones and tablets until their
schoolwork is done satisfactorily, so that it can receive their
undivided attention.
• Apps, games, and messaging features are fun, but they can also
prove distracting.
• It may not be an option for everybody, but ideally, try to give your
kids a dedicated device such as a school laptop for maximum online
learning.

2. MAKE SPACE FOR LEARNING
• Children will achieve their best work in a quiet, comfortable, and
dedicated space devoted to learning.
• Ideally, this will be a different set-up than where they normally
play games or watch television.
• Keep in mind that children will be in this space for many hours
each day, and parents should watch out for any orthopedic
issues that may arise related to comfort and posture.

3. MONITOR THE (COMPUTER)
MONITOR
• Observation. Look at your child’s eyes to see if they’re following
along with the screen.
• Check if they’re taking notes or zoning out. Ask questions at the
end of a lesson.
• If you find that your child is not engaging with the lessons, don’t be
afraid to contact the school teachers to better explore the issue.
• Sometimes, easily remedied technical problems such as bad
audio, poor connection, or an unhelpful camera angle can make
all the difference.

4. DIGITAL RECESS
• Make sure that your children take plenty of breaks in order to
get physical activity and time away from screens.
• Set alarms similar to those they would encounter at school and
encourage them to get up, get some fresh air, go for a walk or
bike ride, or have a snack so that they are not sedentary for the
entire day.

5. FACETIME
• In-person interaction is ideal for kids, but until it’s safe for them to
return to school, encourage your children to video chat or text
message rather than simply scrolling through social media.
• You don’t want your children to feel socially isolated, but at the
same time, you want to protect them from becoming wholly
reliant upon their devices.
• Sit your children down for face-to-face conversations about
screen time.
• In order to give them agency, discuss how much time they think
is reasonable to spend online and make a “contract,” committing
to goals for on-screen vs.

6. KEEP IT OLD SCHOOL
• Overuse of screen time can have adverse impacts on young brains, so
it’s essential in these special circumstances to be extra careful when it
comes to the littlest ones.
• As much as possible, parents should encourage print and book
reading.
• If available, request textbooks from your child’s school along with other
print materials in order to offset the amount of online learning they will
be doing.
• Studies show that remote education can be challenging for all ages,
but especially young kids, so do whatever you can and always err on
the side of caution.
• Stimulate self-expression by having discussions with your children
about what they are doing, and also encourage creative writing and
imaginative story telling. Dr.Riaz.K.M, riazmarakkar@gmail.com 20

7. WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
• Remember that you’re not alone in this journey.
• Check in with other parents to see what they’ve found effective
or to ask if they need help.
• Share your concerns and useful hints.
• If you need contact information for other parents or resources,
reach out to the PTA or your child’s school.
• It is important that we all work together as a community for the
good of our children and families.

8. PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK
YOUR PLAN
• Good planning can relieve stress for both children and parents.
• Check in with your kids about their plans and help them develop
a written schedule not only for the day, but for the week as a
whole.
• Help them prioritize and learn to create goals, tasks, and
deadlines, just like adults do when they go to work.
• Tasks that may not have been difficult for them while attending
school in person can become more challenging when learning
from home, so it’s important to reinforce boundaries and offer
incentives for healthy behaviors.
• To avoid disruption, some after-school activities may be offered
via online video apps, Facetime, or Skype.

9. THIS IS NOT A VACATION
• Even though staying home from school might feel like a holiday,
remind your kids that they’re not on vacation.
• Assignments, grades, requirements, and tests like state exams
and entrance exams aren’t going away just because classes
have moved online.

10. DON’T FORGET TO HAVE FUN
• Plan off-screen activities for the whole family. Between school and
work obligations, it’s rare for parents and children to have this much
time together, so turn it into an opportunity for bonding.
• Write predictions for a TV show that the whole family watches.
• Organize a tournament, family card games or chess or get outside
for a hike or walk together after school.
• Follow your community’s guidelines about safe behavior and events,
of course, but make sure you still find time for fun with your kids.
• Without a doubt, this is a challenging time for parents, teachers, and
children alike.

11. BE TECHNOLOGICALLY FIT
• While many parents spoke positively about learning through apps
and online activities, others described difficulties in navigating so
many online resources
• Often, there were insufficient devices in the home, particularly if the
household had more than one child and/or parents needed a laptop
to complete their own work
• Keeping their children's attention had been difficult
• Keeping their children's attention had been difficult
• Concerns about their children's social isolation, though some said
they had enjoyed spending more time with them
• Many parents commented that they lacked the skills to effectively
teach their children

In general….
• Motivate by taking an interest
• Help students organize the home learning environment
• Encourage children and youth’s self-regulation
• Maintain home-school communication
• Offer instructional support

Take home message
• Keep little expectation that parents are able to replace teachers.
• Many parents have their own complicated work patterns.
• However, many schools provided learning packs when the lockdown
started, and are trying to run some online learning - for this, they are
relying on parents being able to supervise their children.
• what is more important, say educationalists, is maintaining a degree of
normality, rather than worrying about a child's progress in English or
maths.
• Make the experience relatively rewarding and stress-free
• Set a routine - if possible, have children dressed and breakfasted by
08:30 on weekdays - this will help them adjust when schools reopen

Take home message
• Contact teachers
• Use social media for good.
• Use media for social connection.
• Choose quality content
• Use media together.
• Take your child (virtually) to work.
• Limits are still important.

riazmarakkar@gmail.com

Parental Concerns with Homeschooling During COVID-19

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Similar to Parental Concerns with Homeschooling During COVID-19

Similar to Parental Concerns with Homeschooling During COVID-19 (20)

More from Riaz Marakkar

More from Riaz Marakkar (8)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Parental Concerns with Homeschooling During COVID-19