It’s far more than an eight-hour day. It’s more than a five-day work week.
“It” is trying to keep our two daughters on track academically. Because of their needs, the time requirements would be significant without the pandemic parenting challenges.
I could manage our two-student homeschool academy without technology, but I’d spend even more time in teacher mode.
It’s cool to hate Microsoft, but I rely on the Office Suite heavily. I might be in the minority, but I dislike Google’s productivity suite. There’s no comparing Google’s suite or Apple’s apps to what Outlook, Word, and Excel can do if you can code macros and understand data fields.
Our Excel workbooks are highly automated with summary sheets. Using Excel, I can demonstrate that my daughters consistently struggle with classwork on Thursday and Friday, so I am shifting the workload to earlier in the week. I can tell you which types of assignments cause them the most difficulty. Slicing and dicing the data helps me understand patterns in the homework grades.
I don’t want to spend hours forcing Google Sheets to be Excel. I know Visual Basic macro coding. I hated trying to code scripts for Google Sheets.
Every moment I can spend with the girls is valuable. I do not want to spend one minute extra on administrative tasks.
Effective use of technology is giving me as much time as possible with the girls.
“Why do you spend so much time entering data? Why are you grading their work?” Homeschoolers are rightly confused by our need to capture data.
“You should be letting the girls play and learn all day.”
That’s just not how things work for our daughters. They don’t play without guidance. They’d sit and stare at screens or gaze into space.
Experienced homeschool families often report they spend less time on schoolwork daily and fewer days per week on directed lessons. The students do well because work meets their needs and objectives. The “free time” is also filled with learning activities, experiences that reinforce knowledge and skills.
Science becomes nature walks, rocketry, and other activities. Art and music are hands-on. History includes visits to museums and landmarks. Homeschooling allows for a lot more engagement, ideally.
We take a lot of walks. We take drives to the local lakes. We do hands-on art and music. Progress is slow, but we’re doing what we can to make learning fun and hands-on.
The COVID-19 pandemic limits some of the options homeschoolers recommend. Instead of visiting museums and traveling to events, we have to settle for virtual experiences. An image of a painting isn’t the same as standing feet from a masterpiece.
Many homeschool students are at or above grade level. At home, they can race ahead at their own paces, instead of facing boredom in a classroom.
I wish we could significantly reduce the parent/teacher-led learning time for our daughters. I’d love to have more time for hands-on experiences.
Unfortunately, reading and writing take a lot of practice — and time. Learning basic concepts has been a slow journey for our children.
There’s no way the girls would have reached or maintained grade-level norms in a classroom. The youngest had already repeated Kindergarten and was struggling in first grade during 2019-2020. Her sister was being allowed to skate through, often not competing assigned work.
Parents and guardians, including Susan and me, easily forget how diverse students in a class might be. Teaching college, I could assume a certain preparedness. Elementary teachers have students at three, four, or even more academic “grade levels” in the same room.
Elementary teachers have 20 or more students. They teach content to the median, that place at which half the students are above and half are below the lesson. Some teachers teach to the top third, setting high expectations. No matter what, the very top and the very bottom of academic readiness end up neglected in a general classroom.
Our girls were apparently sitting there, in the classroom, disengaged. I have sympathy for their teachers, who told us getting and keeping either girl’s attention was difficult.
Teachers rely on proven methodologies that review existing knowledge, introduce new concepts, and work towards independent practice. Effective pedagogy supports as many students as possible, through as many delivery modes and review strategies as is practical.
Every teacher tries to meet the needs of as many students as possible. After the group lesson, you walk around the room and help those struggling most. You can ask the top students to serve as tutors and mentors.
Lesson plans include notes on how you intend to meet the needs of students with 504 Plans and IEPs. Legally, you have to demonstrate you’re accommodating the needs of students, from those with limited English to those with physical disabilities. There’s a lot of paperwork in teaching. You also attend the “Team Meetings” for Individualized Education Programs and 504 Plans.
Sometimes, it is impossible for one person to meet the needs of every student in the room. That’s why schools employ paraprofessionals, what we used to call teacher’s aides and one-on-one aids.
I spend my days sitting near, or even across from, our second grader. She needs me right there, helping her and encouraging her. I ask her questions and listen to her answers. I reassure her. I am there for her.
While the second grader works independently, I walk to the fourth grader’s room and help her.
When the lessons end, the girls do enjoy tech time. Although we still limit screen time because of the girls’ unique needs, they love using their Kindles. They enjoy IXL, Adventure Academy, and using the Office Suite to create their own documents.
We’re making use of tech strategically. We don’t rely on technology to replace instructional time, but instead to give us more time together. Time is valuable. Thank goodness for technology.