By Sylvia Long
Will it be Best to do Traditional School or Home School During the Pandemic?
Help for Parents.
Despite increased COVID-19 outbreaks, schools began reopening across our country last month. And parents are beginning to feel the pressure to make choices.
Here in the southwest, parents have the option of sending their children to school full-time, supervising their learning at home, through the school’s online program, or home schooling.
Deciding which kind of school to commit to is an especially hard decision right now. Many parents with health concerns are wondering if they should try to home school until the risk of COVID settles. Parents who need to go back to work worry about the risks of children being in large crowds, and how they’ll feel certain about making either decision.
Today we’re going to talk about some benefits of both kind of schools, and a resource to help you decide which one is the best fit for your family.
First, let’s talk first about some benefits of home schooling.
- Parents can adjust a curriculum:
Learning at home gives parents the opportunity to tailor curriculum for each child’s needs.
2.Parents can adjust the pace:
At home, if the child is strong in math and weak in reading, the parent can slow down the pace of reading instruction for a time, but continue the pace of the math lessons.
3.Parents can adjust for learning style:
The parent can try curriculums that teach to different learning styles. For example, if you love reading aloud, and your children love writing, you might look at a literature-based curriculum.
There are some possible challenges to consider:
* Home schooling requires commitment to learning, organization and diligence.
* If your child is struggling in an area, you need to be willing to change direction, explore the options, and get some good advice.
* At least one parent or caregiver needs to be available to teach full-time.
* Even a basic curriculum costs a fair amount of money up-front, and you may want to join an academic co-op (you will want to!).
Now, let’s talk about some benefits of traditional school.
1.Traditional schools also provide more than just academics:
The Center for Disease Control says once we address COVID safety, we need to consider sending our children back to school.
Schools have become a hub for resources in our communities; not simply places where our children can get their academic needs met, but also many of their physical, emotional, and social needs.
Often children also receive social services at school, including free or reduced meal plans, counseling, playtime, and extracurricular activities( School Settings, 2019).
Here are some resources traditional schools provide to students:
* Appropriate curriculum
* Testing
* Tutoring
* Physical activity
* Art & music instruction
* Regular time with friends
2.Traditional school might save you time and money you could use elsewhere for your child:
Finding and buying important resources are always going to cost us in time and money. If your child is getting most of their developmental resources at school, you can use your money in other ways at home.
There are some possible challenges to consider:
* You’ll need to research your school district to see what the COVID risks are for your area.
* You’ll need to find your school districts website and read about their plans to keep in compliance with the CDCs recommendations.
* You might want to make an appointment to tour your school and see how prepared your school is.
Even after the above considerations, you still might want some help choosing an educational option.
Is there a reliable resource we can use to help us choose for our family?
Choosing where we’re going to educate our children during a pandemic can be difficult, and the CDC created this parent decision tool to help us work through some of the issues (School Decision-Making, 2019).
*You can access that tool here!
The tool addresses the practical considerations so we can make an informed choice.
It addresses:
*Traditional School learning
* Virtual/ At home-learning
*Academic and social well-being
*School-based services
Choosing where we’ll educate our children is a serious decision, and I hope you’ve found some helpful ideas and resources in today’s post.
I would love to hear from you. How did the CDC tool help you work through your concerns?
Best wishes on your journey,
Sylvia
References
1.School Decision-Making Tool for Parents, Caregivers, and Guardians. (2020, July 23). Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/decision-tool.html
2.School Settings. (2020, September 18). Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html
3. All images are open free source.
