The Bare Necessities of Life is such a lovely song and one which conjures up great memories of first watching the jungle book and bopping along as the characters dance in the jungle, happy in their freedom.
There is little doubt in my mind that the way in which the concept of closed schools presented in the minds of young people and their parents and carers was vastly different. Indeed, many young people looked at this time as an opportunity for freedom very much like the 1979 hit ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. Well, they are only human. It hasn’t quite delivered for them though has it; closed schools plus instructions to #stayhome has in all actuality delivered feelings of isolation. Social Media and technology can resolve this but only to a degree, they can’t stay online constantly and remain desperate not to miss out on anything. This feeling alone can cause quite huge difficulties in the focus needed to learn. It is important that we remember the mental health effect of this isolation on young people. They are not without feelings and like adults, when feelings are interrupted, they will struggle. My 8-year-old son turned to me on Day 4 and said to me, ‘I miss running outside into the football cage at 11 O’clock and exploring the secret garden.’ But then he is a big fan of school, It makes me wonder about those who do not learn as happily.
As parents, we hope that our young people go to school and learn with gusto but deep down, we know when that isn’t the case. As a problem, it loses focus when the teachers take over at school, we are after all professionals aren’t, we! Unfortunately, we are often not resourced sufficiently to cater to individual students needs in the traditional education system; this produces great lessons but with limitations. Parents should be very aware that if the goal is to motivate the consistent learning of a child who has little interest in traditional subjects is not as straight forward as it might seem at first. It is probably this recognition of the potential for chaos and conflict which has contributed to the anxiety of the Home Education process. Please, for your own sanity and that of your child, don’t try to be a teacher. You only need to manage the process and ensure that a few hours of learning take place daily. If all else fails, draft in an online tutor, your child will appreciate the change as will you. What is more, is that you will enjoy this time at home that bit more with the separation of duties in place.
On the last note, please remember that this situation will pass and as such, do not treat it as a long summer holiday break as it is unclear when schools will reopen. It is important to be ready to ensure less stress and more continuity. Young people typically forget things when on a break, we have a duty as parents to mitigate the level of loss as they will only then have to relearn things.
I am at your service as always if you have any queries about Home Education and am happy to advise with a FREE no-obligation consultation at www.jgeducate.com .
Jacqueline Gold © March 2020