Zoom-ing Into Disaster? Help Your Student Learn Virtually
Now that we’re fully into August, the reality is starting to set in. We’re about a month away from students going back to school. In the same way that Sunday afternoon means thinking about the onrushing workweek, so August heralds thoughts of school. However, for 150,000 (plus) students throughout King County, the return to school is not the same as it was in 2019.
Aside from the troubling fact of an ongoing global pandemic, and the harmful effects of social isolation, parents and students have to start thinking seriously about how this school year is going to work. Most of us will agree that Spring wasn’t a success - with schools scrambling to get curricula online, and students already thinking about the summer break, the transition to virtual school was not a successful one.
So what can you do? Should you just resign yourself to a limited academic year? Maybe you can console yourself with the fact that all students are in the same boat, so there is no relative drop off when it comes to competitive endeavors like college applications or SAT scores.
Obviously, no respectable education institution is going to suggest admitting defeat.
After all, while there are many things in 2020 that have been out of our control, your kids’ education doesn’t have to be one of them. There are plenty of things you can do to help. Below is a list of the steps we recommend to improve your student’s learning experience, happiness, and overall resilience. After all, if they can make the most of this time, they’ll be prepared for anything.
Be Flexible
If you’re feeling anxious about the coming school year, your student is too - no matter how good they are at hiding it. Student anxiety levels are through the roof, exacerbated by them losing a normal summer, and having only limited contact with friends. Over the course of the coming months, students will respond in different ways to the very real stress of virtual learning.
At Hampton Tutors, we always notice students’ moods changing in the last two weeks of October. At this point the weather has turned, the new school year is no longer a novelty, and the first set of grades is usually released.
When this happens this year, things could get really tough for students. At this stage, parents need to have the flexibility to ease up on their students. Let the students take mental health days, support them when they need space, and provide an ear when they need to talk. However tempting it may be to rigidly cling to a regime or schedule, you’ll quickly turn virtual learning into a prison sentence. Be responsive and flexible to your student’s needs.
Expand the Learning
You’ve probably found that, during the last few months, you’ve logged more hours with your student than ever before. The success of the next few months is dependent on the relationship you have built with your student. For younger students, it’s unlikely that they’ll get the support they need from virtual learning, and lessons will lack the reinforcement that comes from personal interaction. This is where you come in.
Your role in this situation is to expand your student’s learning outside of the classroom. Find ways to take the student’s lessons and apply them to everyday life. If your student is learning fractions, for example, have them cook with you - they’ll be measuring out a ⅓ cup, or cutting vegetables into fourths, and reinforcing their lessons.
This needs to be done subtly - no student wants to feel like they are learning. However, this is a way of being supportive without being stifling. It’s also a great way to make up for the shortcomings of virtual learning while spending quality time with your kids.
Learn With Them
Older students are less likely to fall for the trick of learning outside of lesson time. For parents of high schoolers, the delicate balance between supporting and stifling can feel like a tightrope. However, as another way to increase quality time while also giving your students a well-rounded learning experience, why not learn along with them. If they are studying Shakespeare, study the text with them - watch the movie together, discuss the characters, and analyze the language.
This doesn’t mean you’re the teacher, it means you’re the fellow student. However, instead of acting like a teenager, get your teenager to act like an adult. Treat them with respect and discuss their opinions on the text in a meaningful way. Think book club vibe. You’ll start to learn things about your student’s opinions, thoughts, and feelings.
Get Academic Support
Of course, as an academic coaching company, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention external support you can access. At the end of the day, a tutor or academic coach is going to be able to provide expert academic support for your student and support them in their learning journey.
At Hampton Tutors, we have packages ranging from 3 to 15 hours a week. Getting a quality academic coach to work in-person with your student totally eliminates the frustrations of virtual learning, while actually increasing student learning (since they are getting one-on-one support). Our Academic School Support packages are designed to fit around your student’s learning - we coordinate with the school to access curriculum, and track your student’s work to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
Academic School Support will allow you to get your own work done, safe in the knowledge your student is receiving a first-rate education. Read our page on Academic School Support for more information.
Consider Pandemic Pods
‘Pandemic Pods’ has become a buzzphrase in the world of education this summer. A pandemic pod is designed for a small ‘bubble’ of students from a limited number of households. A professional education then works with this ‘pod’ in-person, providing teaching, resources, and lesson plans to help the students access the benefits of a relatively offline education.
If Academic School Support is better suited to older students, Pandemic Pods are more useful for younger students who can’t really engage at all in virtual learning. Many Elementary School age students are at risk of missing out on key learning, such as Reading, Math, or Writing, and so a Pandemic Pod is a great opportunity to get access to those vital foundational skills.
Hampton Tutors Pandemic Pods are designed for groups of around 5 students. We offer half-day or full-day options at your home. Our coaches are trained experts with students as young as Kindergarteners and can teach those foundational skills that virtual learning doesn’t provide. For more information on our Pandemic Pod offering (including how to set one up) visit our dedicated page.
If you’re daunted about the coming year, don’t be.
If you have questions about how you can support your student, we’re here to help.
Give us a call on 206.693.4101, email us at hello@hamptontutors.com, or use our contact page to get in touch.