The family struggles that are associated with COVID-19 have been intense. In the past year parents have had to bear much of the load of making sure their kids stayed current in their schoolwork. This whole experience was thrust on parents and schools very suddenly. It was quite an adventure and so many of our schools, students and parents did a great job under such urgency!
Now we are in another phase of COVID-19. Although many schools are opening with a variety of protocols for students, there is a continued responsibility that parents have regarding their child’s education. Some parents will still be working with their children from home. Others will be experiencing the physical return to school either part-time or full-time. This reopening of our schools in just another month can be a frightening experience to anticipate that will have many variables.
One thing that is very important is how we work together in the middle of this pandemic to make sure that our kids are learning, safe and able to manage all the expectations and stressors related to going to school. The return to school for the first time in months is difficult enough, but now we also have a significant number of new protocols and issues to implement in order to make our schools safe, sanitized and social distanced. This does not come naturally for children so this whole process will be a rather intense experiment.
It will require patience, understanding and support of parents and teachers to one another.
Caroline Miller has published an article on the Child Mind Institute website about how this partnership can emerge effectively. Here is her opening paragraph in this article:
Schools will be reopening in the fall in a confusing range of formats — in-person, virtual and some of both. Whatever your school’s plans are, it will be more crucial than ever to partner with your kids’ teachers to make a new and less-than-perfect situation as successful as possible. The first challenge is to establish effective communication with the teacher. Here are some pointers for getting started.
She spends the rest of the article providing some helpful tips for parents as to how to work with teachers in a joint effort to help our students get through the upcoming school year.
This will be a school opening of unusual proportion where we will all be facing some significant challenges. We will need all the cooperation we can get to help our students adapt to the new normal in schools. It is not a time to be divisive but a time for listening, understanding and creating and maintaining healthy relationships. If parents and teachers partner together, we will maximize our capacity to have a successful 2020-21 school year.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
