As we head into our second week of online learning across Australia, parents and students are adapting, each at their own pace to this completely new routine. The coaching and hands-on approach of parents as they take on their new role, and students learning and getting a feel of their virtual classrooms. There are good days and there are bad days. Some families struggle with technical issues and helping their children settle into this new way of learning, whilst other families have had a smooth transition into this new digital world.
From my personal experience, as I struggle to maintain equilibrium with two young boys in Primary, I notice how much work has been put into this by their teachers and our school. And how hard they are trying to master the technology and reach out to their students to maintain that connection that will encourage them to learn and thrive.
“I have never had greater respect for the teaching profession,” Zoyee Kartalis tells Neos Kosmos. “It’s a tough gig! Having to manage all the different personalities, levels of academic capabilities and implementing strategies so your child learns to the best of their ability. It’s a big ask. I am not a teacher by training, and my patience is continually being tested.”
Zoyee is founder of The PR Clique and mother of two young girls in Years 2 and 3. “The hardest thing for me is the juggling act. Managing two children in different year levels, maintaining their interest, their engagement, ensuring they understand the work and are following through with class activities. I try not to be the helicopter mum, hovering besides them, but I want to make sure they understand everything.”
“Personally, I don’t know how working parents, especially mums are doing it,” Zoyee continues.
“But having said that, I think, we all need to put the issue of school education into perspective. When we look back in time, this will be a small blimp in the timeline. We will all get over it, and we are all in it together.”
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For Chrystal Psaltopoulos and her two sons who started High School this year it’s been a smooth transition. “I think being in High School, kids do a lot of online work so they are familiar with logging on and sending work to their teachers. Our main challenge has been working at home altogether, and making sure that everyone has a space to work from, their own quiet space.”
Chrystal is a writer and former Primary School teacher. As well as running her own blog she is a content writer for a number of parenting websites online. Now her husband is also at home working. “Another issue has been finding the balance between family-time and school-time. My kids get so caught up in their school work that they might be still working at 6-7 in the afternoon. So we really need to stop them for lunch and make sure they get exercise. We go for walks every day.”
Angela Xenos also agrees that the most important thing is focusing on keeping the kids active and healthy during this time.
“Parents shouldn’t really worry about their kids falling behind. Every kid will be going through the same thing. Once we emerge from this, they will all go back into the classrooms and try and fill in the gaps. It is not that important right now. What is important is to keep healthy, to keep active. I am more focused on my kids being active rather than finishing off their homework. We are in a very unique situation and we shouldn’t put pressure on ourselves or our children. If there is anything that they are missing during this time, it is sport. Everything else they can learn.”
Angela has two daughters. Melina in Year 5 and Eva in Year 8 and they work independently.
“They might have a question about their studies but it’s very rare, it’s usually just about the connection or some network issues. Being a trained high school teacher, online teaching is possible if you have the right visual learning programmes and if you have a good connection. We are very fortunate that we live in the city, so our connection is amazing; if you look at regional areas it is more challenging for them.”
Many children across Australia are not that fortunate – with no access to internet, or devices and or even a desk and a quiet area to work in. NSW Public Education Foundation executive director, David Hetherington, described Australia’s digital divide as “a chasm”. “There are some statistics out there that suggest one in six children live in households below the poverty line. In many cases, these children don’t have access to a device or the connectivity that makes interaction with schools and the education system possible”. Schools are providing devices such as laptops and tablets to students who don’t have access to digital technologies. And state governments are trying to ensure that children have access to the Internet by the provision of SIM cards and dongles.
For parents who are struggling, Ms Kartalis emphasises the need of a good support network and someone to talk to if you have had ‘one of those days.’ “Many parents are feeling the stress associated with home schooling. I am speaking from personal experience and from my immediate network of friends. The Victorian government needs to take heed of the NSW government by staggering the back-to-school programme so children have at least some face to face on-site learning this term on campus, considering the curve is flattened”.