What to do during COVID-19?
I was asked if there was one thing I could recommend to parents, mentors, tutors, and teachers during this stressful and unprecedented time, what would it be.
If there is one thing COVID-19 should be teaching the educational world, it’s flexibility. And lots of it. Flexibility in time, in methodology and pedagogy, and in expectations. How does one effectively teach and learn remotely? How do we keep our children from falling through the widening COVID-19 cracks, while simultaneously not pushing them over the proverbial edge? No matter whether our children are neurodiverse, neurotypical, anxious, gifted, or just different, as parents now thrust into the academic world, the number one tool we need is flexibility.
How does this flexibility work? Flexibility promotes effective teaching when we fully understand the needs of the individuals we teach. The ability to adapt in the moment to the needs of our ever-changing young people allows for success. So, in times of great uncertainty and stress, when anxiety peaks, we need to be able to step back, assess the situation, and adjust accordingly. As a parent, you know your child better than anyone else. You know how much work they can do alone, what kind of learning suits them best, and how your child is responding to this new stress. Let this guide your decisions on how to structure your family’s home learning experience.
Be flexible with yourself. Really. When you model that flexibility, your children can better adapt. Skip a lesson and play a game; take an extra day to finish those problems and bake brownies; close the science app and go outside and find slugs. If you remain responsive to what you and your kids really need, you will be highly successful, even in times of uncertainty.
At Golden Mean, as soon as we knew about the school closings, we transitioned online, but each tutor modified their plans, expectations, and teaching modalities to best meet the needs of their small seminars and tutorials. Fortunately for us, our seminars only have up to six members whom we know very, very well. Even though we’re remote, the application of clear two-way communication, responsive plans and expectations, and moment-by-moment flexibility are doable. Sometimes this means half the seminar is Precalculus and half is a respectful group dialogue of feelings. Things as simple as bad weather can turn an otherwise great mood, sour. Sometimes it may mean preparing differentiated materials and dropping them at members’ homes so that all the members of the same seminar can laugh and feel included as their buddies make a mess of their respective homes over Zoom. Our continuous and purposeful flexibility has allowed our members to feel successful and maintain their love of learning.
COVID-19 has certainly wreaked havoc everywhere. We won’t be returning to “normal” schooling any time soon. Remain flexible, both for yourself and your children. You got this. You really do. If you have any questions on how to best support your child’s education, don’t hesitate to reach out.