Please make me feel better about homeschooling..

[TreesAndStuff]

Well, remote learning.

Is every secondary child who is able to get on line participating in home learning without a fuss?

My year 9 is hating it and it's a battle to make them join every day. It's 'too stressful' they're worried about having to speak and hate the on-line accept - even though the camera and mic do not need to be on. Was always ok about going in to school (before lockdown - had tricky patches in autumn term but got over it).

Please share your stories of woe....

Just me then!

Not you, my kids are a lot younger but it’s just awful. It’s worse this time round as they are expected to keep up with proper learning and it’s not just “do what you can” that we got last time.

I heard/read something the other day. This isn’t homeschooling, homeschooling is an active choice, researched, with time and resources planned out.
What you’re doing is emergency education, it’s been thrown on you and is bloody hard work.
I’ve not got a teenager so have no usable advice other than you should cut yourself a bit of slack. I’m sure you’re doing the best you can in difficult circumstances.

My secondary school dc are engaging with it but they feel so low and tired. I think it’s too much to expect them to engage online for a full school day. I’m getting sick of it and feel bad for all the kids trying to deaa as l with this.

We're having good days and diabolical days (Y9 as well). Yesterday we had refusal to get out of bed, utter lack of engagement with two of the three lessons, shouting (me), crying (both of us), and just an all-round awful, awful shitshow of a day. Today - different child. Happy, engaged, and has quietly got on with it all with no drama whatsoever. It depends a lot on the teacher: the issue yesterday was Art (which he hates, and has a very negative teacher for), which bled into his next lesson (History, which he's not hugely fussed about either way). Today he had two live lessons in which he had to listen and follow the teacher's instructions there and then, rather than just being presented with a task to get on with, and PE in the middle, which was a bit of a doss really as he just had to pick an online workout and then write up how he found it. Tomorrow will probably be another shitshow because he has different subjects that tend not to be live lessons. He's really missing the social aspect of school and isn't talking to his friends as much as he was - I think the first couple of weeks were a novelty/extended Christmas break, but now it's just boring and miserable.

Anyway, it's nearly o'clock!

Thanks for the replies - I guess I'm not alone.

I'm sorry you're all struggling too - what do you do when they simply refuse?

Mine was so upset this morning and took till half way through period 1 to calm down and stop crying and was then in a state about joining half way and having to explain lack of engagement this morn. They just refused the rest of the day. What do you do when they don't join?

I'm dreading the same thing tomorrow - I'm at work and Dh and adult older sibling working from home and have meetings from 8am so cannot help.

I feel your pain.
We have a high schooler and 1 at primary and it's like pulling teeth.

I don't know how we'll manage much longer. The eldest (13) is basically failing the year according to her teachers. I work full time and I am failing at my job now too with trying to make sure she does her work at the same time.

This is why wine is so attractive

Well today's a disaster already. We;re right in the midst of Storm Christoph, pissing rain, and they've been told to do a 45-minute run or brisk walk, record it via Strava and upload a screenshot. Needless to say he has not done it. I'm going to try and get him to come out with me at lunchtime. We have a treadmill but the requirement is specifically to go outside to exercise. FFS.

Blimey - he came downstairs and said 'Right, let's go and get wet then' and has actually gone! Wouldn't let me go with him in the end. In any other weather I'd be delighted at the school kicking them up the arse to get outside but he's going to be drenched!

My son told me he’d punch me this morning

I’m at home, so I can help him, but he refuses everything

Talk to the school and explain

I'm finding it harder this time round, OP, mainly because my faked up phonecalls to the teacher are less believable now. I'm loudly 'telling the teacher about DCs' terrible attitude' on my mobile in the hall while said teacher is presenting a live lesson on Teams in the kitchen.

Dammit.

I have an 8yr old and 5yr old. I have to argue and wrestle the 5yr old for ages to get him to even sit nicely. The 8yr old needs me there for every single piece of work. I genuinely feel like I’m losing my mind this time around. It’s very lonely as well, isn’t it?