Homeschooling the Government!

[AlmostStace]

Like many of you I'm really struggling to homeschool. It's an impossible balancing act and my mental health and that of my kids has suffered, and we're among some of the luckier ones that don't have to worry too much about feeding ourselves. If men were doing the majority of childcare then support for parents would be through the roof; I'm sick of the Government ignoring the gendered nature of the crisis!

I'm taking part in the Women's Equality Party's action this Saturday to get this Goverment homeschooled on the realities of Covid childcare and it'd be great to get as many people as possible joining in.

We're making videos, taking pictures, etc with our individual messages on them all this week and posting them at 3pm this Saturday, 30th Jan to Rishi Sunak's social media using #Homeschooled. All details on the below link. I hope some of you can join us in sending a powerful message!

www.womensequality.org.uk/home_schooled_action

Absolutely.

Great idea but why Sunak?

To me Sunak is the best of a bad bunch. Very important initiative though

Great initiative. Let's make our voices are heard!

@Herdwick I believe because he holds the purse strings: there are also financial commitments being asked for in an open letter that goes alongside this Saturday's action. More on that here: www.womensequality.org.uk/nurseries_closing_letter

Love this idea!! I will 100% be taking part on Twitter on Sat.

Rishi Sunak does not hold the purse strings. He is beholden to the PMs advisors.

I'm really sorry but I don't agree.

Home school is much of what you make it, I know from what dd school, parents are saying they are '' on the edge '' because their dc have too much, (they force their dc to do everything) or too little, but they don't allow their dc on any tech and they can only read and create so much every day?

People need to readjust their expectations, be kinder to dc who don't want to work, come at the issue from different ways, lower expectations and concentrate on the main core subjects. Speak to the school if they insist on too much, work around it and show some imagination and flexibility.

I just imagined every parent turning on a webcam and filming what is actually happening in their homes at this time so the government can see what the consequences are of all this shutting children inside.

We get ICU footage pushed in our faces of crying nurses and all that. We don't even see the hell parents and children are going through. Or rather, the government sure don't.

@Justthebeerlighttoguide

I'm really sorry but I don't agree.

Home school is much of what you make it, I know from what dd school, parents are saying they are '' on the edge '' because their dc have too much, (they force their dc to do everything) or too little, but they don't allow their dc on any tech and they can only read and create so much every day?

People need to readjust their expectations, be kinder to dc who don't want to work, come at the issue from different ways, lower expectations and concentrate on the main core subjects. Speak to the school if they insist on too much, work around it and show some imagination and flexibility.

Why should the children of working parents sacrifice their education?

@Justthebeerlighttoguide

I'm really sorry but I don't agree.

Home school is much of what you make it, I know from what dd school, parents are saying they are '' on the edge '' because their dc have too much, (they force their dc to do everything) or too little, but they don't allow their dc on any tech and they can only read and create so much every day?

People need to readjust their expectations, be kinder to dc who don't want to work, come at the issue from different ways, lower expectations and concentrate on the main core subjects. Speak to the school if they insist on too much, work around it and show some imagination and flexibility.

What utter, utter bollocks. Seriously.

I run a company with staff. In order to learn anything, my seven year old needs someone sitting with her, talking her through the material. Do I just abandon her and leave her watching tv all day while I try to run my business? Do I let my business go under, meaning I and my staff lose our jobs?

People are 'on the edge' because it's simply not possible to do two very time consuming things at once. You might be ok with children getting no education whatsoever for months but most people actually care about whether their children are learning or not.

@Justthebeerlighttoguide

I'm really sorry but I don't agree.

Home school is much of what you make it, I know from what dd school, parents are saying they are '' on the edge '' because their dc have too much, (they force their dc to do everything) or too little, but they don't allow their dc on any tech and they can only read and create so much every day?

People need to readjust their expectations, be kinder to dc who don't want to work, come at the issue from different ways, lower expectations and concentrate on the main core subjects. Speak to the school if they insist on too much, work around it and show some imagination and flexibility.

I hear you on having a different expectation of homeschooling. We know that there are parents who have realised that they'd prefer to homeschool after doing it in lockdown 1. There's also the fact that playing or reading with children is valuable in its own right irrespective of what the worksheets/lessons are.

I guess that this still requires engagement and resourcefulness on behalf of the parents and it's not fair for the children or the parents if everyone is trying to work/parent at exactly the same time.

Its what I do - but with lowered expectations and work loads for dd.

I understand that with the basics covered everything else will fall into place, so I do not agree with fellow parents stressing out madly on our class whats app about all the work.

Every break I have is filled with trying to fit one thing in, dd has not got the stamina to work back to back on things so I have to space it out.

I also dont make her do all the work that is set.
Yes its stressful but I can't understand what the Gov is supposed to do, its their first duty to myself and my family to keep us physically safe. They are doing that by allowing us to stop circulating in a pandemic and not forcing us into crowds every via school.

There is work set so we can move forward with education, but at our pace. There has to be flexibility and managed expectations.
A long time ago I asked the school if they could let dd 1 off homework for a while because it was getting her down but she was a good learner.

They agreed and said in the light of her work - it was fine. I remember another parent being utterly gob smacked about this, astonished that I was even allowing it or asking for it.

She could not understand the bigger picture and what was at steak, and that a few months with no HW would not impact an engaged and happy student. During that time dd test scores remained high and she continues to excel academically. The point being, some parents will have equally capable dc and insist that its their pushing and drilling that's making them those top students.

I can see the bigger picture. With dd 2 who has sen - I can see that concentrating on the basics, doing what when we can and her having my 1:1 attention is actually a huge boost to her education not a negative and I know this from what we went through in the first lock down.

I have gone through far worse and unless you are a parent in one of the exception groups - eg exam year, Sn and so on - then you just need to step back and target core areas and speak to your school.

Then alter the times.

@Justbeerlighttoguide

alter the times of work? Our work? I work for a global company and already have calls from 6am until 10pm at night. Trying to juggle that plus my work, plus kids' schooling is impossible. I am not going to fucking put a positive spin on this. I am barely keeping up with what they are doing or not doing. My daughter is 7 1/2 and need someone with her to make sure she is actually listening to the lesson and doing her worksheets. It is bloody impossible.

I'm with @Justthebeerlighttoguide on this.

This sounds like U4T lite to me.

I completely sympathise with anyone trying to work from home, the whole situation is pants.

However, we are in a pandemic, we 're almost there with the vaccine, the last thing we need is a stampede back to schools the way they were the last time.

What we really need is plans and funding to make schools safer so that when they do go back, they stay back, and the kids don't ping in and out of school.

See also WHO guidelines for schools re-opening.

I run a company with staff. In order to learn anything, my seven year old needs someone sitting with her, talking her through the material

But she doesnt get that at school. Unless she has a TA
Teachers dont sit with students. They have a class of 30.
If the work is too hard then contact the school.

Very pointedly ignoring the ‘oh you just need to be more like me’ crew. DFOD. There’s a love.

Yes, OP, you are absolutely right. It is disgraceful people are being put in this position. There are children having to be ignored for hours on end because of this, their education as an absolute last priority. I am so angry.

@TheKeatingFive

Maybe you should be angry with other people though.

The people who wanted schools back at any cost without proper preparations back in September, when it was never going to work long term.

The government for their crap management of the pandemic and their ignoring of scientific advice at key points. Locking down late and then locking down longer.

We need to do things scientifically because science helps set things up to work better, that is sort of what it's for.

I'd love us to come through this with as few deaths as possible and have my kids back at school learning and I would love there to be proper planning how to do this as well as we can.

@AriataBrown

I run a company with staff. In order to learn anything, my seven year old needs someone sitting with her, talking her through the material

But she doesnt get that at school. Unless she has a TA
Teachers dont sit with students. They have a class of 30.
If the work is too hard then contact the school.

I don't know if you're deliberately misunderstanding me but let me explain.

At school, she has someone in the class explaining the work to her. That person is called a teacher. The function of a teacher is to teach the children. If teachers weren't required, you can be sure the government would be very quick to ditch them.

At home, I have to be the one explaining the work to her and teaching her the material. The fact that I'm sitting with her is not the pertinent part of this situation but you already know that.

The work is not too hard. My child needs a teacher. I can't run a business and teach at the same time. I don't know how you struggle to comprehend the point I'm making.

Maybe you should be angry with other people though.

I’m angry at a government and education system that has happily thrown a particular section of children, their education and their families under the bus.

That encompasses quite a lot of people, yes.

@Justthebeerlighttoguide

Then alter the times.

Alter the times of what? I genuinely would like to know what you mean by this because I don't have a clue what you're on about.

You see if we are campaigning, I think we need to campaign for more funding for schools to make them safer and to keep them open properly.

With a scientific focus.

My impression is that the schools part of the education system is like a football being booted about by the D of E, close now, open now, send half yer bubble home, use these useless tests, isolate, don't isolate.

So I don't feel annoyed with the schools and teachers per se, the ones I know are doing their best in a cloud of unknowing about what the government is going to blindly order next.

I feel pretty annoyed with the D of E though.

@Justthebeerlighttoguide you are lucky you have such an able child who will catch up so easily.

Not all kids are like this. Many need to plug away at learning and it sinks in slowly over time. They won’t be able to cram it all in last minute.

They need an on going education - now. Not next year.

I have gone through far worse and unless you are a parent in one of the exception groups - eg exam year, Sn and so on - then you just need to step back and target core areas and speak to your school.

How do you target core areas if you are working and your child is disinclined to work?