Don't forget that parents are overwhelmed

Don't forget that parents are overwhelmed ...

(Advice to self, staff and other professionals connected to school.)

Emerging from lockdown and restarting school

As we look to come out of lock down tonight and start to emerge into a new way of doing things it would be a sensible thing for us as a school to recognise the pressures that exist within our homes. Thank goodness it's a short week and we all need to just manage the three working days.

At school, as you are aware we were planning for a return to school tomorrow. As it happens only a very small group expressed any interest in coming back whatsoever and so we will be running just the one class. Parents overwhelmingly wanted to make sure their children and whānau were safe. It may be that other parents will need to return to work during level three at some point. Please keep us informed if circumstances change for you. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

The zombie apocalypse

As a principal, I had the privilege of talking to some of you last week and became more aware of the many issues that you as parents face. I wish I had a magic wand and that we could make these things go away. One of my staff members in a humorous way captured the surreal experience that we are going through when she wrote the following on the noticeboard in the staff room ...

Arrr ... sadly it's not over

As of April the 2nd, 90% of children around the world are not in school. This is unprecedented in our life times.

These are some of the general issues that we face:

• financial hardship
• the genuine fear of losing a business
• living in crowded spaces with too many in the house
• domestic violence as people handle stress poorly
• escapism through alcohol and drugs

Then on top of these stresses we overlay school. In this category families are experiencing:

• too many emails
• juggling your day job while you're trying to get the kids into Zoom or Google Classroom.
• trying to help your second child while the third child has just made a mess in the kitchen
• no internet access
• not enough computers for all or no computers at all
• not knowing how to access what it is your child's supposed to be doing
• children not coping
• children struggling with aspects of their learning you weren't aware of

I am afraid the list could go on because ideally the children would be at school with their teachers in a face to face environment.

Suggestions about the way forward

Hopefully, if everyone keeps being sensible, we can return to a slightly more normal existence after May the 11th when cabinet revisits where the pandemic is at. In the meantime, prioritise the needs of your family and your children. As a family what is it that you need to do, to not only survive but thrive. 

School may not necessarily be your first priority because of your circumstances. If it's not, talk to your children about what you have to do and why. During this period, children will be learning anyway and a lot of it will be about how your family copes with difficulty. One of the single most important things you could teach your child during this time is the value of grit (manawaroa). Manawaroa, or not giving up when things get hard is the value, that if applied to learning can make a huge difference to academic success.

Touch base with your teacher if ...

If things are a bit of a struggle touch base with your teacher and discuss the situation. If you need to pick and mix what you can manage with your children, the staff certainly understand. Last week one of our parents contacted a class teacher and came to the conclusion they needed to focus more on printing and basic facts. Some other subjects in the meantime are being put aside. Under the circumstances this was a positive outcome for the child and family. As a school we must also consider the emotional well-being of the child.

The one thing though, I would want parents to know about is this thing they call the 'summer slide'. When children are away from learning for too long without doing anything they go backwards. As principal my general advice is, that at the very least, I would expect your child to be reading for pleasure every day. I would also expect any children year four and above to practise their tables if they haven't mastered them. Beyond this a conversation with your teacher will highlight more specific things you may need to consider if you want to adapt the learning programme for your child. If you need to, take advantage of the educational television programmes currently provided.

Kia kaha.