By Diane Staehr Fenner
As a mother of three kids—in grades five, seven, and nine—it’s been utterly overwhelming to try and re-envision what schooling will look like for the remainder of the school year. This pervasive feeling is despite the fact that I was formerly a teacher and am currently an education consultant. Shortly after my district of nearly 200,000 students—the tenth largest in the United States—closed schools on March 13, I learned that all schools in my state of Virginia would remain closed through the end of the year.
The sea change to a distance learning model has left my head spinning both as an educator and as a parent. I recognize that I am privileged in many ways, including having the luxury of being able to work from home and minimize my contact with the coronavirus; having high speed internet access and devices for each of my kids; and being a native English speaker who used to teach in the same district where my kids attend school. Nonetheless, it’s been eye opening.
In this post I’ll share my three biggest take-aways and ways of coping with the experience so far, as a parent who knows a little about education.
Continue reading “Renewed Teacher Appreciation in a Time of Distance Learning: Three Takeaways as a Parent and Educator”