Homeschooling or Schooling at Home?

Back to School

Sunday, August 30th was the first day students in the UAE came back to school after almost 6 months of staying at home. The schools were closed mid-March, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, hoping that it would only be for a month and come back around April. We all know by now that has not been the case. Schools were forced to finish the rest of the school year thru distance learning, or video conferencing like Zoom.

In the Philippines, the Department of Education admitted they are not yet ready to adopt a new system, and so they have postponed the start of the school year for the public schools to October. Some private schools though, started last week.

For a few months before the start of the school year, everything seemed to be in a limbo. It was not sure what the approach would be. Parents were naturally concerned about their children’s safely. The school fees also did not seem to change despite the situation. In the UAE, it was decided that the schools can offer both distance and face-to-face learning. There are schools that give alternate face-to-face and distance learning – e.g. one week in school, then one week at home.

Personally, I am not too convinced with the set-up, especially if it is being done to contain the virus. I don’t think teachers will ever be able to ensure that all the children maintain proper social distancing. Anyhow, I do not see what they are up to inside, so who am I to judge?

This has been the predicament of the parents I have spoken with. They cannot really be sure what happens when their children are outside of their homes.

Homeschool or School at Home?

For most families, the Covid19 pandemic had put them in a situation where they are practically forced to homeschool. Or should I say, they now do not have the choice but to embrace the school set-up under their roof.

Almost every day, I see some friends and relative share their “school set-up” at home -- child in front of the computer, headset on, and staring intently on their screens. That's for those enrolled in private schools and those who have access to computers and internet. I wonder how it would be for those cannot afford this option. That's another story.

It has always been hard for a teacher to catch the whole class’ attention, what more now, when the kids are on the other side of the monitor? I am not sure how a teacher will be able to see all the children’s faces on their Zoom screen. I once saw someone shared a photo of a child crying in front of the computer because he cannot follow the lesson! Of course, how harder could it get for a child to listen to the rumblings of his teacher, who he cannot effectively call the attention of to say he needs help with the lesson.

There are also set-ups where the students just need to key in to show that they attended the class, but since there is no video, the teacher does not know if these students really participated or not.

Seeing these, I couldn’t help but compare homeschooling, or at least, how we do ours. My kids are not required to log in their attendance of course. Though we try to make a routine to start with our lessons latest by 10:00am, this does not happen most of the time. Our timing is so flexible, that we can cover what lesson we want to learn even at bedtime.

For two years, we used online modules for my eldest. Almost the same as distance learning, but the difference? I was there to facilitate. He did not have learn things entirely on his own. He could immediately come to me when he needed help, and we would recap every end of the lesson. There were times when he would do only one subject in a day, and we were entirely okay with that set-up.

We do lots of experiments, and discover things together. Of course, we can include actual play to our lessons, and not a virtual “bring me” or “Simon Says” game.

We Do What’s Best

In the end, we aim to do what’s best for our children, in the best of our ability. We have our own reasons why we homeschool or why we don’t. Whatever we choose for our families shouldn’t be questioned, because we all are, or should be intentional with the education of our children.

Here's me wishing you well, whatever method you choose in educating your children!

❤️Arlyn