School

I have to talk about school because this is what has been consuming my life since Christmas, which is why I haven’t posted in awhile.

It’s hard for any parent I know to deal with all the changes with school this year. You don’t know what’s going on from one day to the next.

I know some of you who follow my blog do not live in Canada. In our area of Toronto, the kids have not been back to school since before the Christmas break. They have been doing all of their classes on-line.

I have to admit that it is very challenging for me. Our daughter is in grade 12 so trying to keep up with what she needs to have in-tact for university or college next year as well as keeping her motivated has not been easy. The easy part with her is that she can do all of the on-line classes on her own and prefers not to have my interference (go figure!)

But for our son, it is different. Although he’s really good on zoom, he still needs help or shall I say reminder that he has to get on there at a particular time. I also have to make sure with him that he has all of his items needed for the class ready to go. Sometimes I am there to help him and other times I am not. When I am not able to be with him, I actually record the class on his phone so that I can go back and scribe his notes later so that he can just focus on listening and understanding during the lessons.

It is also challenging because he is in high school as well so each “quad” they call them, they take two courses at a time. So every few weeks, I need to communicate his needs to the new teachers who have probably never met him or worked with him and make sure that they are providing his proper accomodations for his work.

Another issue is that he speaks so incredibly quiet on zoom so half the time they can’t hear what he is saying.

On the flip side, I don’t think that it is any easier for the teachers. They have their own challenges and learning and teaching in a virtual environment has pros and cons.

One thing that I really like about this type of learning is that you don’t really need to get dressed or have that time where everything has to be done in the morning before you go to school. So half the time, our son is literally just been awake for a short time before he goes on-line. Also, if he is really tired, he can just have his laptop on his lap in bed and listen to the lesson.

Anyway, I have lots more to say on the subject, but that’s it for now…….. see you soon!