Getting the hang of learning at home

As students and teachers in Ontario were heading off on March Break, they received the shocking news that schools would not be reopening on March 23.
Since then, the province has rolled out a learn-at-home initiative, forcing students and teachers to adapt to a new way of learning and delivering curriculum, with teachers adapting material, and often creating brand new online lessons.
Across the province students, parents and teachers are working within the new system as best they can, until at least the end of May, and possibly longer as the pandemic continues to keep people from congregating.
These days, Creemore resident Rachel Lynn Doucette can be found doing her math work at the kitchen table, instead of being in her Grade 9 classroom at Collingwood Collegiate Institute.
She used to get to school early and have time to socialize in the morning, and at lunch. Now, she is home most of the time, except for the odd trip to the grocery store. Her mom and sister are home too, and her dad goes out to work in the afternoons.
She has been adapting to the new method of learning, as best as she can.
“It was a little difficult at first. Everyone was trying to figure out what to do and the teachers were thinking of what projects they could give us online,” said Doucette.
She is currently enrolled in math, science, and geography.
“So, it was pretty difficult the first couple of weeks but I’m getting the hang of it.”
She said she has the option of having work sent home on paper, as opposed to doing it online. She finds that is helpful for math, because it’s easier to work it out on paper.
Doucette said it has been pretty easy to get in touch with her teachers and they have been quite responsive. They have live chats, where the teacher is sitting at their computer answering questions in real time, or she can get in touch with them by e-mail.
A class is assigned to certain days of the week and teachers are required to assign three hours of work per course per week for high school students.
“Honestly I like working in the classroom better but it’s easier in some ways and harder in others,” said Doucette. She said the challenge of remote learning is that she misses working directly with teachers but the upside is that she can work at her own pace, moving ahead when possible.
“I hope that, if we are able to go back to school, we can still get our marks by the end of the year and go on to the next grade. I wouldn’t want to redo Grade 9,” she said. “I have been working at this so that if they do end up grading us on what we’ve done online, I’m caught up on it.”
She said there were some initial disappointments, like the cancellation of the band trip, which she was excited about.
She does miss seeing her friends at school but says that they have been keeping in touch by phone and on Snapchat.
“It’s keeping me somewhat sane,” she said.
Teachers have also been adapting to the new system. It look a two-teacher Nottawa family with three young school age children a little bit of time to find a way to make it all work for them.
Jennifer Geier and her husband both teach at Banting Memorial High School in Alliston. Geier teaches life skills and special education, and her husband Gordie teaches phys ed. They are both working from home while taking care of their three young daughters: Ainsley is in Grade 1 and the twins, Brynn and Kaia, are in senior kindergarten at Nottawa Elementary School.
Geier said in some ways they are lucky because there are two parents at home so they can trade off duties, but when only one parent is at home, it falls solely on them. The Geiers are able to schedule their video calls and teaching duties so that one of them is available to do the parenting.
“I know we were struggling for a while, figuring out how do we get our programs out, get the kids taught and still let them breathe and be kids, and get all these things done within what we thought was a proper timeframe,” said Geier.
Because the girls are so young, they are doing their best to follow the lessons posted by the teacher, but not everything is getting done. She has heard from others who are overwhelmed with the amount of work.
“People need to realize that this work is put out by teachers but you need to function as a family and that’s where a lot of people are struggling,” said Geier.
Pre-COVID-19, a typical day at the Geier household started at 5:30 a.m., getting everyone up and ready for school. They would have family or a babysitter come in each morning, and because they both coach, depending on the season, one of them may have to stay late at school while the other would come home to start the evening routine. The whole family skis, and the girls do many activities outside of school – gymnastic, swimming and piano lessons. 
To make it all work, there is a lot of planning, with time on weekends allocated to grocery shopping and meal prep. 
“We keep a very tight ship around here,” said Jennifer, something they have maintained throughout the pandemic, sticking to routine and bedtimes as much as possible.
Life post COVID-19 means they don’t have to get up quite as early in the morning.
“We definitely sleep in a little longer because we don’t have the commute, which is nice, but we do start our day at the same time,” said Geier.
After breakfast, they begin their schooling right away. She said she finds it’s the best way to keep them engaged, adding their teachers have done a phenomenal job of posting activities for SK and Grade 1, including some reading and math. 
Mom and Dad have also created an activity log where the three girls keep track of their chores and activities.
“It has been awesome, to be honest,” said Geier, adding that she has not heard once that they are bored. 
In fact, aside from missing their friends and their organized activities, the girls are pretty happy with the current situation. They play well with each other and get lots of time outside with their parents.
“I do love being with the girls and learning with them. Getting outside more, having more time to make meals,” said Geier. 
One of the downsides is that they end up spending too much time online. Geier said they are not a screentime family. She doesn’t like being glued to her phone or computer – setting up the Google classroom, answering e-mails, interacting with parents and students.
“It’s all stuff you would do during your workday but to get that interaction that I miss so much as a teacher, the interaction with the students, it’s so hard to do online.”
An effort to limit that screentime, especially in front of the children, has resulted in more late nights catching up and planning for the next day.
The province is expected to make an announcement next week about ongoing school closures. As of now, it is not known if students will be returning to the classroom in June.