Out of the Mouths of Babes Parents!

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Getting back to school and back to normal - whatever that is!

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With school starting back this month, do you ever wonder what is going on in the minds of the parents? I talked with five different parents with schoolaged children ranging from kindergarten through tenth grade to find out.

Changes and Challenges -- end of last school year (2019-2020)

Many parents’ schedules were radically changed last year when COVID-19 hit and school classroom time was changed to remote learning at home. Many new challenges came with those changes.

A mother of five had to alter her work schedule for the days she could not get a baby sitter. Her biggest challenge was to keep her 2nd grader focused on his schoolwork while she was caring for his two younger siblings. She said, “It was hard for me to be his ‘teacher’.”

A mother of two elementary children took her kids to work with her and then had to finish schoolwork at home in the evenings after work. She said sharing personal devices between multiple kids to receive online instruction was a big challenge as was balancing work schedule and making sure schoolwork was getting completed.

One of the mothers I spoke with said her employer allowed her to work from home in order to homeschool her children for the remainder of the year. It was much harder time wise to complete work for her job and to make sure the schoolwork for all three children was complete. The parents bought an “L” shaped desk, and each child had their own school workstation at the desk. Mom stated her youngest child, prekinder last year, had a paper packet from the school; the older children used on-line work. One of the struggles the mother had was making sure all assignments were received and submitted, and then received by the teachers. She said, “there was a lot of emailing going on!”

I also spoke to a father whose wife was already a stay-at-home mom, so job schedules did not have to be altered for them. However, Dad noted that Mom spent all day (from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. with an hour break for lunch) sitting at the kitchen table with their youngest child and a relative’s child (both in pre-kindergarten) to help them finish schoolwork. These parents also have older children who were able to do most of their work on their own.

This father said their biggest challenge in all this was concentration. The children had to change their way of thinking from - learn at school and then go home to relax, have fun, etc. - to doing the schoolwork at home also.

The last mother I interviewed said she had just given her twoweek notice at work to stay home to care for her ailing father when COVID-19 impacted everything. Because of that, she was able to be at home to school her two high school children. She added that the children’s father had to pick up extra hours at work so he could provide for the family.

In addition, this mother noted online learning is challenging for her since she is not “tech savvy.” However, she said the school was very helpful in following up on assignments, and she appreciated that. She told me that one of her children excelled with the remote learning because of less distractions, but the other one had a harder time keeping up.

This Year and the New Normal (for now…)

All of the parents I spoke with told me the schools are doing a good job informing the parents of what needs to be accomplished. This can not be easy with things being so fluid and information changing so often because of the current situation. Parents shared during the interview that many emails are being sent out to parents, and the school website is updated regularly.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, face masks and hand sanitizer made available for students’ use are among some of the changes for this year that parents reported to me. Also, temperatures will be taken every day, and parents are asked to self-monitor their children before sending them to school.

Extra-curricular activities and sports will also have some changes this year. A mother reported the football players have to wear a mask for practices. She also stated there are changes for spectators at sporting events. There will be some kind of a limit on tickets; that information is forthcoming. She said she wants to make sure they can be there for her child their family can be there for her child at the game.

The mother of two softball players said she has not received information yet on what their games will be like or if there will be a softball season at all. The mother of a flute player stated some band practices and events in September have been cancelled. One of the high schoolers is on Student Council and believes some students will be attending the meetings via Zoom.

Parents had to choose between remote learning at home versus classroom instruction for the first six weeks for their children. Out of the five parents I interviewed, three of them have chosen classroom instruction for all their children.

Both of the other parents have a lower elementary child and then two older children, fifth grade through tenth grade. These families have elected to keep the youngest child home for remote learning and send the older children to school for classroom instruction.

However, one of the families that has chosen remote learning for their youngest child will switch out this year: the father will be helping out with the schoolwork since the mother has to go back to work in the office and can no longer work from home.

Concerns of the Parents

I asked the parents what concerns they had for this next school year. Here are some of their responses:

• “The kids will do well on campus. They are young and can adapt to the changes pretty well.”

• “I’m concerned about the asymptomatic spreading of COVID-19.”

• “We're concerned that with all our kids returning to school that the number of cases will go up, resulting in our town going on lockdown.”

• “Honestly, my child isn’t sick during the summer. As soon as he goes to school, within the first two weeks, he comes down with something. My concern is parents sending their children to school while they are sick.”

A father said his daughter has frequent ear infections, sometimes with fever, and children with allergies sometimes run a fever. The way he understands it, if his child has a fever, she has to stay home for 10 days, even if there is no COVID-19 diagnosis. He is also concerned the school children who do run a fever will have to undergo painful COVID-19 testing when they have symptoms of allergies which are sometimes the same.

Another concern from a parent: if a child tests positive, that school campus will shut down for three-four days to disinfect, but the other schools will stay open. What if siblings of the child with COVID-19 go to other schools in the city?

Parents’ Expectations for the Schools

The parents pretty much agreed on this question, and one mother put it so eloquently: “Protect our children and community to the best of their ability while doing their utmost to provide the quality education every child deserves.”

Thoughts of the Children

Out of the 11 students in the families involved in my interviews, only one student “isn’t really happy about school opening back up because she is afraid it’s going to cause more cases, then the whole town will have to quarantine,” the mother stated. One of the youngest ones staying home to do remote learning is disappointed she is not getting to “go to school,” her father said. The other students are excited to get back to school - to see teachers and friends, to get back on track with learning, and for two of them - to play football!

Parents’ Final Thoughts

“I am happy for the children to be able to socialize and learn in a learning place. It is difficult to do at home with other young children. I just hope that I’m not making a mistake by sending him and getting my family sick. I trust that other parents feel the same and will be taking precautions such as cleanliness and NOT sending their children to school on Tylenol or Motrin. Take your children to the doctor if they are sick or keep them home until well.”

“So many new rules and regulations. Different options for the kids for in-class versus online learning. However, this has added so much to the teachers’ already heavy workload. The teachers are on the front lines with the students, and they are the ones who will get the brunt of questions and problems from the parents. They are doing a great job!”

“With all the changes going on and all the uncertainty going back to school, I’m just honestly hoping that my kids will get into a safe and productive routine so they can grow up to be strong intelligent women.”

“The school is doing all they can to keep the kids learning and at the same time make sure they are safe. A lot is falling on the teachers, and they are working very hard for our children.”

“I know our school administration has done their best to make a quality plan that treads uncharted territory. Our teachers and staff have already proven that they can overcome challenges while providing a quality education. We look forward to making this a great year at SSISD!”

Just a reminder, all the information contained in this article was obtained from parents. If you have any questions about your student or the upcoming school year, go to the San Saba ISD website: www. san-saba.net or call your child’s school directly.