Kathryn is a dear family member, almost 12-years old, heading back to school (sort of) tomorrow. Her mom has taken photos of her each year on her first day of school; this goes back to Kindergarten, and it’s so fun to see her grow up. She’s always been excited about the first day, and going into 6th grade is a big deal to her. This year will be way different than she’s imagined it to be and, we are all very concerned.
Because of the pandemic, parents, teachers, family, and politicians have been endlessly discussing the safety of schools, staffing, classrooms, and what to do about students at every level. As a parent, I think the best learning environment is traditional in-class, on-site education. However, we live in a different time, and I am very sympathetic to those who advocate virtual-online classes.
I’ve known Kathryn since birth, and while she’s adaptable, I wonder how she’ll handle this. Online learning is the model Kathryn will face tomorrow morning. Every day she’ll log onto the school’s web-class at 9:00AM, and she’ll be in that “classroom” until 3:00PM. I can’t even speculate how that will work.
On one level, she (and all of us family members) are excited for her. While she misses her friends and socializing, she is embracing this new normal with modest enthusiasm. It’s not clear to anyone how this will all play out; will this learning model be sufficient? Will this prove to be super for some children and catastrophic for others? We’ll all know more soon.
In the meantime, I’m cheering you on, Kathryn.
Are we there yet? 