School’s across the country for Pre-K thru College have turned to remote learning because of Covid-19 infections….
It isn’t a real substitute for being IN school learning….
Kids are falling between the cracks…
Parents are frustrated ….
So are teachers….
And so is the unlooked part of schooling….
Social interactions in learning…
All across the country educators are now trying to figure out how to put student’s back into school even as the virus continues travel around the country …..
The Washington Post asked parents nationwide to share stories and artwork produced by youths participating in the mandatory home-school experiment, garnering more than 60 responses from families living in 18 states.
School-age children are losing interest in food. They are complaining of back pain and burning eyes. They are developing feelings of depression.
It is unsurprising, even predictable, experts say, and likely to get worse the longer school campuses throughout the country remain shut down.
“The strain on kids is enormous,” said Matthew Biel, chief of the child and adolescent psychiatry division at Georgetown University School of Medicine. “Your 7-year-old wants to be recognized when they raise their hand. Oftentimes doesn’t happen on Zoom. They want to be able to make a comment, make a joke with a peer — can’t do that, no chatting allowed. Wants to be able to get up and walk around the classroom and move — can’t do that, we need to see your face on screen.”
He said it can be particularly hard for children with special needs, developmental delays or social struggles, but it can also be challenging for youths who simply crave friendship and the comfort of school rituals.
Especially for younger children, Biel said, the only way to express shock, sadness and displeasure is through emotional, sometimes violent outbursts and tantrums. And, although parents across the United States are rushing to reassure their children, they cannot provide the one answer that would help most — telling children when the pandemic will be over.
“This is just how life is now,” Biel said. “None of us can really share with our kids when it is going to end. We don’t know.”…
image…Karen James works in late October while her daughter Olivia attends virtual school at their home in Alexandria, Va.(Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)