Homeschooling During a Pandemic...It's Not Going to Go Well
Kate Weitz and Dr. Brent Elder have been collaborating on her son Freddie’s homeschool program for the last three-and-a-half years. Kate homeschooled Freddie due to multiple immune-related health conditions and his label of autism. Acknowledging the monumental task of forced homeschooling that is likely to be a trainwreck for most if not all parents around the world, Kate and Brent decided to write this piece. What follows is a dialogue between Kate and Brent about homeschooling tips they feel might be helpful as parents of children with and without disabilities are thrust into the world of education...at home...in the midst of a global pandemic...while (trying) to work from home.
The Homeschool Squad (est. 2017)
Kate: Autism mom, advocate, and homeschool parent to the amazing Freddie.
Brent: I am a former public school inclusive educator in Santa Barbara, and am an assistant professor of inclusive education at Rowan University in New Jersey. I met Kate through a friend and colleague, Dr. Rosy Matos Bucio. Rosy, an autism clinician, invited me to learn more about what she had going on with Kate and Freddie. When I spoke to Kate, we discussed their challenges and successes related to starting an effective homeschooling program, and began a partnership that continues today.
Below, we offer some tips of the homeschooling trade we think may be particularly useful for parents struggling to teach their children with and without disabilities at home, without training, without planning, and during a time of global crisis.
Top Five Tips from the Trenches
1. The color-coded block schedule is not the answer.
Kate: DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHER PARENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. These colored-coded schedules are super cute and look great in pictures. But have you seen photos of parents crying in the corner out of sheer frustration/exhaustion? Cause you know it’s happening. Do what is best for yourself and your child. If it means all they learn one day is how to make popcorn and search for movies on Disney +, so be it. Those are solid life skills anyway.
Brent: Routine is certainly important, but so is maintaining personal health and well-being. If your family is having a hard time adjusting to a homeschool routine, start with 15-minute academic tasks mixed in with home-based non-academic activities. Try to increase the number of 15-minute tasks over time as your family adjusts.
2. Embed your children’s interests.
Kate: Freddie thinks hand mixers are one of human kind’s better inventions. He also thinks cream cheese frosting is the nectar of the gods (he’s right). The perfect motivation to entice him to participate in cooking class and math? Cupcakes. The whole family wins.
Brent: Use this time to “do science” while enjoying the outdoors, “do math” while loading your virtual shopping cart with goods to be delivered, and “do language arts” while watching an educational YouTube channel or reading the captions on a muted television. It all counts.
3. You have an educational team to support you.
Kate: To say that I am a homeschool parent is deceiving. Freddie has a robust home education plan in place, but it has taken time, resources and an entire team of people to create and execute. You will not be able to do this in a matter of days/weeks. Ask for help.
Brent: Whether you have an individualized education program (IEP) team or your child’s general education teacher, you have people at the school you can turn to. Your child’s current and former teachers, building administrators, and other parents facing similar struggles can be wonderful sources of support.
3. Go easy on yourself and your child(ren).
Kate: If you were thinking about quitting drinking, now is not the time. If you gave up chocolate for Lent, God will forgive you. These are trying times. Give in to your vices (don’t go bananas). And remember if you’re getting a little claustrophobic with all of this togetherness, your kids are too. If you all are healthy and safe come day’s end, I’d consider it a win.
Brent: Accept that you’ve been given an impossible task, whether your child has a disability or not, and it is ok to not do well at homeschooling. Throwing together an education plan at the last minute doesn’t work for anyone. Nothing can take the place of well-planned and coordinated educational opportunities.
Kate: You are not a teacher. I’ll repeat that, you are not a teacher. Teachers have teaching degrees. You do not. Do the best you can and fake it till you make it. But please do not forget how hard it is to teach your kids when they do go back to school. Wouldn’t be amazing if teachers were paid their worth?
