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Distance Learning - Yay or Nay?

How Distance Learning Can Effect Your Child if they are on an IEP, or Just Need the Extra Help.

By Megan MillerPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Distance Learning - Yay or Nay?
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

We've all had quite a year with everything that's been going on. During the first few months of the closures, our jobs and schools went from in the office, to operating in our homes. As parents, we made do with the change, and ended the 2020 school year the best we could. I'd like to take moment to really break down the ups and downs of what it's like having a child learn from home, and some tips and tricks to get by if you've decided to have your kid continue distance learning next year.

What is an IEP and How is it Effected by Distance Learning?

By Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash

IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. Many kids need this program because teachers and counselors noticed some kids have very unique learning styles and cannot retain information based on the standard teaching style. With my son's custom IEP, it's been determined that he can learn and retain just as well as any other kids, but he gets restless quickly, mentally checks out without warning, and easily distracted by other kids because he's very self-conscious. With all of these factors in mind, distance learning has completely thrown off the original expectations written in his IEP recommended by the teacher.

His IEP states he needs constant motivation, reminders to complete his work, rewards when finishing even the smallest tasks, and 1 on 1 teacher time. Well, he's not getting any of that doing school at home. He can't be rewarded by the teacher when finishing his work, that would be done by me, which I can't do because he can't stop getting distracted by other variables at home so he's not completing any tasks. He also can't get 1 on 1 teacher time because it's always just going to be a face on his Chromebook. The connection is not the same, nor is it personalized like before.

He's also lost all motivation for rewards. I'll ask him "what do you REALLY want super bad that we can get you if you do your work?" And he says "nothing." With no motivation, what more can I do? The answer for that, at least in my home, is that he needs to be reminded of repercussions that can happen if he doesn't complete his work. Rewards will still come, but you may have to modify how to motivate your kids with this change.

At Home Environment and Potential Distractions

By Christian Lambert on Unsplash

My son's learning style is very unique. One of the first steps in making sure he's set up for success is to take away all distractions around him. At first, the distractions were other kids (while still going to onsite school), and now the distractions are T.V. and Video Games. The only thing that's available to him within arms reach are his pencils and Chromebook. His learning area is in his room, so this is a high level of trust to make sure he follows all directions without constant pop-ins from myself or my husband. We do, however, have to go in there about once an hour, and just ask "How's it going?" This reaffirms that we could come back at any time, so he needs to be on on top of his work at all times. Overall though, his room stays relatively quiet, with soft jazz music playing in the background so there's some type of noise going on. Flat silence can make him lethargic.

Chromebooks and Other School Resources

Chromebooks are being used by all kids learning from home. In the beginning, it took a minute for a lot of kids to figure out how to join a "meeting," connect to Wifi, or how to find other school applications to finish homework. By the time everything was up and running, I was given a list of about 10 different links, websites, and resources that I had to know about. There were also 2 different ways homework could be turned in, which I could never figure out which one they wanted my son to use.

By Antoine Dautry on Unsplash

We also had 2 separate Math books and a book just for reading. Overall, it was really hard to understand the routine that my son was expected to do because there were way too applications that they were using simultaneously. What I can say though, is it's been about a year, and he's finally use to the routine. Things started to be reoccurring and consistent enough to the point where Warren doesn't look confused anymore. I'm glad he gets it, because on the days when he needs help with his work, I'm not really sure how to help.

When it's time for the Parents to be Involved

My son spends all day in his room, going from subject to subject. I asked him recently "when do you take your extra breaks?" Because it's required in his IEP as something that he'll need sporadically throughout the day. He tells me "I just get my lunch." When he told me that, I was surprised because his breaks are pivotal for his success. So I reached out to the teacher and asked about it. She stated that breaks are designated in the schedule, and it's in the newest one that was sent out. I said "thank you, I'll review it and make sure Warren takes his breaks," Well, after reviewing the schedule, there are no breaks. For an 11 year old, he is expected to sit from 9 - 11:45, go to lunch for 30 minutes, then from 12:30 - 3:11 more learning. Other than lunch, there are no other breaks written in. Which means the kids would only get breaks if they finish early with something, but that's not a guarantee.

My point in this section is that we as parents have to do the research, otherwise we won't know the full extent of what our kids are going through each day. I'm not upset to find out that he doesn't get any breaks, but now is my opportunity to raise my hand and make this change. He's getting more and more lethargic by the day, and sleeping in the afternoon. I had a feeling that school was wiping him out more than usual and now I know why.

Be the Part-Time Teacher

By The CEO Kid on Unsplash

With our kids being at home, they are going to have a lot of questions. You'll even start to notice that their questions are "How do you do this?" . Usually, we are use to the kids learning at school, and coming home with a few other questions while they are doing homework. However, our kids are going to start asking us questions about the work because they need help being taught the subject. It's becoming more and more of an issue that some kids end the school day not fully understanding the new math problems, but because of distance learning, there were too many kids talking and your child couldn't get their question in.

This means, we need to learn what they are learning. I know, I know... it's been years. You may not remember geography facts, division, interjections, or whatever else they are learning; so you are going to have to re-learn it. Sorry parents. While your kids are doing school at home, you are also a part-time teacher whether you like it or not. So crack open that book and learn WITH your child. You will both benefit from this experience, and it will help set them up for success.

What This Means for Long Term Success

Overall, my son won't benefit long term with at-home learning. His grades got a little better at first, but my husband and I noticed that he needs care and attention that he can only get from schools. While in school, he had a mentor, counselor, and personalized learning plans to fit his needs. Now, with everything on a computer, he's not going to get that full experience. As mentioned in the sections above, reminders and reinforcements will help along the way, but when schools open up again, I will be the first parent raising my hand to have him go back. So for me, I say "nay" to distance learning, but every child is different. Some kids have been thriving and hats off to the parents that set them up for success. It's hard but you made it happen! Kudos!

As time goes by, we'll start going back to our hold ways, and I look forward to the day my son can go back to in-person learning.

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About the Creator

Megan Miller

My name is Megan and I'm looking to connect with the world. I want to share my stories of life, love, and struggles so that maybe other people can be reminded that we all have a story to tell.

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