But Seriously, Who’s Counting?
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog titled August 10th – about my nervousness and excitement at the thought of school opening up. I didn’t know what July would bring re: COVID-19 cases, but I knew Mateo needs to be in school.
Since then, though, some of my concerns have changed. I am now terrified about the airport opening. I know the tourist industry is working hard to adjust to ensure tourists and Belizeans stay safe. I know the government is implementing regulations for tourists and Belizeans to follow. I applaud everyone’s efforts. None of this negates my fears, though.
Too Many Fears and Questions
How accurate is the rapid testing? Will tourists recognize the rules set in place by our country? Will we have to shut down again if we start seeing community transmission? What then???
Decisions, Decisions
So amidst all these fears, what to do about school? I’ve spoken to several moms and dads about this – special needs parents and parents of neurotypical children. We are all worried. Some just want their kids back at school and will do what they can to make sure the kids and teachers stay safe. Some are considering the online learning option. Others, quite a few, are thinking about homeschooling.
Homeschooling
Honestly, that was never an option I thought about. I come from a family of teachers. I grew up tutoring after school and teaching swimming. The one thing I can NOT do is teach my son day in and day out. Also, the thought of trying to do regular lesson plans, being creative enough to keep him engaged, put together a full curriculum, is daunting. Quite a few parents seem to be considering this seriously, though, so I thought I’d look into it.
Ministry of Education (MOE)
I first called the District Education Center in Belize City last week. They were very helpful and upfront. It seems I was not the first to call them. They have been contacted numerous times asking about homeschooling. Therefore, MOE was in the process of updating their homeschooling protocols and requirements. I received those today and I’ve attached the document for your information.
Basically, you can’t just decide to take your child out of school and teach him or her on your own. You WILL need to register with MOE and meet their requirements, which include:
- The parent/guardian must at least have an Associates Degree
- The parent/guardian must have a detailed education plan
- The parent/guardian will need to keep a portfolio of all the work.
MOE will be doing visits to ensure the plan is being properly executed and the child will be evaluated as well.
More Questions
Okay, now I know what is required. But honestly, I keep seeing these crazy memes about moms going insane trying to home school.
I just had to call a family who I knew had home schooled their boys in the past. I asked what was homeschooling really like? Would they encourage families to try, especially given the current situation?
Another Perspective
The family I spoke to have moved quite a bit from country to country. Their most recent move was from Mexico to Belize. They have done both home school and regular school depending on a variety of factors. This mom says her boys enjoy homeschooling. They try to do a more hands-on approach to learning to include many excursions, experiments, lots and lots of reading of books. Basically they use the boys’ interests to teach the various topics.
Honestly, that sounded pretty awesome. She did give some caveats, though. She said this worked best when at least one parent wasn’t working. It took A LOT of time and energy and planning. Also, she has three boys at about the same age. This means they are each other’s best friends and company all the time. So she didn’t have to worry about that either.
‘Regular’ Schools
Please let’s not dismiss all the efforts schools are taking to adjust in this new and difficult time. Many are offering shift systems to ensure social distancing. Some are offering online/distance learning. All are taking this very seriously and putting in safety protocols to protect our kids and teachers.
Some schools are completely reworking their curriculum and buying new furniture to accommodate all these changes. They are putting in a lot of effort, time, and money to make sure schools are as safe as we can make them.
Ok, What Do I Do?
Do I send Mateo to traditional school knowing he loves the company of the children and needs the exposure? Or do I try distance learning, knowing this will have limitations on him since live streaming a teacher won’t grab his attention as much as the real deal?
I can’t take a chance with Mateo. He can’t even tell me if he has a headache or a sore throat. He has had issues with asthma in the past. He’s high risk. He won’t wear a mask for any length of time. He doesn’t understand the concept of social distancing. Scarier still, like a toddler, he’s more likely to touch and put something-anything in his mouth.
I Just Can’t
With all that said, I can tell you what I won’t do. I still won’t home school. I will probably send Teo back to school on August 10th. Then, if or when we have our first case of COVID due to community-transmission, I will pull him out and do the distance learning his school is also offering.
To make sure we have no further regression, I’ll have his shadow/paraprofessional/support teacher at home to help. We will use the videos and live streaming with his teacher to help. I’ll have the head of the Special Needs Department to guide us along and assist with whatever behaviors or issues that might come up. Importantly too, I won’t lose Mateo’s space at his school.
How about you?
Now these are my personal concerns and fears and my personal decision. These are largely based on the fact that Mateo is special needs. He really does have a lot of special needs.
But what about you? If you are a mom of a neuortypical child, what are you considering doing? I’ve asked the same mom who explained her experience with home school what she was doing. Here is what she has to say:
It seems like there is no good schooling solution for this academic year. Every option brings with it stress and risk. Homeschooling mitigates worries over germ transmission—but how can we, as a dual-working family in a situation where everything is closed, provide our children with the rich and varied learning environment we like to establish when we homeschool? With our jobs, how will we make time to plan lessons for our kids? How will we spend the hours with them each day facilitating their learning? Sending our kids to school eliminates all those concerns—but what about germs? What if our kids get sick or bring germs to some other vulnerable person?
In the end, we are sticking with our school for this year. We have been extremely impressed by their imaginative problem solving, their continued commitment to holistic education, and their concern for our kids’ mental and emotional well being. I trust this school to provide creative lessons and as rich a learning environment as is possible in the midst of a pandemic. And, importantly, I really want Horizon Academy to survive this year as a school, so that it is still there next year when things are (we desperately hope) much closer to the normal that we are used to.
None of us knows what the coming year will be like. But I believe that my kids’ best chance at connecting with other people and learning something this year is to be found at Horizon Academy. So that’s where we’ll stay.
~Nikki, Mom of 3 amazing and rambunctious boys
