Use COVID to rethink teaching, parenting

        COVID-19 has affected children in ways that will have impact on their daily lives, ongoing education and psychosocial development in the larger world. It’s critical that mechanisms be developed that will provide relief for their stress and a place to put all that energy; some of it nervous and anxiety producing.

Take it outside! On the streets where they live. With sidewalk games; socially distanced story time with children reading to each other or telling stories, each one taking a turn to make the wordy adventure grow. A great learning and teaching tool. And it’s fun!

Even learning the times table can be done outside ; an old-fashioned slate and chalk will take care of business.  Play marbles! Develop a routine of exercises that contribute to health and wellness; a physical education class outside in the fresh air. Think of the possibilities!

I recall growing up in Bath, New Brunswick, #7 of 8 children, when being outside for hours each day after school was the norm. Of course, we didn’t have lots of television and there certainly was no internet or malls! In the words of Mama Cass, we had to “make your own kind of music”

Though classrooms in the age of COVID may be smaller, distanced and lacking all the things children have come to know in the 4 walls setting, outdoor learning may actually be a  blessing in disguise; the proverbial silver lining. Some children just aren’t ready for the sit down and sit still regimen that a classrom enviroment requires, especially those who’s social skills are lacking. They struggle. Play dates save the day. Outside, with a group of age related peers mixed with a few older children to show them how to do stuff, saves the play. Mistakes will be made; that’s part of the process, but with them is learning. What to do and what not to do. Block play parties with kids interacting in groups, moving in and out of their circles on the block also boosts confidence as the anxious child learns it’s okay to be worried and a bit nervous. Lots of children are. 

Today, in these COVID times, parents could pool financial resources to purchase equipment that would be shared, set up in various yards that have  appropriate space. A community work in progress that could go on for years as children grow and mature.

COVID has tested the resolve and patience of so many parents who struggled with home schooling children of various ages. Make no mistake! It’s a challenge at the best of times and gave them a whole new appreciation for what a classroom teacher of 15-20 children does day after day through a full school year. It’s exhausting.

The impact on children with special needs is astronomical; many of them used to get several hours/day of therapies and learning activies per day. That’s gone. Those about to age out are in jeopardy.

Children  prone to outbursts actually do much better in an outside learning environment with less ‘rules’; they ridge on classroom rules because they lack self-discipline. Sometimes, parents just couldn’t cope with the ‘wild child’ and decided to let the teacher  handle things. That’s wrong and it’s not fair. Parenting classes are available and offer guidance for even the most difficult child. Consistency is critical.

As parents step back, they’ll find that the childen will arrange their own play dates after school, negotiating what they’ll  do, learning to take turns as leader. Diplomats in the making. 

The COVID curriculum has a lot of potential as teachers, parents and community leaders move forward to ensure health and safety for all. Children have come out from behind smartphones and tablets and other devices of current communication and are learning to use their voice and their words to share ideas and intent. Technology becomes a facilitator of interactions not a replacement for them.

The ‘sit still and learn this’ model has been  partially sidelined for now. Frankly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing as this change of scene gives the students lost in the shuffle an opportunity  to shine, to show their stuff and to get comfortable enough in their own skin to rise above any particular challenges that may have held them  back within  four walls.

Let’s not gripe about what COVID took from us. Instead let’s look to how we can adapt our daily living to meet the challenges of ensuring our children are safe, well and happy while learning what they need to be learning to compete on the world stage.

Stay safe and wear a mask. Don’t litter!

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca