The school year is winding down in South Florida, and this year parents are celebrating even more than their kids.
Published: May 26, 2020
By: Jennifer Jhon
Next week marks the official end of school in South Florida, and there are more reasons than usual to celebrate. Families appreciated the extra time they spent together, and many liked getting the chance to see their students in action, but distance learning has been a challenge for many working parents.
Fort Lauderdale mom Alexandra Alvarez, who has a 5-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy, has enjoyed being with her kids, finding solutions together and learning to get along. But, she said, she has struggled to balance her job and her role as a mom. “I am working as well, and the constant interruptions were the most challenging,” she said.
Joanie Cox-Henry, a Boca Raton mom of two boys, said parents aren’t the only ones filling many roles. “Our home, which was formerly a place of rest and relaxation, has now been turned into our school, our park and our local restaurant. The pandemic has forced us to be inside much of the day, and that has been frustrating for all of us.”
She said her oldest son also misses interacting with his friends and teacher.
The online school structure has been both a blessing and a curse, said Nicole Andrews, mom of an Indian Ridge Middle School student in Davie.
“I liked that they could pretty much set their own pace,” she said, because apart from a weekly Zoom meeting with a history teacher, her daughter didn’t have to be on the computer at a set time.
But, she said, setting your own pace was also the worst part, allowing students to get distracted and making it hard for them to stay motivated.
The social distancing makes the situation even harder, she said. “My daughter misses seeing her friends. She hates not being able to hug them.”
Nikki Sterling, a Parkland mom of two boys, appreciated getting the chance to see her sons’ learning in real time, see their strengths and weaknesses and figure out ways to support them.
The worst part of the experience, she said, has been how most families came to be schooling at home.
“Being dropped into virtual learning with no training or advance warning for the parents, and very little training and preparation for the teachers, was not ideal,” she said.
“Parents, students and teachers are all struggling at various levels.”
Because she has been home schooling her 11-year-old for two years, she said, she was better prepared than most. “However, I still struggled somewhat with the transition of my 13-year-old into virtual learning. We made it work, though, and he’s excelling in his classes.”
Shatize Pope, the Fox Trail Elementary PTSA president and a mom of one in Davie, had a similar experience. She liked seeing how her daughter’s thought process works and getting to know her strengths. But, she said, “the worst part was seeing her struggle and not knowing how to teach her in a way she would fully understand properly. However, we figured out a way to help her understand using her methods.”
As summer approaches, very few parents are considering adopting homeschool for the fall if they have a choice.
“I am a teacher and understand that education has many parts,” said Carolyn B. Daniel-Kalio, a Broward County teacher and mom to boys ages 9 and 12 in Tamarac. “It takes so much more than people think to be an effective teacher.”
She said schools help teach children tolerance and help them be well-rounded.
“I also think it’s important that my children experience different teaching styles and learn to work with other people than the ones inside of their homes. I feel this prepares them for college and the real world that is filled with many different types of people.”
Pope agreed. “I love the time we have been spending together. I believe this has brought us closer than ever before. But I like her being in a classroom environment with other children. It will help her when she is out in the real world to know how to deal with different personality types.”
Neither schools nor parents have a clear picture of what the fall semester will look like. But the summer break is coming. And while it won’t solve the issue of parents trying to supervise their children while working from home, at least no one will have to write a paper about their adventures.
