Home School!

So we are now in week 6 of home school.  Initially we were told it would be until February half term but it is looking more and more likely that it will be until mid March / Easter.  It has been a rollercoaster ride.  We have had a lot of tears, some from me, mostly from Tom and A LOT of frustration.  I have had to learn to count to 3 before getting short / frustrated / stressed with Tom, because as soon as he picks up on my frustration, he gets stressed and seconds later we have tears, which doesn't help either of us.  He does make it difficult sometimes though as he can be quite stubborn and 'refuse' to understand a concept no matter how many times you go over it with him, or he thinks everything is a trick question and therefore chooses the wrong option every time not using any logic to realise his answer has to be wrong or he will put down an answer without reading the question properly.  He keeps saying he hasn't got a functioning brain, to which I say he has, he just hasn't learnt to use it properly yet!  One subject he does enjoy is French and he does seem to be getting better at it.  His accent is better than mine already and the lessons are so well planned and so well explained it is impossible not to understand.  I have learnt loads of new phrases already, my accent hasn't improved though!  We have started using French words in our day to day speech.

Some subjects have been great (French, Geography, History, Theatre Studies, Textiles, IT), some ok (English, Maths, Music, Chemistry, Art, DT, PD ) and some really awful (Biology, Physics, Food Tech).  The awful ones have caused so much frustration and stress, mainly due to bad teaching, lack of explanations and then assessments that bear no relation to the work they have been given! I have chased English and given feedback which to be fair they have acted upon, but I have sort of lost the will now with it all.  Plus we keep getting told that teachers are super stressed - you don't know what is going on in their personal lives, so don't want to complain too much.

However, having said that, Physics and Biology have sent me over the edge!  I have ended up buying a course guide for science and that has made it better.  Basically we get a topic, do the lesson, then get out the course guide and make notes from that in the hope that Tom gets some understanding.  The teachers send through a powerpoint with no explanation of the slides or just tell us to watch a video and make notes they certainly aren't able to follow a powerpoint with no explanation (eg today I spent an hour fathoming out 2 pictures of electrons and a cloth, trying to work out why they were different, eventually I worked out that the 'rod' in each picture must be made of a different material - how would an 11 year old be able to work that out or understand it?).  Also, an 11 year old is not capable of making notes, they need some guidance on what is important etc etc.  I have ended up sitting down with him for all science lessons now, hoping that I can unravel it for him and teach him what he needs to know.  I think it is very lazy, the other subjects seem to be able to put together some useful lessons, you wonder why the science dept can't?!  This week, Tom got given the hardest crossword on electro-static forces as his homework.  Initially all three of us poured over it, but couldn't answer it, then we got google out, still no luck.  This morning, I was determined to get it done so spent an hour or so on physics websites from universities around the world until I found the answers.  I saw it as a personal challenge in the end and was determined to see it to the end, but really, how is an 11 year old meant to do that?  Biology is easier - I did A level and first year of uni, so have a decent understanding of it, I didn't do physics at exam level - I never 'got' it, I might be 'acquiring' it now!

Oh and guess what - we got an email from school saying they aren't doing the puberty chat with the kids now, that we would have to do it in their place instead - oh joy!  There was then confusion regarding sending teaching materials to us and then in the end they just put up a powerpoint with audio and a teacher going through it all.  It was fine, she spent a while doing male organs and glossed over female organs, so I went back to explain that and a girls period - what it is and why etc.  Didn't want him not knowing, especially as some of his friends have started already.

Quite often Tom is working until 5pm trying to get all the work done.  By which time he is shattered and I can't expect him to continue.  It has got better recently, it just seems to be English and the sciences that take up so much time.  The school last week, decided that as it was Young Person's Mental Health Week that they would give the kids a challenge to do every day - on top of their school work...WHAT?!!!  We, of course, didn't have time to do them - most of them were art ones anyway, anything art causes conflict in our house.  The kids who did them then got emails of commendation saying how wonderfully they are engaging in the work...NO! The reason they were able to do them is because they AREN'T engaging properly and therefore AREN'T doing all the set work and so have time to do them.  Talk about how to crush the kids who are working properly! Completely didn't help their mental health, in fact it made it worse!  

Of course the school won't know until the kids go back who has been doing all the work properly and who hasn't, as the school hasn't asked for any evidence of the work to be sent their way other than the odd assignment and quiz - most of which you could do without doing the work as they are multiple choice click bait.   I know some mums have told me that their kids are finished every day by lunchtime, I just have no understanding how that can be, other than they look at the lesson, go straight to the quiz or assignment, do that and that's it - ie do none of the work leading up to the quiz or assignment?  When I ask about specific bits, the mums have no idea as they haven't been monitoring their kids, so I am thinking their children can't be doing it properly.  I know other mums who are monitoring their kids and they are all working late and getting stressed trying to get it all done - I'm certainly not alone, but think I am one of the more conscientious parents - hopefully it will pay off on Tom when he returns and the teachers see that he does have understanding of the home schooling lessons.  I hope so anyway otherwise all the stress wouldn't have been worth anything!

In the last 2 weeks, the school have been doing more live check-ins for the children.  They are supposed to have 2 live form sessions a week (that has never happened for Tom) and then the odd live lesson - with mixed success: Chemistry and Textiles have done live lessons really well, Geography, Maths, Biology and History each tried to do a live lesson but failed miserably and gave up - mainly due to technical reasons and others just haven't tried.  Some subjects are now doing a live check in at the start of the lesson, to see who is checking in, check they understand where the work is and ask if any have any questions.  Mainly this is to take the option of 'I didn't know Miss' away from the kids!  No teaching really takes place, but I think maybe if the teachers start with that they might get their confidence up to do a proper live lesson.

We've been told that the earliest schools will return is 8th March, but of course they need to do mass testing before anyone can go back - not sure how long that will take?  Year 7 is the least important year, so they will be last to get back, probably just in time for the Easter holidays!  Infection rates are going down, but Covid is still quite well spread and hospitals are still rammed with patients, and as soon as the kids go back, infection rates will rise again, although they will have testing so they won't have to send huge numbers home every time there is a positive case like last time.  If you are in the same class as a positive case, you have to take a test everyday for 10 days and as long as you are negative you can be in school - will be so much better, means kids can stay in school, and hopefully asymptomatic cases will be picked up as well, which will help stop the spread.

Anyway, can't wait for half term and no home school - all evidence of home school is going to be removed from the kitchen and we are going to relax and do other stuff.