What school looks like amid COVID-19 when parents are the teachers

Drew Whalen starts every morning drinking a tea and reviewing lesson plans.

He's not a teacher, he's a parent.

As Whalen and thousands of other parents across Hamilton move into week nine of at-home learning, they're settling into a rhythm - finding a routine that keeps their kids engaged and themselves sane. What that looks like depends on the parent, the kid, the teacher and the day.

Whalen tries to keep his family's routine consistent.

At 10 a.m., when he finishes breakfast, it's time to start the school day. His kids, one who is in senior kindergarten and the other in Grade 4 in the Catholic board, settle in at their desks - the kitchen table - and listen to the national anthem. Then it's teaching time.

I do my best to do 20 to 30 minute learning blocks (over) about two to two-and-a-half hours," Whalen said, noting his kids are typically doing work assigned by their teachers.

Then it's lunch. After lunch comes iPad time. His kids use their iPads to read assigned material, use school-approved apps and complete other work assigned by their teachers.

How's it going so far?

It's not easy by any stretch of the imagination," Whalen said. It's a learning curve for them, us and the teachers, so patience is the real lesson here."

Joanne Munghen agrees.

It's OK. It's hard. It's a struggle," said the Hamilton mom, whose five-year-old son is in the public board. We're not teachers, right? So the struggle is just a reality. We're not trained to do this."

One of the biggest lessons she's learned is to give her son a break.

We're going along and going along and all of a sudden he just doesn't know (a word) and I'm like, But you do know - you just read a word seven letters long and this one is only two,'" Munghen said. It's hard to realize when kids need a break."

Both Munghen and Whalen said their kids' teachers are giving them regular school work, either in the form of written instruction or links to online videos - kids' yoga is an example of a video Munghen's junior kindergartener has received.

Neither said their kids get quality real-time video learning.

Whalen said his kids get minutes." Munghen said she was surprised her son's received none.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce recently issued a directive to teachers: start offering real-time video conferencing.

In a memo to school boards, Lecce said he expected educators would embrace the use of synchronous (real-time) learning during the school closure period. There has been an inconsistent uptake of this mode of learning."

Education advocates and teachers' unions have raised concerns about this style of learning, saying teachers are afraid of hacking and of students' acting out. There's concern students who can't get online at a set time will miss out on learning.

As for the amount of school work kids are meant to receive during the pandemic, it ranges from five hours a week for kindergarteners to 10 hours a week for Grade 8s. Those in high school receive three hours a week per course if they are on a semestered schedule and 1.5 hours a week per course if they are not.

But when it comes to teaching lessons, parents say that burden is falling on their shoulders.

I have to teach myself everything so I can teach her," said Kristena Lopez Arroyo, whose daughter is in Grade 4 at a Catholic school. This is so frustrating and exhausting. It's like our home is a war zone now. Crying, tears ... this is her home. And I will make it her home first and foremost."

Lopez Arroyo said she thought the teachers would be teaching lessons, not the parents.

But for some, there's been a silver lining.

He's waking up excited to do school," said Kris Miha. Her son is in Grade 6 at a Catholic French school. He's not as frustrated and emotional as he usually is after school, or as tired."

Her son usually has a 45-minute bus ride. He's also been bullied at school, she said.

While Miha called her son's teachers wonderful," she is finding the school's online portal and resources difficult to navigate. But other teaching tools she's found online have been helpful. Miha is considering home-schooling her son in the future - though that's dependent on finances. She lost all her part-time jobs due to the pandemic.

If there's a message that resonates with all parents, it's that at-home school is nothing like in-classroom school. Nor should it be.

I think that goes without saying - no one's replacing anything here and I hope other parents realize that," said dad/stand-in teacher Whalen. This is a bridge so our kids can gap the learning when they start in their new respective grades."

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com