Parent-Guidelines
11 Guidelines for Taggart’s Parents during remote learning
We recognize that this will be a complicated time for families and the transition to remote learning will be a challenge. Parents will need to think differently about how to support their children; how to create structures and routines that allow their children to be successful; and how to monitor and support their children’s learning. Some students will thrive with remote learning, while others may struggle. The eleven guidelines provided below are intended to help parents think about what they can do to help their children succeed in a remote learning environment. We also know that we will all be flexing to respond to the needs that our families face during this time. If there are unique challenges, particular needs, or concerns that arise, please be in touch with me.
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Establish Routines and Expectations
Routine supports children both in terms of learning and sense of calm and wellbeing. As Taggart implements its Remote Learning Plan, parents need to establish routines and expectations. Taggart encourages parents to set regular hours for their children’s school work, to the best of their ability. Students will have flexible schedules. This will allow parents to establish routines based on what is realistic given their schedules. Keep normal bedtime routines for younger children and expect the same from your olderaged students, too. (Don’t let them stay up late and sleep in!) Your children should move regularly and take periodic breaks as they study. It is important that parents set these expectations for how their children will spend their days starting as soon as remote learning gets rolling, not several days later after it becomes apparent a child is struggling with the absence of routine.
2. Define the physical space for your child’s study
Your child may have a regular place for doing homework under normal circumstances, but this space may or may not be suitable for an extended period of time. We encourage families to establish a space or location where their children will learn most of the time. This should be a public/family space, not in a child’s bedroom. It should be a place that can be quiet at times and have internet access, if possible. It should be a space where parents can check in their children’s learning.
3. Monitor communications from your children’s teachers
Teachers will communicate with parents through phone calls or email, when and as necessary. The frequency and detail of these communications will be determined by your children’s ages, maturity, and their degree of independence. Taggart wants parents to contact their children’s teachers. However, we ask parents to remember that teachers will be communicating with dozens of other families, if not 100+, and that communications should be essential, succinct, and self-aware. We also encourage parents to have their children explain the various platforms and systems (i.e. Google Classroom and Google Meet) teachers are using.
4. Begin and end each day with a check-in
Parents are encouraged to start and finish each day with a simple check-in. In the morning, ask what is your child learning today? What are their learning targets or goals? How will they spend their time? What resources do they require? What support do they need? This brief grounding conversation matters. It allows children to process the instructions they’ve received from their teachers. It helps them organize themselves and set priorities. Older students may not want to have these check-ins with parents (that’s normal!), but they should nevertheless. Parents should establish these checkins as regular parts of each day. Not all students thrive in a remote learning environment; some struggle with too much independence or lack of structure.
5. Take an active role in helping your children process and own their learning
In the course of a regular school day at Taggart, your son or daughter engages with other students or adults dozens if not hundreds of times. These social interactions and opportunities for mediation include turning to a peer to exchange a thought or idea, participating in small or large group discussions, asking questions for clarification, collaborating on group projects, and countless other moments. While some of these social interactions will be re-created on virtual platforms, others will not. Human beings learn best when they have opportunities to process their learning with others. Beyond the check-ins recommended at the start and end of each day, parents should regularly circle back and engage with their children about what they’re learning. However, it’s important that your child own their work; don’t complete assignments for them, even if they are struggling.
6. Establish times for quiet and reflection
A particular challenge for families with multiple children will be how to manage all of their children’s needs, especially when those children are different ages and have different needs. There may be times when siblings need to work in different rooms to avoid distraction. Parents may even experiment with noise-cancelling headphones (no music necessary!) to block out distractions.
7. Encourage physical activity and/or exercise
Make sure your children remember to move and exercise. This is vitally important to their health, wellbeing, and to their learning. Taggart’s physical education teachers will recommend activities or exercises, but it is important for parents to model and encourage exercise! Think also about how your children can pitch in more around the house with chores or other responsibilities.
8. Remain mindful of your child’s stress or worry
It is imperative for parents to help their children manage the worry, anxiety, and range of emotions they may experience. Difficult though it may be, do your best not to transfer your stress or worry to your children. They will be out of sorts, whether they admit it or not, and need as much normal routine as parents can provide. As a school, we will do our best to provide resources that support parents with social emotional learning during this time.
9. Monitor how much time your child is spending online
Taggart does not want its students staring at computer screens for 7-8 hours a day, and for young children, we want to be particularly judicious about screen time (while also providing opportunities to connect, use resources, and get feedback). We ask that parents remember most teachers are not experts in remote learning and that it will require some trial-and-error before we find the right balance between online and offline learning experiences. School Administration and teachers will periodically check in with you to assess what you’re seeing at home and what we need to adjust. We thank you in advance for your patience and partnership!
10. Keep your children social, but set rules around their social media interactions
The novelty of school being closed will fade quickly when students start missing their friends, classmates, and teachers. Help your children maintain contact with friends and see them in person if safe and circumstances permit. Older students may rely more on social media to communicate with friends. Social media apps such as SnapChat, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, or Facebook are not official, school-sanctioned channels of communication. Taggart asks parents to monitor their children’s use of social media, reminding them to be polite, respectful, and appropriate in their communications and to represent your family’s values in their interactions with others.
11. Be patient!
The transition to remote learning will stretch our families, teachers, and students, especially initially. We will work hard to be responsive to challenges that arise, and we know that routines and new teaching methods will become easier and more accessible with practice and integration of feedback. During any remote learning time period, we also know circumstances might change rapidly. While we work to respond, we also know it will be important for families to balance work and family wellbeing. We also recognize that transitioning to remote learning is only one of the changes that parents will need to make during this time, and we encourage you to give yourselves and each other grace as we navigate this together.