Parents’ Views About Distance Learning

Ingaborg Foutch, Staff Writer

All of us students are very focused on our own wellbeing and the craziness of doing online school. We’re all experiencing something never done before, and trying to adjust to this new schooling style. All this being said, it must be hard to be a parent during quarantine. Suddenly, kids are back home 24/7 and distractions are everywhere making at-home work hard to do, and “normal” life hard to live. Parents may have never thought they would have their kids at home with no outside activities for such a long period of time. Online school can be seen as a blessing, curse, or somewhere in between . 

“Online school has been great! Some teachers have really nailed it with a Monday morning summary or schedule for the week including assignments, Zooms and recorded lessons and Zoom office hours times. What I love is that this time has also allowed quality family time. My kids are learning or improving their skills at important life skills like cooking, cleaning and home projects,” Denice Gant, mother three students Will Gant and sophomores Elena and Lydia Gant said. Quality family time is something some families may lack, especially during these teenage years. Many parents seemingly have adjusted well to online school, and some are still overloaded. It may be overwhelming for some of us to have many changes so abruptly, but some of us may have never considered what it must be like for our parents. Many parents, especially those that have current seniors may really appreciate this time with their kids before they leave for college or whatever their next step is. 

Online schooling also may mean that they need help from their parents with schooling. Parents also have the choice to even help out their kids, and get a sense of high school work. Whereas some parents may love helping their kids out with school, others may be busy and not have time to home teach them. “It’s been great spending more time with my wife and kids. The only problem is I don’t know whether they’re doing homework or Zooming with friends,” Rick Callister, father of senior Reed Callister and sophomore Jane Callister said. It is a nice change for some parents who don’t get to spend very much time at home with their families to be able to work from their couches and be around all the time. 

While there are definitely perks of having your parents home more often, there are also frustrations and difficulties that arise from it. “Doing school online at home isn’t as bad as I thought it would be as long as I’m focused, and sometimes having my parents home all the time gets frustrating and makes me want to just get out of the house,” sophomore Carly Hoskins said. Everyone spends lots of quality time together, and sometimes it may be a little much…