- Since the closure of schools last Monday, to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, families have been experimenting with school at home.
- Between connection problems, disparate information, lack of interactivity, educational continuity is not obvious.
- Being a school coach for parents is a real challenge. Especially for those who telecommute at the same time.
Since the closure of schools last Monday, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it has been home school. And all that, in improvisation. Families have at their disposal the resources of the National Center for Distance Education (Cned) and the digital workspaces, on which the teachers deposit lessons or working documents. In addition, many teachers have invented other ingenious means to keep in touch with their students.
Yes, but there you are, many families have encountered connection problems. Like Violaine, mother of three, who answered our call for witnesses: “The start of the week was very difficult with many connection difficulties. But around Wednesday, we felt a clear improvement ”, she noted. Ditto for Fabienne and her son, a high school student, who use the D system to counter technical problems: “The Elyco platform (digital workspace) is often saturated. The only recourse in these cases, is to call the buddies so that they transmit the screenshots which they could have made ”. And for those who live in areas where 4G goes badly, it is a double punishment: “Week of galley when you are in a low-speed area with little or not adapted equipment! In addition, we encountered major connection difficulties due to the crowds on the servers, ”says Marie.
"Understanding homework and motivation are much more difficult"
The start of distance education does not seem to have been easy on the side of the teachers, hence a certain mess in the information provided to families, says Marianne: "The teachers do not put homework in the same place on Toutatice (digital workspace). So with our boy who is in 5th grade, it takes a lot of time in the morning to get homework, ”she says.
And some students have a hard time getting down to work and finding a rhythm. Like Violane's daughter, a pupil in grade 1: “Understanding homework and motivation are much more difficult. Waking up at 12 noon and going to bed at midnight, she works in the afternoon ”. "It is quite difficult to get to work ourselves since we have almost never had the opportunity to be independent", also recognizes Lilia, also in 1st. Especially since the interactivity really misses the students, as is the case for Elise, of the same level: "I have absolutely no video lessons. I work, but without being in progress. It's very complicated to follow and understand everything, ”she says. And keeping the little ones concentrated is sporty: "Children are only attentive for a short time, because they are distracted at home by nothing," says Isabelle, mother of four.
Parents, teachers like no other!
There is nothing obvious about improvising as a school coach for parents: “We are not teachers. The new lessons, I explain them as I was taught them and during the correction returned by the teacher, I realize that this is not the right process, "recognizes Isabelle. Parents are rarer, like Benjamin, who seem to have found their mark: “We kept up the pace of school. I navigate between two levels, CP for my boy and CM2 for my daughter. In the morning, we study French and math. In the afternoon, we created a grouping corner in the room with cushions. Before resuming, we do small breathing exercises, then we study English, geo, history, science or music. I use a lot of educational sites like lumni. We finish with sport, ”he says. Peggy also feels some satisfaction: “My son is happy that I am his mistress. And I take pleasure in this new role ”.
Another difficulty for parents: managing this new educational mission with their own telework: “When both parents telework, it's impossible to reconcile everything. A colleague had to help me supervise my files. Even if my boss is very forgiving, it generates a lot of stress and frustration, ”says Elise. “Teachers abound with exercises for children to do, and that does not allow us to be able to work. And I got caught up by the two mistresses of my children because we didn't do the homework on time, ”adds Gaëlle. And for those who do not telecommute, properly supporting children in their work is simply impossible: “School at home… It's great when parents are at home! We are a hospitable couple, so for us, homework starts at 7 p.m. with little predisposed children and tired parents! », Regrets Hélène.
"We will not be properly prepared for the baccalaureate"
And if schooling children with disabilities is always difficult in our country, school at home is even more difficult for them ... "If you have a dys child, things get complicated. How to understand a course on exponential fractions without a concrete example? Asks Marie, a mother. “Our oldest child has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). For him who is in 4th grade, we must centralize all the information, replace his teachers and his AVS. You have to channel it, motivate it, copy its lessons… Not obvious, especially since children often listen less to their parents, ”says Anaïs.
Besides this upset school daily, what worries families is above all the fact that it can last: “The fear of the moment is after. How will the end of the school year go, and above all will they go to the next class? Will they have the level? Asks Natacha, mother of three middle school students. Idem for Lilia, pupil of 1st: “My high school intended to make us pass the white oral of French the week of March 16. We could not pass it and therefore could not exercise, ”she laments. The deadline for the bac also worries many students like Lorie: “We will not be properly prepared for the baccalaureate. We will all have gaps that will block us at some point. This is why I would like the tank to be entirely under continuous monitoring, otherwise there will be great disparities depending on the region, ”she believes.
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Coronavirus: YouTube channels, Discord groups, challenges to overcome… The ingenious ideas of teachers to keep in touch with students
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Coronavirus: Home school, leisure… How to organize your child's day well?
Do some teachers give too much work?
As teachers no longer meet in teachers' rooms, their coordination is not optimal. Hence a too heavy workload for many students: "The week was nightmarish for my two schoolgirls (in 5th and 3rd)," says Mamadou. They have crumbled under astronomical amounts of work, often noted ... They never finished before 6 pm, spend the day in front of the computer (we are very far from the 3 to 4 hours recommended). Each teacher thinks he is alone, sends work without too much coordination with his colleagues. Even the EPS teacher sent a sports session to the house and asked for a report. At this rate, it is burnout before the weekend, "he worries. Fanny, who must supervise the schooling of four children, even finds that some teachers are zealous: “The teachers put pressure if the homework is not returned on time. They give double the work compared to usual. I wonder if they don't take advantage of it to make up for the delay they have taken in the year on the program ”.
Some students also feel overwhelmed. As Mathieu: “The workload is far too great. With an approximate duration of homework of 1h30 per day and per subject. Only problem, we have six subjects. What makes a working time of 9 hours, if we take the time to do everything correctly, this is far from our 7 hours of lessons usually, which include time for discussion with our teachers, "he compares.
And for Agathe, a student in STMG terminal, who has been confined for two weeks in the Oise, fatigue is already being felt. "I manage to return everything within the deadlines requested by the teachers, but I work days from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm with meal / shower breaks, and the pace is starting to be hard. I don't see myself doing 6 weeks like that, even if we have no choice ”. "The lessons must be more fun and slow down, even if that means falling behind on the program established by the National Education", recommends Vany.
- Covid 19
- Coronavirus
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