"The good stuff is over," some say.
Others add: "Finally!"
Everywhere you look, a new course starts with all that that entails.
For parents, it is time to make some decisions, help children regain certain habits and even face possible fears with them.
According to the UOC experts, these are the ten points that all parents should consider so that the next nine months go smoothly.
1. The adaptation process.
After the holidays, returning to day-to-day life, including the strict schedules of school or high school, can be difficult. But experts remember that the extraordinary thing is the holidays, so "returning to the routine has to be a natural process that we can anticipate a few days by recovering the more or less usual schedules, although they are not the same, as those of school" advises Jordi Perales, collaborating professor in the Studies of Psychology and Educational Sciences and tutor of the university master's degree in Learning Difficulties and Language Disorders at the UOC.
For her part, Sylvie Pérez, also a collaborating professor at the UOC's Studies in Psychology and Education Sciences, warns that the important thing about vacations is that they have been a time of break from the usual day-to-day routines related to school schedules, "and be aware that this, which is positive for everyone, is what in turn should help them to face going back to school, assuming in some way that the first days will be difficult for everyone."
According to this UOC professor, this is a good way to prepare as long as one does not live from anguish or nostalgia for what we left behind, but rather by facing it as «what is necessary, which becomes the return to tranquility or the maelstrom of daily routines ».
2. The school WhatsApp groups.
It is almost inevitable: even if we are somewhat reluctant, the need to create links with the parents of the children's classmates usually ends up being part of their WhatsApp group.
However, it is up to each one how to intervene in them.
Experts agree that the problem is not the instrument, but the use made of it.
As Nati Cabrera, professor at the UOC's Studies in Psychology and Education Sciences, comments in this article, one thing is to maintain good relations with the parents' community and another to
turn the bond between parents into a parallel agenda
that prevents children from children make the effort they must make to assume their responsibilities.
His opinion agrees with Sylvie Pérez, who recalls that these groups should never be used "to find lost clothes, to ask from which page of which book to do homework, to make comments that may be not very correct or polite, and on Nor is there a case to criticize what the children of the other parents have done in class, as this should be resolved at school ».
3. Will the bubble groups continue? Will blendedness return? How to deal with uncertainties from COVID-19.
The health situation is new for everyone, also for the smallest of the house. And although in principle the school has guaranteed presence throughout the course, students should know that we are in a situation of uncertainty. «Preparing for uncertainty is not easy, especially when you are looking for certainties that strengthen your learning. However, children have a great capacity to adapt to new situations, ”recalls Jordi Perales, who adds that the positive part is that, after more than a year of a pandemic, students can already begin to anticipate what will happen if there is a pandemic. blendedness, "and anticipation of new situations can facilitate adaptation to them."
In any case, in Sylvie Pérez's opinion, it is necessary to explain to children and adolescents, according to their maturing age, what the situation is to avoid fears.
“Insecurity usually comes from fear of the unknown, and for this reason the how and why must be argued.
It must also be done with the adults with whom the students live.
If adults feel fear, it will be transferred to minors, "he says.
4. After school, yes or no?
Experts say that it is good to let children develop their interests in whatever they want and, if they like music or sports, enrolling them in after-school classes in those or other disciplines in which they are interested is a good idea.
But this is the case as long as we bear in mind that these extracurricular activities should not be "reviews" so that they can get better grades, points out the tutor of the university master's degree in Learning Difficulties and Language Disorders at the UOC. «The acquisition of competences in Primary and Secondary school corresponds to guaranteeing it to educational centers. We are not doing the student any favors by forcing him to repeat something in the afternoon when he has done the same thing in the morning, "he says, recalling that one thing is a small temporary reinforcement, and quite another, institutionalizing revision classes.
In addition, experts recommend that, if they sign up for extracurricular activities, these classes do not occupy all the afternoons of the working week, they are always
consensual activities with the children and not imposed
and, if possible, they are maintained for a couple of trimesters. . "If it seems to us that we have made a mistake or it seems to the child, we must take time and also teach that the agreed decisions must be kept," says Sylvie Pérez.
5. What does it mean to give away images of children at school?
In most educational centers, parents' consent is usually requested at the beginning of the course to be able to take photos of children and inform legal representatives of the activities carried out or use them to advertise the center through social networks or media.
Obviously, each parent decides what to do, however, if the minor is over 14 years old, it will be the child who provides the consent.
Below it, the consent of the legal representatives is required.
On the other hand, in certain actions the criterion will be to take into account the maturity of the minor to determine who decides.
Whether the parents or child over 14 years of age give it, this is not a blank check. In any case, the use of the image of a minor must be delimited by the purpose determined by the Organic Law of Education, that is, the educational and orientation function of the educational centers.
As Mònica Vilasau Solana, professor of Law and Political Science Studies at the UOC and director of the UOC's Data Protection postgraduate course, explains, even if you have the consent of either the minor or the legal representative, the educational center cannot make use of the images of the child as you wish, since Organic Law 1/1996, on the Legal Protection of Minors, says that the dissemination of information or the use of images or names of minors in the media that may imply a Illegitimate interference in their privacy, honor or reputation, or that are contrary to their interests, will determine the intervention of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which will immediately urge the precautionary and protection measures provided for in the Law and will request the corresponding compensation for the damages caused (Article 4.2 of LO 1/1996).
6. If there is a change of companions.
What can we do if in this new course he will not find his usual classmates, either because the center itself has decided to regroup the students, or because it is opening in a new school? The recommendation of the experts is to trust the child's ability to socialize, although it may have some help. "The main thing is
not to contribute to the" drama "
that the situation may initially entail for them," says the UOC professor, adding that it is also a good idea to help them generate a correct self-concept of themselves, letting them know how They have potential and in what they should or can improve.
Another tip from Jordi Perales is to explain to them that in life they are going to have to be with colleagues who will not always be to their liking, and that, even if they don't like it at first, «it can be an opportunity to meet new people who may be able to contribute much more than they think
a priori
».
7.
Help out with homework or let them do it themselves.
It is another of the frequent doubts among parents: is it better to help him do the tasks or let him try to do them on his own?
The answer is that
help
, if needed,
is always positive.
. This does not mean that parents should do their homework. As Perales explains, homework is a reinforcement activity that teachers assign to students according to what has been done in class. Therefore, all students, even theoretically, know how to do them. Another thing is that the parents provide the moment, the situation, the space, and even a small explanation if necessary. But what happens if we see that our son does not know how to do his homework? The recommendation is to notify the teacher so that he can assess the situation and adapt future homework to each student.
8. Strict hours also at home or flexibility?
Coming from school and going down to the park to play with friends is almost a must after a long school day. But should we set some kind of schedule for them to come home at a certain time to do their homework for the next day? It depends on how old they are, replies Sylvie Pérez. According to the UOC professor, in stages such as the end of secondary school and post-compulsory education, students have had to learn to self-manage their time, they must know when they do their homework best or how long it takes.
If we talk about their first tasks, it is worth accompanying them to find and know how they are doing better and little by little to generate autonomy in this regard. Then, as they grow up, “we must also carry out an exercise of shared trust with the boys and girls, a transfer of the obligation to do the tasks they have on them. If they do and comply, we should not be invasive, "he says.
9
.
The change of stage.
Going from Primary to ESO or from ESO to Baccalaureate can generate certain fears. Faced with a situation that seems new, it is normal for there to be uncertainty. But the truth is that students know from a young age what their itinerary will be at school and high school. «All the students already know in the first or second year of Primary that, after the sixth grade, the institute will come with the ESO. Therefore, they have been able to anticipate those changes. What generates uncertainty is the non-anticipation, not the fact of the change itself ", recalls Perales.
Precisely for this reason, it is an issue that we can talk about in time, «giving space to the conversation around what is going to change, what worries ... It is positive to try to
make the transition something necessary, obligatory, natural and shared
by the rest of the colleagues from the same course explaining to them that both those who will come later and those from higher courses will also have or had to do it ”, says the UOC professor. If possible, encouraging them to share these uncertainties with other students who are already in the higher stages can be very helpful as they are closer testimonies to them.
10. How to deal with anxiety about a new "more difficult" course.
According to experts, it is normal that they have heard that each course is "much harder" than the one they just finished, and it is true.
As they explain, it is necessary that each course be more difficult than the previous one "for the simple reason that, by simple
evolutionary development
, each year that passes, the student is capable of solving more complex questions," says Professor Perales.
However, both teachers and families must be attentive to the evolution of each student “to be able to adapt decisions about children based on their response to each situation.
If a family detects situations of anguish, they have to notify the assigned teacher or professor, so that they can act accordingly, "he warns.
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