Home is the New Classroom 

For Branxton Mum of three, Linda Griffths, home schooling is both a struggle and a success.

Printed by the Singleton Argus

What seems like every child's dream turned into reality when parent's pulled their kids from school aiming to contain the COVID-19 spread.

Parents are now trying their hand, some for the first time, at being teachers for their children. For Branxton Mum of three, Linda Griffths, this has been both a struggle and a success.

Being "locked-up" for what seems like a "lifetime", Linda said 10-year-old Nayte and 14-year-old Teonie are finally settling into a routine, while 3-year-old Savannah is simply enjoying her time at home with her siblings.

"The kids get up as normal in the morning. Nayte sets himself up on the kitchen table with his ipad. Teonie goes into the computer room.

“I don’t really have a set time. They are allocated work that needs to be done each day so they can go at their own pace, stopping whenever they want, as long as it’s all completed by 3 o’clock”. 

Husband Nathan is classified as an essential worker with the family hoping of no change in that department. His company T&N Treeworks are following the procedures to ensure all employees can continue in a safe work environment, currently on contract out of town.  

With schools staying open to assist parents who are essential workers at this time, it was in the interest of her children’s health which made Linda take the final step. With Savannah being an astmatic, advice from the National Asthma Council of Australia was to take as many precautions as possible, including taking her out of pre-school at local Bees Knees Early Learning.

“She has it everyday so she was my main priority. People need to understand that panic buying makes others struggle. I had to go and source her asthma preventer, driving to Hamilton just to get one.”

Savannah’s said to be enjoying this new environment, where Linda encourages regular downtime for all the kids with cooking, sport and dancing activities to help break up the day of study. 

Being one of twenty children enrolled at Kirkton Public School, Nayte receives a conference call with his principal, Ms Johnson, twice a day, at 11am and 1pm, to go over the daily school work and offer assistance. The school has remained open to provide support to anyone who cannot stay home with their kids but currently, all the children are now working from home until the pandemic passes. 

“I think it’s excellent. That’s the joy of going to a very small school. The things they do to keep the kids minds at ease and know that the teachers are still there to help them.”

Linda knew there was “less risk” due to the small number of students enrolled, but believes if parents are in a position to take their children out during this crisis, they should.

Attending year 9 at Rutherford Technology High School, Teonie’s main concerns with isolation revolves around not being able to socialise with friends at school. Saying how dedicated she is to her school work, Linda believes Teonie has settled in nicely, despite the social withdrawals. 

“She knows what she has to do and just does it. If she gets stuck, obviously I help her but thankfully, she doesn’t get stuck often cause year 9 stuff is hard!”

Linda’s advice to other parents in this situation is to remember they’re parents, not teachers.

“Too many parents try to stick to the routine of 9-3 because that’s technically school hours. But we’re not school teachers, we’re at home and things have got to change to make it easier for parents. I don’t stick to a schedule.

“There’s no stress. It’s definitely easier to let them do it at their own pace. As soon as 3 o’clock comes, the computers go away.”

The question on the mind for all parents forced into this situation is will this become the new normal? Will this pandemic change the way education is taught? 

“I think it’s going to impact people in general to know that they can do it on their own at home cause everything is so accessible. The teachers and everyone has proved that it can be done. 

“At the same time, teachers still are essential and need jobs as well. I don’t want to be homeschooling them forever.”