5 Ways Teachers Can Help Parents Deal With The Stress Of Virtual Education

Some aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic have become familiar to many people at this point. Virtual education may be something that was a completely foreign concept just a couple of years ago, and that is now much more familiar – but that doesn’t mean that it’s always easy.

Many parents are still struggling with virtual and distance learning. Many teachers have seen just how stressful this type of learning can be for parents, which then makes things more stressful for kids. Here are a few ways teachers can help parents deal with the stress of virtual education.

Problems Faced By Parents For Online Classes
The pandemic has brought with it many challenges, including hurdles faced by parents in the online learning space. Parents want their children to do well and succeed, but online learning is new territory for many – especially the majority who are not professional educators.

Before we can understand how to help parents, the problems they’re facing must first be pointed out. Some of the biggest challenges faced by parents with online classes are:

• Staying focused – Many parents are struggling with keeping children focused on their schoolwork instead of doing other things online.
• Routine – Another stressful issue for parents is establishing a daily routine and sticking with it. School naturally creates a routine, but with no school to go to and only online interactions that aren’t always live, creating a daily schedule and sticking to it can be difficult to manage. On top of that, establishing consistent times for waking up and going to bed may be difficult for many parents whose children are solely educated online.
• Balance – Most parents aren’t professional educators and often have other things that need their attention. Other children may need care, housework may need to get done, and parents may even have their own virtual work to complete. Finding a balance between these other responsibilities and teaching can present a challenge.

How Are Parents Affected By Virtual Learning?
Many things have been studied during the COVID pandemic, including how it is affecting parents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study that stated that parents who have kids in virtual school during the pandemic showed more negative mental, emotional, and physical signs than those with kids not in online classes.

Parents of online learners report higher levels of stress. Unfortunately, some of these parents have even reported turning to drugs or alcohol to help them cope with the challenges presented by the switch to online learning. They also must deal with the disruption of school-based services that many children need, which puts more pressure on them and their schedules.

All of the above findings resulted in the CDC reporting that parents need additional resources from schools to help them cope with the stresses of virtual learning.

How Teachers Can Help Parents With Distance Learning
What can teachers do to make virtual learning better? Luckily, there are many things! Some of the most important include:

• Communication – Consistent communication is key for teachers. If schools and teachers can do their best to communicate schedules, expectations, and platforms to children, this can go a long way towards relieving some of the stress on the shoulders of parents.
• Platform consistency – Online learning platforms can be a particular source of stress for many parents. If educators can stick to just one platform (if possible), the learning experience will be better for families, children, and the teachers themselves.
• Tutorials – So many digital tools are being learned by parents, who may feel as if they’ve simply been thrown to the wolves to figure it all out. Some students may understand how to use these resources well, but many parents aren’t aware of how certain tools work and how to use them. Providing cheat sheets and tutorials for parents is a good idea.
• Help with at-home learning – Many parents who have essentially been asked now to step into the role of educating their children are not educators, so they simply need help, especially with asynchronous learning. Parents need guidance so they can understand what students need to do, when they need parental help, and when they’re expected to work on their own.
• Realistic expectations – Online learning is vastly different to in-person learning, and while some students can thrive online, many will face challenges right alongside their parents. Educators need to keep in mind that the online learning experience is new for many families and that expectations need to be realistic when it comes to what students can do at home. Some students and families will struggle with intensive assignments or learning new and complex subject matter. Teachers must be patient and kind with students and families.

The school landscape has changed forever due to the pandemic. While many students are already back to school in person, there are many who may be immunocompromised or have vulnerable household members that cannot go back in person just yet, and others who are sticking with online learning for different reasons.

The best thing educators can do is remember that it’s a whole new world out there. Many valuable things have been learned over the last couple of years, but the landscape of education is still shifting and no one is quite sure where it will land. For this reason, it’s important to keep an open mind and an open heart with families to help guide them through the digital learning environment.

Featured image by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash