As the country cautiously reopens, great uncertainty remains about what a future with COVID-19 will look like, and no topic is more fraught with uncertainty than what the reopening of school will bring in the fall.
The CDC has recently released guidance for schools on how to deal with the outbreak and attempt to prevent a possible resurgence, and that guidance doesn’t make the situation look any less bleak.
What the CDC Envisions for Your Child’s Day at School
Among the CDC’s lengthy guidance are many provisions that make parents uneasy, to say the least, about sending their children back to their traditional classrooms and school buildings. These include:
- Face coverings for everyone over the age of 2,
- No sharing of toys, games, or supplies,
- Desks that are at least 6 feet apart and all face the same direction,
- Regular COVID-19 broadcasts over the loudspeaker,
- Closed playgrounds and cafeterias,
- Near constant cleaning and disinfecting (potentially raising concerns about contact with unsafe chemicals, as well as preoccupation with cleaning procedures by educational staff),
and that just scratches the surface.
Parents are starting to put the pieces together–sending their child to school will probably mean a sea of masked faces, recurrent COVID announcements, isolation from their friends, and constant admonishments to not touch their face and keep 6 feet apart.
The prospect of how an environment like this will affect children is becoming almost as scary as COVID itself. And this doesn’t even get to the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of schools closing and going virtual again.
Homeschooling with a Private Educator – One Solution for Many Problems
Suddenly, many parents are taking a look at the homeschooling option and seeing how it provides a single answer to many of the overwhelming problems that school during a pandemic presents. And by hiring a private educator, parents can ensure not only safety, but a high quality of education for their children and peace of mind for themselves.
Just a few of the issues homeschooling with a private educator elegantly resolves are:
Safety and Health Concerns
The entire reason for the CDC’s guidance to begin with is to take every precaution possible for the safety and health of everyone involved. This is, of course, of paramount importance, but there is more to worry about than COVID-19.
As schools are ramping up the use of hand sanitizer and other cleaning and sanitizing products, the risk of children coming into contact with dangerous amounts of chemicals soars. The CDC’s guidance includes precautions for using chemicals around children and having proper ventilation, but a potential concern still exists.
By homeschooling, parents can ensure that the environment is controlled and safe, thereby minimizing the risk not only of a COVID infection, but of contact with other dangerous substances as well. In a home environment, parents control the types and amounts of cleaning products used, and disinfecting will need to occur much less in a private home, as opposed to a busy school. Plus, parents won’t have to worry if their child is keeping their mask on or if the kid sitting next to them is sick.
By using a private educator or homeschool teacher dedicated only to their family, parents can minimize their children’s points of contact with others and ensure procedures are properly followed.
Psychological Concerns
The prospect of what a day at school would be like under the CDC’s guidance is disturbing enough for most adults. Many wonder how things like repetitive announcements about COVID over the loudspeaker, everyone wearing face masks, and constant reminders not to touch their face or go near their friends will weigh on children. Even as psychologists recommend that everyone take a break from the constant pandemic news for their state of mind, parents wonder how that will be possible for children attending school.
One of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is the ability to provide your child with a cheerful, relaxing, and stable atmosphere in these uncertain times. Hiring a private educator let’s your child look forward to spending time each day with a person dedicated to helping them learn and thrive in the best possible environment.
Educational Concerns
One of the points that often gets lost in discussions about how schools will function is how much will children actually learn in these conditions. After reading through the CDC guidelines, it is hard to imagine how teaching – about anything other than proper handwashing techniques – will fit into a school day. This is especially true since many schools are considering cutting classroom hours and staggering attendance in order to accommodate the fact that far fewer children per class will be possible.
Homeschooling with a private educator ensures that all of your child’s “school time” is educational time. Your educator will be devoted to implementing your preferred educational method and ensuring that your child receives a continuously high quality of education no matter what COVID-19 has in mind.
Given all of the restrictions the CDC guidelines put into place, homeschooling may very well be the way to provide the best educational opportunities possible.
Continuity and Procedural Concerns
The only certainty for parents right now is uncertainty. Even if they decide to send their child back to school in the fall, how do they know what it will look like and how long will it last?
With schools looking at possibly cutting children’s school days in half to reduce class size, will their child go in the morning or the afternoon? If they have multiple children, will they be on the same schedule? What if another shutdown occurs, or multiple shutdowns – how many times might their children need to transition between classroom and distance learning in the course of the year?
With a private educator these issues are simply settled. Parents know not only who their children’s teacher will be all year, but that their teaching method and environment will remain uninterrupted. It also eliminates the possibility of their children spending long hours sitting in front of computers on Zoom sessions.
Many families are even considering hiring an educator to live with them for the upcoming school year. A live-in educator is a personal choice based on each individual family’s preferences, but one which could provide an even higher level of control and certainty.
Hiring a Private Educator
Bringing in a teacher dedicated specifically to homeschooling your child or children doesn’t just fix many of the problems caused by COVID-19. It can open up a world of possibilities you never knew existed.
A private educator or homeschool teacher can offer the ability to:
- Travel unhindered, whether for work or pleasure, and take your family with you,
- Craft a personalized educational experience based on your child’s learning style,
- Support your child’s individual interests and talents,
- Use an educational method that is consistent with your parenting style and family values, and much more.
To find out more about homeschooling with a private educator and the benefits it brings, visit our Private Educator page or contact us to learn more.