Imagine being in first grade right now. It’s March 17th, and the first thing you see is your mom’s computer, that she needs back for work in a few hours.
Look at the laptop. You don’t know how it works. What are these tabs with the letters? Does that say “Google Classroom”? What the heck does it mean? So many questions. And no answers. Your mom creeps over and clicks on a piece of blue text. The screen almost immediately changes, making you jump. A few more clicks from mom, and you see your teacher’s face, all distorted, but there.
That is the daily life of a first grader doing remote learning.
Social Interaction
I got to meet with a second grader named Hazel. She goes to school in NYC, and is going through all the troubles mentioned in these article. She says “During the coronavirus, kids haven’t been able to see each other and interact with each other often.” An article on the Children’s Bureau website says “Interacting with other children their age (whether this is through daycare, preschool, Sunday school classes, or other events), helps children mature in their ability to interact with one another socially.” Both Hazel and the Children’s Bureau are correct. These children need that interaction to thrive. No one can go through life without a friend. People who are older use technology to connect, like texting or FaceTime, which brings me to another way that this whole situation is hard for these little kids.
Technology
When you plop a computer in front of a first grader and go back to your phone to get some work done, nothing is going to happen. The child doesn’t know what to do with it. They can barely read, let alone type! Teachers are setting up kids with lots of programs that take more than a week to fully understand, and throwing someone right into one is hard. When we started remote learning in March, I was in fifth grade, and it took a few weeks to get used to the tech we were using. So imagine being a first grader trying to get used to the tech.
Support
Many children have parents who can’t really be there to help them during school hours. It’s not that they’re bad parents, they just need to have time to work and make money for the family. Some parents might not know what’s going on well enough to support these children. They also may not have ideal spaces to work. It has been proven that the best position to work in is sitting up at a desk. Laying on a bed is a no. Sitting on your couch is a no. So if you combine children not knowing how the technology works plus not having someone able to help them out AND not having ideal workspaces, you have complete chaos.
So, as you can see, the little ones don’t have it any easier than you do. Perhaps even harder. These children need the interaction and tech and space to still be themselves right now. Arrange those socially-distanced playdates! Teach them how to use Google Classroom! Give them a good workspace! Let them live a REAL life. As real as it can get by still being safe. Some life is better than no life at all.
Students of the Sidewalk 