Parents struggle to deliver online education in wake of school closures

By Mike Renzella

The Haldimand Press

HALDIMAND—Feel like you are going crazy trying to navigate the brand new world of online learning? You’re not alone.

“It’s quite difficult,” said Terra Bancroft of Townsend, mother of nine-year-old Paxton and five-year-old Theo, both registered at Walpole North Elementary.

Bancroft laid out a series of frustrating issues she had trying to get her children set up for online learning. This included connecting to apps being used by teachers to send materials: “I can go on, login, and it goes to a loading page that never loads. I’ve talked to the teachers, but they have no idea why it isn’t working,” explained Bancroft. “I’m trying to show the teachers my kids aren’t just playing video games. I’m just winging it at this point.”

After an afternoon on the phone with a teacher, Bancroft’s husband was able to get access to most of the learning materials on one computer. Their neighbour on the other hand had instant success logging into the apps, but lacks a printer at home to print off work sent by teachers. These issues highlight a sense of confusion felt by local parents who are trying to adapt to their new temporary situations with varying levels of skill and resources.

Bancroft has also been given different information from different teachers on what should be required for the curriculum, leading to a general sense of frustration. Finding some of the curriculum to be well below her child’s level, she asked one teacher if the current online curriculum is meant to help students “excel, or just to maintain them, and the teacher said it’s just to maintain them”.

The Press reached out to the public on Facebook for comments, many of whom echoed the same sentiments of confusion and frustration as Bancroft. Despite the problems however, Bancroft was quick to praise the efforts of her children’s teachers, and the way they are making themselves available to their students and families.