5 Things I Don’t Hate About Remote Learning

When schools shut down last March “for two weeks,” I was pretty sure it was the end of the school year. Sure enough, remote learning commenced and kids around the country concluded the year at home. Like most parents at that time, I was hopeful that the kids would return to the classroom in September, but as we headed into summer with no dramatic change in the pandemic situation it became clear that in-person learning was unlikely.

Sure enough, remote learning 2.0 was announced and my kids (along with much of the rest of the country) started a new and improved version of virtual schooling. And while I fully understand and respect that our experience is not the same as everyone else’s (this modality works differently for different kids, after all), I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well it’s been going in our home. My kids are learning and growing in ways I didn’t expect. So with all the negativity surrounding the struggles of virtual learning, I thought I’d focus on the positives.

Here are five things I don’t hate. In fact, I actually love them.

1. More Sleep. I work from home. My husband now works from home. My kids are schooling from home. We’re all here, all the time. But with no commutes, no lunches to pack, no homework to find, and no reason to get fully “ready” every morning, we all get to sleep in a lot later than we would during a normal school year. Honestly, this part is amazing.

2. More Quality Time with My Kids. My oldest started middle school this year. He’s at the age where you expect kids to start pulling away and your one-on-one time lessens. But with him at home, we get a lot more time together. One of my favorite things has been to spend time with him while he’s logging time for PE. He has to do a minimum number of exercise minutes each day, and while he’d prefer to do them on the elliptical machine in our garage while watching YouTube, I’ve coaxed him (sometimes begrudgingly, I’ll admit) on bike rides, to play tennis, to do a HIIT workout video…lots of activities we normally wouldn’t get to do during the school day together. For my second grader, we’ve instituted “read and snuggle time” in the afternoons. When she does her daily 30 minutes of independent reading, I grab my book, too, and we snuggle up on the couch.

3. Watching My Kids Engage and Succeed. This has been THE MOST REWARDING THING. I’ve written before about how one of the reasons I love my kids going to school is because they build confidence and independence apart from me. I figured I’d lose this benefit with remote learning, but boy was I wrong. I hear my kids asking questions to teachers they’ve never met in person. I hear them giggling with classmates during breaks. I watched my son confidently navigate a breakout session with kids he’d never met before. They’re doing it. They’re taking it seriously. They’re trouble-shooting technology, dealing with frustrations, and learning new skills. My newly-minted middle schooler is juggling SEVEN classes (not without hiccups of course, but he’s figuring it out). And, for 98% of it, they’re doing it completely on their own. My goodness, it’s so incredibly rewarding to watch.

4. Greater Appreciation for Teachers, Administrators, and Staff. I’ve always known that teachers love and appreciate their kids. But this crazy season has made it even more wildly apparent. Administrators are faced with an impossible job and have to make decisions that will never make everyone happy. Teachers are tackling challenges they were never taught to prepare for in their professional training. My 2nd grader is being coached on desk organization to keep all her materials from getting lost. My 7th grader is learning file management from his science teacher so he can organize all his electronic assignments this year. From what I’ve seen, they’re going above and beyond to make sure this year is just as productive and full of learning as a regular year in the classroom. And don’t get me started on all the support staff that are fielding calls from parents or supporting teachers and administrators in other ways. Everyone’s doing their best…with a cheerful attitude and a smile on their face, no less.

5. Flexibility. Obviously my kids have responsibilities. They have live Zooms every day that they need to be present for. But since remote learning leaves us untethered to a school building, we can go places! We planned a trip to visit my parents, and on a whim decided to extend it to a few weeks because…why not? And I haven’t ruled out a long-term RV trip if this extends into spring. Remote learning makes it possible!

Now of course these benefits are possible because of our privilege. As a self-employed part-time working mom, I have the flexibility to help my kids if they have an emergency. My husband’s job can be remote so we don’t have to worry about virus exposure or losing an income. We didn’t have to stress over finding childcare, and we had the means to purchase “nice-to-have” items that make our kids’ remote learning experiences less stressful and more comfortable. And they’re both neurotypical and adapt to changes easily.

This is definitely a time full of challenges, inequities, and learning loss for many kids – and I don’t want to minimize that. I look forward to the day when my kids can return to the classroom. But for now, I’m counting our blessings instead of focusing on the deficiencies – because right now, that’s what’s within my control.