Malcolm Dixon, an HDC councillor and former principal has some tips for parents on home schooling. Photo / File
The most important part of your child's education over the next period of time while this Covid-19 crisis impacts throughout New Zealand and into the depths of your community and bubble is to keep your child/children cool, calm, collected, safe and above all stress free.
After more than 40 years involved in primary education those children who made the most progress were those who were relaxed and enjoyed the experience of learning.
Yes some had more academic ability than others, however it was those with work ethic, the ability to communicate and a desire to learn who excelled.
The teachers who had the magic were also relaxed, they were also highly organised, consistent and they treated each individual child as their own special person.
Within every household or bubble there are a range of people with those skills. Every person has special qualities and we all need to know that.
That is just the same at home where there are two parents they both need to be involved in the teaching process. Often it is the grandparents who are the best teachers in the wider family situation.
Here are some of my tips:
Ask the "how" questions or the "why" questions so the child realises they have the knowledge and you want to learn from them. Then ask the inquisitive question "What do you think will happen next? If this happened what would you expect?" Just make it fun.
Then move to another stage: you show your child how to do something and in particular from an authentic situation. Use what they can see, hear, touch, taste or smell in the first instance. Teach in the real world.
Painting a picture. Cooking an omelette/scone/pikelet, talk about the way a vacuum cleaner works, playing cards and the various patterns you can make with them, try exploring under a tree or identifying the sounds you can hear.
Talk them through each stage and get them to repeat it back to you, write it down if they can or you write it for them if they cannot, but above all make it exciting.
Boys love exercise so create the challenges and get them to create activities they want to achieve. Every 60 minutes a boy should do something physical that creates a sweat and enthuses them to do it again.
Run around an obstacle course and reduce the time it takes them or in three minutes how far can they get. Challenge an older member of their family on what they can do.
On the other hand girls like exercise but they are also social beings. They need to talk or read or watch or socialise even if the only thing around is their favourite toy or the family dog.
Girls in my opinion work better in even numbers (pairs), boys couldn't care less. Make a list of the different questions you can ask about the same thing. How many of you have had 4-year-olds who always ask why? That is followed by another why?
As I write this I reflect on what our young children from throughout Canterbury managed to achieve and their levels of attainment after the disaster in their lives following the earthquakes.
They showed no significant difference as far as results compared with those from the rest of New Zealand. Sure their mental aptitude was shattered for a while but they bounced back. Children are extremely resilient so make certain that you as the adult don't sweat the small stuff.
When they need to change schools it is often the parent who worries far more than the child. They are extremely adaptable.
Children who have been home schooled or educated through correspondence schooling often have far more advanced skills in areas than those who have been through a traditional education.
There is no right or wrong way. It boils down to what suits every individual circumstance. There are two main things your child will be missing; the social interaction that schools provide and that TLC (tender loving care) that teachers nurture. It is over to you to help provide that.
In today's classroom teachers are continually frustrated by the child who is behaviourally challenged and has limited support, by the demands of an education system that has been captured by bureaucracy which puts testing ahead of teaching and expects the teacher to be all things to all people.
That also makes them accountable for every decision they make and where they have lost the freedom to be inspirational and use an occasion as it presents itself. This may well be the start of a new way of education in the future. Let us hope so.
Finally I would encourage you all to take this time to teach your child the values and beliefs that you as their parents want them to treasure.
This is a moment in time that none of us will forget so make the most of it and enjoy as best you can in the circumstances you find yourselves in.
At the end of the day it is a virus the world is fighting not a world war. Think positivity - it is far better for the mind.
• Malcolm Dixon is a HDC councillor and was principal at Frimley Primary School from 1993 to 2014.