Azha Cole is a straight-A student at Waite High School, but studying at home has been a struggle for her.
Not because the coursework is difficult, but because she also has to teach her younger brother.
With schools shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, students and families are adapting to an ad hoc, statewide homeschooling system.
Providing curriculum, technology, and instruction is its own struggle. And learning packets sent home to many students can pose a particular challenge for families, especially without the direct, daily support of trained teachers.
Teenagers such as Azha, a 16-year-old junior, have the added burden of serving as student and tutor, and she’s noticed some challenges for her brother, fifth-grader Devin Sazenbaker. She has to relearn his curriculum, figure out educational techniques that work for him, and complete her own studies.
“I help him a lot so I think I’m a little behind on homework,” she said. “It’s a little hard to help because it’s been six years since I’ve done his schoolwork.”
It’s challenging, she said, for her brother to learn new concepts via learning packets.
“He gets frustrated when he doesn’t know the answer,” she said. “He’s a visual learner so he needs that face-to-face [instruction].”
Education experts say experiences such as Azha’s are not uncommon as many family members take on the role of educators helping students learn via coursework packets or online classes.
Kate Delaney, a University of Toledo assistant professor of early childhood and special education, said learning packets can create stumbling blocks as students are not receiving the same in-person instruction as traditional classrooms.
Family members may try, but they often can’t recreate the individual educational support systems that schools provide.
Existing disparities between affluent districts and those with high poverty rates can be widened. A single mother who works at a grocery store that’s remained open, for instance, has less time to help her children than a two-income earning household where both parents are working from home.
“There are a lot of students that are not getting the level of support and service that they need at this time,” she said. “Students with learning disabilities are not having the type of instructional experiences that they need to be successful. English language learners may not be getting access to translations without access online.”
Even parents who are home and have time to devote to their children’s education haven’t been trained in the coursework or educational techniques.
Mrs. Delaney said she understands families' frustrations: She’s a mother of three elementary students herself, and has struggled with teaching new concepts to her children. Her second-grader’s math curriculum uses different approaches than how the subject was taught 30 years ago.
“It’s hard to learn something by doing a worksheet,” she said. “Students really need that instructional piece from a knowledgeable teacher or a knowledgeable peer or a family member that’s familiar with it.”
Online learning gives teachers a chance to connect with and guide students remotely.
But not every home has Internet access, so districts’ have relied on learning packets sent home to parents and guardians.
Officials at Toledo Public Schools agree that the packets are not an ideal educational tool, but are necessary.
Jim Gault, executive transformational leader of curriculum, said some families are still without Internet access, and the learning packets are a way to provide a level of educational equity.
“By no means do I believe they are the best solution, and we’re trying to attack the technology issue by distributing Chromebooks and [Wi-Fi] hotspots to our families,” he said. “Nothing can ever replace the classroom instruction; however, being online and staying connected to your child’s educator is the second best thing we can do at this point.”
According to Mr. Gault, the district has provided nearly 3,500 Chromebooks and 650 hotspots for families amid the pandemic. He hopes increased online access reduces the reliance on learning packets, especially if remote learning continues into the fall.
Theodore Chao, an assistant professor of teaching and learning at Ohio State University, said he believes districts are doing the best they can given the circumstances.
Many of the worksheets, he said, are one-size-fits-all bought from a public curriculum in which teachers have little say. Classroom teachers can’t modify them to fit to each student’s needs, and districts had no time to develop their own remote curriculum.
The packets are also boring, he said.
“Learning packets are a necessary evil,” he said. “We live in a world where the digital divide is real and sometimes students have to do offline learning.”
Parents should focus on their children’s well-being and educational growth, instead of on strict worksheet completion targets.
“I want families to feel like the instruction they’re getting from their districts are supportive of the overall mental health and well being of their family,” she said.
Mr. Gault said TPS’s fourth and final learning packet distribution is slated for distribution from Tuesday and Friday. Families will be able to pick up packets via a scheduled drive-thru. Pick up locations and schedules are listed at tps.org.
First Published May 4, 2020, 10:30 a.m.
