TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL (WHEN AVAILABLE) OR CONTINUE VIRTUAL LEARNING?

We’ve all been waiting for a lot of things to happen -- for vaccines in our arms, for businesses to reopen, … and for a return to in-person learning. That is now becoming a reality in some states and the District of Columbia. President Biden wants schools to open nationwide. So what do we want for our child? IT DEPENDS.

Even assuming the school districts are persuaded that it is safe, the choices are difficult. All remote learning, all in-person or a hybrid of the two. Which is best for your child depends largely on your child, the level of their need for support, and their support system.

 CHOOSE IN-SCHOOL LEARNING IF:

1.     your child has special learning needs or emotional/behavioral issues that are better supported at school.

2.    your child needs some support with virtual learning AND both parents, or a single parent, needs to work full-time, even if at home.

3.    even if your child is doing well, no one is available at home to provide any support with remote learning.

4.    your child needs to work on social skills and/or has a strong need to interact with same-age peers.

CHOOSE TO CONTINUE WITH VIRTUAL LEARNING IF:

 1.    your child or someone at home has a medical condition that might make them high risk for developing serious complications from COVID.

2.    your child has been doing well learning in this virtual environment, is reasonably content to continue doing it, and does not have a strong need for same-age peer interaction.

3.    Your child is doing well enough in the current virtual environment, and you are sufficiently concerned that your child might get the virus or bring it home, that you feel pretty good about having them continue to learn virtually at this time to avoid anyone getting COVID.

 Hope this helps. Contact me at sylvia@winikeducationalconsulting.com with any questions or concerns.

Your child isn't a huge fan of remote learning, nor are you

We’re now roughly six weeks into the new school year. Some of our kids are doing amazing well. Some not so much. If you’re the parent of a “not so much,” trust me, you’re not alone. It truly takes an amazing amount of attention, focus, concentration, and motivation for a child to stare at a screen for 4 or 5 hours in a row and actually pay attention and learn.

How long do you wait to see whether your child will be able to learn this way?

You want to believe they will suddenly “’get it” and all will be well. But they may well not “get it” if they haven’t yet. That does NOT mean that your child is stupid. It just means that their strengths may not include such attributes as having a strong, distraction-free attention span, having the ability to focus or concentrate for many hours at a time, being very well-motivated, or loving to learn anything and everything in whatever form it is presented, even if not all that engaging.

So what do we do for such a (normal) child? There are really just a few options:

1. Have your child rewired. Hmm. Sorry. Not an option.

2. Explain to them the importance of paying attention, focusing, concentrating, being motivated, etc.

Nice try, but that doesn’t work. Your child would already be doing all these things if they could.

3. How about changing their learning environment instead of wishing they were a different child?

—- If you are presented with an option of actually sending them to school, do it!

—- Otherwise, let Winik Educational Consulting work with you to figure out what other school, already offering in-class learning, has the experience, the educational philosophy, the teachers and leaders to help your child overcome these obstacles that make learning more difficult, feel like they belong, and thrive!

For a free consult, or to get your questions answered or get more information, go to www.winikeducationalconsulting.com and click the CONTACT button. Help will soon be on the way.

Feeling like you can't do this again? Help is on the way....

 Dear Parent or Guardian,

When you heard that Montgomery County and the District have decided to provide ONLY virtual learning for at least the fall term, what did you think? Did you think, “Oh good. I get more quality time with my kids again, while remaining responsible for working full-time at home?” I’m betting you did not. And what if you have one or more special needs children? It’s not that you don’t want to help them, but chances are you don’t have the necessary expertise, and parents are usually not the best ones to teach their special needs kids. Moreover, even reasonably well-designed virtual learning is incredibly difficult for most kids with special needs.

So what are you going to do? Assuming you want your kids to live with you  and you need and/or love your job, what are some realistic options? Here’s where I come in. Between my experience in my kids’ public and private schools, both as a parent and as a tutor, and working as a learning specialist and educational consultant, I know the schools and I know where to consider sending kids when their current placement – or the virtual learning environment -- just isn’t working for them. I’m also a lawyer, so I know how to advocate for you or your child if ‘virtual’ turns out to be less than satisfactory. And I know what questions to ask, and how, to get the information you need to make the best decisions.

To learn more about how I can help, please visit my website at winikeducationalconsulting.com. It doesn’t address distance learning, but contact me using the form available on the website and we can arrange a free consultation to discuss this.

Sylvia Winik

Winik Educational Consulting, LLC

The importance of giving your child responsibility... and even some control

In “The Self-Driven Child” (2/13/18), Ned Johnson and Dr. William Stixrud join forces to advise parents on … yes, you read it right … giving your kids more control. You might recognize the authors for the ways in which they came to develop this expertise. Mr. Johnson is founder and president of a wildly successful educational company that provides academic tutoring, educational planning and standardized test preparation. Dr. Stixrud is a beloved clinical neuropsychologist. They both talk to kids a lot, and have learned what is bothering kids today — more than anything else, a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety and poor self-esteem. From their different perspectives, the authors have concluded that so many kids struggle with these issues for two reasons: (1) they don’t get to make important life decisions for themselves; and (2) their parents do everything for them, making them feel their parents think they are not competent to do it themselves. The authors’ prescription: encourage, or at least allow, your kids to be autonomous about things they are capable of doing, and to learn from their mistakes. This will not only allow them the satisfaction of figuring it out themselves, but also to be resilient and to handle stress well. And especially for kids with ADHD, a sense of control is necessary for the child to develop internal motivation (a desire to do something because you enjoy it or it is satisfying to you) and self-drive.

3 months to the next (real or virtual) school year

Wow. Tomorrow is the first day of June. How did that happen? I’m betting you and your child/children usually count down the days to the last day of school, and then swing into summer activities. Not this year. Besides busily constructing summer activities for your child that don’t all involve you — especially if you are actually trying to “work at home” — this is a great time for you to reflect about your child and their school. Are they a good match? If your child is gifted and/or has special needs, how cooperative has the school been in providing appropriate teaching, supports and materials to ensure that your child is able to learn to their potential? And if your child does not have special needs, is their school a place where they are happy, engaged, feel they fit in, and appropriately challenged?

If your answer is “no” or “not really,” go to the Contact Us button in this website and let me know you’d like to chat. The initial consultation is FREE. I look forward to speaking with you.

Sylvia Winik

How to Keep Your Child Happy in These Difficult Times

Hello friends,

I was thinking this morning about the effects of social distancing, home confinement, closed schools, day care, playgrounds, etc. on our little people — especially those with ADHD. Think about how you’ve been feeling in the weeks since you’ve been told to stay at home. Not so happy, right?

So what about these vulnerable little guys? Without the normal school routines and structure—even if you’ve substituted your own —and without recess, peers and playground equipment, these little guys have every reason to feel a bit cranky. What can you do to make your child feel better?

#1 OUTDOOR PLAY: With lovely Spring weather, the kids want to get outside, climb, run and jump. Playgrounds have been closed. If you’re lucky enough to have a backyard, you’re in business. If not, it’s time to get creative! Consider spaces like rec rooms (in homes or apartment buildings), your friend’s backyard either when they aren’t using it or with strictly enforced social distancing. Ask your kids for ideas! They often are better at “thinking outside the box” than we are. Also ask you friends what they are doing (and let me know so I can pass along your ideas)!

#2 THE IMPORTANCE OF ROUTINE: Have your child select three routines from their former typical day that they like or find helpful. Then, together, figure out how those routines can be used as is, or modified, for use at home.

#3 WORK ON ACADEMIC SKILLS, BUT . . . DON’T MAKE YOUR CHILD HATE YOU!
Hopefully, your school has given you guidance on an appropriate amount of time to have your child work on skills. Try to be nearby, so if your child gets frustrated, you or another adult are there to calm them. You know your own child better than anyone else. As you see your child starting to lose interest or get easily upset, switch gears.

Please email me at sylvia@winikeducationalconsulting.com with other topics you’d like me to address and any additional suggestions you may have.