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Family Engagement in Literacy: Insights on E-Learning at the Elementary Level
By Laurie Elish-Piper
Document: Column
Introductory Paragraph: In March of 2020, all K-12 schools in Illinois shifted to remote teaching and learning due to the stay-at-home order issued by the governor in response to COVID-19. What we thought would be a period of a few weeks stretched until the end of the school year. As teachers rushed to move to e-learning, paper packets, and other versions of remote teaching and learning, families struggled to figure out how to support their children’s learning at home while juggling other responsibilities such as working in essential jobs outside the home, working from home, and caring for multiple children. Social media was awash with the challenges of “home-schooling” one’s own children and praise for teachers who were missed by students and parents alike. As the spring unfolded, praise began to change to frustration with the difficulty of teaching one’s own children and fear that children would be far behind when school resumes in the fall. Medical experts, as well as district leaders, suggest that it is likely schools will have to move back to e-learning at some point during the 2020-2021 school year until a vaccination or effective treatment is found for COVID-19. Therefore, it is important to reflect on what did (and did not) work with remote teaching and learning during the spring of 2020. In this column, I will share insights I gained from conversations with teachers and parents about elementary e-learning experiences. I will not identify the “perfect” platform, app, or online resource because there is no perfect solution for every school, teacher, student, and family. Rather, I will share insights, promising approaches, and caveats that may be useful as we prepare for the next round of remote teaching and learning.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.48.4.2020.38
Page Numbers: 38-42
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