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For most parents, making the decision of whether or not your kid should return back to school during the Covid 19 (Coronavirus) pandemic is stressful. While the decision is up to you, you should not make such an important decision without guidance from a professional, and formulating a full thought out plan. There are several things that parents should consider before making the decision to either send their kids back to school in person, or enroll them in a virtual home schooling program.
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1. What's best for your child's long term academic success?
Every child deserves a chance to become a successful adult. For most kids, their shot at success is determined by whether or not they received a good education. A few studies show that kids that are exposed to more educational opportunities tend to have a better quality of life. This means that regardless of where kids learn they must have access to the right educational opportunities throughout the academic year. Educational opportunities are not just apprenticeships, scholarships, or higher learning opportunities, but also the arts, tutoring, special accommodations for students with disabilities, and even social skills development. When making your decision, evaluate whether or not you will be able to ensure that your kid has access to these opportunities. If you're not sure, write down a few things that you can do to ensure that your child receives access to these opportunities.
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2. How does your child learn?
We live in an age where most 2 -year-olds can operate a cell phone better than their parents. But just because kids are technologically savvy doesn't mean that they will be good virtual learners. Some kids can handle the responsibilities of virtual learning, but some kids need a more interactive learning environment. A good indicator of this may be how your child does working independently. Kids that require more assistance or direction may do better in person than virtually.
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3. How will this affect your child's social development?
Some kids need social interaction in order to stay motivated to learn. Also, kids with speech difficulties and poor social skills may benefit from more exposure to other kids in their age group in order to develop these skills more rapidly. It's a good idea to get your child evaluated by your local Speech Language Pathologist to determine whether or not they can benefit from the social interaction. Our team at High Level Speech & Hearing Center can help with this. Evaluations are safe and can even be done virtually. You can easily schedule an appointment online at www.highlevelhearingnola.com.
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4. Does your child have health issues?
Typically, the school nurse is in charge of all student health procedures. However, this year school nurses are going to have an alarming amount of responsibilities. In addition to all of their many other responsibilities, school nurses will also be responsible for performing temperature checks daily on both students and staff. If your kid has chronic health issues you may want to consider allowing them to learn in an environment where they can have direct access to a health care professional as needed. Additionally, you may want to consider what would happen to your kid if there is a coronavirus outbreak at their school. What is your plan of action?
While making the decision is stressful, there is no one right or wrong answer. Utilize your answers to the above questions to guide your decision and make a plan that is in your family's best interest.
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So what do you think? Feel free to leave your comments below.
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