More than 20 years ago I began my foray into early childhood education as the director of a child development center. I’ll never forget this little girl – we’ll call her Henna to protect her privacy – and her demands to have things her way. When she was in a good mood, she was the sweetest child ever. Oh, but when life was not going her way, you could hear Henna screaming at her teacher, “You’re not the boss of me!” That Henna was something else. She definitely had a knack for testing our patience and for testing boundaries!
As I work with my E-learner and listen to the woes of other E-learner parents, I hear the moans often associated with the lesson plans. In most cases, the teacher provides a plan that is divided by subject and days of the week. In our case, each day has a topic, a video, and an activity or two that must be turned in by a certain date. For the most part, everything has been rather organized. The only glitch in the seemingly perfect system is that the lessons don’t always work for us. I’ll admit it. At first I allowed myself to get bogged down and stressed about presenting the material as it had been assigned. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for a lightbulb to pop on inside my head followed by the words:
YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!
I realized that the assignments DID need to be turned in as assigned, but we DID NOT have to follow the lesson plan and assignments to the letter. That is the beauty of e-learning – freedom and flexibility. I was free to teach a lesson in a manner that better connected with my daughter. I was free to add creative elements like cooking, gardening, and virtual field trips. Learning was about to become FUN!!!
As we are settling into “temporary norms,” I encourage parents to slow down and see the opportunities that come with e-learning. Our children are learning to think and work outside the box. They are using technology to access and extend their knowledge. Students are learning to be accountable and independent. Parents are spending more time and working more closely with their children …
WE ARE BECOMING OUR OWN BOSSES of our children’s education, which brings opportunities to have things our way!
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