Mrs. Cristina's Quarantine Classroom is NOT Going Well

Seven weeks ago, I started this virtual learning journey full of enthusiasm and hope, but my fire for education has been extinguished quickly. Now that we are embarking on week eight of at-home learning, the climate is much like an episode of Survivor. We have ridiculous team challenges, fights ensue over snack time, alliances are being formed and I am ready to boot someone off the island. When is this experiment going to be over?  

I am that super prepared mom who started day one of virtual school with an hour-by-hour schedule on the classroom whiteboard. I quickly realized that wasn’t going to fly. In Pasco County, we already had a blueprint for virtual school, so the parents and students just plugged right into the current curriculum. This seemed like a great, quick fix for getting our kids through a few weeks of online school — until it wasn’t. It never occurred to me that I would have to learn to navigate a new system. Plus we had some technology challenges.  

Daily lesson plans were averaging six to seven hours a day during that first week. To say this was overwhelming and stressful would be an understatement. Lots of emails went to the school board expressing concerns for how this was not manageable, especially if you work full-time and have more than one child in school.  Thankfully, the school board heard us and acted. By week two, the workload lightened up a bit and so did I. 

But I cannot help but wonder if I am doing more harm than good. Most parents do not understand curriculum like Common Core, so we must learn it ourselves first then explain it to our kids. Well let me tell you this old dog doesn’t want to learn any new tricks, we are going old school in my house. I decided to keep it old school — no more tally charts, number bonds and tricky tables. In my class, seven minus five equals two.   

My daughter Ella, 7, seemed to be catching on to the ancient ways of 1986, at least until it came time for her math exam. She had to solve a problem by drawing a “math” table to show how she came up with her answer. My kid drew an actual dining room table in the space allowed. Clearly, I am failing her not to mention I hate math. I cheated my way through math classes for most of my primary education and now Karma has come after me. If there is one thing, I have learned so far it’s that you can teach math or you can have a nice day. You cannot do both.  

Then there is my precious preschooler. I mean, how hard is it to count to 20 and trace the letters of the alphabet. I can get her to do 10 minutes of an activity, then she is done. Peace out. It has gotten to the point where I have put her education on the back-burner because I need to focus on making sure Ella is learning and can pass the second grade. 

So for now, Adriana, 4, is living her best life. She is playing, riding bikes, swimming and baking. Not missing school at all. I hope she will catch up when she gets to VPK in August, but I still feel a little guilty, like I am sacrificing one child’s education for another.  Teaching is not for the weak. I come from a long line of teachers and have a huge amount of respect and admiration for that profession. Unfortunately, I am just not cut out for it.  

My margarita consumption is at an all-time high and my new uniform consists of graphic t-shirts that read, “tired as a mother” or “nice moms say bad words”. I know we will all get through this, but in the meantime: Am I raising serious scholars? Nope. Will they advance to the next grade level? Hopefully.