home teaching/learning

For the dVerse Monday haibun, “back to school“:

It’s Tuesday morning of the semester break, and I’m in the bedroom working on my online lectures and tutes: particle and rigid body kinematics and kinetics. In the background my husband is yelling at the kids – “supporting their online schooling” in the kitchen. This afternoon it will be my turn for home schooling, while he works on an editing or writing job. Our kids could be considered lucky – between us we can teach them most things in the curriculum while schools are closed. And we’ve both had teaching experience…
But it is much harder to be patient with one’s own children than with one’s students. We expect more of them, and we are more emotionally invested. It is a personal affront when they don’t pay attention, or forget what we’ve just been told. We can’t bear to think that perhaps they’re just not that bright, when they struggle with something we think is trivial. We are deeply offended when they don’t care about the subjects we love. And there are not the constraints of classroom professionalism to stop us showing our frustration – so there is yelling, and there are tears. And then we need to remember that once we didn’t know how to rearrange an equation or write a precis either, and nor have we taught these things before.

Everything is hard

Everything is hard

when first you try to learn it.

when you first try to teach it.

Especially patience.

Patience especially.