梅琳達·溫納·莫耶

Its not like you have to worry about teaching calculus or advanced biology. Not yet， at least. 居家教學并不意味著要你去教孩子微積分或高等生物學，至少現(xiàn)在還不用這么發(fā)愁。

There was a moment this month when I was helping my 8-year-old with his school science project while spelling the word “mermaid” aloud for my 5-year-old while browning meat on the stove while fielding1 a work call.

That， I think， was the closest my head has ever come to exploding.

Its hard enough to be a calm and effective parent during a pandemic in which theres a shortage of toilet paper. When you also factor in2 having to teach your children fractions and social studies， surviving each day becomes a superhuman endeavor.

To ease our collective parental burden， I gathered tips from education researchers， teachers and longtime home schooling parents on things we can do to make distance learning easier and more effective.

First： Relax your expectations. Your children are probably not going to learn advanced calculus this spring， and thats OK. What we are doing now is not the same as traditional home schooling.

What were attempting now is something else entirely—some call it “crisis schooling”—and we cant possibly give our children the kind of learning environment that home schooling parents provide during a regular school year. The goal is just to get through these next months with our lives （and， ideally， our sanity） intact.

Still， one thing that may help is to “make a schedule for school that fits your family” and to try to keep it somewhat consistent from day to day， said Angela Victory， a mother who teaches fifth grade language arts at the New Albany Elementary School in Mississippi.

My husband and I print a schedule every day， and the structure helps to ground our children and create a new normal. Teachers say the schedule doesnt have to mimic a regular school day or even involve schoolwork first thing in the morning—do what works best for you and your children—but ideally， it should include short blocks of focused schoolwork interrupted by snack and meal breaks， outdoor play and time for activities such as reading and crafts.

（Of course， how much youll be able to do largely depends on your circumstances. My husband and I can work remotely and have flexible schedules. We also have computers， tablets and internet at home. Many families arent so fortunate， and they may not be able to do as much.）

Keep in mind， too， that learning blocks can be short. In March， the Illinois State Board of Education published remote learning recommendations that advised parents to aim for focused learning blocks of three to 10 minutes at a time for children in grades K3 through 2; 10 to 15 minutes for grades 3 to 5 and 30 minutes for grades 6 to 12.

You may also want to set up a consistent space for schoolwork. Keep it stocked with what they might need： pencils， erasers， paper， other craft supplies and maybe a dictionary.

And “do what you can to make that learning space as distraction-free as possible，” suggested James Lane， Ph.D.， a professor of elementary education at Columbia College in South Carolina. Ideally， you wont have a TV blaring in the background， and youll close the blinds if things are happening outside. If your children frequently get drawn in by texts or app notifications， turn off your Wi-Fi or change their notification or device settings.

If you have a very active or creative child， though， you might want to experiment with more flexible work environments.

“Some kids， like my daughter， learn best while moving，” said Michelle Mista， who lives in the Bay Area and has been home schooling her sixth-grade daughter since kindergarten. “One of the main things that Ive found helpful as a home-schooler is letting go of the idea of what learning ‘should look like. Learning at home often doesnt look like what we may be used to in a classroom environment with a teacher at a board， students at their desks.”

Christie Megill， who lives in New York City and has been home schooling her three children for three years， agreed. “One of the biggest lessons home schooling has taught me is flexibility，” she said. “If you think its time for your kids writing lesson， but theyre bouncing off the walls4 and need to create an obstacle course inside the house to burn off energy， you can change direction.”

Use your discretion， too， on how much schoolwork you make your children do. When I saw that my 5-year-old grasped a particular literacy concept the other day， I didnt make her do the extra three sheets of practice.

“Im not saying ignore the assignments，” said Barbara Stengel， Ph.D.， a philosopher of education and professor emerita at Vanderbilt University， but during a crisis， parents “dont need drill and practice for the sake of drill and practice.”

Still， if your children are struggling with their schoolwork in ways that concern you， or if youre struggling to keep up， dont hesitate to contact their teachers and ask for help. “They know what your child has responded to in a classroom situation，” Dr. Lane said. “They probably also know what has been really challenging for your child.”

If your children are pushing back on the very idea of doing schoolwork at home， schedule a one-on-one conversation between the teacher and your child， Ms. Maloney suggested.

It can help when the teacher explains that school is still happening—its just happening at home now.

But what if your school isnt doing much distance learning， and you want more？ One excellent resource that began in March is WideOpenSchool， a free collection of online learning experiences curated by Common Sense Media， an independent nonprofit organization that provides technology recommendations for families and schools.

Teachers also recommend Khan Academy， a free website that engages children （and adults） in different subjects; Epic， a digital library featuring 40，000 childrens books; Storyline Online， a website featuring videos of well-known actors reading childrens books; and Starfall， an educational website and app for children in pre-K5 through third grade. Your library may also have audiobooks and digital loans available.

You may not be a trained teacher， but as a parent you probably know more about teaching than you realize. Trust yourself and what your children need.

“You have the great strength of knowing your children better than any teacher could，” Dr. Stengel said.

這個月某天，我一邊輔導八歲的兒子做著學校的科學項目，一邊大聲教五歲的孩子怎么拼寫“美人魚”這個詞，一邊在爐子上煎著肉，一邊接聽著工作電話。

那一刻我真正體會到“頭都要炸開了”是什么感覺。

疫情大流行期間，連衛(wèi)生紙都搶斷了貨，作為家長要想保持頭腦冷靜、得心應手可謂十分不易。如果此時你還得考慮教孩子分數(shù)和社會課程，那每一天都將無比難熬。

為了減輕家長們共同面臨的負擔，我向教育研究者、老師和長期對孩子進行居家教育的家長征詢了一些建議，可以把遠程學習變得更便捷、更高效。

首先，降低期望。你的孩子很可能不會今年春天就學到高等微積分，這不要緊。我們現(xiàn)在做的事并不等同于傳統(tǒng)的居家教學。

我們現(xiàn)在要做的是一種截然不同的事，有些人把它叫作“應急居家教學”。另外我們不可能給孩子提供居家教育的家長在常規(guī)學年里給孩子構(gòu)建出的那種學習環(huán)境。我們的目標僅僅是安穩(wěn)度過接下來幾個月，最好還能保持精神正常。

不過，安杰拉·維克托里說，有個辦法或許能助我們達成這個目標：“制訂適合自己家庭情況的課程表”，并盡量堅持每天執(zhí)行。安杰拉任職于密西西比州新奧爾巴尼小學，教授五年級語言文學課程，她自己也是一位母親。

我和我先生每天都會打印一張課程表，課程安排可以幫孩子們收心居家學習，還有助于建立新常態(tài)。老師說居家課程表不必模仿常規(guī)的在校教學安排，甚至不必把學校功課安排在清晨，制定適合自己和孩子的最佳方案。同時，課程表最好包括多個短時的集中學習時間，以零食和用餐時間、戶外活動時間、室內(nèi)活動（如閱讀、手工）時間銜接。

（當然，能做多少很大程度取決于你的具體情況。我先生和我都可以遠程辦公，時間安排靈活。我們家里也有電腦、平板電腦和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。很多家庭沒這么幸運，可能做不到這么豐富的課程安排。）

還要記得，學習時間可以設置得很短。今年三月，伊利諾伊州教育委員會發(fā)布了遠程學習指南，建議家長為幼兒園至二年級的兒童設置每次3至10分鐘的集中學習時間，三至五年級每次10至15分鐘，六至十二年級每次30分鐘。

你或許也需要給孩子安排固定的學習空間。備好可能會用到的文具，比如鉛筆、橡皮、紙張和其他手工材料，也許再加上一本詞典。

此外，南卡羅來納州哥倫比亞學院的小學教育學教授詹姆斯·萊恩博士還建議我們，“要盡量確保學習空間不受外界干擾”。理想情況下，孩子不應在學習空間里聽到電視機吵個不停。如果窗外有干擾，就把百葉窗關掉。如果孩子頻繁因為手機短信或移動程序推送通知分心，就關掉無線網(wǎng)絡或者調(diào)整手機上的推送設置或系統(tǒng)設置。

如果你的孩子非常好動或者喜歡奇思妙想，或許需要嘗試更加靈活的學習環(huán)境。

“有些孩子邊動邊學效果最好，我女兒就是這樣?！奔易∨f金山灣區(qū)的米歇爾·米斯塔說。她女兒從幼兒園開始就一直居家學習，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)六年級了?！拔覐木蛹医虒W中學到的重要一點就是要拋棄對學習方式的固有印象。居家教學的環(huán)境往往不像我們所熟悉的學校教室那樣，老師站在黑板前，學生坐在課桌后。”

家住紐約市的克里斯蒂·梅吉爾也贊同這一觀點，她給自己的三個孩子居家教學已有三年?！熬蛹医虒W讓我學會了靈活處事，這是我最大的收獲之一，”她說，“如果到了該上寫作課的時間，孩子們卻精力過剩、瘋玩瘋鬧，你就可以調(diào)整安排，組織室內(nèi)障礙賽跑幫他們消耗體力?！?/p>

你也可以自行決定給孩子布置多少功課。比如前幾天，我看到五歲的女兒已經(jīng)掌握了一個讀寫概念，就沒再要求她另做三頁習題。

“并不是讓大家忽視作業(yè)?！狈兜卤ご髮W榮休教授、教育哲學家芭芭拉·施騰格爾博士說。但疫情期間，家長“無須為了練習而練習”。

不過，如果你的孩子功課吃力，讓你感到擔憂，或者你很難跟上孩子的學習進度，要隨時聯(lián)系老師尋求幫助?！袄蠋熤涝谡n堂上什么方法對你家孩子奏效，”萊恩博士說，“他們很可能也知道你家孩子學習上有哪些問題?！?/p>

如果你的孩子抗拒居家教學這種學習模式，馬洛尼建議安排老師和孩子進行一次一對一談話。

若是由老師向孩子解釋學校課程還在繼續(xù)，只是現(xiàn)在要在家學習，這會有所幫助。

如果你想要進行更多的遠程教學，可孩子就讀的學校沒有提供足夠的資源，該怎么辦？WideOpenSchool網(wǎng)站是一個非常優(yōu)質(zhì)的學習渠道。該網(wǎng)站于今年三月上線，免費提供學習經(jīng)驗合集，由為家庭和學校提供技術建議的獨立非營利組織“常識傳媒”打造。

以下資源網(wǎng)站同樣受到老師推薦：可汗學院，免費為兒童（和成人）提供多學科學習資料;Epic數(shù)字圖書館，提供四萬本兒童圖書;故事在線，專門提供知名演員朗讀兒童書籍的視頻資源;星落平臺，為幼兒園學齡前至三年級兒童開發(fā)的教育網(wǎng)站和移動程序。圖書館也可能提供有聲讀物和電子資源借閱服務。

也許你不是專業(yè)的教師，但作為家長，你可能比自己意識到的更懂教學。相信自己，相信孩子的需求。

“你比任何老師都更加了解自己的孩子，這是你的巨大優(yōu)勢。”施騰格爾博士如是說。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）