Watch CBS News

2020 Back To School: Guide For Parents Struggling With Home Learning -- Balancing The Big Picture

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Back To School looks a lot different this year. Most students aren't going back to classrooms for a while. Instead, parents are getting their kids ready to start school from home. Here's Part 5 of our KPIX 5 Guide To Surviving Home Learning.

Big Picture - Diversifying to Balance Out Positives & Negatives

"A lot of us, most of us maybe, will emerge from this crisis relatively unscathed," said Dr. Emily Slusser, Child and Adolescent Development Dept. Chair at San Jose State University. "In fact, with the initiative that some parents are taking to create teaching and learning pods, coordinate study buddies, hire tutors to support students learning, I'm somewhat optimistic that these children will remain on track and maybe even excel in the long term."

"However, when you take a step back, can you take a more aerial view of what's going on here. It's important to think about how this practice might accentuate some inequities we have in education. On the forefront of our mind might be the digital, technology divide; who has ready access to technology, and the support and mechanisms that they need at home to support learning and who doesn't. But also you can think about the learning groups, and how they might be contributing to this issue as well."

"What I would recommend is reach outside of your friend groups when you are formulating these pods. Reach out to your neighbors, diversify the groups from the asset. It's a cliché, but it takes a village so we just need to be conscious about how we are forming those villages and making sure they are inclusive all while maintaining social distancing guidelines we get from the state."

Helpful Links:

Alameda Oakland Home Schools Support Group

Ted Talks for Kids

CA Dept. of Education

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.