AUGUST 2020
PAGE 26
A Parent’s Guide to Distance Learning: Tips from Concord Lutheran Academy In Spring 2020, America suddenly and unexpectedly discovered the need for elementary school students to abandon the classroom and learn primarily from home. As well, many parents of school-age children were also asked to work at home. Each situation provides challenges on its own, but in combination can be especially daunting. As the traditional time to open schools approaches in August, our hopes of reopening for in-person studies, at least in California, appear to be put on hold for a time. Preparing for school to again embrace the distance learning model will be essential to ensure your child’s education isn’t also put on hold. Concord Lutheran Academy (CLA) was able to facilitate a relatively smooth transition from classroom learning to distance learning last Spring and we offer these ìTeacher-tipsî to parents facing the same situation this fall.
Philosophy and Goals for Elementary-level Education Preparations for any activity become clearer when the goals are well understood in advance. At CLA, our philosophy is that students must participate actively in their own education. They must engage their natural curiosity and desire to learn new things in order to succeed. As teachers, we must nurture that curiosity and guide students in a way that enables and supports each student to set and achieve their own educational objectives within an overall structure. We encourage parents to also support, but not short-circuit, their child’s learning experiences. Among our goals for our students are these primary goals: 1. An understanding of the sinful nature of all people and God’s plan for our salvation through daily religious instruction. We acknowledge God as the creator of our universe and strive to learn how we can best operate within it, as his people. 2. Achievement of established grade-level objectives for each of the subjects required by the California Education Code. In doing this, we recognize that some students struggle in certain areas, while others can move beyond grade-level. Our faculty has success in adapting instruction to assist each student to remain engaged in learning and achieve their personal best outcome.
3. Gaining the social skills and self-discipline needed to effectively participate in our complex society and work both independently and in teams to achieve known objectives. 4. Give each student the opportunity to master the life-long learning skills needed to succeed in higher learning (high school, college, and beyond), as well as nurture the interest in doing so. The remainder of this article will give an overview of how we approach each of these goals in our classrooms and the supportive approach we encourage our parent community to adopt in support of online learning from home.
Instruction that Recognizes God’s Hand in Creation It may seem intuitive that science instruction should be informed by the God who invented everything, but what about math and social studies? Mathematics goes a long way to explain the ordered way in which God approached creation and the complex relationships that exist between the objects of his creation. Also, the way that people interact with each other in society is best understood by recognizing that people are sinful creatures living in a world that was designed to be perfect. In this way, our students recognize that utopian visions of social justice fueled only by the ìinherently goodî nature of people are unachievable. Our parent community shares these Christian perspectives and has taught their children to know God and listen to his voice throughout their lives. We see this mutual reinforcement of God’s truth as essential to the nurture of future generations of Christians and the foundation that students need, especially when they are separated from the reinforcement of their teachers and classmates.
Adapting to different Achievement Levels Students have varying levels of achievement, especially when left on their own. People tend to learn only those things that interest them and focus on areas where they have short-term success. Our teachers work diligently to build and sustain each student’s interest in the various subjects that support success in future educational experiences and in life. We expose students to current events, interesting physical phenomena in space and human exploration, and practical application of mathematical concepts to everyday life.
