Show Navigation

Elizabeth Dalziel

  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area

Elizabeth Dalziel

All Galleries
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x
Download

20 images Created 3 Oct 2020

WHEN SCHOOL GOES ONLINE

A friend posted a picture on Instagram of her 11-year-old daughter wearing a school uniform, sitting attentively in front of a laptop and waving to her teacher during a virtual class.
My experience lay in stark contrast. During home lessons, my youngest child, a 7-year-old, often ignores the screen and climbs on me whenever possible.
Despite always finishing their homeschooling tasks, when asked what their favorite subjects are, my two boys usually respond in unison, "Break and lunch!" I'm dismayed every time I hear it.
When schools shut down on March 23 due to COVID-19. There wasn't much discussion at home about how to approach this new reality. There was little preparation other than ordering five reams of A4 paper, printer ink cartridges and a packet of school exercise books.
I quickly learned I wasn't as qualified as I had hoped. Patience is not one of my chief qualities. Nor is long division, coding, art, English literature, Mayan history or physics –topics I was suddenly "teaching," with the aid of materials posted online by their teachers.
The fact that so much of school has gone on-screen has made me push even harder to make space for low tech. We created a little stage out of a cereal box in which the kids put on puppet productions of children's books.
My younger son Joe relished the task of creating a mythical beast for an art assignment using photo collage. It sits comfortably on his homeschooling notebook next to his math assignments.
Lockdown has made our family bond, wrapping us in a tight hug, though at times it feels like a boa constrictor's slow squeeze. It has allowed my husband and me a glimpse into how our children approach learning and knowledge. Laughter, it seems, is a great route to education.
With no after-school activities we have the luxury of time, and the boys have found new interests. Ben has developed a love for early American history and Joe has been reading up on infectious diseases.
I know our family is fortunate. No one has lost a job. We can pay the mortgage and buy groceries. None of us have been ill.
But it's not easy, for anyone Nerves frayed from confinement — and the stress of insulating your children from pressure they only loosely grasp — make family interactions more tense and dramatic.
A simple arithmetic problem can seem insurmountable, and with nowhere to escape, seeing your child melt down at the kitchen table makes you question whether you are fit to mold a young mind.

If misery loves company, I've had plenty. Many parents have told me they've been reduced to tears, including one who spent three hours extracting one paragraph of writing from their child.
Others have felt unable to stretch themselves to cover all of the demands pulling them in different directions. And some tell me they regularly head for a glass of wine as soon as the day ends.
This may all be far from over, but I tell myself that if we can keep ourselves alive and sane during this period, we are all ahead of the game.
View: 100 | All

Loading ()...

  • Joe lays next to his favourite objects, toys and books during lockdown as part of a homeschooling assignment from their school  in Berkhamsted, England Monday, June 8, 2020.  Both my boys gathered their favourite things to create a time capsule they will be able to keep to remind them of this time. There have been positives. With no after school activities we have the luxury of time, the boys have found extracurricular interests. Ben has memorised the Gettysburgh address and all the US Presidents. Joe has been reading up on the world of infectious diseases. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 017.JPG
  • On the last day of school when my children’s primary shut, the school field lay empty except for a handful of deer, who had already moved in to graze on the football pitch in Berkhamsted, England Friday, March 20, 2020. The spot where Ben, my eldest plays football with his classmates, a pitch filled with noise and ruckus, had gone silent and nature had quickly moved in to fill the gap. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 001.JPG
  • On the last day of school when my children’s primary shut, the desk where my 7 year old would have wriggled in his seat and chatted with his friends was still in Berkhamsted, England Friday, March 20, 2020. COVID-19 had come to my adopted hometown of Berkhamsted, a little town an hour or so outside London. The schools were shutdown on March 23. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 002.JPG
  • Our head teacher Mrs. Caren Doodson, centre, holds back the tears, as year 1 teachers Miss Gabbie Wesley, left, and Miss Jade Fisher hold flower bouquets given by the parents on the last day of school, before school closure due to Coronavirus in Berkhamsted, England Friday, March 20, 2020. COVID-19 had come to my adopted hometown of Berkhamsted, a little town an hour or so outside London. The schools were shutdown on March 23. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 003.JPG
  • During lockdown I quickly learned I might not be as qualified as I would have hoped to be a teacher. Patience is not one of my chief qualities. Nor is long division, coding, art, English literature, Mayan history and physics, all of them topics I was suddenly teaching, with the aid online parcels and video tutorials posted daily by teachers. My youngest, Joe, prefers to climb on you when ever possible during lessons at home in Berkhamsted, England Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Despite always finishing their homeschooling tasks, when asked what their favourite subjects were, the boys responded in unison: break and lunch. I’m dismayed every time I hear it. I was supposed to make them embrace learning, to push themselves. But they just want to get on with the work of children, which is play.(Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 004.JPG
  • Ben reads during lockdown as we attempt to take learning from the classroom to homeschooling in Berkhamsted, England Monday, March 23, 2020. COVID-19 arrived to my adopted hometown of Berkhamsted, a little town an hour or so outside London. The schools shutdown on March 23.(Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 005.JPG
  • Joe, my youngest is clearly riveted with his maths challenge in homeschooling, despite efforts by the husband to make the lesson come together at home in Berkhamsted, England Monday, May 18, 2020. Despite always finishing their homeschooling tasks, when asked what their favourite subjects were, the boys responded in unison: break and lunch. I’m dismayed every time I hear it. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 006.JPG
  • Joe relished the the task of creating a mythical beast for an art assignment using photo collage. It sits comfortably on his homeschooling notebook next to his maths assignment in Berkhamsted, England Saturday, May 23, 2020. The fact that so much of life has gone on screen has made me push even harder to make space for low tech. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 007.JPG
  • We created a little stage out of a cereal box in which the kids brought forth puppet productions of children’s books and a play penned by my eldest for an English assignment: “Aliens in the Field” where he recounts aliens landing on his school grounds in Berkhamsted, England Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The fact that so much of life has gone on screen has made me push even harder to make space for low tech. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 008.JPG
  • Joe tests out a pinhole camera we crafted for one of the topics on homeschooling in Berkhamsted, England Monday, May 18, 2020. The fact that so much of life has gone on screen has made me push even harder to make space for low tech craft activities. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 009.JPG
  • My son Joe takes part in a zoom meeting with his classmates in year two. He misses his friends and has only been able to catch up with them online in Berkhamsted, England Monday, April 13, 2020. A class meeting was organised with 20 seven year olds on screen; Excitedly speaking all at once and making silly noises. Chaos soon ensued. Isobel’s Green’s dad, Russell, intervened thank goodness! He sent them on a hunt for objects around the house. Find something green! he commanded. Joe ran off to his fancy dress box and pulled out a green Mexican wrestler’s mask which he put on to the delight of his classmates. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 010.JPG
  • Ben scoots around the neighbourhood wearing a protective mask for his daily constitutional in Berkhamsted, England Friday, May 15, 2020. for the first seven weeks of lockdown families were allowed one daily outing in the vicinity of their home as exercise, according to government guidelines to prevent coronavirus spreading. This also served as the homeschooling version of Physical Education. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 011.JPG
  • My son Joe takes part in a zoom meeting with his classmates in year two. He misses his friends and has only been able to catch up with them online. in Berkhamsted, England Monday, April 13, 2020. A class meeting was organised with 20 seven year olds on screen; Excitedly speaking all at once and making silly noises. Chaos soon ensued. Isobel’s Green’s dad, Russell, intervened thank goodness! He sent them on a hunt for objects around the house.(Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 012.JPG
  • Joe arrives to check his dad for signs of coronavirus dressed in PPE made from his fancy dress box in Berkhamsted, England Thursday, March 26, 2020. There have been positives. With no after school activities we have the luxury of time, the boys have found extracurricular interests. Ben has memorised the Gettysburg address and all the US Presidents. Joe has been reading up on the world of infectious diseases. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 014.JPG
  • Ben revises his notes on the Gettysburg address from a presidential cardboard podium at home in Berkhamsted, England Wednesday, May 27, 2020. There have been positives. With no after school activities we have the luxury of time, the boys have found extracurricular interests. Ben has memorised the Gettysburg address and all the US Presidents. Joe has been reading up on the world of infectious diseases. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 015.JPG
  • Ben takes his first Zoom piano lesson during lockdown at home in Berkhamsted, England Monday, June 1, 2020. HIs teacher had been suffering Coronavirus symptoms.  Recoverd but still a bit hoarse, she is learning to embrace the new technology to carry out sessions with students. It’s a bold new world, one that the kids seem very much at ease with.(Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 016.JPG
  • Joe has developed an interest in infectious diseases since, when news of the coronavirus began to circulate he quickly set his mind on finding a vaccine. Here is his journal, with some of his notes and cut outs from the paper in Berkhamsted, England Wednesday, March 18, 2020. There have been positives. With no after school activities we have the luxury of time, the boys have found extracurricular interests. Ben has memorised the Gettysburg address and all the US Presidents. Joe has been reading up on the world of infectious diseases. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 013.JPG
  • Joe scoots in an empty parking lot around for his daily constitutional in Berkhamsted, England Monday, May 25, 2015. For the first seven weeks of lockdown families were allowed one daily outing in the vicinity of their home as exercise, according to government guidelines, to prevent coronavirus spreading. This also served as the homeschooling version of Physical Education. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 019.JPG
  • Joe, center, is back to school briefly in a socially distant bubble. Reduced numbers of children from his classroom took turns to return to school for 6 days over two weeks to meet their new teachers for the coming year, as well as to say goodbye to classmates and their current teacher before the summer holidays in Berkhamsted, England, June 30 2020. Schools hope to open for the autumn term in England. A local or national outbreak would see schools shutting in affected areas and remote learning  implemented as part of a contingency plan.
    HOMESCHOOLING 020.JPG
  • Ben lays next to his favourite objects, toys and books during lockdown as part of a homeschooling assignment from their school  in Berkhamsted, England Monday, June 8, 2020.  Both my boys gathered their favourite things to create a time capsule they will be able to keep to remind them of this time. There have been positives. With no after school activities we have the luxury of time, the boys have found extracurricular interests. Ben has memorised the Gettysburgh address and all the US Presidents. Joe has been reading up on the world of infectious diseases. (Elizabeth Dalziel) #homeschooling
    HOMESCHOOLING 018.JPG