HOUSTON — Desperate, confused and frustrated. Those are three words that can describe parenting during the coronavirus pandemic. It's not easy trying to figure out what is best when it comes to educating kids.
Many children will be learning at home this upcoming school year which is no easy feat for anyone. But there are new innovations around town that might offer tired parents the help they need.
One example is a new Facebook group called QuaranTEACH Houston. Stephanie Briles is one of the founders. She taught Kindergarten for 11 years and says she’s been hearing from a lot of parents recently.
“This week, my phone was out of control,” said Briles. “A lot of fear, you know? (parents saying) 'What do we do? I can’t do this again.'”
This week, she helped launch QuaranTEACH Houston to connect parents with teachers, tutors and other parents looking for help. Nearly 900 people have already joined the page.
“People are really networking and it’s incredible,” she said.
Many teachers are offering tutoring or in-home options, like Rosalie Starkey in Galveston. Her Facebook page is called Texas QuaranTeam. She will be a certified teacher next month. Her expertise is special education.
“My brother is special-needs. My son is special-needs,” Starkey said while saying it can be tough for parents to navigate school curriculum for their kids, especially when a child has special needs.
“The way things are going, I thought, 'What better way to help people with my degree and trying to help people get through this?'”
For a small weekly fee, she’ll be helping several families navigate at-home learning.
“(I’ll) come out once a week, visit with your child for an hour or so, work through certain lessons, work through problems they may be having and set up a course of action for the rest of the week.”
Starkey said that helping parents map out a plan and schedule takes a lot of the pressure off.
“Once you hand these tools to parents, it’s so much easier to enjoy your day.”
Living through a pandemic, there’s a learning curve for us all. Briles offers this piece of advice to parents who may be struggling to balance it all: “You need to remember that you are your child’s first teacher. You taught them so much before they even went to school. Your home was their first classroom. We just have to band together and, it’s going to be different, but you can do it. You are a parent.”