I received a call from my daughter’s school today, enquiring if all was well with her online schooling. I was left completely clueless on how to respond to that.

My daughter’s school has enabled schooling of 5 subjects via an app. Each week, the app presents a new set of chapters, worksheets, quizzes across all 5 subjects. Besides, each week there are video conference sessions with teachers to recap what was learned in the last week.

Sorry to report, but just two weeks in, this process already seems overwhelming. It is especially so given both me and my wife are working from home.

I knew we weren’t alone. AP published a brilliant article on how parents in the US are already getting burned through this distance learning — something that is especially tricky with young kids. And they are forced to make a very difficult choice.

Amid the barrage of learning apps, video meet-ups and e-mailed assignments that pass as pandemic home school, some frustrated and exhausted parents are choosing to disconnect entirely for the rest of the academic year. Others are cramming all their children’s school work into the weekend or taking days off work to help their kids with a week’s worth of assignments in one day.

It is just not easy. Parents aren’t trained to be good teachers. The technology was never given a chance to prove it can work independently for teaching. It was always an additive. Plus nothing, nothing can replace the in-person learning from the people who are trained throughout their lives to do that. The comment below from one of the parents is very, very apt.

This is a very crude bandage we’re putting on a very big wound. We’re just doing the best we can. A video can’t look at your child’s face and see the confusion. A teacher can do that.