Balancing The Teeter Totter
May 21, 2021
Balancing The Teeter-Totter
By Dr. P. Ogborne
I would liken the season we find ourselves in now, to be like a playground teeter- totter.
On the one end, it is a real and developing concern regarding the mental health of children who are stuck on the screen for most of their day. On the other end, is the need to be actively engaged in all areas of academics to stay the course in our learning.
When we re-entered into the whole Learning @ Home phase, PCS went live on Zoom for the morning and the afternoon was “replay as you may” for other courses and missed classes. This approach has provided a good balance in an attempt to minimize screen time and maintain educational goals. However, we see it in the students and hear it in the parents' concerns about even this schedule being a real impact on their child’s well-being.
The need to balance this teeter-totter is a medical and academic tension.
With the Government’s recent lack of clarity regarding future plans for potential return dates we are looking at how we can tweak our online learning to address the mental health issues for the final couple of weeks of the school year. If your child is struggling with their mindset, the workload or other factors leading them to languish or have a lack of motivation, please communicate with your child’s teacher, so we can begin to understand the scope of how many are truly struggling.
There are many life lessons here: integrity, perseverance, long-suffering, and excellence. All of these are valuable takeaways for the students that will last even longer than the memory of their school work. Please take some time with your children to encourage them about finishing this year, not just for the marks, but ultimately that their attitude would bring glory to God
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
Be Encouraged,
Dr. Ogborne