The months of prolonged distance learning for my kids have prompted me to assess the sufficiency of such learning. I initially loved the self-regulation and self-motivation the situation brought out in my kids. Later on, however, I began worrying about distance learning in assessing retention and comprehension of critical subject matters. It also made me think that although the horizon of when exactly could our kids go back to regular school remains uncertain, we need to face the reality that this Generation Q (Generation Quarantine) will still need to be taking government or college examinations in the future.
I wanted to get more information, so I approached Quennie Cua, one of the founders of BrainFit Studio Philippines (BrainFitph.wordpress.com). Quennie brought in BrainFit because she liked the neuroscience approach to child enrichment. She liked that it gets to help and enhance 75 percent of the population in their IQ/EQ, thus changing their lives completely.
Quennie is a mom of three with husband Patrick. Their kids are 12, 14 and 16. I admire their parenting styles of “reasonable yet firm” and always being there for their kids. They have set principles at home: fix your own bed, deliver well on academics, respect for elders. Her husband’s mantra is “Take Time and Make Time.” For them, family happiness is staying together, eating together and praying together.
According to her: “Distance learning enables learning through research, experimentation and reflection. It is easy to ‘cheat’ one’s way through learning, but those with strong self-discipline shine through in the long run. Young kids are at a higher disadvantage especially if there’s no dedicated guardian to guide them through the learning process. For working parents with small kids, distance learning can be highly demanding and stressful for parents.
“To ensure optimal learning at home, all kids/learners need to be provided a conducive learning environment, structured timetable that allows them to focus on deliverables, and ready access to a coach/guardian who can help them in case they have questions.” She believes that given distance learning relies heavily on one’s capability to maintain focus, complete tasks and understand lessons independently, the kids who have stronger and fitter brains will be able to think faster, focus longer, do tasks more efficiently, and eventually learn better.
She also shares: “One of the biggest concerns with over-extended exposure to gadgets is that being online becomes the primary source of living [social interaction, entertainment, learning, working]. Studies have shown that video games can alter how the brain works. It can help increase visual-spatial skills but it can also cause reduction in concentration/focus on non-highly stimulating activities like reading books or writing essays. Overexposure to video games also leads to ‘addiction’ which leads to mood swings and temper tantrums when access is withdrawn.”
She cited the long-term effects of prolonged distance learning:
PROS:
DIGITAL ALL THE WAY. “Gen Z is already a digital native. The pandemic forced the whole world to digitize even faster. There’s plenty of information and conveniences digitalization brought us—once we go back to F2F [face-to-face] classes, lessons can no longer be taught the traditional way. Schools will be forced to embrace blended curriculum.”
LETS DO IT. “Online means realtime. We want everything fast, there’s little patience for waiting. While efficiency goes up, it makes the whole system more demanding, too.”
CON:
AWKWARD F2F. “Living in a virtual bubble of solitary bliss takes away one’s ability to read nonverbal cues and interact normally/casually with others.”
HOME-STUCK. “Being too comfy at home leads to lack of focus on personal grooming and social demeanor; since they can get all things done at home, kids tend to get lazier unless they are trained more responsibilities at home.”
I personally think that another disadvantage of distance learning is the absence of the teachers seeing and assessing our kids’ behavioral development. Teachers, being experts, are able to lay out our kids’ areas of improvement during PTCs. This is why I think we should equip our kids more intrinsically through programs like BrainFit.
According to Quennie, some of the red flags a parent might want to give attention to, depending on age, include: the child is too easily frustrated and that leads to tantrums; lack of interest except in games or YouTube, poor focus which leads to forgetfulness or non-accomplishment of schoolwork, declining grades, and signs of general pessimism and lack of confidence. n
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