key: cord-0075126-0crqumqv
authors: de Muynck, Bram
title: The impact of the pandemic on the school-family relationship
date: 2022-03-03
journal: nan
DOI: 10.1177/20569971211069295
sha: 9c36816455e1a844b55189e39ef4649c0e5cedcc
doc_id: 75126
cord_uid: 0crqumqv

nan

The impact of the pandemic on the school-family relationship Bram de Muynck Driestar Christian University, The Netherlands One of the remarkable issues on which the COVID-19 pandemic has shed new light is the relationship between school and family. For countries that have not had wars on their own soil for a long time that would prevent children from going to school, the pandemic has turned the firmly established relationship upside down. What kind of relationship are we talking about? To say the least, the relationship seemed untouchable. Ever since schools became institutionally embedded in society and ordered according to the standards of modernity (in most Western countries since the 19th century), the dominant partner in that relationship was the school. Parents had a duty to send their children to school, and the school then asked parents to support the learning process as best they could. The pedagogical context of the parents complemented the pedagogical context of the school (De Muynck, 2021) . However, this relationship is exactly the opposite of the ideal usually promoted in the Christian tradition, which views schools as providing a service to the primary educators-the parents. The inverted relationship-the dominance of the school in which parents serve the school-has proven effective. Indeed, many projects on parent involvement have found that positive messages parents give to their children about schools enhance school success. And support by parents given at home for the learning at school is one of the most effective aspects of parental involvement (Van Voorhis, 2011).

The pandemic brought attention back to the original teaching role of parents. Children's learning often became entirely dependent on their parents' efforts to teach their children. Even where homeschooling was illegal (e.g. in Germany), teaching at home suddenly became normal. Many parents turned out to be capable of much more than they thought possible. Schools suddenly played a subservient role to that of parents again. However, parents were only able to help their children properly if the school communicated adequately. Thus, the circumstances of the times directed attention away from what was most effective to what was most fundamental. Parents are not an extension of schools; they are primarily responsible for their children's education. The pandemic placed parents back in the position to which Abraham was called in the first teaching assignment we find in the Bible: "That he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice" (Genesis 18:19).

At the same time, it has become clear again that we cannot go back behind the developments of modernity. We cannot adequately raise the new generation without educational institutions. This is true in any country. Admittedly, a small category of gifted children benefited from the unexpected return to the premodern situation by not being distracted by interactions with classmates while learning at home. In many cases, these same children were blessed with highly skilled parents. However, for large groups of children, schools are indispensable, and home-schooling was a necessary evil, something many parents did not feel equipped to do. The skilled parents and brilliant children benefited; the less privileged suffered. It became clear how a global catastrophe also increased social injustice. Therefore, many governments are rightly concerned about the learning disadvantages created by the absence of schools. It is now clear that these disadvantages cannot be rectified. But even more distressing were the social consequences. It became clear how strongly the school, as the second educational environment, has an important protective function. Stress increased in many families, and as a result, so did the number of children who became distressed. "For tens of thousands of children," says a Dutch magazine for pedagogues, "school is a place where the worries of home are not in the foreground for a while…. When school is gone, regularity, rules, and security also fall away. Children can see their self-confidence falter. In addition, they have one less safety net when teachers no longer daily keep an eye on them" (Van Den Broek, 2021: 13, my own translation).

The relationship between education and Christianity has many facets in which teaching learning strategies, didactic methods, the organization of an educational system, and the theological foundation of Christian education are essential, but not always the most important. It is noteworthy that in the description of Abraham's teaching role (Genesis 18: 19), righteousness and justice are primarily emphasized. There, it is not so much about understanding how the world is ordered but about how people act with love toward their neighbor. Therefore, when we talk about the learning gains for education resulting from the pandemic, we should not think in terms of the greater didactic skills of schools and parents. All observations should give rise to a sharp focus on the social impact of education as a direct consequence of the love command.

This edition of the International Journal of Christianity and Education hardly directly touches on the pandemic or its effects, but indirectly relates to what is written above. Many articles highlight the significance of schoolteachers and of a well thought out school curriculum, with which, thanks to modernity, educators are invited to engage. Fides del Castillo and Philip Joseph Sarmiento explore with the help of literature what spiritual modeling in religious education can look like. In the Roman Catholic context of the Philippines, this is related to the call to holiness: "'living beautifully as a way of Christian discipleship." Interestingly, the authors conclude that because of the impact of modeling, the witnessing role of the religious educator does not end when pupils leave school. Marion Shields and Sherene Hattingh reflect on the role of leaders in early childhood centers in Australia. They describe these leaders (all women) as very dedicated to their roles and experiencing a strong relationship with God. These leaders also encounter many difficulties, such as the struggle to cope with financial resources, high workload, and recruitment of staff. Sometimes they have to deal with discourteous and hostile parents. Even when parents intentionally bring their children to these Christian institutions and look at the institution as a service to them, cooperation with parents is not always smooth. It is distressing that leaders often have to occupy themselves more with management issues than with the young children for whom the institutions were founded. Eric D.

Rackley uses an interesting method to map the practices of sacred text reading. Both experts in reading (the teachers) and novices (the students) are interviewed. The analysis shows not only that there are differences due to levels of experience but also that similar patterns are at play. Readers always try to make the texts meaningful for their own situation, use their own available sources of experience, and have their own ways of dealing with uncertainties in the text. Also in this article the relationship between school and parents is present in the background. The parents and the community around them familiarized the children with sacred text. Familiarity, however, is not enough for in depth understanding. Though the instructional role of the teachers is not the focus of the article, it can be inferred that teachers-in whatever tradition they are in-have an important contribution to make in students' meaningful engagement with sacred texts. Joseph Edward Deweese and his colleagues Debb Wilcox, Thomas C. Campbell, Jeff McCormack, Catherine L. Terry, and Roger L. Davis describe how a Christian department for pharmacy education can pay attention to a Christian worldview, spirituality, and values. Although the article does not refer to the pandemic, the significance of this undertaking is obvious, given the decisive influence of medicine makers on society. Their description shows how important it is for students to have the opportunity to process the content offered in discussion groups immediately after class. This may be especially important because the content is, at first glance, sidetracked by the instrumental technical skills that dominate such training. The findings are also inspiring for other vocational programs. Christina D. Gray and Daniel Mark Shafer consider whether the use of humor in videos with Bible stories has an effect on children's learning. The interesting thing is that humor does not necessarily make the narrative more effective. Some children are sensitive to humor, while others are less so. However, humor does help them better remember, understand, and paraphrase the stories. Emily and William Mofield explore the ways in which paying attention to gifted pupils can relate to Christian views of humankind and the world. They conclude that a Christian pedagogy will have within it the notion of helping individuals discover their specific gifts in order to use them to serve God's glory. Christian teachers can also take it as their task to inspire students to be a blessing to those around them by making use of their gifts.

Van den Broek E (2021) Als school wegvalt

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