The Home Schooling Parallel

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

Albert Einstein

Education, learning and home schooling have not been far away from my thoughts in the last two weeks, including of course the new national lockdown that has brought school children (and university students) back to the spectre of online learning.

 I am one of many who always approaches the New Year as a time to renew my goals of improving myself through the acquisition of some new knowledge; “you’re never too old to learn” would be tattooed on me somewhere if I wasn’t too squeamish to go through what I imagine is the pain of getting inked.

I should say at the outset of this article that I am very conscious that the fact I have a work laptop that allows me to work at home while my daughter accesses online lessons on our own computer does make us fortunate. We know as a family that not everyone can access home schooling at this time.

 Sharing an “office” at home (lounge-diner) with my daughter helps me to observe that she signs on, stays the course of the lessons and participates without too many distractions. It unfortunately also gives me far too many opportunities to stick our collective foot in it with the school; am I the only parent who manages to swear or burp just as their child un-mutes themselves to signal their presence for the register?

 Two people sitting in a room; one talks and so naturally the second (me) answers. Well you would think so. Except of course that my cherub is un-muted and talking to her teacher, or talking to a friend in her earpiece about the class they are both in, and not me, so it just earns me a teenage rebuke and the “office” returns to silence again.

Am I the only parent who manages to swear or burp just as their child un-mutes themselves to signal their presence for the register?

My vantage point at the dining table has allowed me to get a birds eye view of teaching styles in online lessons, and if you hadn’t observed different teachers over a week or so you would not have believed that there wasn’t a standard approach, but so many different ways that they give classes online.

I’m here all day.

This teacher takes register, and then stays online with the class for the duration of the lesson, and so do the students. “Let’s keep it as normal as possible; you don’t see me walking out of the classroom halfway through the lesson, do you?” you may hear them saying.

Blink and you’ll miss them.

With the register done, work set or instructions given, they’re gone and nor seen again until the next time you have that subject. Do they have a part time job at Sainsbury’s?

Relax. I’m here if you need me.

Name checked, lesson instructed, it then resembles a casual virtual drop in – door firmly left open and students encouraged to stay if they feel like it, but just ‘Leave’ if they want to work on their own. I can see the cogs turning as my daughter wonders when she will be afforded the same flexible approach to homework and revision – no chance.

Attend in every sense – to the point of intrusion.

The teachers generally are on camera and obviously not muted; but the class (except by mistake) are not visible to each other and all muted.

Except the days with Art, where the teacher insists on ‘full participation’ – everyone on camera and unmuted for the whole lesson. It’s the one day a week that isn’t a PJ-day around here. It’s also the class I’ll probably leave and make calls in the kitchen while it is going on – having dropped a couple of ‘S bombs’ while unmuted in the first week of term.

No show.

No seriously, sometimes they just don’t show up. Broadband issues? Caught up on a personal emergency? Clashing with a shift at Sainsbury’s? Not sure, and nobody ever seems to find out.

I work in commercial finance and spend a lot of time on messaging and trying to make sure that our ethos around customer service and wanting the best and most suitable outcomes for clients is conveyed. 

I found myself drawing parallels between teachers’ online teaching personas and the style of broking that my clients will encounter when dealing with people in my sector.

Blink, and you will miss the time that is spent by some people getting to understand what your company’s requirements are on occasion. And our lenders often just receive a name, email address and number to go on. Not exactly the best presentation of your needs.

I take the time to listen to your situation and requirements and present a proposal for finance that puts forward your best case.

I’m here if you need me. But I also manage the process for you, and don’t leave things to chance or make assumptions that others are playing their part in a timely fashion. I work to get the balance right with things like contact and chasing up.

Getting the balance right prevents intrusion in your time while you get on with the important job of running your company. Let me do the leg work for you.

There’s no chance that I would not show up on your behalf. Yes sure, a broadband hiccup may delay a call or e-meeting – but I have the system and processes in place to ensure that the right things happen, when they are meant to happen. Which is why clients trust me to work on their behalf.

I’m here all day. Literally on some days! Yes we are locked down, but I have the remote capabilities to act for you in the same way whether in office or at the dining table. So my need to spend time to progress your proposal isn’t being impacted by where I am working.

And I’ve read that I’m not alone in working longer hours in WFH – do I need to start a virtual commute?

In a nutshell, I take the time to understand your situation and requirements, and work hard to get the balance right in how I progress your proposal for you, with our funding partners.

A relaxed, intrusive or nonchalant approach seems to be ok within (some) online teaching circles, but there isn’t room for it when achieving the best outcome for your company. 

How do you want to get funded?

Mark.