‘I wish I could be the teacher my daughter needs, but I’m not’
A frustrated local mother who is juggling her job on the frontline with homeschooling has made an impassioned plea to people to “keep doing their bit” so classrooms can reopen as soon as possible.
Last week Yvonne Fallon sent a message and photo to the Westmeath Examiner, which she says shows the “reality of homeschooling” for many families.
“This is a picture of my nine-year-old daughter. She was silently crying into her maths book this morning. Tears streaming down her face onto the page.
“She wasn’t sure how to do these sums and I wasn’t sure how to explain them to her. We miss school so much, We miss the normal.
“Please let’s all keep doing our bit to keep the numbers down so our children can return to school, where they thrive with their teachers. I wish I could be the teacher my daughter needs, but I’m not.”
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Yvonne, who has six children – including four in primary school and one in transition year – said she had no issue with her children’s teachers and the government’s decision to postpone the reopening of schools while the Covid numbers are high.
However, homeschooling their four youngest children, who are in junior infants, second class, third class and sixth class, and holding full-time jobs is beginning to take its toll, she said. She estimates that they are spending around eight hours a day on homeschooling.
“We have to do it nearly one by one because they all need devices. It takes a long time and my husband and I are still working, so that is even added stress.
“I have my mam to help mind them so we are lucky in that way, but it is not easy for her. I tell her not to do much school work as it is hard enough minding them.”
Yvonne says trying to juggle homeschooling with working and running a house have left her and her husband Paul exhausted. “You feel as if you don’t have a day off. I work three long days and on my days off I used to catch up with housework.
“Now with doing school works during the week and housework at the weekend you don’t really have a proper day off.
“I have a lot of respect for teachers and I understand why schools need to close, but I just feel we all need to do our bit and stay home because the kids are missing out.”