Rising to primary school is an exciting event, but this year there are many concerns • Experts: "Show the children you trust - and learn how to defend against the virus"
Getting into first grade and being separated from parents can always be difficult - and let’s face it - not just for kids - but this year the challenge seems to be particularly great. According to the new outlines in the shadow of the corona, only one parent of a first-grade student will be able to enter the school, and even that only in a complex that will be allocated for experiential activities. This may ease the initial shock, but this is just the beginning of the story.
Education Minister Galant on the start of the school year in the shadow of the Corona // Photo: Ministry of Education
Thus, for example, first graders - about 169,000 children in the coming school year - are not required to wear a mask, neither during class nor at recess. Teachers are also exempt from wearing a mask during class only, provided that a distance is maintained or there is a partition between them and the students. This is perhaps half a consolation, but first-time students often need a close explanation or even a hug, which is not possible due to the procedures. The Ministry of Education knows that it will be difficult to maintain social distance, and that it will be difficult to maintain non-transfer of objects.
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"My big fear is that they will ruin the excitement and not let them start the school year as properly as they deserve, because they are waiting for it," says Lilach Cohen-Shamir, the mother of Shira who is attending Regavim School in Beer Tuvia Regional Council. "First grade was destroyed on the way: there were no tours, no acquaintances, and the only time we got to school was when we enrolled. I am also very afraid that we will have to reach a state of learning from home, because at such ages it is difficult to instill discipline, learning habits and everything related to social conduct."
"I'm actually not afraid of being infected in Corona, at least no more than I was afraid so far," says Guy Kol-Hanoch, Ariel's father, who is in the first grade at Mevoot School in Beer Tuvia. "Ariel went to friends, to the community center, to the pool, to the family. . We tried to keep the children's world as vulnerable as possible. Just follow the instructions and explain the importance to her. Fear is more than social situations. Ariel is very sociable, but in the media you hear about boycotts, bullying, and it makes you cringe. "The fear that she will be hurt or lonely and we will not be there - is debilitating, but children are growing up and so are their struggles."
"There is huge uncertainty"
While with Moshe Bitton - Ari's father - a child on the autistic continuum who goes up to first grade in a regular school with full integration in Ramat Gan, there are additional concerns. "Ari is a high-functioning child, coming out of a small setting that enveloped him from all directions to the big world, to a school in a different environment than usual until now," says Bitton. "Even without the Corona there is daily concern about coping and integrating into the new school. To other heights. " The reason, Bitton explains, is the importance of routine for Ari.
"The question is what will happen if, God forbid, a Corona patient is found at school and he has to sit at home, how to deal with all this. Or, for example, how he will behave in the school yard when everyone goes to recess," he adds with concern about the education system. Not their fault, but there is huge uncertainty in the air and every day there are outlines that change, every day such and such statements about the opening of the year and the composition that will be approved for learning.
"Until we get there, we will not know what it will look like and how much we can integrate Ari into the class. We try to prepare as much as possible within the limits. His integrator has already met him, and a connection is formed in the hope that from the beginning he can connect and learn through it. Along with the corona and the restrictions. "
This will relieve tension
So what can be done to make it easier for children? "First, it is recommended to initiate a preliminary personal conversation with the teacher in order to get to know and understand the conduct in the classroom in order to better mediate the future for the child," recommends Ronit Vardi, pedagogical facilitator at parenting and family centers at the National Community Center. New classmates, so that the child can get to a more familiar place. "She says it is important not to ignore the presence of the corona." The child should be told that it is true that there is a corona, but he goes to school and it is a sign that he is trusted to know how to behave. "Trust him and give him 'tasks' that now as a 'big boy' he has to do: wash his hands, play games where they do not gather together and stay away from children who do not wear a mask during breaks."
And although first graders do not need a mask, children can be offered a special mask with a design that will serve as confidence, "so that if the child feels he wants to be like the teacher or the older students, he can. If a question arises where he fears what will happen if someone in school gets infected "Explain that in this case everyone will learn a little from home, like the older children, until the patient recovers and knows that no one else is infected - and we return to class. When the parent conveys calm and confidence and trust in the system, the child picks it up and arrives feeling good."
Whatever the concerns, the children are already very excited. "We already bought Larry a bag and he is beginning to understand the process, he is already counting the weeks," says Moshe. Guy: "Ariel is my and my partner's eldest daughter Gil, so it's hard for us to judge the situation compared to a normal year. We'm very excited, maybe even more than her. The garden is more of an incubator, and now the move comes with responsibility, less experiential and fun learning that may not interest "But she will still have to concentrate. But she's smart and peppery - she's going to succeed." Lilach: "Shira is insanely excited, the bag and clothes of the first day are ready, and she was even photographed with them to show to grandparents."