Education Dean Leads Online Discussion About Homeschooling

Alumni and education professionals come together on Facebook Live to offer guidance

Sacred Heart University’s Alumni Association is hosting weekly discussions on Facebook Live for parents, educators and administrators about successfully homeschooling children during this time of self-isolation.

Michael Alfano, dean of SHU’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education, moderates the talks with education professionals every Thursday at 11 a.m. on alumni’s Facebook page. Discussions will provide guidance and reassurance, as well as tips and strategies for educating children. This week’s chat features Albert Sackey, principal of Nathan Hale Middle School in Norwalk and Maureen Ruby, assistant superintendent in the Brookfield public schools.

Last week, Alfano hosted the first Facebook Live discussion, “We Are All Homeschooling Now,” with Fran Rabinowitz ’72, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, and Evelyn Russo, director of curriculum for Orange public schools. Both administrators answered questions from parents and educators who were looking for guidance about effectively teaching children at home.

Key takeaways from the talk:

• Develop a schedule and routine for children. Russo recommended setting up a place in the home that’s designated specifically for learning.
• Implement a buddy system. If there are older children in the household, let them help younger siblings with work, Russo said.
• Allow children to be independent learners and work on assignments on their own, Rabinowitz advised. “It’s important to let them struggle to find the answer,” she said.
• Have fun. Both administrators counseled parents to have the children use toys, watch educational TV shows and read books, saying these are all ways they can learn.
• Remember: “Perfect is the enemy of good,” Rabinowitz said throughout the chat. Teachers, students and parents are all in this together and learning as they go.