The Benefits of Music Education for Children
by Kevin Neese
byChristopher E. Nelson
5 min to readIn an online school environment, parents, especially those of younger students, are expected to monitor that their student is understanding and completing their lessons. At Connections Academy®, the role is vital, and parents (and/or other responsible adults) are known as “Learning Coaches.”
Learning Coaches can expect to spend five to six hours a day helping an elementary school student or one to two hours a day with a high school student. The time and level of effort required of Learning Coaches varies according to the student’s age and ability to work independently. Students who don’t work effectively in an independent learning environment, or students with attention deficits, learning differences, or behavioral concerns, require more Learning Coach time and energy.
For Learning Coaches to be successful, we strongly encourage creating and following checklists. Checklists are especially important tools as online students and parents get ready to head back to school.
In his bestselling book The Checklist Manifesto, renowned surgeon and author Atul Gawande posits that life has become so complex that mistakes are virtually inevitable. Because we cannot plan properly for every eventuality, Gawande suggests that we create checklists. The World Health Organization followed Gawande’s advice and created a surgical checklist that has been adopted in more than twenty countries as a standard for care and has been heralded for saving lives in operating theaters.
Gawande says experts need checklists—written guides that walk them through the key steps in any complex procedure. Psychologist Carey Heller writes that a checklist is an extremely effective tool if used properly to assist neurodivergent children, adolescents, and even adults.
You are the expert on your child, and while we don’t have a step-by-step guide to raising them, we can help you get the new school year started off well. Below, we’ve sketched out a few back-to-school preparation checklists for parents and students. But first, here’s a short checklist for creating a checklist:
The month before the semester begins is a great time to look ahead to the new school year:
For older students in middle school or high school who have taken on more responsibility for their education, here are some things to keep in mind before school starts:
As we said, life can be unpredictable, so you should be prepared to add to or otherwise modify your checklists as you go along. Meanwhile, your children will do more on their own as they get comfortable with the new school year and as they grow and mature. As their parent and Learning Coach, you’ll get to witness their growth firsthand.
You’ll find that you don’t always have to be in the room, but you will need to monitor your child’s daily learning. Read more about the part you play as a Learning Coach. If you’re new to our online school family this year, take some time to get familiar with the wider range of Connections Academy resources we offer to support our K–12 students and their families.