HOME-BOUND parents and teachers are among the most stressed under the movement-control order (MCO) as they grapple with online learning while juggling other responsibilities.

For those living in areas with weaker internet connection or limited computer devices, the frustration is doubled, on top of managing their own work-from-home schedules.

The Education Ministry on Friday released guidelines to help parents and teachers manage online lessons, called implementation of teaching and learning (PdP) under the MCO. Parents and teachers are finding out, however, it is not the lessons that pose a problem, but a host of other disruptions.

‘We can’t replace teachers’

Mother-of-four Nur Melina told The Malaysian Insight that her children are less attentive at home than at school because of the comfortable and familiar environment.

“They think that they’re on holiday, and in their mind, it’s playtime. Kids have very different approaches when they’re with a teacher and when they’re with their parents. 

“They know that they have to be angels with their teachers, whereas they feel more relaxed and tend to be less well behaved with their parents.”

Melina’s children are given homework through an online platform called Dojo, but she feels that it is not enough. She supplements by allowing her children to watch YouTube videos on certain subjects and questions them later.

She also has to juggle work as a project manager and coming up with creative ways to help her kids continue their lessons.

Steven Chiew, who has a 4-year-old daughter, said her lessons are less academic and more play-based.

“Thankfully, her kindergarten has put up classes for their syllabus online. And before the restrictions started, her school gave us all her textbooks to bring home. So other than going through her online classes, we mostly just play, read stories, dance.”

Chiew finds the lessons sufficient for his daughter for now since she is only a kindergartener, but he is concerned if the MCO is extended.

“Ultimately, parents can’t replace teachers. Parents are not teachers in the first place. So hopefully, things will improve soon and children can go back to school.”

Being the teacher at home is also entirely new to Khaled Emada, a father of two, who feels he cannot teach his children the way their teacher would.

“My wife and I are not trained teachers. No matter the amount or quality of material provided, we cannot do the job of a teacher.”

Limited tech

Another problem Khaled and his wife face are limited phone and devices. The family only have one laptop at home.

“I work from home from 9am to 6.30pm, so most of the time, my son uses my wife’s phone to do his homework.”

A kindergarten teacher and a mother, who wanted to be known only as Lee, said the lack of devices is an extra headache as parents who are teachers need to record videos for online lessons while their own children demand access to the smartphone or tablet for their lessons.

She also feels stressed from having to juggle her work as a teacher, attending to her own children’s schoolwork, and cooking meals and doing household chores in between.

Social media is full of posts from teachers who are parents venting their frustrations.

One teacher and a mother of three, Meng Chia, said on Facebook: “I only have a mobile phone and my computer is spoilt. I can’t fix it until the MCO ends. I really don’t know how to handle online learning for three children.”

Yazmin Chan said: “As a mother, I only have one computer and mobile phone. At the same time, I am also a teacher. How do I teach online?”

Mary, another teacher, said on Facebook: “Does the housework still need to be done? Don’t we need to rest? Don’t assume that the other half will help the children with housework so that you can concentrate on teaching online.”

In her post, Mary added her concern that online teaching would result in some pupils falling through the cracks because of the various challenges.

“I just think that online teaching does not necessarily give every child a chance to study online.” – April 7, 2020.