Today, while I tried to help my kindergartener muddle through her online classes filled with endless tabs of YouTube videos, Google Docs, and various school apps, I felt my patience starting to unravel. Just as I declared, “I’ve had enough! We’ll try again later!” my eldest child came to the rescue.
This scenario has played out many times over the past year, with my oldest constantly stepping in to assist his younger siblings with their online schooling. He has a remarkable ability to sense when I’m overwhelmed, and I couldn’t be more thankful for his support.
As he guided her through video clips, helped her sound out words, and type out responses for her assignments, I realized that without him, navigating this challenging year—particularly the hurdles of e-learning—would have been impossible. Although I consider myself fairly tech-savvy, I can’t match the instinctive way my oldest manages the various digital platforms they use. He has a natural talent for technology, having been exposed to it since birth; for him, it feels like second nature.
In contrast, the way kids learn today often feels like a foreign language to me, composed of symbols and emojis. When I was in third grade, we were learning cursive by drawing letters in shaving cream on our desks and doing basic math without calculators. My son, however, is learning coding, creating PowerPoint presentations, and even recording podcasts. Their approach to math seems as complex as astrophysicists calculating the speed of light, and they’re encouraged to explore scientific calculator features that were unheard of in my school days. It’s a drastically different educational landscape, and I was ill-prepared to take on the role of teacher at home full-time.
Enter my little hero. He takes pride in helping his siblings, and more importantly, he communicates what he’s learned in a way they can grasp. Having recently navigated the same lessons himself, he knows how to make the material relatable. He understands the frustration of struggling with a word, and he possesses tricks that help his younger siblings push through their challenges as he learned them not long ago.
Without my oldest’s knowledge of both the subject matter and the technology used to teach it, our homeschooling experience would have been far more chaotic—think more meltdowns and a lot more colorful language.
Older siblings truly deserve recognition for stepping up as role models, showing compassion and patience to their younger siblings while encouraging their growth. They are also unsung heroes for parents trying to juggle work, household chores, and their children’s education all from home.
My oldest son has been the real MVP of our family’s chaotic pandemic experience. As soon as this is over and life returns to some semblance of normal, I’ll be rewarding him with a pony (or more realistically, a new gaming system, since today’s kids lean more toward tech gadgets than pets) because he has certainly earned it—and so much more.
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Summary
Older siblings have emerged as invaluable support systems during the pandemic, stepping in to help their younger siblings with online schooling. Their ability to connect, communicate, and teach has proven essential for families facing the challenges of e-learning. The contribution of these older kids deserves recognition, as they not only assist their siblings but also alleviate some of the burdens on parents trying to manage various responsibilities at home.
Keyphrase: Older siblings pandemic heroes
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