Education
It might take a village to raise a child, but with school closures from coronavirus, parents/caregivers shoulder 99 percent of the work. It's on them for meals, schooling, recreation, church, and socializing—often while trying to work, deal with sickness, or solve for unemployment. Given these challenges, this show focuses on how to support parents. Until we're through with the virus, children's well-being is dependent almost exclusively on the strength of their immediate family units. You'll hear from three people who represent solutions for how we will #MindTheGap, meaning the space between where millions of children find themselves today and the entrance to the online-learning, distance education train. Children face five gaps, represented by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Speaking to #gap1—the Physiological Gap—Ruth Iaela-Pukahi tells us what it's like to walk to the local elementary school to pick up breakfast and lunch for the seven children, including two foster children, she is parenting as a single mother. Speaking to #gap3—the Social Belonging Gap—Matt Clayton shares how his guides at Slope School connect one-one-one with their students three times a week using Zoom videoconferencing. They've also organized squads of four students who check in on each other through a structured process of peer support. Speaking to #gap5—the Self-actualization Gap—Thomas Collette shares how his company Agilix has organized a coalition of content companies to deliver a catalog of online courses for free until June 2020 so that students can work toward their goals while schools are closed. The courses load easily onto all major learning management systems. What other solutions have you found to #MindTheGap? Share them on Twitter and tag them with #gap1, #gap2, #gap3, etc. Then visit www.readytoblend.com/mindthegap to see what others have shared. To support Ruth Iaela-Pukahi, consider purchasing your next Amare wellness and mental health supplements from her beautiful collection at www.amareglobal.com/11150. Explore Matt Clayton's Slope School at www.slope.school. It's part of the Acton Academy network: www.actonacademy.org To partake in Thomas Collette's offer for free online courses, go to https://agilix.com/freecontent/