Online Schooling in Malta and its Devastating Effects on Working Mothers

Many have dreaded the closing of schools for months for obvious reasons, yet it happened again. As from the 15th of March 2021, online schooling in Malta was introduced for all school-aged children with the hope of curbing the increasing COVID-19 infection rate in the Maltese Islands during the National vaccination process. Unfortunately, this move has proved to add a lot of tension, insecurity, instability and stress on most families with children, with working mothers being the most negatively impacted by this strategy.

Many mothers have felt a dire need to vent their concerns on social media in the past few days, including on the Facebook group Women for Women (Malta). Judging from these posts, mothers are feeling devastated and exhausted, trying hard to keep up with everything, including working, assisting with their children’s online schooling as well as the normal household chores, yet still feeling like they are failing at it all…

I cannot express in words how exhausted I’m feeling. I’m talking gibberish. I’m so tired, I was going crazy looking for my mobile, not realising I’m on the phone (holding same mobile ) This just after two days! It’s so difficult to follow the kids to do online lessons whilst working from home. I’m mentally drained and I cannot imagine doing this for another week or heaven forbid, if the restrictions are extended. With 3 kids under the age of 10, it’s a real challenge! Is it possible that we cannot find another solution? Not all jobs can be carried out from home, and if you have certain responsibilities you still have to manage your workload one way or another. Its after 6pm and I know I have at least a number of hours until I handle today’s emails.

Rose Vassallo

I have to fit a full time job plus homeschooling a 4 year old and babysit a 2 year old! It is crazy. I look forward to Easter holidays and hopefully back to school in April

Daniela Abela

I feel like i need a vacation in a place where I need a straight jacket and a Haledol drip. And I only got one tiny hurricane who is soon to be 15 month old She has learned how to run, jump and now climb. So when I’m supposed to be working I’m either chasing her, comforting her in her boredom or holding her on my lap. Needless to say, I won’t be getting any bonus for my caseload this quarter I love her and I’d gladly take a bullet for her, but I feel I wanna cry many times during the day as I can’t keep up.

Tina Hammer

It’s not about homeschooling…that I can handle. It’s about working from home too, simultaneously. I have 3 kids under 6 and this is not possible long term. My husband is very hands on and my parents also help, but we still struggle. Something has to give. There’s a limit to how many nights I can sleep 4/5 hours to make up for the hours.

Petra Jones

How can a woman work from home and do online lessons at the same time with one child, let alone 2 or 3….. Yet again even during a pandemic the single mother is penalised.

Julia Navarro

There are women who back in March 2020 have chosen to homeschool their children due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, homeschooling can be done anytime, with no set time. As for online schooling in Malta, the children still need to follow rules, including being punctual and available during the assigned school timetable, which is usually very similar to a normal school day. This makes online schooling much more difficult to adapt to…

We have been doing this since the beginning, my kids never went back to school. But before this week we were just doing the work, no teacher interaction. We got into a flow and it was ok. Now BOOM each of my kids ages 4 and 6 have more or less full time virtual school. It’s crazy. They both require a lot of assistance plus preparation. I moved my hours to work 11am-5pm for now but I feel like a useless employee/mother/teacher! You cannot excel at anything being stretched this thin!!

Anonymous

And how about mothers that have children with special needs?

I have a kid with special needs, he can’t dress himself, he can’t eat himself, he needs constant supervision. I was so angry that nothing is done to help us… and yes, I do work full time from home, helping other kids with special needs, but there had to be a solution. I barely manage my own workload let alone taking care of someone else.

Anonymous

It’s too much, it’s like I am present but mentally my mind can’t handle it. 3 kids, 2 on the spectrum doing online lessons and a very energetic 1 year old.

Nari Fal

There are also mothers who unfortunately have had no option other than to quit their jobs to help their children during online schooling in Malta. The government is providing some financial aid for working parents who opt for unpaid leave to take care of their children. Whilst this is better than nothing, it is not feasible for one income families such as single parents.

I decided to opt for unpaid leave, I cannot work, help my daughter with 5h online lessons daily and take care of a baby at the same time, its impossible.

Anonymous

Let us also not forget the women who along with all of this are also following educational and University courses with the aim of bettering their lives…

I have a 5 year old boy and a 1 month old baby who is constantly crying and barely sleeping. I still work and have to study too. It’s been two days and I have already lost my mind, I’m not sure if I will manage to cope for 2 weeks and I really hope that online schooling in Malta is not extended.

Amanda Abdilla Padovani Ginies

Two of my children are following online schooling, and while my oldest can handle everything on her own, my youngest needs my help all the time as she gets easily distracted online. Apart from my daily household chores, I work part time from home and am following a Degree at University, for which I need to study and follow online lectures. Following online lectures whilst my daughter is attending online schooling is next to impossible. It has only been two days and I feel like I’m losing my mind already.

Claire Galea

Grandparents are also witnessing this ordeal for working mothers, with some of them putting their own health concerns aside and opting to help with their grandchildren’s online schooling…

I am a nanna and I try to give my share in this. So please if there are any nannas reading this, do help in any way you can because it is traumatic for working mothers.

Anonymous

And let us all not forget that among working mothers struggling with their own children’s online schooling are teachers. Teachers have to keep going with their daily lesson planning and corrections as well as deliver interacting and interesting content, adapting it to the online schooling setting, whilst at the same time assist with their own children’s online schooling….not to mention having to add to the equation the normal household chores…

Im in the same boat…I have a 6yr old and almost 4 yr old and I need to deliver lessons to my bunch of wonderful students for the whole day. I do this with passion but I also am feeling that I am ‘neglecting’ my own kids.

Rebecca Falzon

I believe that the current situation of online schooling in Malta has emphasised the need for more structures in place aimed at helping the working mother. It is evident that working mothers are being stretched far more than what should be considered reasonable. One could argue that this is a pandemic and so we need to adapt to it. Fair enough. But loans need to be paid, children need to be fed and taken care of, and women need their jobs, today more than ever before.

The majority of fathers do not work from home, and it is mostly mothers that opt or aim for home-based work. But even in family structures where both the father and the mother are working from home, the problem persists. It is evident that working from home whilst online schooling is not tangible, as clearly shown in a particular heart-wrenching comment…

I don’t have a solution, what I do know is that this week totally floored us as a family. I never ordered so much takeaway and the house is a mess. I have 2 kids: 4 year old that is homeschooling, and a 2 year old. I had lessons Monday to Wednesday where my husband had to stop his work to stay with the kids, which meant he had to work longer. I tried to stay with them between lessons. At times neither of us could stay with them as I had a lesson and my husband had a work call… my 4 year old son doesn’t want to stay in front of a screen; my 2 year old ran away while I was trying to help my son. Epic fail. Next week I start my maternity and that’s the only thing that is going to save us…There is no way (in our case) that we can both work and stay with our kids. They’re too young. One of us would have had to give up his job. Apologies for the long ramble but it’s indeed a very difficult phase and my heart goes out to all those mothers that have a job and are on their own trying to stay with their kids.

Estelle Imbroll

This pandemic seems to be taking its time, and we have no certainty that the problem will be going away any time soon, which is why we need to take this scenario into consideration and prepare in advance for the upcoming year. Francesca Fenech Conti, creator and administrator of wham and Women for Women (Malta) came up with a great suggestion about the possibility of creating a think tank and job retraining opportunity for willing jobless mothers to become childcare workers, which would result in more child carers who could possibly visit private homes where needed.

Creating such a think tank and job retraining opportunity would provide help to mothers who are struggling to keep working and online schooling as well as mothers who have ended up without childcare. Of course it takes time but it can be fast tracked and many online childcare courses are already in place – Jobsplus has one that they offer for free, which could be made available as part of a retraining and job offer scheme for women without jobs who would be willing to offer their services as childcare workers in other working women’s homes…Ideally the government subsidises these services just like it does for families that employ full time carers for older persons in their homes.

Francesca Fenech Conti

One thing is for sure…as most of us have heard before, a woman is expected to work like she does not have children, and look after her children like she does not work. We are now a year into this pandemic, we need to provide feasible ideas that will help women for the months and years to come. Let us all join forces and work together to make this happen.