With schools and colleges closing and shifting curriculums online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students are learning from home, which means parents and guardians are sometimes having to serve as de-facto teachers.
Brainly, the world’s largest online learning community, is launching a new ‘Power of Parents’ Scholarship that will give U.S. high school students the opportunity to write a 300-400 word essay about some of the biggest sacrifices their parents/guardians have made to support them while learning from home.
Submissions are open now through April 30, 2020, and the winning entry will receive $2,500 to help pay for college or to enhance their home learning setup. Eligible students can learn more and apply at https://brainly.com/
“Now, everyone is becoming a teacher and everyone is becoming a student, which is what our peer-to-peer learning approach has always championed. We’re excited to be able to give students the chance to describe how their parents or guardians are going above and beyond to ensure they are successful while carrying on their learning at home,” says Eric Oldfield, Brainly’s Chief Business Officer, who is the father of two school-age daughters in New York City.
According to a survey of 600 U.S. parents of school-age students who are now having to learn from home, 78% of moms and dads said they have a newfound admiration and respect for their students’ teachers.
“The fact that so many parents/guardians are becoming more appreciative of the hard work teachers do every day to educate our nation’s youth is proof that this transition to online learning and homeschooling is changing nearly every aspect of families’ lives,” says Oldfield. “As families struggle to work on homework assignments during these challenging times, we’ve been seeing more and more students and parents are turning to homework help platforms and online learning communities for support, with a 200% increase in demand for help on Brainly in the U.S.”
Some questions students are asked to potentially address in their scholarship essay submission include: How is your parent/guardian helping you navigate this new world of online learning to make sure your education doesn’t skip a beat? How are you as a student being supported while learning at home? Has your parent/guardian put in extra hours helping you figure out homework questions they didn’t know how to answer themselves? What steps are your parents/guardians taking to ensure they can put in a full day’s work while you put in a full day of learning? How has your parent/guardian gone the extra mile to make your home-learning experience a success?
For more information about Brainly’s ‘Power of Parents’ scholarship for high school students with home learning experience, visit https://brainly.com/
