mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
|
Post by mapleme on Jul 23, 2020 19:40:24 GMT -6
Welp. Our school just came out with their Virtual Academy plans and they're awful. This had been my Plan A and now it is off the table. It's a daily 8-2 day of online classes with active participation from the parent the entire time. WTF? That is the worst of all worlds. All day on a screen? Specific hours so no flexibility around a parent's schedule? And it seems to have to be a parent and not some kind of nanny or tutor. Specifically it says:
Elementary Learning Partners can expect to: - devote about five hours per day overseeing their students’ schoolwork - set the daily schedule with varied activities and breaks - assist with online school lessons and communicate frequently with the teacher - help monitor student progress and comprehension
And also: "It is an expectation of this program that there is more than typical explicitly planned communication between the academy and families. There’s also an expectation that at least one member of the household will agree to be a designated Learning Partner. This relationship begins with a phone call/video conference with parents to establish connections and learning dynamics. Other topics of discussion during this call include the best time and method of communication, as well as guidance for the parent in lesson access and other important logistic functions."
So, not a nanny or some other facilitator, but a full on parent or teacher. So much WTF.
So now I'm choosing between the risk of in person or homeschooling. This blows. I (and M) need way more flexibility and self direction than that plan allows. Like I want to spend 2-3 hours a day of her learning the basic building blocks (reading/writing/math/maybe some history and science) and then I want her to self explore. Follow her passions, try shit out, see what explodes. She's good at that. I see no reason to stop letting her do that so that she can stare at a screen.
|
|
milano
Emerald
Posts: 10,914 Likes: 36,993
|
Post by milano on Jul 23, 2020 20:02:09 GMT -6
|
|
mc13
Sapphire
Posts: 3,414 Likes: 12,121
|
Post by mc13 on Jul 23, 2020 20:21:06 GMT -6
My thoughts too! There is absolutely no reason an elementary aged child should be on a live virtual class for that amount of time. Let alone it being impossible for any working parents to facilitate.
|
|
milano
Emerald
Posts: 10,914 Likes: 36,993
|
Post by milano on Jul 23, 2020 20:28:58 GMT -6
Isn't M just going into 1st grade mapleme?!
|
|
rugger
Amethyst
Posts: 5,768 Likes: 14,536
|
Post by rugger on Jul 23, 2020 20:37:00 GMT -6
Whyyy is this decision so hard??? I want to like the hybrid model, but in reality, their teacher will have exposure to ~25 kids and will see each group every other day, so is that really better? I suppose somewhat, but better enough? And are little kids really going to wear masks 5+hrs a day? How will they practice reading facial cues for emotion? And hydrate properly? What will PE look like? I can't image recess or PE while in a mask.
But online isn't much better, aside from less exposure. It's not like they'll really have a chance to just be kids with other kids like they would at school/recess.
|
|
mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
|
Post by mapleme on Jul 23, 2020 20:37:16 GMT -6
Isn't M just going into 1st grade mapleme ?! Yup! I'm really glad that everyone has the same response as me. Our school did a great job with spring schooling. It was like 20 minutes of math and 20 minutes of literacy and another half hour of reading to our kids. Very manageable and M ended up above grade level in those specific areas. It was boring and M didn't love it, so I was hoping for more engagement this time around. But this is bonkers. Like, individual learning just does not need to be 5 hours a day. It could easily be 2-3 hours of structured learning plus maybe some kind of self-determined project. Like a "do what you want and tell us about it" situation. The only reason that school needs to be as long each day is because of all of the aspects of dealing with a big ol' group. And there is plenty of time in school where they are basically doing their own thing. This is the equivalent of sitting in rows and doing recitations.
|
|
mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
|
Post by mapleme on Jul 23, 2020 20:40:31 GMT -6
Whyyy is this decision so hard??? I want to like the hybrid model, but in reality, their teacher will have exposure to ~25 kids and will see each group every other day, so is that really better? I suppose somewhat, but better enough? And are little kids really going to wear masks 5+hrs a day? How will they practice reading facial cues for emotion? And hydrate properly? What will PE look like? I can't image recess or PE while in a mask. But online isn't much better, aside from less exposure. It's not like they'll really have a chance to just be kids with other kids like they would at school/recess. As for reading facial cues in masks, I think that way more expression than we realize is communicated through the upper half of the face. I've always struggled with reading people's faces and I feel like I have an easier time of it with masks than without, which really surprised me. Our DC was constantly taking off their masks (at a distance) to show their faces at drop off and they've stopped doing that. The kids have no problem knowing who is who. And when I'm out and about I feel like I'm being recognized more than before, rather than less.
|
|
Speedy
Sapphire
Posts: 4,613 Likes: 8,575
|
Post by Speedy on Jul 23, 2020 22:57:06 GMT -6
mapleme wow, that is absolutely bananas! Definitely a big old wtf
|
|
mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
|
Post by mapleme on Jul 24, 2020 4:31:37 GMT -6
Huh. Another parent just pointed out that farther down the Virtual Academy says the kid are only spending 15-30 percent of their time on the computer. Then why TF does it have to be at a specific time?? And why does it have to be a 1-1 learner/parent setup?
|
|
|
Post by ovenrack on Jul 24, 2020 10:15:53 GMT -6
mapleme, that sounds so incredibly unfeasible for so many people. And if the school shuts down due to a second wave, does everyone do this? What about families with multiple kids, two parents who work out of the home, etc? Sorry, not good enough. Try again.
|
|
sarenu
Amethyst
Posts: 5,085 Likes: 10,330
|
Post by sarenu on Jul 24, 2020 11:37:32 GMT -6
At the board meeting they moved school back 2 days to start. Now someone leaked on Facebook that they got an email pushing the start date back 2 weeks (they work for the district as an aid) and quickly deleted it. WTF
|
|
stringy
Opal
Posts: 8,306 Likes: 22,157
|
Post by stringy on Jul 24, 2020 12:38:53 GMT -6
I emailed a friend who is a teacher in M's school (has a kid in her class) to ask how the teachers were feeling about things and if the district asked their opinions and listened to them.
3 minutes later the principal sent an email asking parents to stop asking teachers which way to choose.
I feel bad. It wasn't at all what I was asking her, but I also chuckled.
|
|
stringy
Opal
Posts: 8,306 Likes: 22,157
|
Post by stringy on Jul 24, 2020 12:40:09 GMT -6
ovenrack, I haven't seen the pods requiring no outside work. Good luck with that folks.
|
|
stringy
Opal
Posts: 8,306 Likes: 22,157
|
Post by stringy on Jul 24, 2020 12:41:10 GMT -6
A colleague of mine is starting what is essentially care dot com for teacher/nanny/homeschool matching. It hasn't launched yet. Its a non-profit, and she's pretty smart. It will be national, so should it launch I'll let ya'll know. Reach depends on the "teacher" side having people sign up, of course.
|
|
jnu76
Gold
Posts: 947 Likes: 2,957
|
Post by jnu76 on Jul 24, 2020 13:15:22 GMT -6
At the board meeting they moved school back 2 days to start. Now someone leaked on Facebook that they got an email pushing the start date back 2 weeks (they work for the district as an aid) and quickly deleted it. WTF Teachers need time. We’re being asked to change everything with no guidance, training, resources, support, anything. We’re being told to remove everything that multiple people touch- pencil sharpeners, toys, circle time rugs, books, any personal anything. We have to set up our rooms for distancing. We have to be trained on new cleaning/ disinfecting protocols, and yes, we’re expected to do the during the day cleaning ourselves (when?) We have to figure out a new way for every single routine that we take for granted. How many kids in the bathroom? How do you monitor that? How do you get kids in and out of the building? How do you move any kids from point a to point b ever? My school switched online learning platforms because our old one sucked (even though the teachers begged to stick with what we and families know.) so now we have to be trained on that. None of us ever got any training of any kind on remote teaching- last spring it was thrown at us with no warning, guidance, training, or resources. (And then had to keep hearing that remote learning was a failure. Nothing like being set up to fail and then criticized for failing.) We have to adapt curriculum that was blown to smithereens by months of remote learning. A huge number of kids are coming back to us dealing with trauma as a result of the shutdown and things they had to deal with without the support they would get at school - deaths in the family, abuse, mental health struggles, divorce, kids who were suicidal even before they were isolated, homelessness, trauma related to violent racist events that they’ve seen or experienced. Time to deal with crap that nobody’s going to think of until it happens- what happens when the fire marshal pulls a fire drill or the local police demand a lockdown drill? How do we deal with kids who refuse to wear masks? The states keep changing the rules at the whims of politicians, and governors keep promising things schools can’t provide, like giving families multiple choices that we’re supposed to accommodate at the same time. How do you teach in person and remotely at the same time? Do the parents who want to keep their kids home and aren’t available during the day really expect us to teach 18 hour days to accommodate everyone’s schedule? The CDC was 2 weeks late putting out their guidelines. The states wouldn’t move until they got that guidance. School districts couldn’t plan until they got state guidelines. Teachers are getting reopening plans at the same time as parents with no elaboration. It’s a shit show because adults refused to make sacrifices to control the spread. Our country prioritized restaurants and gyms over schools, and now we’re here. We know that childcare is a disaster and schools not being open full time is blowing up everything. We know because we’re parents too, and our own kids don’t have anywhere to go when we’re teaching alternating groups or whatever. We want kids to be safe. We love your kids. I’ve gone to students’ funerals before and it nearly destroyed me. Our biggest fear is students dying, whether from Covid or from suicide because they didn’t get the support they desperately needed when schools were closed. Nothing is more important to us than the well being of your kids. We miss them so much it hurts. We want to be back with your kids in person every day, but we don’t want to risk their safety. Sarenu, this isn’t directed at you. I’m sorry if it comes off that way. I’ve clearly been bottling this all up for a long time. There are no good answers. There have been massive failures at every level of government, and failure of many adults to take personal responsibility to get this under control for the sake of kids. In order to keep your kids safe and provide meaningful education in impossible circumstances, we need time.
|
|
|
Post by charlotte on Jul 24, 2020 13:20:50 GMT -6
There are no good answers. Everything sucks. I can’t even formulate words about the Covid/school/childcare/etc situation anymore.
|
|
sarenu
Amethyst
Posts: 5,085 Likes: 10,330
|
Post by sarenu on Jul 24, 2020 13:34:10 GMT -6
Totally not directed at teachers. I know they are getting the worst of everything. My anger is at the school board for setting unrealistic goals. And 2 weeks from start (original start date was Aug 11th) pushing the date back 2 weeks. We have no care lined up. Our sitter is most likely headed to college in 2 weeks and I have no other person to line up. We can handle it. But a lot of families will need help covering care. Honestly, with the way details were presented I should not be surprised. It would be nice if we had some form of actual leadership. I'll just be in the corner mixing tequila into my jalepeno limeade.
|
|
|
Post by ovenrack on Jul 24, 2020 13:34:18 GMT -6
ovenrack , I haven't seen the pods requiring no outside work. Good luck with that folks. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think it's a terrible idea overall. Equality-wise. And many people are quick to say that they're all for equality, but not at the expense of their child's a)education or b)life. But that's the problem. No one is ever willing to go that far... hence where we are.
|
|
mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
|
Post by mapleme on Jul 24, 2020 13:51:10 GMT -6
In no way do I expect our not-in-person plan to be all day, at our whim. But we ALL need flexibility in these plans. Everyone's "work around" is going to be different. And the answer to that is not going to be a rigid, formal plan requiring 1-1 instruction from the parent. In the spring our school did a "just the basics" plan that we all could do at the time, day and way that worked for our family. And there was more available from those who needed and wanted that. It felt like our school district understood families needs. But now there is this absurd plan that accommodates no one. If I decided to quit my job and stay home, I still couldn't balance my other child who needs to not be doing 6 hours of sit down schooling and will constantly tempt my older child away. And then act up because she wants attention that we can't give her. At least in last year's plan I could make up some school work for C to do while M was doing hers.
This whole thing is so maddening and shitty.
|
|
jnu76
Gold
Posts: 947 Likes: 2,957
|
Post by jnu76 on Jul 24, 2020 14:31:08 GMT -6
Maple, are they offering in person or hybrid options, or is everyone expected to do that? This year is a whole different thing. Last spring many schools were not teaching much new material, focusing on maintaining skills. This year we’re expected to offer what we would do in person in multiple settings simultaneously(that will definitely be scrapped when we get shut down for health reasons again.) Because magic. There are no good answers.
|
|
mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
|
Post by mapleme on Jul 24, 2020 16:04:21 GMT -6
Maple, are they offering in person or hybrid options, or is everyone expected to do that? This year is a whole different thing. Last spring many schools were not teaching much new material, focusing on maintaining skills. This year we’re expected to offer what we would do in person in multiple settings simultaneously(that will definitely be scrapped when we get shut down for health reasons again.) Because magic. There are no good answers. The choices are M-F in person or M-F virtual and you have to decide by August 3 for the whole year. You are only allowed to switch for extreme reasons. There is no hybrid. And if school is shut down again, the Virtual Academy will guide the now-distance learning for the rest of the school (no guidance on what that means though). It is so incredibly frustrating that this seems to be geared specifically for the parent being the teacher. Like we can’t turn this into some kind of Virtual Academy homeschool pod or have a tutor managing it. Initially last year we were just maintaining. But starting mid-April we were expected to progress our kids’ learning. I definitely expected this year to be different, but I feel like last year there was an understanding of what working parents and teachers could manage. This year there seems to be none of that.
|
|
stringy
Opal
Posts: 8,306 Likes: 22,157
|
Post by stringy on Jul 24, 2020 20:38:48 GMT -6
ovenrack , I haven't seen the pods requiring no outside work. Good luck with that folks. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think it's a terrible idea overall. Equality-wise. And many people are quick to say that they're all for equality, but not at the expense of their child's a)education or b)life. But that's the problem. No one is ever willing to go that far... hence where we are. The equity part of it is outrageous.
|
|
tj
Moderator
Posts: 9,912 Likes: 24,842
|
Post by tj on Jul 25, 2020 0:14:51 GMT -6
Sometimes life goes soooooo much in a different direction than you thought it would. Fucking holy fuck woooooow.
|
|
tj
Moderator
Posts: 9,912 Likes: 24,842
|
Post by tj on Jul 25, 2020 0:32:28 GMT -6
By ^^ that, I mean that I did something. A thing. A big thing. Whowww.
|
|
Speedy
Sapphire
Posts: 4,613 Likes: 8,575
|
Post by Speedy on Jul 25, 2020 1:37:04 GMT -6
tj I hope whatever it is brings you good things 😊
|
|
milano
Emerald
Posts: 10,914 Likes: 36,993
|
Post by milano on Jul 25, 2020 7:43:42 GMT -6
tj <3 and tell us all about it!
|
|
|
Post by rhymeswithdisco on Jul 25, 2020 8:12:10 GMT -6
Sending love to you tj. Here if you need to talk, vent, scream, laugh, etc.
|
|
|
Post by charlotte on Jul 25, 2020 9:02:03 GMT -6
|
|
rugger
Amethyst
Posts: 5,768 Likes: 14,536
|
Post by rugger on Jul 25, 2020 9:08:18 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by ovenrack on Jul 25, 2020 10:07:11 GMT -6
|
|