I just feel like our public school could have done so much better. DD's private Montessori preschool managed to pull together lesson plans, did 3x/week Zoom classes, and sent helpful videos and instructions. We got a decent amount of materials/interactions. She also got to talk to her teachers live a few times a week. DS's public school class - nothing other than a few on-line assignments and a weekly Zoom call with all the kids. No feedback on assignments, no individual (or even small group) interactions, nothing. On the other hand, there was 1 Grade 2 teacher (out of 4) who really stepped up and did quite a bit with the kids. Unforutnately, he's the one who got let go because he's new and there are budget cuts. I can't even get into how upset we all are about that.
If we have to do on-line, I just hope that it's more standarized across the board and that there will be a minimum standard that all teachers would have to adhere by so that at least we'll know that kids/families are not being left behind.
The truth is they couldn’t. The reason public schools ended up the way they did is because they had to consider the ADA. if they were going to provide for some kids, they had to be able to provide for all, and special ed services, in many cases, couldn’t happen remotely. So schools could open themselves up to lawsuits up the wazoo for not providing for all their kids, or they could press pause on all learning (knowing most kids would be fine for 2 months) and figure their shit out. Which is what most are doing now, as best as they can.
Back to the OP, I don’t agree. Businesses have been as flexible as they can be, for the most part. Everyone is adjusting. But schools are doing the best they can, no matter what many of you think. It’s frustrating to constantly hear complaints when every teacher I know is working as hard as they’ve ever worked and it’s still not enough for parents.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
The comment on the FB group was in the context of “What are working parents going to do if hybrid schedules are happening?? What about teachers with their own children??” etc.
Really this is the example I’ve seen published in so many places where it turns into a class issue. White collar jobs can offer more flexibility (in some instances) with work from home options and flexible leave policies, but what about blue collar jobs or essential industries? There’s no one size fits all answer, that’s for sure.
My own district where I work prioritized community health and safety before learning. The message from the superintendent down to teachers was that we could not just ambitiously put out a robust online learning experience knowing families are working, some may have sickness, job losses and furloughs, money problems, etc. He didn’t want to add to the plates of busy working families. Now that we are facing a potential longer term school shut down and semi-permanent transition to eLearning, I’m unsure if that’s going to be the same message.
sdlaura Regarding your comments about some items not costing money...it will actually cost districts *a lot* of money to purchase the specialized cleaning supplies and PPE.
Here’s an article specific to the recommendations that were issued in SC and the financial impacts on already cash-strapped districts.
The districts have received money from the CARES Act to help offset some of that, but they’re also choosing to funnel that pot of money towards Chromebooks or iPads to increase number of students with personal devices at home, so it’s a choice they’re having to make on how to spend.
I just feel like our public school could have done so much better. DD's private Montessori preschool managed to pull together lesson plans, did 3x/week Zoom classes, and sent helpful videos and instructions. We got a decent amount of materials/interactions. She also got to talk to her teachers live a few times a week. DS's public school class - nothing other than a few on-line assignments and a weekly Zoom call with all the kids. No feedback on assignments, no individual (or even small group) interactions, nothing. On the other hand, there was 1 Grade 2 teacher (out of 4) who really stepped up and did quite a bit with the kids. Unforutnately, he's the one who got let go because he's new and there are budget cuts. I can't even get into how upset we all are about that.
If we have to do on-line, I just hope that it's more standarized across the board and that there will be a minimum standard that all teachers would have to adhere by so that at least we'll know that kids/families are not being left behind.
The truth is they couldn’t. The reason public schools ended up the way they did is because they had to consider the ADA. if they were going to provide for some kids, they had to be able to provide for all, and special ed services, in many cases, couldn’t happen remotely. So schools could open themselves up to lawsuits up the wazoo for not providing for all their kids, or they could press pause on all learning (knowing most kids would be fine for 2 months) and figure their shit out. Which is what most are doing now, as best as they can.
Back to the OP, I don’t agree. Businesses have been as flexible as they can be, for the most part. Everyone is adjusting. But schools are doing the best they can, no matter what many of you think. It’s frustrating to constantly hear complaints when every teacher I know is working as hard as they’ve ever worked and it’s still not enough for parents.
ADA and equity kept many districts’ hands tied. The truth is there are going to be parents upset no matter what schools did during distance learning or what they do this year. Part of that is that there isn’t one answer that works for everyone. For some it is the safest solution for kids to be in class and for others it’s 100% online or a hybrid. Parents just don’t realize how expensive the flexible options they want are. Staggering start times means more security staff or OT for those already employed. Increased cleaning protocols means more supplies and again, more hours or more people. Staggered start times and cohorts are a scheduling nightmare, especially when you consider electives. Lunch (and recess for younger students) in classrooms means teachers without a break. Cleaning desks between classes means teachers are wiping down desks during passing periods, likely with disinfectant they buy (that is just impossible 36 desks in 6 minute passing period. Heaven forbid I need to use the bathroom or eat something). All of these things cost more money and many states have had to cut their already slim education budgets.
What context was this within? Without that, my first reaction (flame-worthy) is as follows: Sorry,I find this somewhat tone deaf coming from an institution/profession (school districts, in some cases educators) that has, in regular times, forget that the rest of the world doesn’t operate in the school calendar / school day schedule. Those random days off for kids during the school year aren’t long weekends for most people, long winter breaks and summers aren’t things most people get to just enjoy, most people are still at work for an event scheduled in mid-morning or mid-afternoon.
I feel like most businesses have been extremely accommodating during Covid, and most workers have adapted to online school while also working. Could we continue as-is? Maybe. Should we? Maybe. some can, but people that can’t work from home (and really all of us) need, at a minimum, some kind of consistent schedule for school in order to plan our family’s life and our work life in order to be able to be efficient workers and move forward with this.
Yes we’ve spent $$$$$ for Covid related expenses. In our accounting we are marking it as Covid for the grant but let’s not all pretend we are actually get the money. Grants run out of money fairly quickly. We got approved for a construction grant but then they said oh but we are out of money so it doesn’t matter. And just so everyone knows those plexiglass things we’ve bought are about $250 each, and we got at least 7 of them so far.
vasc- the teacher who wrote that needs to look at the European models, which do not anticipate young kids distance from each other, wear masks, etc. They basically put tape on the floor and the teacher stays in the taped area while kids stay out of it. The important thing is to keep the adults distanced from the kids. The virus doesn’t transmit so much on surfaces, so a lot of extra cleaning isn’t really needed. AAP guidelines say that as well.
I don’t have an answer for middle and HS other than honestly those aged kids can be home alone. They can do distance learning without a ton of intervention from parents.