Covid and School This Fall (1 Viewer)

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

For #2, how would you handle this if the disruptive behavior was happening in a classroom setting? Removal from class, parent-teacher conference, suspension? Clear consequences for disruptive behavior need to be established and enforced.

This was one of the questions I had for my wife before this school year started, I don't think she still has clear guidance.  If a kid is being disruptive in the classroom, they get sent to the principal's office.  What's the virtual equivalent?  You can't kick them out of the zoom, then the parents will lose their #### that you're not supervising their kid.  The teachers got training in the summer on mundane technical stuff like how to share your screen, etc. but little to no training (that I'm aware of) on how to actually manage a virtual classroom.  It's been very disappointing. 

Aside from disruptive behavior, just the act of trying to teach young kids on a video stream for hours at a time is so ineffective.  I've moved my workstation closer to where my kids are so I can hear what's going on with their classes during the day and the amount of time that's wasted on "please turn your camera back on," "please mute your microphone when it's not your turn to speak," "the chat bar is only for asking the teacher questions, not for messaging each other," etc. is mind-boggling.  Plus every time a student is called on, there's a small delay while they remind themselves how to unmute so they can respond - individually negligible but when it happens all day it adds up and makes an already boring experience even worse.  And the constant stream of technical questions like "I don't see the assignment in my classroom," "where's the link for the video," etc.  I listened to my 4th grader's class most of the morning today and they got almost nothing done.  I'm just venting at this point, it's just so frustrating that this was the solution we ended up with. 

 

[The Z Machine]

I just bought 2x new Chromebooks for my kids.  They aren't working well with Zoom.  The video freezes and cuts out a bunch.

Anyone else suffer through this with Chromebooks and Zoom?  I'm thinking about returning and getting a Windows PC (yuck).

 

[CR69]

This was one of the questions I had for my wife before this school year started, I don't think she still has clear guidance.  If a kid is being disruptive in the classroom, they get sent to the principal's office.  What's the virtual equivalent?  You can't kick them out of the zoom, then the parents will lose their #### that you're not supervising their kid.  The teachers got training in the summer on mundane technical stuff like how to share your screen, etc. but little to no training (that I'm aware of) on how to actually manage a virtual classroom.  It's been very disappointing. 

Aside from disruptive behavior, just the act of trying to teach young kids on a video stream for hours at a time is so ineffective.  I've moved my workstation closer to where my kids are so I can hear what's going on with their classes during the day and the amount of time that's wasted on "please turn your camera back on," "please mute your microphone when it's not your turn to speak," "the chat bar is only for asking the teacher questions, not for messaging each other," etc. is mind-boggling.  Plus every time a student is called on, there's a small delay while they remind themselves how to unmute so they can respond - individually negligible but when it happens all day it adds up and makes an already boring experience even worse.  And the constant stream of technical questions like "I don't see the assignment in my classroom," "where's the link for the video," etc.  I listened to my 4th grader's class most of the morning today and they got almost nothing done.  I'm just venting at this point, it's just so frustrating that this was the solution we ended up with. 

My wife is the one dealing with most of this and she said this hasn’t been the case for our daughter at all. She’s in a mixed K-2 class and she said it’s extremely rare for the teacher to have to remind the students of any of that stuff. Wonder what they difference is. Maybe it’s just the age but I’d think it would be tougher with younger kids?

 

[Ilov80s]

Regarding #1, that's a tough spot. Have you had the conversation regarding devices with the parents, or was it the kid you mentioned it to? Can you send an email to the entire school to highlight the importance of a productive home environment and some tips for that as well as mentioning the resources available to them regarding the devices. Though I get the impression that these parents may not be the type to read emails. The more direct route would be to set up a call with the parents and discuss the importance of a productive environment for their child, but again, I get the impression that they may not be receptive to that.

For #2, how would you handle this if the disruptive behavior was happening in a classroom setting? Removal from class, parent-teacher conference, suspension? Clear consequences for disruptive behavior need to be established and enforced.

E2A: And agree with @MAC_32, I don't know that I could get paid enough to deal with that. I coach/socialize with a number of school administrators and some of the stories of what you all have to deal with is just nuts.

I  mean I know I could call them and tell them but does one broach such a subject. It's one thing to talk about in a general sense, it's another to tell someone their home is the problem or their politics might be having a negative impact on their kid. 

 

[culdeus]

I just bought 2x new Chromebooks for my kids.  They aren't working well with Zoom.  The video freezes and cuts out a bunch.

Anyone else suffer through this with Chromebooks and Zoom?  I'm thinking about returning and getting a Windows PC (yuck).

We had two of them.  I eventually gave up.  

Ended up getting a refurbished macbook and a refurb surface.  Both work great.

 

[desert rose]

How long are these sessions?

They are 75 minutes.  I'm trying to build in some breaks and some work time because they can't get much done during a video class.  It's too distracting.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I  mean I know I could call them and tell them but does one broach such a subject. It's one thing to talk about in a general sense, it's another to tell someone their home is the problem or their politics might be having a negative impact on their kid. 

Can you record the child's session in isolation and play it for them?  That might make what you are saying much more clear.

 

[The Z Machine]

We had two of them.  I eventually gave up.  

Ended up getting a refurbished macbook and a refurb surface.  Both work great.

Gah. That's what I fear.

 

[Ilov80s]

They are 75 minutes.  I'm trying to build in some breaks and some work time because they can't get much done during a video class.  It's too distracting.

That’s just way too much. I’m sorry your district made that decision. 

Can you record the child's session in isolation and play it for them?  That might make what you are saying much more clear.

I could but I don’t feel comfortable recording without the families permission. That might make them even more upset. I think I would be annoyed if a teacher recorded my kid at home without permission.  It’s not a bad idea but again it makes me a little nervous being like, “now I’m going to play you a video to show you how crappy your home environment is. Mom can you see how your screaming at your son during his work time is distracting?”  Based on the messages I’ve had with the stepdad, I do think they know their life is a giant mess. All his messages sound like he’s about to lose his mind. 

 

[The Gator]

I just bought 2x new Chromebooks for my kids.  They aren't working well with Zoom.  The video freezes and cuts out a bunch.

Anyone else suffer through this with Chromebooks and Zoom?  I'm thinking about returning and getting a Windows PC (yuck).

We upgraded to MacBook Airs before this school year due to the problems our younger daughter had with zoom and chromebook last spring.

 

[MAC_32]

I just bought 2x new Chromebooks for my kids.  They aren't working well with Zoom.  The video freezes and cuts out a bunch.

Anyone else suffer through this with Chromebooks and Zoom?  I'm thinking about returning and getting a Windows PC (yuck).

One of my wife's roles is that of tech coordinator. Her school uses chromebooks. They're pieces of ####, sorry.

 

[belljr]

Our chromebooks have been working great

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

My wife is the one dealing with most of this and she said this hasn’t been the case for our daughter at all. She’s in a mixed K-2 class and she said it’s extremely rare for the teacher to have to remind the students of any of that stuff. Wonder what they difference is. Maybe it’s just the age but I’d think it would be tougher with younger kids?

There are a couple of "problem" students in this class so I'm sure that contributes to it (the teacher doesn't typically call out individual students by name, more just makes general "please keep your cameras on, please don't use chat" reminders, etc. so I don't know who she's referring to specifically, but I assume it's the same kids most of the time).  

This teacher was also hired like August 30 to backfill one of the positions vacated by teachers who opted not to return to deal with this crap, so she's new to the school.  She's close to retirement age, and she's clearly not 100% across the technology aspects of virtual instruction.  By all accounts she's a great teacher in ordinary circumstances but there have been a variety of frustrating issues with her getting acclimated to the tech.  

It's mostly just a lot of little things but taken all together, the experience of live streaming teaching for 4+ hours at a time just isn't working for us.  

 

[CR69]

There are a couple of "problem" students in this class so I'm sure that contributes to it (the teacher doesn't typically call out individual students by name, more just makes general "please keep your cameras on, please don't use chat" reminders, etc. so I don't know who she's referring to specifically, but I assume it's the same kids most of the time).  

This teacher was also hired like August 30 to backfill one of the positions vacated by teachers who opted not to return to deal with this crap, so she's new to the school.  She's close to retirement age, and she's clearly not 100% across the technology aspects of virtual instruction.  By all accounts she's a great teacher in ordinary circumstances but there have been a variety of frustrating issues with her getting acclimated to the tech.  

It's mostly just a lot of little things but taken all together, the experience of live streaming teaching for 4+ hours at a time just isn't working for us.  

That's tough for her and the kids. Damn. Is it four hours straight of zoom videos or are there built in activities, breaks and snacks?

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

That's tough for her and the kids. Damn. Is it four hours straight of zoom videos or are there built in activities, breaks and snacks?

There's one scheduled 15 minute snack break in the middle, and usually a couple of impromptu 5 minute stretch breaks.  

As I'm typing this, the fire alarm just went off in the school.  The teacher just picked up her laptop and is carrying it outside.  She told the kids to go take their snack break.  

 

[CR69]

There's one scheduled 15 minute snack break in the middle, and usually a couple of impromptu 5 minute stretch breaks.  

As I'm typing this, the fire alarm just went off in the school.  The teacher just picked up her laptop and is carrying it outside.  She told the kids to go take their snack break.  

So I just looked at our daughter's schedule:

8-9 Zoom meeting then a 20 minute "recess"

9:20-10:05 Project time (led by the teacher) then a 15 minute "recess"

10:20-10:50 PE or Art (again led by the teacher, PE is things like play outside or she'll teach yoga)

10:50-11 Closing (??)

11-11:45 Lunch and "recess"

11:45-1 Students work on projects, packets or do things like Khan Academy, Acellus and Lexia for math/reading/science (not on Zoom, this is independent)

1-1:35 Zoom again for reading groups

 

[culdeus]

Our chromebooks have been working great

One thing that's clear is the brand "chromebook" is really whatever hardware vendor has last years stuff to patch together to get rid of.  Quality can vary quite a bit, and asking them to stream video is a tall task.

 

[The Z Machine]

One thing that's clear is the brand "chromebook" is really whatever hardware vendor has last years stuff to patch together to get rid of.  Quality can vary quite a bit, and asking them to stream video is a tall task.

These were Acer 314 models.  Got lots of good reviews too.  I thought I had done my research.

OK, what at the min specs for Windows 10 Home laptops for kids?

 

[Doug B]

Our chromebooks have been working great

Same here.

I thought "Chromebook" was really just any machine that ran the Chrome OS? So you could have a wildly varying quality of machines all called "Chromebook". Just like there's lousy laptops running Windows, and robust ones running the same.

 

[Ilov80s]

Our chromebooks have been working great

Ours mostly as well but some kids have had issues but they will be replaced by the district. They aren’t perfect but they are affordable. 

 

[Doug B]

Ours mostly as well but some kids have had issues but they will be replaced by the district. They aren’t perfect but they are affordable. 

Yeah, my son's Chromebook was provided by the school. It's what I'd call "cheap and cheerful" -- it's very stripped down, but it does fine with streaming video.

Chrome OS is based on Linux. I haven't gone and researched this deeply ... but being Linux-based, the operating system should run very lean, using a lot fewer resources than, say, Windows 10. Now, if the machine is truly "underbuilt", a lean OS will only get you so far.

 

[Shaft41]

We're in week 8.  80% of kids in-person, and 20% remote, but it looks like at least half of those remote learners will be coming in person for 2nd quarter in a couple weeks.  So, that will be an adjustment getting them into the mix.  I've been doing this job for 25 years, and I've always been able to get everything done and then enjoy staying up later and watching TV or sports and then getting 5-6 hours sleep and I'm fine.  

This year, I feel like I want to go lay in bed by about 9:30 every night.  It's going well, but it's just exhausting.  I think speaking all day in a mask requires more effort.  The kids need to stay in their seat and not move around any more than needed, so I'm all over the room all the time helping and answering questions.  I feel like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon.  

 

[Doug B]

This year, I feel like I want to go lay in bed by about 9:30 every night.  It's going well, but it's just exhausting.  I think speaking all day in a mask requires more effort.  The kids need to stay in their seat and not move around any more than needed, so I'm all over the room all the time helping and answering questions.  I feel like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon.  

I know major building refinements couldn't take place instantly ... but I sure hope that over the next 12-24 months, school districts across the country can figure out a way to revamp HVAC systems as quickly as feasible. Also bring in room-unit air scrubbers**. It would be one of the better uses of federal educational funding that I can think of. In-person classes without masks is technologically feasible right now.

** Locals hospitals have paid $900 - $1500 a unit for air scrubbers. A state department of education can perhaps focus on non-medical grade scrubbers, purchased in bulk, and see how low the per-unit cost can get.

 

[ericttspikes]

My oldest is a senior in high school. She is an A student, excellent at math and following a path to engineering. Her HS is all remote now with a plan to do hybrid sometime this month, which she has already opted out of. She is an excellent student with severe clinical anxiety. Her brain is wired to constantly send her false messages that she is in danger so this situation has turned her into a hermit where she feels safe and happy being alone and fearful of the outside world. It really is incredibly sad as a parent. She's continued getting straight A's and is taking all AP classes which she finds are even easier now that she doesn't have to deal with in class anxiety. In person school really forced her to practice dealing with and confront her social anxiety everyday. She took on challenges like becoming head drum major, first chair clarinet in orchestra, math team, and tennis team where she pushed her comfort levels and worked through her illness. She was able to take what she learned in therapy and put it to use in real situations. With all that over, she is so out of practice that I really worry about her mental health after this is all over, whenever that is, and have no idea how she'll be able to go away to college or frankly cope in the real world. She says she is perfectly content to never have to do in person anything again, which is scary. The mental health carnage this has and will cause is staggering. 

 

[Van Dyman]

These were Acer 314 models.  Got lots of good reviews too.  I thought I had done my research.

OK, what at the min specs for Windows 10 Home laptops for kids?

People will disagree on min specs "for kids" but I'll throw these out there since nobody answered...

- i5 processor (9th or 10th gen). I've heard some recent AMD processors are great but don't know which ones to suggest.

- 8GB RAM. Windows can run on 4GB but not well, imo. Don't skimp here.

-256 GB SSD

- 13 inch screen

- $400-$600

Non-essential features worth considering

- touch screen

- 2-in-1 laptop. My kids love them.

- Windows Hello especially if laptop will be used by multiple people (separate user accounts)

- Consider setting up your personal MS account in advance (if you haven't) and setting up kid account(s) under that before doing anything at all with the new laptop. It'll make initial setup easier.

 

[Sinn Fein]

These were Acer 314 models.  Got lots of good reviews too.  I thought I had done my research.

OK, what at the min specs for Windows 10 Home laptops for kids?

Once you go Mac, you never go back...

 

[culdeus]

These were Acer 314 models.  Got lots of good reviews too.  I thought I had done my research.

OK, what at the min specs for Windows 10 Home laptops for kids?

Zero idea.  I will say by and large the kids with mac's are doing fine.  Refurb airs can be had for $400.

 

[Ilov80s]

My oldest is a senior in high school. She is an A student, excellent at math and following a path to engineering. Her HS is all remote now with a plan to do hybrid sometime this month, which she has already opted out of. She is an excellent student with severe clinical anxiety. Her brain is wired to constantly send her false messages that she is in danger so this situation has turned her into a hermit where she feels safe and happy being alone and fearful of the outside world. It really is incredibly sad as a parent. She's continued getting straight A's and is taking all AP classes which she finds are even easier now that she doesn't have to deal with in class anxiety. In person school really forced her to practice dealing with and confront her social anxiety everyday. She took on challenges like becoming head drum major, first chair clarinet in orchestra, math team, and tennis team where she pushed her comfort levels and worked through her illness. She was able to take what she learned in therapy and put it to use in real situations. With all that over, she is so out of practice that I really worry about her mental health after this is all over, whenever that is, and have no idea how she'll be able to go away to college or frankly cope in the real world. She says she is perfectly content to never have to do in person anything again, which is scary. The mental health carnage this has and will cause is staggering. 

Yep, it plays into some of the social issues kids have and their instincts to avoid uncomfortable interactions. On the other hand, I don't blame many kids for not wanting to attend high school. It's extremely loud, hectic and you aren't just around people,  you are in very close quarters with people all day long. It is often a stressful place. 

 

[stbugs]

My oldest is a senior in high school. She is an A student, excellent at math and following a path to engineering. Her HS is all remote now with a plan to do hybrid sometime this month, which she has already opted out of. She is an excellent student with severe clinical anxiety. Her brain is wired to constantly send her false messages that she is in danger so this situation has turned her into a hermit where she feels safe and happy being alone and fearful of the outside world. It really is incredibly sad as a parent. She's continued getting straight A's and is taking all AP classes which she finds are even easier now that she doesn't have to deal with in class anxiety. In person school really forced her to practice dealing with and confront her social anxiety everyday. She took on challenges like becoming head drum major, first chair clarinet in orchestra, math team, and tennis team where she pushed her comfort levels and worked through her illness. She was able to take what she learned in therapy and put it to use in real situations. With all that over, she is so out of practice that I really worry about her mental health after this is all over, whenever that is, and have no idea how she'll be able to go away to college or frankly cope in the real world. She says she is perfectly content to never have to do in person anything again, which is scary. The mental health carnage this has and will cause is staggering. 

That sucks man and I agree that this is going to cause some bad mental health issues. My oldest is at college and has 4 roomates in an apartment/home so he's hung out with a good amount of close friends and they've all been away from home. I've taken my other sons to hang out with their friends a ton and they've had sports going for a few months now, so they've been able to "have fun" outside of video games and phones. I couldn't imagine kids like your daughter who haven't been able to socialize at all. It's just not healthy for them.

 

[Ilov80s]

Several of my kids who chose virtual only for the first semester have said they prefer to F2F so far and would probably choose this even if there was no virus. They said they like being comfortable at home, having a nice clean bathroom, never having to be harassed, being able to just get their work done and not deal with obnoxious kids, no bullying and no dealing with teachers with crazy rules.  

 

[Boston]

Several of my kids who chose virtual only for the first semester have said they prefer to F2F so far and would probably choose this even if there was no virus. They said they like being comfortable at home, having a nice clean bathroom, never having to be harassed, being able to just get their work done and not deal with obnoxious kids, no bullying and no dealing with teachers with crazy rules.  

That is not healthy (not the Corona part but the other stuff)...I feel for them but they are not learning any life lessons and at some point the check will be due on that...I truly believe one of the keys to maturity/becoming a functional adult is having adversity and overcoming it...as a parent you always want the best for your kid and you hate to see the "bad times" but if you don't let them deal with uncomfortable BS and figure it out you are not preparing them for life.

 

[leftcoastguy7]

Several of my kids who chose virtual only for the first semester have said they prefer to F2F so far and would probably choose this even if there was no virus. They said they like being comfortable at home, having a nice clean bathroom, never having to be harassed, being able to just get their work done and not deal with obnoxious kids, no bullying and no dealing with teachers with crazy rules.  

This is going to forever change public education as we know it.

There's no way most of these kids are going to return to the way it was before. 

 

[Ilov80s]

This is going to forever change public education as we know it.

There's no way most of these kids are going to return to the way it was before. 

Maybe but there’s also a lot of kids dying to get back to school because they miss the social life and find virtual super difficult. A couple of our sports teams just had positive tests and won’t be able to return next week. The counselor said many of them were crying when they found out they couldn’t come back next week. I think it’s like anything, different strokes for different folks. I do think there’s a percentage of kids who will want to remain online.

 

[Ilov80s]

That is not healthy (not the Corona part but the other stuff)...I feel for them but they are not learning any life lessons and at some point the check will be due on that...I truly believe one of the keys to maturity/becoming a functional adult is having adversity and overcoming it...as a parent you always want the best for your kid and you hate to see the "bad times" but if you don't let them deal with uncomfortable BS and figure it out you are not preparing them for life.

Maybe. The work is still challenging and many of the kids are finding online harder than being in school so I just think it’s a different kind of challenge. One of my kids who really loves virtual the most is no hermit. He’s the starting RB on the JV football team and plays drums in a rock band. He just thinks he can learn more faster from home and he’s actually quite mature for his age so he gets really frustrated with his peers in school. It’s a fascinating dynamic that we don’t know enough about yet imo.

 

[gianmarco]

It’s very hit or miss. I have kids doing better than ever because their battle was just hating to leave the comfort of home and deal with the anxiety of all the people, drama, behaviors, etc. Other kids are just too disorganized and like you said lack the executive functioning to monitor it all, stick with the boring parts, etc. We are mostly doing flipped school so most of the teaching is done during the asynchronous periods and the time live in class is for practicing, getting help, teacher feedback and group work. The kids who are smart love it because they can basically just turn their cam off and do the work at their own pace without being tied to a desk in class hearing the teacher explaining things they already understand. The lower kids seem to like having all this extra time in class for personalized help. Also they like that they can pause and rewind the asynchronous lessons when something didn’t make sense. 
 

I am loving the lack of behavior problems. Incidents are way way way down. Now if a kid is bored or frustrated, they just take their own break instead of throwing some kind of tantrum in class or getting into a power struggle with the teacher.
 

How do your in class assignments work? Our kids are basically only required to be live in school for 3 hours a day: 8:30-9:30, 10:30-11:30 and 12:30-1:30. The rest of the time is set aside for kids to work independently but they don’t have to do it during those periods. They could do the work at midnight if that’s when they want to.

My son is finally doing better the last 2 weeks. At the same time, he's taking more of his ADHD medicine than he's ever needed before. The one class he is most frustrated with, advanced algebra, is doing the asynchronous learning. The teacher videos the lessons and teaching and he has to watch and take notes. Those get turned in for points. Then in class she helps different students. It's awful for him because math is his best subject and he finds this format a complete waste of time (he can't turn off his cam as he will get dinged for attendance). All his other classes are teaching live and he is doing just fine with that. He's brought all his grades up to an A except for math, which is silly because it's the class he can otherwise get an A in in his sleep.

I reached out his 10th grade assistant principal two days ago about this. Apparently the entire math department decided this was the best way to teach. The assistant principal told me the 2 types of kids they are seeing struggle overall are those that struggle with learning/grades to begin with and the really high functioning/smart kids that aren't able to manage their workload without being in school. The latter is my son, unfortunately. He used to get all his homework done in school because he would finish fast and now everything is taking him so much more time and having to do it independently while at home that the loss of structure is a detriment. It's also why he needs so much more medicine to succeed in this setting. It's so frustrating to watch.

 

[gianmarco]

Oh, and our neighbor cut our internet line two days ago in the middle of school. It wasn't repaired until last night.  We spent the last two days shipping our kids out of the house trying to find internet access so they could attend school. It was a disaster.

 

[culdeus]

Anyone thing of poor Bannon not being able to attend in person school for a couple weeks?

 

[MAC_32]

Oh, and our neighbor cut our internet line two days ago in the middle of school. It wasn't repaired until last night.  We spent the last two days shipping our kids out of the house trying to find internet access so they could attend school. It was a disaster.

You retaliated and cut down one of his trees, yes? 

 

[gianmarco]

You retaliated and cut down one of his trees, yes? 

Oh believe me......

So, they were using a bobcat to level the ground and that's how they cut the line.  That was in preparation for the new sod they laid down yesterday.  Now he has a long run of cable on his new sod that is going to be dug up and buried in a couple weeks.  Oops?

 

[Ilov80s]

My son is finally doing better the last 2 weeks. At the same time, he's taking more of his ADHD medicine than he's ever needed before. The one class he is most frustrated with, advanced algebra, is doing the asynchronous learning. The teacher videos the lessons and teaching and he has to watch and take notes. Those get turned in for points. Then in class she helps different students. It's awful for him because math is his best subject and he finds this format a complete waste of time (he can't turn off his cam as he will get dinged for attendance). All his other classes are teaching live and he is doing just fine with that. He's brought all his grades up to an A except for math, which is silly because it's the class he can otherwise get an A in in his sleep.

I reached out his 10th grade assistant principal two days ago about this. Apparently the entire math department decided this was the best way to teach. The assistant principal told me the 2 types of kids they are seeing struggle overall are those that struggle with learning/grades to begin with and the really high functioning/smart kids that aren't able to manage their workload without being in school. The latter is my son, unfortunately. He used to get all his homework done in school because he would finish fast and now everything is taking him so much more time and having to do it independently while at home that the loss of structure is a detriment. It's also why he needs so much more medicine to succeed in this setting. It's so frustrating to watch.

Sorry to hear the struggles in math. So he’s just not able to focus on the lessons that are recorded?

 

[gianmarco]

Sorry to hear the struggles in math. So he’s just not able to focus on the lessons that are recorded?

No, that's not the issue at all.  Math is easy for him and so having to sit through an hour of videos after school as "homework" and take notes on it when he already gets the material early on is boring and aggravating for him.  If he was in class, he could just "tune out" and pay attention when he needs to.  Here, he is forced to watch the whole thing, take notes, and turn those notes in for graded points.  Then, during the live class, which happens afterward, he still has to sit through the whole class and watch other students struggle doing the problems.  And the homework that is assigned doesn't count at all toward his grade.  They just had their first test and he aced it.  It's why his grade is at least a low-mid B.

If the teaching happened live, he wouldn't have to take notes and turn them in (since he's obviously there) and he would be happy to do homework that counted toward his grade.  That's how every other one of his classes are working and he is doing fine.

At least he's gotten into the system and is getting it done now.  But the previous recorded videos for which he didn't turn notes in are counting against his grade and it's not something that can be turned in after the fact.  All of his other teachers allowed him to turn in previously incomplete homework from the beginning of the year when he was struggling.  Over the last 2+ weeks, he caught up on everything and hasn't had a single missed assignment since.  A big part of that is not just taking medicine in the morning for his classes, but throughout the entire day so he can later on complete his homework as well.  We never had to do that when he was in school because he always got his work done while at school and when his medicine was still in effect.  It took the first few weeks to realize this and get him on schedule--first week just orientation, etc., the second week he was falling behind, we heard about it the 3rd week and over the next week or so we were able to adjust and get things on track.

In the end, he's fine now.  He's adjusted as have we and I think he'll be ok moving forward.  He really can't wait to get back into school, however, and there's no end in sight for that to happen.  Unfortunately, I'm hoping there's a way for him to bring his grade up enough in math to make up for those first few weeks.  That's part of why I reached out to the assistant principal.  I've never had to do that for him for any teachers in any grade before.  He always just did well and got great grades.

 

[acarey50]

Our little guy (9 years old, 4th grade) just left to walk down for his first day back for live instruction. His school phased the grades back in (TK-K first, then 1st-3rd, now 4th-6th).

So far have heard very mixed things as they are doing the approach where the teacher has to teach both in class and online at the same time. For the younger grades I've heard that the online only kids are getting the short end of the stick as the teacher has to spend so much more attention to the in class kids that they can not give proper attention to the at home kids, so the parents at home end up being a bit more involved. On the flip side, they are certainly seeing some regression (or less advancement) in the younger kids not so much in the academics, but in some of the basic life skills - think not being able to open up a glue stick since at home parents were doing everything for the kids. My instinct tells me it will be a little smoother for the older kids that don't need as much direct oversight in class.

I really think, at least for the younger kids, they should have separated out the return to school and online kids - they have multiple teachers at each grade level - have half the kids come in the morning with one teacher while the other teaches the kids online, then switch at lunch (in class teacher teaches online in afternoon, online morning teacher does in class in afternoon), or, if the teachers agreed, one teaches in class all day, the other teaches online. That way the in class kids get the full attention of a teacher, and the online kids do as well. I realize it may not be quite as simple as that (depending on actual numbers of returning kids, etc.), but it certainly seems way more effective than the current model.

 

[Boston]

Maybe. The work is still challenging and many of the kids are finding online harder than being in school so I just think it’s a different kind of challenge. One of my kids who really loves virtual the most is no hermit. He’s the starting RB on the JV football team and plays drums in a rock band. He just thinks he can learn more faster from home and he’s actually quite mature for his age so he gets really frustrated with his peers in school. It’s a fascinating dynamic that we don’t know enough about yet imo.

I wasn't referring to the education part but the social part like the bullies, dirty bathrooms and teacher's crazy rules...that type of stuff is not gonna go away and the sooner a kid figures out how to deal with it the better...I get that remote is the way to go with the virus in certain areas but that should not be the way once we get back to "normal."

 

[Ilov80s]

No, that's not the issue at all.  Math is easy for him and so having to sit through an hour of videos after school as "homework" and take notes on it when he already gets the material early on is boring and aggravating for him.  If he was in class, he could just "tune out" and pay attention when he needs to.  Here, he is forced to watch the whole thing, take notes, and turn those notes in for graded points.  Then, during the live class, which happens afterward, he still has to sit through the whole class and watch other students struggle doing the problems.  And the homework that is assigned doesn't count at all toward his grade.  They just had their first test and he aced it.  It's why his grade is at least a low-mid B.

If the teaching happened live, he wouldn't have to take notes and turn them in (since he's obviously there) and he would be happy to do homework that counted toward his grade.  That's how every other one of his classes are working and he is doing fine.

At least he's gotten into the system and is getting it done now.  But the previous recorded videos for which he didn't turn notes in are counting against his grade and it's not something that can be turned in after the fact.  All of his other teachers allowed him to turn in previously incomplete homework from the beginning of the year when he was struggling.  Over the last 2+ weeks, he caught up on everything and hasn't had a single missed assignment since.  A big part of that is not just taking medicine in the morning for his classes, but throughout the entire day so he can later on complete his homework as well.  We never had to do that when he was in school because he always got his work done while at school and when his medicine was still in effect.  It took the first few weeks to realize this and get him on schedule--first week just orientation, etc., the second week he was falling behind, we heard about it the 3rd week and over the next week or so we were able to adjust and get things on track.

In the end, he's fine now.  He's adjusted as have we and I think he'll be ok moving forward.  He really can't wait to get back into school, however, and there's no end in sight for that to happen.  Unfortunately, I'm hoping there's a way for him to bring his grade up enough in math to make up for those first few weeks.  That's part of why I reached out to the assistant principal.  I've never had to do that for him for any teachers in any grade before.  He always just did well and got great grades.

Have you tried talking to the teacher? I know they aren’t all this way but I would be happy to excuse a lot of that stuff for a kid who was getting As on tests. Also what grade is he in?

 

[Ilov80s]

I wasn't referring to the education part but the social part like the bullies, dirty bathrooms and teacher's crazy rules...that type of stuff is not gonna go away and the sooner a kid figures out how to deal with it the better...I get that remote is the way to go with the virus in certain areas but that should not be the way once we get back to "normal."

They are in high school and have dealt with it for 8,9,10 years already. What’s the proper amount of years one has to deal with bullies and dirty bathrooms before they are normal?

 

[Hov34]

They are in high school and have dealt with it for 8,9,10 years already. What’s the proper amount of years one has to deal with bullies and dirty bathrooms before they are normal?

13

 

[gianmarco]

Have you tried talking to the teacher? I know they aren’t all this way but I would be happy to excuse a lot of that stuff for a kid who was getting As on tests.

Yes.  Early on, she reached out that he wasn't turning things in and I had done the same.  We spoke over the phone and she said "I understand what you're saying but he needs to reach out to me".  Ok, fine, which he did via email and was able to address a couple things.  I then reached out again to see if things were improving and she confirmed they were.  Then, when our internet went out two days ago, I emailed all his teachers to let them know of the situation.  All of them were obviously understanding.  Except for her, when he wasn't able to log in that morning to Zoom until 10:05 (class starts at 10) because the laptop wouldn't connect with the public WiFi at my wife's office and they ended up getting another laptop from a colleague...and she marked him tardy. 

That's when I reached out to the assistant principal and explained my frustration with this class.  My impression is every other teacher is understanding of the current situation except this one.  I don't feel like I can reach back out to her and get any better understanding to be reached.  I'm sure he'll be able to get his grade back up by the end of the quarter and end of the semester, but right now, I think she's not having the understanding needed for what's going on to help students succeed.  Like I said, I've never had to do this with any teacher at any time in the past.  Hopefully going about this the right way.

 

[Boston]

They are in high school and have dealt with it for 8,9,10 years already. What’s the proper amount of years one has to deal with bullies and dirty bathrooms before they are normal?

If you think dealing with stuff in the 5th grade is the same as dealing with stuff in the 11th grade we are on totally different pages...and the correct answer is their whole life because as you get older you really realize life is about overcoming adversity.

 

[Ilov80s]

Yes.  Early on, she reached out that he wasn't turning things in and I had done the same.  We spoke over the phone and she said "I understand what you're saying but he needs to reach out to me".  Ok, fine, which he did via email and was able to address a couple things.  I then reached out again to see if things were improving and she confirmed they were.  Then, when our internet went out two days ago, I emailed all his teachers to let them know of the situation.  All of them were obviously understanding.  Except for her, when he wasn't able to log in that morning to Zoom until 10:05 (class starts at 10) because the laptop wouldn't connect with the public WiFi at my wife's office and they ended up getting another laptop from a colleague...and she marked him tardy. 

That's when I reached out to the assistant principal and explained my frustration with this class.  My impression is every other teacher is understanding of the current situation except this one.  I don't feel like I can reach back out to her and get any better understanding to be reached.  I'm sure he'll be able to get his grade back up by the end of the quarter and end of the semester, but right now, I think she's not having the understanding needed for what's going on to help students succeed.  Like I said, I've never had to do this with any teacher at any time in the past.  Hopefully going about this the right way.

It sounds like a her problem, that sucks. I had to move one of my kids out of regular geometry into the drop level class because he/his mom just could not get a long with the only teacher doing virtual geometry. It kind of sucks for the kid but it had to be done. She was an awful teacher and difficult person.

 

[Ilov80s]

FYI, the parent of the kid who was having political issues was super cool when I vaguely told him what was going on. He did his kid son is obsessed with politics and the rest of the family doesn’t really follow it. He said the whole family is annoyed with him over it and he will talk with him about dropping the attitude and partisanship in class.