Going back to school thoughts?

[niccig]

I was more speaking of high schoolers because that’s where we’re at. I’m not quite sure what you mean by academic privilege, but high schoolers and upper middle schoolers should be able to do their work themselves. That is not academic privilege, that is expecting what is age appropriate for them.
Are there kids who fall outside these norms, sure. But I don’t think it is the norm for parents to be spending hours helping high schoolers

You’re not taking into account the students with learning disabilities or medical conditions like anxiety that need adult support to scaffold the work so they can complete it. Great that your kids don’t need any help - that’s the academic privilege mentioned, you’re kids can do the work independently.

The students I work with (I work in special Ed) need an adult giving some supervision to online work. The amount of support varies. Parents don’t know how to support their student as they’ve never been in a position to teach them before. We spent much of our time parent coaching. This is why I want to go back to school in person. I’m not worried as much about my son or kids like yours, they’re able to learn independently and while may do better in person, they can cope with online learning. My students need specialized instruction and parents can’t do that.




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[carolinacool]

You’re not taking into account the students with learning disabilities or medical conditions like anxiety that need adult support to scaffold the work so they can complete it. Great that your kids don’t need any help - that’s the academic privilege mentioned, you’re kids can do the work independently.

The students I work with (I work in special Ed) need an adult giving some supervision to online work. The amount of support varies. Parents don’t know how to support their student as they’ve never been in a position to teach them before. We spent much of our time parent coaching. This is why I want to go back to school in person. I’m not worried as much about my son or kids like yours, they’re able to learn independently and while may do better in person, they can cope with online learning. My students need specialized instruction and parents can’t do that.




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Exactly. Thank you.

[mommy111]

You’re not taking into account the students with learning disabilities or medical conditions like anxiety that need adult support to scaffold the work so they can complete it. Great that your kids don’t need any help - that’s the academic privilege mentioned, you’re kids can do the work independently.

The students I work with (I work in special Ed) need an adult giving some supervision to online work. The amount of support varies. Parents don’t know how to support their student as they’ve never been in a position to teach them before. We spent much of our time parent coaching. This is why I want to go back to school in person. I’m not worried as much about my son or kids like yours, they’re able to learn independently and while may do better in person, they can cope with online learning. My students need specialized instruction and parents can’t do that.




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Absolutely, special ed kids are the ones that do need to be there in person. I don’t think there is any doubt about that. Which is why a hybrid approach or an approach in which kids who need the in-person teaching the most should be prioritized for in person teaching

[niccig]

Absolutely, special ed kids are the ones that do need to be there in person. I don’t think there is any doubt about that. Which is why a hybrid approach or an approach in which kids who need the in-person teaching the most should be prioritized for in person teaching

I’m not just talking about special Ed as in self contained classrooms. Many students in gen Ed classes receive support and accommodations from special education staff to be successful and access the curriculum. These students can’t do it alone as you suggested in an earlier post. Their parents need to be involved to a certain degree. Your earlier post implies parents of high schoolers should not be involved at all, and if they are, those parents should check themselves. If they did that, their kids would be failing. These are not over involved helicopter parent situations. Many high school students do not have the executive functioning skills to be independent in their studies. We’ve got 4 years of high school to get them to a point where they are more independent. Support is scaffolded and withdrawn as students show more independence. It sounds like your kids don’t need that help, but I assure you, many do.


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[doberbrat]

You’re not taking into account the students with learning disabilities or medical conditions like anxiety that need adult support to scaffold the work so they can complete it. Great that your kids don’t need any help - that’s the academic privilege mentioned, you’re kids can do the work independently.

The students I work with (I work in special Ed) need an adult giving some supervision to online work. The amount of support varies. Parents don’t know how to support their student as they’ve never been in a position to teach them before. We spent much of our time parent coaching. This is why I want to go back to school in person. I’m not worried as much about my son or kids like yours, they’re able to learn independently and while may do better in person, they can cope with online learning. My students need specialized instruction and parents can’t do that.




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I mentioned in a meeting that I had just gotten off from a 3.5hr zoom meeting with my students. What on earth were you doing? Well, I was meeting with SPED & ELL kids. First we did some check in/sharing stuff. Then we went over how to log into the menu for the millionth time - seriously, we had to walk them through it EVERY.TIME.WE.MET!!! then we actually went through and did the work with them. Showed them how to pull up the read aloud, read stuff aloud with them, showed them how to log into the google class (again for the 1000th time) and worked with them to answer the questions. This after having to call their houses and make sure we reminded them that they are supposed to log on to our meeting.

Really, the work we were doing should have taken them 30-60min. Yeah, they're only in 3rd grade but nothing short of a miracle would make these kids be ready to work completely independently in 3 yrs.

[Kindra178]

I’m not just talking about special Ed as in self contained classrooms. Many students in gen Ed classes receive support and accommodations from special education staff to be successful and access the curriculum. These students can’t do it alone as you suggested in an earlier post. Their parents need to be involved to a certain degree. Your earlier post implies parents of high schoolers should not be involved at all, and if they are, those parents should check themselves. If they did that, their kids would be failing. These are not over involved helicopter parent situations. Many high school students do not have the executive functioning skills to be independent in their studies. We’ve got 4 years of high school to get them to a point where they are more independent. Support is scaffolded and withdrawn as students show more independence. It sounds like your kids don’t need that help, but I assure you, many do.


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Yes to this. 2/3 of my kids get language therapy but they are 100 percent gen ed. Mommy111, I feel like you are doubling down on this issue. Ten people have pointed out to you that your situation may be unique and you keep trying to group those kids whose parents help them as kids who will ultimately fail out of college, special Ed or lazy.


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[mommy111]

I am not doubling down, I’m stating the obvious. It is not safe for our families to have kids go back to in-person school as usual. It is not safe for teachers to be teaching under those circumstances. School districts have the whole summer to come up with plans that ensure people are safe. Until they do that, myself, and numerous other parents and teachers and teachers unions will continue to hold their feet to the fire to come up with alternative, workable plans that keep our families and our teachers safe. It’s as simple as that.

[AnnieW625]

I am not doubling down, I’m stating the obvious. It is not safe for our families to have kids go back to in-person school as usual. It is not safe for teachers to be teaching under those circumstances. School districts have the whole summer to come up with plans that ensure people are safe. Until they do that, myself, and numerous other parents and teachers and teachers unions will continue to hold their feet to the fire to come up with alternative, workable plans that keep our families and our teachers safe. It’s as simple as that.

Yes but for some people keeping their kids at home is just not a viable option for their children. I am doubling down on that. I do not have time to work 40+ hours a week, and teach my child, and expect that my child gets the education they deserve. Granted I am grateful to have a job, and I am not likely to win this argument here, but online education for the fall (or until their is a vaccine) is not a great option, and not the option I want for my children.

My incoming 5th grader needs in person instruction, a completed 504 plan, and I really think testing for dyslexia, which I am not able to give her as a non trained educator. I need in person learning for that. We are considering Catholic school (again) if I know my child will be able to go to school in person, but that comes with an added cost other than tuition, and knowing that I may have to pay privately for the 504 plan and dyslexia testing; and the uncertainty that she may not be getting the same services she could get in the public school system (which she has been in the last two years, but still gotten little to no services because the special education subset is already underfunded), but at this point the potential for in person education might be better at a private school.

I also agree with Kindra that we cannot expect kids to pick up in their incoming grade (and or subject) on schedule. I would hope that the 1st quarter is all work that was supposed to be taught in the last quarter of last year.

My DD2 is already talking about how many years of school she has left and she is talking about potentially not wanting to go to college (which she will go to), but if this educational deficit of online only learning for a particular subset of students goes on any longer she is going to give up and it makes me sad. She is 10 years old! She should not be giving up on the education system now. My DD2 is too smart to be a drop out, but I could seriously see that happening with a potential educational system that is only set up for a micro subset of people: homeschoolers, stay at home parents or guardians, a retired grandparent, an (introverted) genius child who can organize and manage their own work with very little parent input, or the very well to do who can essentially hire a full time tutor, nanny, or even licensed teacher to supplement their child’s learning while parents are working. This is a micro subset and not even close to being the norm for the middle or even upper middle class so imho this is why the surveys are coming back saying that the higher income parents want in person education for their kids.

No one is ever going to agree here on this topic, but those points above are the crux of why I want in person learning; and I haven’t even touched on the social aspect of school yet.

ETA: for what it’s worth I have a child on the opposite end of the spectrum who managed online school with little reminders and got straight As while at home, but again she belongs to that micro subset of kids who can do that, but she can’t wait to go back to school; even with her mask. It is very hard to manage two kids at either end of the spectrum.


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[westwoodmom04]

I am not doubling down, I’m stating the obvious. It is not safe for our families to have kids go back to in-person school as usual. It is not safe for teachers to be teaching under those circumstances. School districts have the whole summer to come up with plans that ensure people are safe. Until they do that, myself, and numerous other parents and teachers and teachers unions will continue to hold their feet to the fire to come up with alternative, workable plans that keep our families and our teachers safe. It’s as simple as that.

Actually, you are stating your opinion, not the obvious. But that’s fine, that is what we are all doing.

[niccig]

Yes but for some people keeping their kids at home is just not a viable option for their children. I am doubling down on that. I do not have time to work 40+ hours a week, and teach my child, and expect that my child gets the education they deserve. Granted I am grateful to have a job, and I am not likely to win this argument here, but online education for the fall (or until their is a vaccine) is not a great option, and not the option I want for my children.

My incoming 5th grader needs in person instruction, a completed 504 plan, and I really think testing for dyslexia, which I am not able to give her as a non trained educator. I need in person learning for that. We are considering Catholic school (again) if I know my child will be able to go to school in person, but that comes with an added cost other than tuition, and knowing that I may have to pay privately for the 504 plan and dyslexia testing; and the uncertainty that she may not be getting the same services she could get in the public school system (which she has been in the last two years, but still gotten little to no services because the special education subset is already underfunded), but at this point the potential for in person education might be better at a private school.

I also agree with Kindra that we cannot expect kids to pick up in their incoming grade (and or subject) on schedule. I would hope that the 1st quarter is all work that was supposed to be taught in the last quarter of last year.

My DD2 is already talking about how many years of school she has left and she is talking about potentially not wanting to go to college (which she will go to), but if this educational deficit of online only learning for a particular subset of students goes on any longer she is going to give up and it makes me sad. She is 10 years old! She should not be giving up on the education system now. My DD2 is too smart to be a drop out, but I could seriously see that happening with a potential educational system that is only set up for a micro subset of people: homeschoolers, stay at home parents or guardians, a retired grandparent, an (introverted) genius child who can organize and manage their own work with very little parent input, or the very well to do who can essentially hire a full time tutor, nanny, or even licensed teacher to supplement their child’s learning while parents are working. This is a micro subset and not even close to being the norm for the middle or even upper middle class so imho this is why the surveys are coming back saying that the higher income parents want in person education for their kids.

No one is ever going to agree here on this topic, but those points above are the crux of why I want in person learning; and I haven’t even touched on the social aspect of school yet.

ETA: for what it’s worth I have a child on the opposite end of the spectrum who managed online school with little reminders and got straight As while at home, but again she belongs to that micro subset of kids who can do that, but she can’t wait to go back to school; even with her mask. It is very hard to manage two kids at either end of the spectrum.


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Annie, I want to go back to in person school too. The numbers aren’t looking good here in SoCal. I’m going to start to prepare for online. We need a better set up at home for all of us, I need to prepare more for work.


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