Going back to school thoughts?

[MSWR0319]

DH and I were discussing that all of our precautions to avoid getting sick are going to be useless if they go back to school with no masks and like normal. My kids need to go to school, I just don’t k ow what the ideal situation is to keep kids as healthy as possible. I let my very aware 8 year old play outside with a friend for an hour and even he couldn’t stay six feet apart (and he’s the social distance police). It’s going to be super hard to keep a full classroom of 25 kids spread out.

[westwoodmom04]

We need novel solutions to get these kids back at school.

Live stream classrooms so worried parents can keep their kids home if necessary (vocal minority in my opinion) and sick kids can really stay home.

If teachers are unable to go in (older, immuno-compromised, high risk), they should teach via screen and have a sub there for classroom management.

Schools should employ block scheduling to limit passing periods. There is a ton of research on the benefits of block schedules.

Children have been largely spared from this, let's get them back to school. In Illinois, most schools have about 8-9 weeks of summer to come up with viable solutions.

Right there with you, my state is about to start in person summer school for kids identified at most at risk after distance learning, i.e., they did not participate.

[carolinamama]

Kids need to get back to the classroom for many reasons. It's a different world right now so schools need to do things differently to protect their teachers and families. We can do it but everyone must be wiling to encounter change. I'm fine with kids in masks and have been working with my kids on wearing them. My 8 year old is a champ and I trust her with one but maybe not for the K-2 set. Education is the key here.

Teachers have been told schools would close down for 14 days after a positive case and go remote. Should cases continue, schools will likely revert to distance learning for the duration. Given our numbers and lack of social distancing and mask compliance, there will be positive cases. Most of these other countries opening schools have better numbers and have still had multiple shutdowns due to outbreaks. Our country seems more tolerant of living with Covid in the community so it will be interesting.

Our public schools announce their opening plans July 1 and our private school will give full details on their decision on July 24.

[Kindra178]

I have heard soo many people say, "My kids aren't going back to school until there is a vaccine." That may be fine if you are talking about second grade, but what about high school? I don't even care about AP credit (I will encourage my kids not to take the tests!), but kids need to get prepared in high school to be able to perform at a college level. In four short years! If I ran the world, I would reform teacher contracts to start teaching the material from the day quarantine started. No promotion until that material is mastered. It's so ridiculous for the 8th graders, who are going on to the next level in math and foreign language without the benefit of teaching.

[bisous]

I have heard soo many people say, "My kids aren't going back to school until there is a vaccine." That may be fine if you are talking about second grade, but what about high school? I don't even care about AP credit (I will encourage my kids not to take the tests!), but kids need to get prepared in high school to be able to perform at a college level. In four short years! If I ran the world, I would reform teacher contracts to start teaching the material from the day quarantine started. No promotion until that material is mastered. It's so ridiculous for the 8th graders, who are going on to the next level in math and foreign language without the benefit of teaching.

Funny because I have a 2nd grader and a high schooler and I'd reverse the importance of in person learning for the two. DS1 (10th grade) had a very vigorous online learning experience. I think he was less inconvenienced by the online format and I think he was very much prepared for next year, whether he'll be sitting in a seat in high school or learning in my living room again. By contrast, I feel like my two littles, K and 2nd grade, really didn't get nearly as rich or full an experience with remote learning. Now I think they could get a lot out of a homeschooling program but it would be very hands on and very difficult for teachers at the elementary school to administer well--it would depend heavily on the skill of the PARENT rather than what the school could provide. My 7th grader had a very mixed experienced. He did progress in math but I feel some of his other teachers could have given more rigorous materials. If we do remote next year I think they'll be much more prepared.

But I don't think we're alone in disagreeing regarding which student population benefits more from in person learning! If I'm not mistaken, Germany allowed only its high seniors (or equivalent) to come back to school to end the year, while Sweden kept only its elementary aged students learning and middle and high school went remote.

Also, I'd say that this year the kids taking AP classes were at somewhat of an advantage in at least one respect--they got access to a national database of good instructors who presented exceptional quality online instructional videos! I didn't foresee that perk! The test taking for DS1 was ok but there are MANY horror stories out there of kids who poured their hearts and souls into taking the test and then ran into technical difficulties. It is heartbreaking!

[ezcc]

I know my dd's private school is prioritizing having younger students on campus for a full day- I think because they felt that online was harder for that age group, and I suppose for childcare purposes as well. They are hoping to have high school kids for part of the day at least, but may continue some online instruction for them. It is a k-12 school.

[PZMommy]

We need novel solutions to get these kids back at school.

Live stream classrooms so worried parents can keep their kids home if necessary (vocal minority in my opinion) and sick kids can really stay home.

If teachers are unable to go in (older, immuno-compromised, high risk), they should teach via screen and have a sub there for classroom management.

Schools should employ block scheduling to limit passing periods. There is a ton of research on the benefits of block schedules.

Children have been largely spared from this, let's get them back to school. In Illinois, most schools have about 8-9 weeks of summer to come up with viable solutions.

The problem with live streaming class rooms, is teachers don’t stand in one spot. They would need to have someone there with a camera to follow the teacher around. Then there is the privacy issue of students in the class, and the lack of equipment to actually film and the bandwidth to live stream all day.

I think there will end up being two sets of teachers. One for in person and one for online instruction.

[AnnieW625]

I have heard soo many people say, "My kids aren't going back to school until there is a vaccine." That may be fine if you are talking about second grade, but what about high school? I don't even care about AP credit (I will encourage my kids not to take the tests!), but kids need to get prepared in high school to be able to perform at a college level. In four short years! If I ran the world, I would reform teacher contracts to start teaching the material from the day quarantine started. No promotion until that material is mastered. It's so ridiculous for the 8th graders, who are going on to the next level in math and foreign language without the benefit of teaching.

I very much agree with this. Subject matter should be scaled back (for the next couple of years to even 10 years) to not be as rigorous as it had been to deal with the possibility of remote learning and kids missing out on the basics. I would be happy if the last quarter of 4th grade was repeated for the 5th graders.

With that said though I am all for both my kids to go back to school. I would absolutely hate it if my 5th grade had to wear a mask all day though. She has AdHD and she fidgets and the mask would just be another excuse for her to fidget and she moves it below her nose so it doesn’t fog up her glasses if she has to wear it for more than 10 minutes. She has to wear one for art camp next week so we will see how it goes. I know so many others including DH who hate the fogging up of glasses, but I do agree that masks for kids younger than say 14-15 are going to be a nuisance (especially if they have to wear glasses.....and no Dd2 is not ready for contacts). Dd1 will wear a mask if required, but she is 14 and responsible about it, but honestly I don’t even think it should be required all day in high school either.

Our new district is closed through tomorrow so I am hoping that they break their silence about the learning plan for next year soon. If Dd2 isn’t in school full time I am sure we won’t be the only family having to hire a tutor or part time nanny just to work with the kids while we are working.

There is going to be no perfect plan though. What works in Europe or even Canada may not even work in the US just due to population.


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[doberbrat]

The problem with live streaming class rooms, is teachers don’t stand in one spot. They would need to have someone there with a camera to follow the teacher around. Then there is the privacy issue of students in the class, and the lack of equipment to actually film and the bandwidth to live stream all day.

I think there will end up being two sets of teachers. One for in person and one for online instruction.

I agree - though I see issues with 2 sets of teachers too. Who gets to stay home? I see that being a perk for many teachers - no commute, able to go to the bathroom, no before/after school duties and not as many kids to teach. Contractually how is that going to work?

Plus what about teachers' kids?

The issue of masks is going to be a big one because so many adults are refusing to wear them or wearing them incorrectly. If we adults said to our kids, 'You WILL wear it consistently and properly because it is the right thing to do' than kids would be much more likely to do so. I forsee so many parents telling the school their kid is exempt because of asthma or sensory issues - kids who have never had an asthma attack or sensory issues in school before. Then it will snowball. Why should my kid bother to wear a mask if those 5 aren't?

[Kindra178]

Pz

Wouldn’t the streaming be done on a laptop with the record feature? The teacher could carry it to circle time, and keep it focused on the front of the room when up there.

I wish more districts did team teaching. If a district has 10 first grades, the teachers should share responsibility for recording or live streaming.

Our middle school’s 6th grade math teacher recorded all her lessons one year. What a great resource for when a kid is absent.


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