DCI: Too much focus on tablets/devices?

[Anonymous]

Or don't send your DC to school with a phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But now that we are four months into the school year and DCI has gotten it's footing it's time for the administration and parents to have an open and honest discussion on what constitutes a healthy, academic yet "fun" (for the kid’s sake) school environment. And THAT is why some current parents are weighing in on this thread. Prospective parents have a right to get the full picture to enable them to ask more meaningful questions, questions that matter to them.

Thanks for a very reasonable and informative response. I kept the above portion of your post because it's the key to this whole thing: this is a new school, which means policies will evolve based on actual experience and input from community members, combined with administrator/teacher judgment and expertise. It's not like parents have been petitioning for months to have this looked at and been ignored. This whole thread is basically a lot of people getting worked up about a policy that seems likely to modified once these discussions are had. You all can keep getting worked up if you want, but I would wait until things work themselves out.

[Anonymous]

Why do you say its likely to be modified? I've heard nothing along these lines from the admins. In fact, quite the contrary. Current parents have reported that there is alot of eye rolling being done by the Admins when parents try to bring up their concerns about this.

[Anonymous]

I would like to sincerely thank the last DCI parent who posted about the school environment and his/her observations about what is currently going on regarding the screen heavy atmosphere at break/lunch/afterschool time. I am not refering to the use of computers for educational purposes during class time, but rather the use of screens at other times of the day.

I am a DCI parent with similar views. It makes me feel much better to know that other parents are struggling with this and are trying to make changes. I do not believe that the administration is currently hearing the voices of parents on this issue (it doesn't seem that too many parents have reached out with comments and doesn't appear that they have the same perspective as those of us who have).

Hopefully other DCI parents (or feeder school parents) will speak out and let their views be known.

[Anonymous]

In my experience the administration at DCI has been addressing issues. They have taking steps to shut down certain features on the Chromebook after it was brought to their attention (video chat). My 7th grader has had his Chromebook shut down remotely for not being on task (playing a game). While in school the teachers have the ability to monitor what students are doing on their Chromebook. He will not use his Chromebook outside of school except for homework. He also has assignment due on paper and workbooks. Some assignments are done one paper and the Chromebook is only used to mark the assignment as completed. It may be that his teachers have better classroom management skills than some other DCI teachers.

I definitely agree that technology needs to be monitored and used appropriately. That being said we are coming from a privates school and I am pleased with the IB curriculum, the number of activities, and the focus cultural, social, and personal responsibility.

Hopefully, there will be continued improvements. We are not 3 months into the school year.

[Anonymous]

But seriously, do you really want your DC's teacher to have to be busy with monitoring students' chrome books remotely to shut them down in order to make sure they are "on task"? That is ridiculous. They should just find better ways to monitor and dial down the technology in the mean time.

[Anonymous]

Is the admin at DCI the same that started Yu Ying. If so, there will be lots of eye-rolling and very little evidence-based education practices. Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the admin at DCI the same that started Yu Ying. If so, there will be lots of eye-rolling and very little evidence-based education practices. Enjoy!

Yu Ying is tier 1 right? Bring it on!

-parent at a feeder

[Anonymous]

Is the admin the same that started Yu YIng? Is so, there will be lots of Tier 1 and national recognition, some of the best diversity in the city, financial solvency, and a thriving, engaged community. Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prospective parents, think about the environment you want your kids to be in. Think about how much screen-time (in hours) you can comfortably live with. DCI is an 8 hour day with an average of 2 hours HW per night. Think about how much time you can dedicate to homework time to ensure that you kid is not playing games or chatting using the school issues Chromebook (assuming they need supervision because I’m well aware not all, but many do). Listen to your gut and go from there.

I excerpted this because it raises the main main question for me: to all the DCI parents who've weighed in (thank you for your honest opinions!!), how much of that 8 hr school day and 2 hr homework are your kids using their chromebooks or any computer? This is a huge question for me. You ask us to think about what we're comfortable with or can live with; I'm wondering what the current reality at DCI is for the students who are there now? How much of those 10 hrs is on the chromebook/technology?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCI is an 8 hour day with an average of 2 hours HW per night. /quote]

Yowza!! We at a feeder with younger kids and I didn't know this. Is this typical in middle school. If DCI is at Walter Reed, that's going to be a hike for most kids since it's at the tip of the District. Say 45 min each way since I presume public transit at that age. So school + HW + commute is 11.5 hours per day. How realistic is this?

[Anonymous]

Yes, current parents, how much of time in class is spent using the Chromebooks?

[Anonymous]

You would need to ask the school but let's guess and say 50%. That's 4 hours. Then add 1 hour homework time. But I think the point the poster was trying to make was - is it unreasonable to ask to have the 30-45 min lunch tech free?

[Anonymous]

they probably don't want to create a tech free lunch zone because then they'd have to police it! They want to eat their lunch too. No way will kids stay off their phones and devices without someone standing over them - and even then they'll still try to sneak it. Especially if they've been screwing around on their devise sneakily all through class.

Honestly, this is what you get when you go to a tech school.

[Anonymous]

We are at a feeder school and will be there next year. I have heard 2 hrs of homework from several parents of current students.