How would you like school and classes to run in Fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like the districts to train teachers on optimal online learning, since it will likely be the default next school year. My kids complain that it's boring and that none of the teachers, except one, know how to use technology to teach. With some strategies in hand, it would be make classroom learning much more rewarding and engaging.

+100

I am a teacher and would love training on online learning and engagement. In class I do a good job of having kids do activities and projects and run a really student centered classroom. I have no idea how to translate those to online learning, and the attempts I've made to do so fell flat. I would love to know how to make it more interesting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like the districts to train teachers on optimal online learning, since it will likely be the default next school year. My kids complain that it's boring and that none of the teachers, except one, know how to use technology to teach. With some strategies in hand, it would be make classroom learning much more rewarding and engaging.

+100

I am a teacher and would love training on online learning and engagement. In class I do a good job of having kids do activities and projects and run a really student centered classroom. I have no idea how to translate those to online learning, and the attempts I've made to do so fell flat. I would love to know how to make it more interesting!

I wouldn’t. The trainings they put together are terrible. The last training I went to was a literacy training. They spent the entire morning (4 hours) talking about why it’s important to learn to read-duh? Why would any of these people be here if they didn’t already agree?
They rushed through the actual implementation of the program because there was only an hour and a half left after lunch. They had no time to explain things adequately and skipped over slide after slide and were basically like “Cool, now you’re certified in this program! Good luck with the kids, we’ll be collecting your data.” Every training I’ve been to has followed a similar pattern. Figuring things out on my own is a thousand times more productive.

[Anonymous]

There is a training for caregivers/teachers on online teaching on Outschool.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

What should we do if it takes 3 years or more to find a vaccine? Just accept that kids of our nation will not have an adequate education?

No one is saying we don’t go back until there’s a vaccine. They’re saying we don’t go back and throw caution to the wind, full capacity and no protections. It’s not “if” that will cause a massive uptick in infections, but how many. The union is demanding masks, testing for all staff and students, temperature checks and a strict sick child policy. If they can’t make those things happen, then going back to the buildings is off the table.

The unions shouldn't have to be demanding widespread testing and masks before big buildings fill up with kids and adults again. The Federal Government should be providing those, and they've (we've) had months to get it together. I'm so sorry that it falls on unions to make such demands. It's nuts. Widespread testing, contact tracing, mass distribution of masks are necessary if cities are to reopen before a vaccine is available.

We have orders of magnitude more positive cases in DC than we had when we shut the city down 2+ months ago. Case numbers will absolutely skyrocket when we open even a fraction of the city back up. It's unthinkable to do that without the basics - testing for all, tracing, masks for all.

I agree. It’s ridiculous that it fails to labor unions to demand these basic protections. Even more ridiculous? Parents here saying that teachers who expect these measures should lose their jobs. So depressing.

I criticized unions, but not over masks. That’s pretty basic.

I’m annoyed at Unions over distance learning. Some of the unions negotiated only 4 hours of work per day. Some unions negotiated no Zoom or living teaching is required. Unions represent teachers, but not our children.

You don’t understand the function of the union. Of course the union protects teachers. Every paycheck some of our money gets taken out for union dues. We are paying for collective bargaining power. They represent us.
The union doesn’t just protect us, though. They protect your children. When a school tries to put 40 kids in a class, the teacher calls the union and they step in. When the union tries to put a class in a mildewed windowless room in the basement, the union steps in. When schools suppress information about positive COVID cases among staff and students, the union steps in. When a teacher who is not certified to teach a subject is told that they must teach the class anyway, the union puts the kibosh on it. It is very naive to assume that if teachers lost their unions that your children wouldn’t suffer the effects. Administrators and educational policy makers are looking at the bottom line. They do not care about your children.

The union doesn't care about the children either. Its job is to put teachers first. Actually its job is to put the union organization first, then teachers second, and not to worry about anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

What should we do if it takes 3 years or more to find a vaccine? Just accept that kids of our nation will not have an adequate education?

No one is saying we don’t go back until there’s a vaccine. They’re saying we don’t go back and throw caution to the wind, full capacity and no protections. It’s not “if” that will cause a massive uptick in infections, but how many. The union is demanding masks, testing for all staff and students, temperature checks and a strict sick child policy. If they can’t make those things happen, then going back to the buildings is off the table.

The unions shouldn't have to be demanding widespread testing and masks before big buildings fill up with kids and adults again. The Federal Government should be providing those, and they've (we've) had months to get it together. I'm so sorry that it falls on unions to make such demands. It's nuts. Widespread testing, contact tracing, mass distribution of masks are necessary if cities are to reopen before a vaccine is available.

We have orders of magnitude more positive cases in DC than we had when we shut the city down 2+ months ago. Case numbers will absolutely skyrocket when we open even a fraction of the city back up. It's unthinkable to do that without the basics - testing for all, tracing, masks for all.

I agree. It’s ridiculous that it fails to labor unions to demand these basic protections. Even more ridiculous? Parents here saying that teachers who expect these measures should lose their jobs. So depressing.

I criticized unions, but not over masks. That’s pretty basic.

I’m annoyed at Unions over distance learning. Some of the unions negotiated only 4 hours of work per day. Some unions negotiated no Zoom or living teaching is required. Unions represent teachers, but not our children.

You don’t understand the function of the union. Of course the union protects teachers. Every paycheck some of our money gets taken out for union dues. We are paying for collective bargaining power. They represent us.
The union doesn’t just protect us, though. They protect your children. When a school tries to put 40 kids in a class, the teacher calls the union and they step in. When the union tries to put a class in a mildewed windowless room in the basement, the union steps in. When schools suppress information about positive COVID cases among staff and students, the union steps in. When a teacher who is not certified to teach a subject is told that they must teach the class anyway, the union puts the kibosh on it. It is very naive to assume that if teachers lost their unions that your children wouldn’t suffer the effects. Administrators and educational policy makers are looking at the bottom line. They do not care about your children.

The union doesn't care about the children either. Its job is to put teachers first. Actually its job is to put the union organization first, then teachers second, and not to worry about anyone else.

The union is made up of teachers. If you don’t think that teachers care about children at all then you have other issues.
If you’re okay with your child being in a class of 40 in a moldy basement with an unqualified teacher then by all means.

[Anonymous]

I think even once or twice a week face to face instruction would be helpful both academically and socially for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly schools are just going to have to open up in normal capacity. All of these restrictions being proposed are absurd. The teachers who are older or have more risk factors will have to retire or find new jobs, just like a lot of the workforce. Schools will be back in session - they are the backbone of society and will need to open as normal.

In order for that to happen, we need to ramp up testing significantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think even once or twice a week face to face instruction would be helpful both academically and socially for kids.

And I think elementary school kids should be prioritized because 1) they need the most assistance with online learning, 2) parents need to get back to work and middle and high schoolers can stay home if need be, 3) younger elementary kids really do not get much out of online learning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of first ad third graders here. I'm also an essential worker who can WFH during the pandemic. I DH is a public school teacher who usually has a total of 350 students a week. We are in NYC.

Distance learning is working for our kids academically but not socially. Also, I'm not sure how well it would work next year when lots of new information is introduced. We supplement with lots of extras at home, some online. Next year, budgetwise, the public schools will likely have to cut enrichment due to budget cuts, so we will be supplementing that on the weekends.

I can see a lot of families moving or.homeschooling if they are forced to send their kids back to the school buildings. What might keep them for editing the system and the city is the continuing of distance learning as an option. That would naturally reduce the number of kids in the classroom. Teachers would somehow need to find a way to reach online as they have and in person.

Also, I am hoping that soon we can prove that antibodies provide some level of immunity, and that the serology tests improve enough to be useful. That way teachers and school staff could be tested and those with antibodies could work in the schools with less fear. By the fall the city should be at 50% with exposure, either recovered from their illness or having been asymptomatic while infected (current estimates for NYC are 21%. That would get us almost to herd immunity.

We have no evidence that there is immunity after infection. Until we know that you can’t recover and get infected again, this theory doesn’t work.

https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/05/07/study-finds-nearly-everyone-who-recovers-from-covid-19-makes-coronavirus-antibodies/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

What should we do if it takes 3 years or more to find a vaccine? Just accept that kids of our nation will not have an adequate education?

No one is saying we don’t go back until there’s a vaccine. They’re saying we don’t go back and throw caution to the wind, full capacity and no protections. It’s not “if” that will cause a massive uptick in infections, but how many. The union is demanding masks, testing for all staff and students, temperature checks and a strict sick child policy. If they can’t make those things happen, then going back to the buildings is off the table.

The unions shouldn't have to be demanding widespread testing and masks before big buildings fill up with kids and adults again. The Federal Government should be providing those, and they've (we've) had months to get it together. I'm so sorry that it falls on unions to make such demands. It's nuts. Widespread testing, contact tracing, mass distribution of masks are necessary if cities are to reopen before a vaccine is available.

We have orders of magnitude more positive cases in DC than we had when we shut the city down 2+ months ago. Case numbers will absolutely skyrocket when we open even a fraction of the city back up. It's unthinkable to do that without the basics - testing for all, tracing, masks for all.

I agree. It’s ridiculous that it fails to labor unions to demand these basic protections. Even more ridiculous? Parents here saying that teachers who expect these measures should lose their jobs. So depressing.

I criticized unions, but not over masks. That’s pretty basic.

I’m annoyed at Unions over distance learning. Some of the unions negotiated only 4 hours of work per day. Some unions negotiated no Zoom or living teaching is required. Unions represent teachers, but not our children.

You don’t understand the function of the union. Of course the union protects teachers. Every paycheck some of our money gets taken out for union dues. We are paying for collective bargaining power. They represent us.
The union doesn’t just protect us, though. They protect your children. When a school tries to put 40 kids in a class, the teacher calls the union and they step in. When the union tries to put a class in a mildewed windowless room in the basement, the union steps in. When schools suppress information about positive COVID cases among staff and students, the union steps in. When a teacher who is not certified to teach a subject is told that they must teach the class anyway, the union puts the kibosh on it. It is very naive to assume that if teachers lost their unions that your children wouldn’t suffer the effects. Administrators and educational policy makers are looking at the bottom line. They do not care about your children.

The union doesn't care about the children either. Its job is to put teachers first. Actually its job is to put the union organization first, then teachers second, and not to worry about anyone else.

The union is made up of teachers. If you don’t think that teachers care about children at all then you have other issues.
If you’re okay with your child being in a class of 40 in a moldy basement with an unqualified teacher then by all means.

Let's be honest here- yes the union helps kids by helping teachers with class size, preps, planning periods, etc. The union also protects every teacher even ones that should not be in the classroom. And teacher interests are not always the same as students.

[Anonymous]

This explains why places like schools are high risk https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assume that schools will not be re-opening "normally" in Fall. Also assume that schools will not be able to provide child care during the normal working hours.

What would you like to see schools do? What type of online lessons? What additional materials would help kids learn? Should kids go to school part of the day in small groups if you had to drop them off and pick them up? What would improve online instruction? Please include age, grade and/or subject with your suggestions.

I am a teacher and generally interested in school administration. In many ways, I would love to see things go back to the way they were before, but I'm starting to plan my lessons for a Fall that is just as strange as this Spring has been (DCUM: I know it's a lot to ask, but please be helpful instead of mean). I'm curious about the answers and maybe they will help other teachers plan as well.

Young students who can not be home by themselves (10 and under) should be given spaces in the schools and be appropriately distanced. They can be placed in middle and high schools if need be.
Remaining students should do online learning. If feasible, students in each grade could come to school one day per week for inperson reinforcement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assume that schools will not be re-opening "normally" in Fall. Also assume that schools will not be able to provide child care during the normal working hours.

What would you like to see schools do? What type of online lessons? What additional materials would help kids learn? Should kids go to school part of the day in small groups if you had to drop them off and pick them up? What would improve online instruction? Please include age, grade and/or subject with your suggestions.

I am a teacher and generally interested in school administration. In many ways, I would love to see things go back to the way they were before, but I'm starting to plan my lessons for a Fall that is just as strange as this Spring has been (DCUM: I know it's a lot to ask, but please be helpful instead of mean). I'm curious about the answers and maybe they will help other teachers plan as well.

Young students who can not be home by themselves (10 and under) should be given spaces in the schools and be appropriately distanced. They can be placed in middle and high schools if need be.
Remaining students should do online learning. If feasible, students in each grade could come to school one day per week for inperson reinforcement.

One day a week is not much better than one hour a week live virtually per class. This is only acceptable if the remaining days also have live sessions. I also think that leave MS home alone all day 4 out of 5 weekdays is folly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assume that schools will not be re-opening "normally" in Fall. Also assume that schools will not be able to provide child care during the normal working hours.

What would you like to see schools do? What type of online lessons? What additional materials would help kids learn? Should kids go to school part of the day in small groups if you had to drop them off and pick them up? What would improve online instruction? Please include age, grade and/or subject with your suggestions.

I am a teacher and generally interested in school administration. In many ways, I would love to see things go back to the way they were before, but I'm starting to plan my lessons for a Fall that is just as strange as this Spring has been (DCUM: I know it's a lot to ask, but please be helpful instead of mean). I'm curious about the answers and maybe they will help other teachers plan as well.

Young students who can not be home by themselves (10 and under) should be given spaces in the schools and be appropriately distanced. They can be placed in middle and high schools if need be.
Remaining students should do online learning. If feasible, students in each grade could come to school one day per week for inperson reinforcement.

I agree, this is the most sensical. Prioritize in person for the youngest kids and periodic in-person reinforcement / access to labs / etc for the older kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

Where are you located?

NP. Progressive Democrats like myself are now rethinking support for teacher unions. Unfortunately, the reality is, a major impediment to a high quality and nimble education system are unions. I come from a union family, so it’s significant for me to acknowledge this.

No you don’t.