Virtual back to school night, again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had back to school night live last year, so this is very much a school-by-school thing.

I'm sure they just think it is easier.

As a parent, it's definitely NOT better.

Maybe to you. I'd be happy to not have to get a sitter.

This. And many parents feel the same way. Virtual BTS is very popular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be pissed if the back to school was virtual. You need to meet the teacher in person, get a chance to see the classroom and set up, ask all your questions about instruction, curriculum, etc…and be able to chat one on one with the teacher after if needed.

Virtual, most of the above is not happening or possible. I think it’s ridiculous that any school is doing virtual. And those that can’t make it or are not interested, no one is forcing you to come. The teachers at our school send all the families slides of their presentations.

Please do not be that parent. BTSN is not for one-on-one parent chats. Trust me on this.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

[Anonymous]

I'm sure it's because it's easier.

That said, there is a decent amount of Covid going around right now. My family all just had it and the adults missed 7+ days of work with high fevers, aches, etc. I'm 3 weeks out and still wheezing and coughing.

I'm by no means a Covid alarmist but it was newly striking (I say newly because I had basically put Covid completely in the rear view) to experience how different this is from other viruses (I can count on one hand how many days I've missed for work for other illnesses in the past 25 years).

I can see the value in not bringing back the entire school parent community for optional events at the start of the year (when there is a virtual alternative).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

+1000

[Anonymous]

Virtual is basically the lazy and easy way out with not having to host a BTS night, especially if you have large turnout like at our charter. ECE has the largest turnout but as an upper grade parent, I will say that there is a good turnout too, at least 50-60%

I guess if a school doesn’t have a good turnout at BTS, that could be a reason to do virtual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like parent teacher conferences should be virtual. Back to school night should be in person. It’s a chance to meet teacher(s), see the classroom(s), etc.

I'm generally okay with virtual events if it is going to be something where people are just talking AT you but I will say that if BTS night had been in person last year, I would have noticed that my child's first and last name were misspelled on the classroom wall before parent teacher conference in October. And then maybe it would have been fixed - as it is, they sent the name labels home at the end of the year and it was STILL WRONG. The teacher's aide called her the wrong name all year too though at least the lead teacher got it right within my hearing.

[Anonymous]

Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

Thanks for letting us know this attitude is alive and well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be pissed if the back to school was virtual. You need to meet the teacher in person, get a chance to see the classroom and set up, ask all your questions about instruction, curriculum, etc…and be able to chat one on one with the teacher after if needed.

Virtual, most of the above is not happening or possible. I think it’s ridiculous that any school is doing virtual. And those that can’t make it or are not interested, no one is forcing you to come. The teachers at our school send all the families slides of their presentations.

Please do not be that parent. BTSN is not for one-on-one parent chats. Trust me on this.

+1,000

+1001

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

Er, it's different because the kids and teacher aren't working from home. Parents want to understand the experience their child is having every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

You and the above poster give teachers a bad rep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

Er, it's different because the kids and teacher aren't working from home. Parents want to understand the experience their child is having every day.

Do you need to be physically sitting in your child’s classroom to “understand their experience”? Our school has multiple separate events to meet the teacher, see the classroom, etc. I find BTSN to be tedious, especially after your kid has been at the school for more than one year.