Are your middle schooolers having online classes? Mine isn't

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Half of the comments on this board say that online schooling is too much/too hard to manage, and half day that it’s not enough. I don’t know what people want MCPS to do.

To be all things to all people in the midst of a pandemic apparently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half of the comments on this board say that online schooling is too much/too hard to manage, and half day that it’s not enough. I don’t know what people want MCPS to do.

To be all things to all people in the midst of a pandemic apparently.

DCUM wants MCPS to be all things to all people in normal times. Why should that change just because there's a pandemic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half of the comments on this board say that online schooling is too much/too hard to manage, and half day that it’s not enough. I don’t know what people want MCPS to do.

To be all things to all people in the midst of a pandemic apparently.

DCUM wants MCPS to be all things to all people in normal times. Why should that change just because there's a pandemic?

True!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half of the comments on this board say that online schooling is too much/too hard to manage, and half day that it’s not enough. I don’t know what people want MCPS to do.

To be all things to all people in the midst of a pandemic apparently.

In interpreting these disparate comments I wouldn't assume the writers are having the same experiences but perceiving them differently. My sense is that some teachers are assigning almost no work and others are giving a lot. MY HSer has some teachers who have only checked in long enough to say that there are no new assignments, and others that have assigned very time consuming assignments way beyond what seems to be allowed by official guidance. So I think what you're seeing is some parents with mostly the former type of teachers and others with the latter type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had no instruction for the end of 3rd quarter in MS. There were a bunch of assignments plunked down last Monday with office hours "for questions." Then 3 tests and 2 essays due by today.

Middle school is not really a good age for office hours. The teachers should at least connect all the kids who have questions via Zoom and have a discussion.

That's instruction.

That's work; my boss says handle this assignment and call me if you have questions. Presumably I have already been instructed at some point on the content needed to complete the assignment. If not, I teach myself. But I am an adult, not a 11/12/13 y.o.

[Anonymous]

My middle schooler is at Sligo MS and it is... awesome? Super organized and I'm really impressed? They have a schedule all worked out so nothing overlaps and she has regular communication with all her teachers. All but one do zoom classes, and the other one records videos and does lots of writing back and forth. I'm sure there are kids at Sligo this is not working as well for, but my hat's off to the admins there. Even more so because they have a lot of language barrier and technology access challenges.

This is a link to the schedule the principal sent out, in case you're interested. I'm wondering why all middle schools don't adopt something very like this:

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/sligoms/news-index/sligos-distance-learning-student-schedule/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half of the comments on this board say that online schooling is too much/too hard to manage, and half day that it’s not enough. I don’t know what people want MCPS to do.

To be all things to all people in the midst of a pandemic apparently.

Seriously we’re in the middle of a global crisis and you whine because a Spanish teacher isn’t doing a live class get over yourself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My middle schooler is at Sligo MS and it is... awesome? Super organized and I'm really impressed? They have a schedule all worked out so nothing overlaps and she has regular communication with all her teachers. All but one do zoom classes, and the other one records videos and does lots of writing back and forth. I'm sure there are kids at Sligo this is not working as well for, but my hat's off to the admins there. Even more so because they have a lot of language barrier and technology access challenges.

This is a link to the schedule the principal sent out, in case you're interested. I'm wondering why all middle schools don't adopt something very like this:

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/sligoms/news-index/sligos-distance-learning-student-schedule/

Most if not all schools have these schedules, but some teachers won’t follow them, which is unfair to students and other teachers. Think of a certain magnet teacher who wants to do all of her classes in one long block.

[Anonymous]

I have one middle schooler in MCPS and one middle schooler in a private school. The difference is HUGE!!

I generally think that both middle schools do a good job with teaching and learning. Sometimes I even think the public school does a better job than the private. But with this pandemic, the disparity is jolting.

Private school student gets almost a full day of online Zoom learning with clubs and contests and events going on, social opportunities, enrichment. Public middle school student gets almost no live classes, is lonely all day, and has gotten overwhelmed with the workload, has been terribly confused, and there is none of the extra stuff that is so important for kids' development.

We are really getting the short end of the stick here in MCPS!! It can be done well; it is just NOT! MCPS is a mess. So disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have one middle schooler in MCPS and one middle schooler in a private school. The difference is HUGE!!

I generally think that both middle schools do a good job with teaching and learning. Sometimes I even think the public school does a better job than the private. But with this pandemic, the disparity is jolting.

Private school student gets almost a full day of online Zoom learning with clubs and contests and events going on, social opportunities, enrichment. Public middle school student gets almost no live classes, is lonely all day, and has gotten overwhelmed with the workload, has been terribly confused, and there is none of the extra stuff that is so important for kids' development.

We are really getting the short end of the stick here in MCPS!! It can be done well; it is just NOT! MCPS is a mess. So disappointing.

+1000

[Anonymous]

I have one middle schooler in MCPS and one middle schooler in a private school. The difference is HUGE!!

I generally think that both middle schools do a good job with teaching and learning. Sometimes I even think the public school does a better job than the private. But with this pandemic, the disparity is jolting.

Private school student gets almost a full day of online Zoom learning with clubs and contests and events going on, social opportunities, enrichment. Public middle school student gets almost no live classes, is lonely all day, and has gotten overwhelmed with the workload, has been terribly confused, and there is none of the extra stuff that is so important for kids' development.

We are really getting the short end of the stick here in MCPS!! It can be done well; it is just NOT! MCPS is a mess. So disappointing.

+10000

[Anonymous]

at our school zoom check ins are only if you have questions. i feel like they are discouraged from using zoom as a form of connecting with the teacher or other students other than if you have questions.

[Anonymous]

My middle schooler (Rocky Hill MS) has an average of 3-4 zoom calls a week plus designated optional office hours. Given that she has a sh*t ton of assignments and online videos and quizzes to work on independently, I think this number is reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I have one middle schooler in MCPS and one middle schooler in a private school. The difference is HUGE!!

I generally think that both middle schools do a good job with teaching and learning. Sometimes I even think the public school does a better job than the private. But with this pandemic, the disparity is jolting.

Private school student gets almost a full day of online Zoom learning with clubs and contests and events going on, social opportunities, enrichment. Public middle school student gets almost no live classes, is lonely all day, and has gotten overwhelmed with the workload, has been terribly confused, and there is none of the extra stuff that is so important for kids' development.

We are really getting the short end of the stick here in MCPS!! It can be done well; it is just NOT! MCPS is a mess. So disappointing.

+10000

Move to FCPS. Things are going GREAT!