Do you think the VA governor's race will have an impact on NoVA school board elections?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Uh, no. I also do know kids (not many) who thrived.

That PP may be clueless jerk but that doesn’t mean you have to sh1t on everyone who “thrived”.

I'm sure there are a few kids who truly thrived. But in general, yes, it is a good shorthand for bad judgment.

WTF are you talking about? What does “judgement” have to do with it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Arab poster here. Umm no. My kids thrived. Just because PP is tone deaf doesn’t mean you have to accuse the rest of us for bad judgment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Arab poster here. Umm no. My kids thrived. Just because PP is tone deaf doesn’t mean you have to accuse the rest of us for bad judgment

That poster was agreeing with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Arab poster here. Umm no. My kids thrived. Just because PP is tone deaf doesn’t mean you have to accuse the rest of us for bad judgment

That poster was agreeing with you.

Seems like she/he is saying that anyone who’s kids did well had bad judgment? Either way the data speaks for itself. Look at test scores (and yes they are not the perfect measure). They are down across the board. Kids educational outcomes suffered during the pandemic. The sooner we take this seriously, the sooner we can push to remedy this. However people like the PP I was responding to seem to think that as long as his/her kids and his/her friends kids did fine, then for the majority of kids that weren’t fine, it’s the fault of their families. Does that mean the decision in to close schools was incorrect? I believe at the time, although it’s disgusting that governments prioritized opening bars and restaurants to opening schools. There is so much more to be done to opening schools safely such as improving ventilation but kids are not a priority in this country. And “Democrats” like PP who doesn’t care about other kids because her kids thrived played a role in the government putting kids last because they don’t care to hold the government accountable for educational outcomes and push for safer schools (and I’m against those who wanted schools open with no safety measures what so ever)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Uh, no. I also do know kids (not many) who thrived.

That PP may be clueless jerk but that doesn’t mean you have to sh1t on everyone who “thrived”.

I'm sure there are a few kids who truly thrived. But in general, yes, it is a good shorthand for bad judgment.

WTF are you talking about? What does “judgement” have to do with it?

I'm not the original poster here, but to my mind, people who claim that their kids thrived in DL, especially those like the nasty PP above (who sounds wildly ignorant) are not taking a clear-eyed view of their children's educational and social emotional progress. We know at this point that there was substantial educational loss across many educational bands -- it isn't really disputed. Teachers across the country are similarly reporting about how young and immature the kids seem, and there will probably be studies coming out measuring loss of social emotional skills for kids kept out of school. So when someone claims that their kids "thrived," I'm highly skeptical. The educational quality in DL was pretty universally poor, even in good school districts. Sure, you can supplement and teach at home (I did), but that isn't the same thing as truly thriving educationally and it also ignores normal social emotional development that didn't occur. Parents are in fact notoriously bad at independently assessing their children's progress; this is in part why we have entire systems of independent assessments in our society. But all of a sudden I'm being asked to unquestionably believe parents who claim their kids "thrived" in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic with known and increasingly documented adverse educational impact? Sorry, no way. There is just too much credible evidence of educational (and other) harms to kids building up for me to be willing to believe that their specific kid is an exception. It seems statistically improbable. And yes, it makes me question their judgment.

I do think that there are certain subcategories of kids with diagnosed anxiety disorders or other similar struggles who actually thrived, because in-person school exacerbates their conditions. Again, there are studies coming out that support that. But that is a small percentage.

I didn't fight against the closures, FWIW. But I'm not willfully blind as to just how much harm they caused, either, and I'm not living in some fantasy land about what happened to all kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Uh, no. I also do know kids (not many) who thrived.

That PP may be clueless jerk but that doesn’t mean you have to sh1t on everyone who “thrived”.

I'm sure there are a few kids who truly thrived. But in general, yes, it is a good shorthand for bad judgment.

WTF are you talking about? What does “judgement” have to do with it?

I'm not the original poster here, but to my mind, people who claim that their kids thrived in DL, especially those like the nasty PP above (who sounds wildly ignorant) are not taking a clear-eyed view of their children's educational and social emotional progress. We know at this point that there was substantial educational loss across many educational bands -- it isn't really disputed. Teachers across the country are similarly reporting about how young and immature the kids seem, and there will probably be studies coming out measuring loss of social emotional skills for kids kept out of school. So when someone claims that their kids "thrived," I'm highly skeptical. The educational quality in DL was pretty universally poor, even in good school districts. Sure, you can supplement and teach at home (I did), but that isn't the same thing as truly thriving educationally and it also ignores normal social emotional development that didn't occur. Parents are in fact notoriously bad at independently assessing their children's progress; this is in part why we have entire systems of independent assessments in our society. But all of a sudden I'm being asked to unquestionably believe parents who claim their kids "thrived" in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic with known and increasingly documented adverse educational impact? Sorry, no way. There is just too much credible evidence of educational (and other) harms to kids building up for me to be willing to believe that their specific kid is an exception. It seems statistically improbable. And yes, it makes me question their judgment.

I do think that there are certain subcategories of kids with diagnosed anxiety disorders or other similar struggles who actually thrived, because in-person school exacerbates their conditions. Again, there are studies coming out that support that. But that is a small percentage.

I didn't fight against the closures, FWIW. But I'm not willfully blind as to just how much harm they caused, either, and I'm not living in some fantasy land about what happened to all kids.

Many kids do have school-related anxieties and other issues. So it’s odd for you to jump to that conclusion for the handful of people who have actually said their kid “thrived” (thriving jerk above aside).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Arab poster here. Umm no. My kids thrived. Just because PP is tone deaf doesn’t mean you have to accuse the rest of us for bad judgment

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of anything, I flat-out do not believe anyone who claims that children "thrived" last year. Or more specifically, I believe that they believe it, but I don't trust them as narrators, and I think they have bad judgment. The "thrivers" on these boards seemed totally nuts last year, so much so that I am deeply skeptical of anything they say.

And, see, I think the people like you, the ones who were screaming "open the schools whatever the cost" were and are mentally unstable hysterics. Our kids did great at home. In fact all the families that I know say the same thing. Are there families that struggled? Sure but I think they were probably struggling anyway. The families I know, with stable and structured home lives, and with parents who prioritized those things, they were fine. Maybe a few of us were cramped and it was nice when the weather warmed up in the spring but everyone being at home was a nice break. There was no stress, there was no need to be running hither and thither. If anything we grew tighter as a family.

If your family didn't do as well, I am sorry. Perhaps you need to think about what you could have done differently.

Yes!

Umm… is this a serious post? I mean I supported school closures. We were in the middle of a pandemic. The virus was a novel virus that we know nothing about snd the priority here was to save lives. However the cost was great and many kids, especially those from working class families and/or families where the parents could not stay at home suffered. Yeah my kids did great. My husband and I worked from home - kindergartener did school virtually. We pulled our 4 year old out of pre-k. Both kids played with each other. During our breaks my husband and I tutored our 4 year old. She was able to attend a virtual class in the morning to learn the language of my country of origin. We saved a shit ton of money, to the point that we could have a third. So yes it was great for us. But doesn’t mean it was great for the majority of kids. The fact that you don’t seem to care makes me doubt you are even a democrat because democrats care about the economically disadvantaged. Absolutely disgusting.

Except you're conveniently ignoring the fact that POC and immigrants did not support opening schools. At my school we had to require them to send their kids last year otherwise we would have had no one. As it was we had 2-3 teachers/staff for every 1 student. We are a Title I school. Our parents did not support hybrid last year and would this year still prefer distance learning. Until you actually know what you're talking about, you should stay out of the discussion. I am feet-on-the-ground. The "economically disadvantaged" POC and immigrant families did not want what you claim they, in your esteemed opinion, needed.

Lol. You are responding to my post. I am an immigrant, and a POC,Arab to be specific. Opinions within the Muslim and Arab community regarding opening schools ranged from those like me who wanted schools closed and those who wanted schools opened. But whatever opinions were on the matter, school closures ultimately harmed children of those who are from disadvantaged social -economic backgrounds. This doesn’t mean that the closures shouldn’t have happened (I believe they should have). It just means that I’m not gonna go around saying that the closures were great and gloat that my kids and my friends kids didn’t struggle. People did struggle and it had a negative effect on educational outcomes.

Agree.

-My family did ok.
-I supported remote learning for the safety of our teachers and community.
-It really sucked for some people at the time. And hybrid was not workable for some families.
-And we have significant learning loss across the board, but especially for kids whose families weren’t able to supplement.

The PP above suggesting that families who struggled should “think about what you could have done differently” is completely tone-deaf and a major a-hole.

+1

Also, that PP sounds like an idiot, which goes back to the original point that the "thrivers" have bad judgment and should not be trusted. I do not think there is any real debate at this point about how disproportionately harmful the closures were to the most vulnerable student populations. The data documenting the harm is piling up.

Arab poster here. Umm no. My kids thrived. Just because PP is tone deaf doesn’t mean you have to accuse the rest of us for bad judgment

That poster was agreeing with you.

Seems like she/he is saying that anyone who’s kids did well had bad judgment? Either way the data speaks for itself. Look at test scores (and yes they are not the perfect measure). They are down across the board. Kids educational outcomes suffered during the pandemic. The sooner we take this seriously, the sooner we can push to remedy this. However people like the PP I was responding to seem to think that as long as his/her kids and his/her friends kids did fine, then for the majority of kids that weren’t fine, it’s the fault of their families. Does that mean the decision in to close schools was incorrect? I believe at the time, although it’s disgusting that governments prioritized opening bars and restaurants to opening schools. There is so much more to be done to opening schools safely such as improving ventilation but kids are not a priority in this country. And “Democrats” like PP who doesn’t care about other kids because her kids thrived played a role in the government putting kids last because they don’t care to hold the government accountable for educational outcomes and push for safer schools (and I’m against those who wanted schools open with no safety measures what so ever)

Responding to myself here since my post wasn’t clear. I do believe that at the time, closing the schools was the correct decision. However I also believe that schools could have opened earlier if the government had prioritized schools instead of bars and restaurants. So as soon as the covid numbers got better and especially after teachers got vaccinated, the government could have opened the schools (with robust safety measures including improved ventilation and providing kids and staff with high quality masks) and kept bars and restaurants closed to keep numbers down. Obviously bars and restaurants would have needed money so they continue to pay rent and pay their employees. Point is, the focus should have been on the kids. My kids were virtual the entire year last year because we were able to keep them virtual. My kindergartener didn’t learn much from school but she did learn a lot that year . We put her in a math class and we focused a lot on improving her reading skills. Overall I don’t feel they lost a lot academically but we had the resources, the money and the time to make sure they didn’t.

[Anonymous]

The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

No. Not this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

No. Not this year.

+1. And I reject the suggestion that such voters are acting "out of spite." It is not spiteful to want leadership that prioritizes academics, not politics, in the public schools. We have lost that in recent years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

No. Not this year.

+1. And I reject the suggestion that such voters are acting "out of spite." It is not spiteful to want leadership that prioritizes academics, not politics, in the public schools. We have lost that in recent years.

Voting for Rs for “education” is certainly out of spite. The Rs are not a solution - they are a message that you’d rather burn it down than try to fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

No. Not this year.

+1. And I reject the suggestion that such voters are acting "out of spite." It is not spiteful to want leadership that prioritizes academics, not politics, in the public schools. We have lost that in recent years.

Voting for Rs for “education” is certainly out of spite. The Rs are not a solution - they are a message that you’d rather burn it down than try to fix.

Voting R is the only solution. The local Democratic party activists who control the primaries and caucuses are completely out of touch. They need a wake up call in Arlington (just like they did with the street car).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing demonstrated above is that there are a lot of different types of kids and families. Let's support them by voting for McAuliffe and the Dem ticket. Voting for the R out of spite just reduces funding for schools going forward.

No. Not this year.

+1. And I reject the suggestion that such voters are acting "out of spite." It is not spiteful to want leadership that prioritizes academics, not politics, in the public schools. We have lost that in recent years.

Voting for Rs for “education” is certainly out of spite. The Rs are not a solution - they are a message that you’d rather burn it down than try to fix.

Voting R is the only solution. The local Democratic party activists who control the primaries and caucuses are completely out of touch. They need a wake up call in Arlington (just like they did with the street car).

Youngkin is no Vihstadt. He’s a Trump Republican. The GOP offers no solutions - only to tear it all down