FCPS Teachers - would you be ok with kids skipping morning meeting/afternoon wrap up?

[Anonymous]

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I’m not going in with the mentality that DL will suck. It won’t be as good as in person, but it’s a pandemic. We are going to make the best of a crappy situation, and I’m going to hype my kid up and support FCPS. The only person that hurts if this fails is my kid, so I’m have no interest in it failing. I don’t get why so many people seem to hope it does. We aren’t getting in-person instruction at the moment. If it sucks, Brabrand is going to say it’s robust and keep it moving until he can get people back in buildings.

I agree that FCPS will advertise that things are going great no matter what the product. So I consider it important to push for the maximum accountability we can get right now. I am so tired of the “it’s a pandemic!” posters. Suggests that we have to accept third rate stuff. No we don’t. We can and should expect FCPS to provide excellent education. Without some level of holding the school district to the fire for bad implementation of DL in the spring, how can we hope for better?

Also, the decision to open/not open was not explained to people. It was based on an assessment of risk. It seems (to me) that the metrics for reopening should have been part of that conversation. We do have to hold the system accountable to the tax payer by asking how they are making these determinations and what will trigger a re-evaluation.

That is not why FCPS is closed. The health metrics support hybrid reopening. It's staffing and logistics.

But won't metrics be the first step toward eventual re-opening even if it's not until 2021? It appears that FCPS needs to take DL off the table as an option the next time around. This year's failed DL experiment will complement that.

It hasn’t failed because it hasn’t started. We should have metric because that would make sense.

I agree. Metrics should have been issued. That’s a failing on local and state governments.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I invest plenty in my career.

When I’m on contract. You are a CHUMP if you work contract hours for free for months at a time.

Well that settles the debate whether teachers are professionals or just laborers in a large education-industrial complex.

My one opinion didn’t settle anything but go on. I get you think you’ll make me feel like a bad teacher for not working 40 hour unpaid work weeks off contract but it won’t happen.

And it shouldn’t. I’m not a teacher, but I’m not working if I’m not compensated. I’m a professional, and part of that means that I expect to be compensated for the job I do and the tenants that come with that job. I’m a nurse, and I’m paid for trainings that I attend. If not, I wouldn’t attend them because I don’t work for FREE. Stop equating free labor with professionalism. You can be good at your job and understand that you should be compensated for it at the same time.

Lawyer here. I bill hours. Does that make me unprofessional? If I craft an email to or for a client, they get billed for my time and services. I don’t work out of the goodness of my heart. I work to get paid and put food on the table.

Do you bill a client for any law review articles you read? How about for reading up on what the bar association is changing wrt to new applicants? How about for mentoring an intern? Or any of the thousands of things you do stay current in your profession?

Again, most of these things are within the scope of my job and covered by my salary. If I wasn’t getting a paycheck for two months, I wouldn’t be doing these things because I wouldn’t be compensated for them. I stay up to date on my job because I’m paid and compensated to do so. I win a case—I make money. Also, why am I reading law review if I’m not using it to develop a legal basis for an argument for my client and therefore billing them.

Come on. You are comparing apples and oranges. I make a 12 month salary with bonuses and incentives for good work. Teachers make 10/11 month flat salary with not financial incentive to go above and beyond. Many still do, but that’s a choice they make.

I’m not going to sit here and call them lazy for not going to 40 hour a week trainings during the time they aren’t getting paid for it. I wouldn’t do it any other year. You want them in trainings than advocate year long rolling contracts.

I agree with this. And that’s why DL will not be better this year. Teachers haven’t been working all summer to get it right. They will have two weeks only because that’s in their contract. Teachers should have been paid over the summer in order to train to provide a more “robust” DL this year.

To be fair, all the ones I know have been loosely planning and thinking of ways to adapt. But we have no solid plans from the schools yet and many don’t even know what we are teaching yet so it’s hard to plan too much. The thing is, the good teachers will find ways to be great at it. The crappy teachers will be crappy but they always are. Nobody who is a good teacher will suddenly just suck or not want to do well by your kids. We do want this to go well for them and will do everything we can to make that happen.

I appreciate that, but it’s not enough. Not all teachers will do that (and they don’t have to). So now some will be more prepared than others. All teachers should have been mandated to attend paid training for 2-4 weeks this summer. They could have worked in grade level teams during that time to create new lessons for DL.

Well, I agree offering the option might have been good but a) they really can’t mandate that and b) the money isn’t there. The eternal problem of schools is we don’t fund them properly. This is one example.

[Anonymous]

Maybe if FCPS weren’t wasting tens of millions expanding West Potomac.

Not exactly the same pot of money but a good example of their poor stewardship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We skipped a lot of 3rd grade distance learning last semester because it was so lame. Her report card reflected it, though, with lower grades than usual.

We decided to change schools and they didn’t have her last semester grades when they admitted her. But it might have hurt her otherwise.

so you skipped a whole quarter and were annoyed that it was reflected on the report card? That makes a lot of sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, what do parents want? It seems there will be complaining either way. There were a ton of complaints that the time in the spring was not enough live time. The county gives you more live time and parents are still mad. You can’t have it both ways. The school district cannot please everyone!

Exactly, and all the parents complaining about their kids not having any social time. What do you think morning meeting is for? so please don't complain about social time if your kids not attending morning meeting.

[Anonymous]

This came up at today's town hall.

They said they would be informing teachers not to penalize kids who skip specials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, what do parents want? It seems there will be complaining either way. There were a ton of complaints that the time in the spring was not enough live time. The county gives you more live time and parents are still mad. You can’t have it both ways. The school district cannot please everyone!

Exactly, and all the parents complaining about their kids not having any social time. What do you think morning meeting is for? so please don't complain about social time if your kids not attending morning meeting.

Zoom show and tell is worthless.

[Anonymous]

Please tell me the “positivity project” craze is over.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Fcps will do what it takes to make attendance numbers look good.

If your kid logs in at all it will be counted as present for the day.

They do not want national news stories about how awful their distance learning is and how so many students are absent.

Amen to this. Also, if I have to, I will teach my kid to log in, turn off their screen and their microphone, and otherwise be "present" while doing whatever else they need to in order to stay sane. 6 hours of on-screen attendance is not developmentally appropriate for elementary level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, what do parents want? It seems there will be complaining either way. There were a ton of complaints that the time in the spring was not enough live time. The county gives you more live time and parents are still mad. You can’t have it both ways. The school district cannot please everyone!

Exactly, and all the parents complaining about their kids not having any social time. What do you think morning meeting is for? so please don't complain about social time if your kids not attending morning meeting.

ONLINE CLASS IS NOT "SOCIAL" TIME. it is EXHAUSTING to talk into a screen all day. Give me a frickin' break. You can feel smug teaching at home but our children's emotional health is suffering and I refuse to park my kids for 6 hours a day just to fulfill your idea of what they're supposed to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, what do parents want? It seems there will be complaining either way. There were a ton of complaints that the time in the spring was not enough live time. The county gives you more live time and parents are still mad. You can’t have it both ways. The school district cannot please everyone!

Exactly, and all the parents complaining about their kids not having any social time. What do you think morning meeting is for? so please don't complain about social time if your kids not attending morning meeting.

Disingenuous or just ignorant...you choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, what do parents want? It seems there will be complaining either way. There were a ton of complaints that the time in the spring was not enough live time. The county gives you more live time and parents are still mad. You can’t have it both ways. The school district cannot please everyone!

Exactly, and all the parents complaining about their kids not having any social time. What do you think morning meeting is for? so please don't complain about social time if your kids not attending morning meeting.

Disingenuous or just ignorant...you choose.

I can organize social time in person in front of actual human beings. I don't need the school for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, one of my biggest question is how they will handle "absences" this fall. In the spring, I spent many hours a week trying to stay in touch with parents who had no intention of ever logging in. I won't have time to harass parents with the fall schedule. Admin needs to do that.

Did the school make you do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, one of my biggest question is how they will handle "absences" this fall. In the spring, I spent many hours a week trying to stay in touch with parents who had no intention of ever logging in. I won't have time to harass parents with the fall schedule. Admin needs to do that.

Did the school make you do this?

Not OP, but yes. If a kid didn’t log in, I was supposed to figure out why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We skipped a lot of 3rd grade distance learning last semester because it was so lame. Her report card reflected it, though, with lower grades than usual.

We decided to change schools and they didn’t have her last semester grades when they admitted her. But it might have hurt her otherwise.

so you skipped a whole quarter and were annoyed that it was reflected on the report card? That makes a lot of sense.

Distance learning wasn’t graded and had no effect on the final grade.