The Case for Shutting Schools Down instead of Moving Online

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This type of mail messages make me angry on so many different levels. If some kids have to repeat a grade- fine.

As long as it's not your kid.

If my kid needs to repeat, it is OK. Much better to have the opportunity to retake than just get passed on without learning anything

I don't think you understand how devastating being held back is to kids. Either they all pass and work harder next year, or they all make up the work. You don't just hold kids back, especially when this was out of their control.

If everyone is being held back it’s hard to see how it would be devastating. Elitist mommy-shaming norms regarding attaching stigma to being held back wouldn’t apply, right?

[Anonymous]

Bottom line -- ALL kids are going to miss school and be behind. I assume they will either have summer school or have to adjust the curriculum next year to catch kids up. We are doing workbooks and such at home - but I think this is more of a global issue they will ultimately have to address for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Screw that. Online is better than shutting down for the vast majority. If it hurts some unknown small number of "vulnerable" students, tough.

Typical DCUM parent response. Me, me, me..my kid, my kid, my kid” Disgusting!

Typical DCUM parent response. "Me, me, me and my idiotic libtard politics." Disgusting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't get it before. But now I guess I understand. Public education is a right to which all are entitled. If you provide something knowing that it will not be effective for a significant percentage of the population, then you are denying a protected, absolute right. Selfishly, I think that you should do what helps the majority of students, but I see why policy makers would hesitate.

FYI - my perspective is from a mother who has a child in public school and another (younger) in private. I believe in public education and understand the challenges of closing the achievement gap. As a mother of a child with educational challenges, I also understand how IEPs and 504s stress the system. Unfortunately, the more schools try to be everything to everyone, I find that they become less helpful to everyone. The focus is on the very top and very bottom, and everything in the middle is an afterthought. Again, my kids aren't going to Harvard. They are bright, not geniuses, and definitely are not perfect students. Still, having seen my challenging student go from struggling, checked out, despresed, and downright obstinate about school when he was in public to a Dean's List student in the smaller classes with more personal instruction at a small (not top) private, I can attest to the benefit of a smaller more focused learning environment.

Being "fair" to everyone just isn't possible.

Thank you. Plus one tousand to "...the more schools try to be everything to everyone, I find they become less helpful to anyone." (Hope you don't mind my edit!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think school will be open for 3-4 weeks. Just enough time to try to get grades up for 3rd quarter (extended per MCPS email). Cancelling 4th quarter all together.

What would the point? Third quarter can’t weight twice as much as Quarters 1 & 2. That is unfair to students who worked their butts off first semester and were hit with disruption and emotional trauma in the past few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, traditional educational approaches are also more effective for well-rested, well-fed, emotionally and financially secure kids with well-educated parents.

We don't cancel traditional instruction because it works better for some kids than others - we provide traditional instruction AND work to reach those other kids, which is what MCPS could do if they were engaged in forward and proactive planning.

Apparently what we do, four days into an unprecedented and likely economy-collapsing response to a viral pandemic, is complain that MCPS isn't already doing everything. DCUM's gonna DCUM.

It really is unbelievable, isn't it? Within 2 weeks, the economy has fallen apart, unemployment is skyrocketing, businesses are all shut, hospitals are running out of supplies, every step outside the front door has to be assessed for risk, and on DCUM people are complaining that MCPS hasn't instantly figured out every single issue to flip their entire model and meet the needs of all 160,000 students, by somehow knowing exactly how to plan for an event that no one on this earth has experienced in their lifetime, or their parents'. Because their neighbor's 250-student private school with no IEPs and no FARMS got it done, and it's exactly the same! Jeez Louise.

Well said.
And as we can see, many of those bitching about MCPS are private schools parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the late 70’s and 80’s, during the civil war in Lebanon, we did our whole schooling in chunks. We would go to school during cease fires, then stay in shelters ( often with no electricity) and study on our own with textbooks and workbooks. When we went back to school again ( after a few weeks or months) teachers gave us a placement test to know where to start from. Each grade level had 2-3 levels. Obviously we had no internet at that time. However, there was actual teaching versus assigning work and expecting students to be self sufficient at all times. Even with French education and twice a week lessons in English, many of us did very well on the French baccalaureate as well as the SAT and Toefl exams administered at the American University.
The education industrial complex is a huge business in the USA, with curriculums being altered every couple of years. Go back to textbooks/ workbooks and simplify everyone’s job while maintaining adequate level of instruction for every student. For those who are very advanced, there are lots of online programs to supplement.

A friend mentioned exactly this. The war there broke out when he was in kindergarten. He still became a cardiologist.

[Anonymous]

Any chance of summer school for everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This type of mail messages make me angry on so many different levels. If some kids have to repeat a grade- fine.

As long as it's not your kid.

If kids are that border line, it is better for them to repeat a grade anyway, despite all of the "no social stigma" research. I wish we could get back to specific skills and expectations and say, if you don't meet these , you don't move on. As a society, we are killing ourselves by designing the entire education system around the weakest students.

[Anonymous]

Look

Even if they shut down schools and don't offer online, those with means will find ways to instruct their kids.

So it IS better than doing nothing, as you'll catch kids who wouldn't have done anything.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry many of you are waiting for a giant, pretty unorganized one, ( MCPS) to do your job of educating your child. As soon as I got wind of the closing, I already enrolled my child in Khan Academy, paid for an online French class, online violin lessons, installed targets so my could practice and mapped out our days with her. She was planning to apply first APPS classes next year and is very concerned about missing anything. She got not even a link from MCPS, since she is in 7th. I knew I had to have a plan in place to soothe her fears. Now, she is in all advanced courses and is a self-starter so I admit it is easier than a child who struggles, but she said she likes Khan better as she can go faster not having to wait for a teacher to wait on slow ones, she has access to more courses ( Astronomy and Physics) and loves her online violin instruction in which she submits video tests and is graded on her performance. I am not relying on MCPS, I rely on myself to provide means of instruction. I am reading To Kill A Mockingbird and downloaded questions and created writing prompts for the story. I not a teacher so I know you guys/gals can do it too.

[Anonymous]

Why bring everyone down, just because only a certain percentage cannot access the learning?

Economic growth depends on an educated population. Maybe someone getting an online education can invent some great new technology or medicine, create a company, and employ thousands of people.

This situation -- bringing everyone down in the name of "fairness" -- kind of reminds me of France. A few years ago, their Prime Minister said that no homework should be assigned to any students because some students cannot get homework help from their parents. So everyone should be brought down, just because a few cannot be brought up. In the interest of "fairness."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry many of you are waiting for a giant, pretty unorganized one, ( MCPS) to do your job of educating your child. As soon as I got wind of the closing, I already enrolled my child in Khan Academy, paid for an online French class, online violin lessons, installed targets so my could practice and mapped out our days with her. She was planning to apply first APPS classes next year and is very concerned about missing anything. She got not even a link from MCPS, since she is in 7th. I knew I had to have a plan in place to soothe her fears. Now, she is in all advanced courses and is a self-starter so I admit it is easier than a child who struggles, but she said she likes Khan better as she can go faster not having to wait for a teacher to wait on slow ones, she has access to more courses ( Astronomy and Physics) and loves her online violin instruction in which she submits video tests and is graded on her performance. I am not relying on MCPS, I rely on myself to provide means of instruction. I am reading To Kill A Mockingbird and downloaded questions and created writing prompts for the story. I not a teacher so I know you guys/gals can do it too.

I'm impressed. Out of curiosity, are you a SAHM? Or are you able to do all of this while working from home? DH and I are both in the health care field, and so do not have time to supervise this. But we are happy to pay for online stuff that our kids can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why bring everyone down, just because only a certain percentage cannot access the learning?

Economic growth depends on an educated population. Maybe someone getting an online education can invent some great new technology or medicine, create a company, and employ thousands of people.

This situation -- bringing everyone down in the name of "fairness" -- kind of reminds me of France. A few years ago, their Prime Minister said that no homework should be assigned to any students because some students cannot get homework help from their parents. So everyone should be brought down, just because a few cannot be brought up. In the interest of "fairness."

This has been going on in MCPS for the past decade. It is pretty much how they run the school system, for everything from field trips to grading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That argument is “Idiocracy” in action. No, we don’t take everything down to the lowest common denominator. Wtf?

What do you think the end gave for "closing the achievement gap" is?