Takeaways from the Brabrand virtual town hall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Oh please! Online education has been a thing for some time now. It just hasn't been as widespread or popular in the K12 market as it is in college, but it's been in existence and the families and teachers have been just fine.

Frankly, knowing teachers and accepting their authority/leadership is much LESS of an issue with DL. Everyone's there to learn and do their damn work. There's little room for the "Mr. X does like me! Mrs. Y is so mean!"

We'll see. Online education is an educational platform in and of itself. It's not simply a delivery vehicle, which we've seen during this pilot period. When expectations ramp up in Fall, both catching kids up and trying to move them forward in a gradable format, I suspect it's going to be a spectacular failure. I suspect FCPS leadership also knows this. Otherwise, they'd just call for DL right now instead of delaying the decision to July and looking to the Governor for guidance ('air cover').

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I didnt mention taxes at all. You are hearing it loud and clear: parents are appalled at the slipshod job done by FCPS. You own that. Step up like everyone around you is and try to help our country pull through this by doing the best in your profession.

"Clients/Customers" pay. What do you pay teachers to be considered such? My decoding skills are quite good, thank you.

Last, your decoding skills are quite poor, actually. The poster was making an analogy about performance effectiveness and perceptions. Where and how that is funded wasn't core, or even relevant, to point.

[Anonymous]

I want to go back to some sense of normalcy like everyone else, but frankly, as a teacher I don’t trust FCPS to make a sound call that’s protective to us. In case you all forgot, Brabrandt was planning to try and keep schools open.

The idea that we have so much control is laudable at best. Not a single one of these scenarios was developed using teacher input. We often get information until after it’s distributed to families.

I don’t know what the answer is here because I’m not an infectious disease expert. I do know that if my husbands office with 50 people has deemed it to unsafe to be in for the foreseeable future, I can’t see how it’s safe for teachers to be in a small space with 30 plus kids and in a building with thousands.

[Anonymous]

I think FCPS could do a lot but accepting an online platform like Virtual Virginia. The curriculum is already there and the platform is already there. The Gov (I know I know) is also beefing it up.

There are other online platforms and curricula that could be investigated. Trying to replicate in person will not work.

[Anonymous]

I completely understand why many parents are eager to have schools reopen. I can't imagine trying to manage my own job if I had young children at home. As a teacher, my main concern is social distancing and keeping us all healthy. Every single profession I can think of is going to require everybody to wear a mask. Are all students going to wear a mask? Even if they shrink class sizes to 10-12 kids, I cannot imagine being in my small, cramped windowless classroom with all of those students breathing, talking, laughing. That seems like an unacceptable risk to me. And since I teach high school, I will be in contact with many students throughout the day. I don't know what the answer is, but I do think there needs to be more discussion about the risk to teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think FCPS could do a lot but accepting an online platform like Virtual Virginia. The curriculum is already there and the platform is already there. The Gov (I know I know) is also beefing it up.

There are other online platforms and curricula that could be investigated. Trying to replicate in person will not work.

If this is their intention, they've already set themselves up for failure if they're not doubling down on investigating/investing in platforms now. They've delayed the decision to July 15th (the middle of the summer)...so if DL is decided, nothing meaningfully changes. Without investment and time commitment toward transformation, it will continue to be about replicating the in-person model and will be an utter failure. It's "fine" now because it's a novel experience and people are more or less on the same page across the country, but that changes in Fall. What's acceptable in Spring won't be acceptable in Fall. That's probably why their looking to the Governor for air cover to help take at least part of the decision out of their hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I completely understand why many parents are eager to have schools reopen. I can't imagine trying to manage my own job if I had young children at home. As a teacher, my main concern is social distancing and keeping us all healthy. Every single profession I can think of is going to require everybody to wear a mask. Are all students going to wear a mask? Even if they shrink class sizes to 10-12 kids, I cannot imagine being in my small, cramped windowless classroom with all of those students breathing, talking, laughing. That seems like an unacceptable risk to me. And since I teach high school, I will be in contact with many students throughout the day. I don't know what the answer is, but I do think there needs to be more discussion about the risk to teachers.

For MS and HS, it seems like teachers should move from classroom to classroom instead of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to go back to some sense of normalcy like everyone else, but frankly, as a teacher I don’t trust FCPS to make a sound call that’s protective to us. In case you all forgot, Brabrandt was planning to try and keep schools open.

The idea that we have so much control is laudable at best. Not a single one of these scenarios was developed using teacher input. We often get information until after it’s distributed to families.

I don’t know what the answer is here because I’m not an infectious disease expert. I do know that if my husbands office with 50 people has deemed it to unsafe to be in for the foreseeable future, I can’t see how it’s safe for teachers to be in a small space with 30 plus kids and in a building with thousands.

Are your husband and his co-workers effectively doing their jobs while tele-working? Work is still productive? Business is still good? My guess is yes, hence his office seems the risk of having everyone there unnecessary. If not, lay-offs would have already occurred.

Are you and your coworkers effectively doing your jobs through telework? Productivity is not reduced? All is still good and smooth running?

Not all jobs are conducive to telework. There are plenty of us, myself included, that still need to report to the office even in a pandemic because the type of work we do involves being there. And before you bring up money- my salary is definitely less then most FCPS teachers, nor do I have a lovely pension plan.

I’m all for FCPS moving to a full time professional and established DL program. Moving to the Virtual VA or K12 platform where the teachers there already have a vast amount of DL experience and I know my kids will get appropriate lessons.

That would leave teachers like you out of a job with FCPS but hey, you don’t actually want to work during the pandemic anyway. So win-win all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to go back to some sense of normalcy like everyone else, but frankly, as a teacher I don’t trust FCPS to make a sound call that’s protective to us. In case you all forgot, Brabrandt was planning to try and keep schools open.

The idea that we have so much control is laudable at best. Not a single one of these scenarios was developed using teacher input. We often get information until after it’s distributed to families.

I don’t know what the answer is here because I’m not an infectious disease expert. I do know that if my husbands office with 50 people has deemed it to unsafe to be in for the foreseeable future, I can’t see how it’s safe for teachers to be in a small space with 30 plus kids and in a building with thousands.

I get what you are saying on this and the fear/worry. I have it too. But schools don't exist in a fragile vacuum of risk, its not just schools going back its the nation. The intel community goes to offices, much DOD goes to offices, State Dept, many people who cannot telework due to the nature of their work ARE going back to work this summer to sit in cubicles, share communial bathrooms, cafeterias, etc. I mean, any large gov't building is basically designed like a large high school. Should they not go back to work? The reality is "service positions" are not just waiters and such, service is teaching, firefighting, intel services, DOD, etc too. And they have all been working all along or are going back very soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Oh please! Online education has been a thing for some time now. It just hasn't been as widespread or popular in the K12 market as it is in college, but it's been in existence and the families and teachers have been just fine.

Frankly, knowing teachers and accepting their authority/leadership is much LESS of an issue with DL. Everyone's there to learn and do their damn work. There's little room for the "Mr. X does like me! Mrs. Y is so mean!"

We'll see. Online education is an educational platform in and of itself. It's not simply a delivery vehicle, which we've seen during this pilot period. When expectations ramp up in Fall, both catching kids up and trying to move them forward in a gradable format, I suspect it's going to be a spectacular failure. I suspect FCPS leadership also knows this. Otherwise, they'd just call for DL right now instead of delaying the decision to July and looking to the Governor for guidance ('air cover').

The students who will need to have their hands held and be caught up in DL would have the same struggles in person.

The kids who would do well in the physical classroom in terms of keeping up will do well with DL.

Frankly DL will eliminate more problems than it will create.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Oh please! Online education has been a thing for some time now. It just hasn't been as widespread or popular in the K12 market as it is in college, but it's been in existence and the families and teachers have been just fine.

Frankly, knowing teachers and accepting their authority/leadership is much LESS of an issue with DL. Everyone's there to learn and do their damn work. There's little room for the "Mr. X does like me! Mrs. Y is so mean!"

We'll see. Online education is an educational platform in and of itself. It's not simply a delivery vehicle, which we've seen during this pilot period. When expectations ramp up in Fall, both catching kids up and trying to move them forward in a gradable format, I suspect it's going to be a spectacular failure. I suspect FCPS leadership also knows this. Otherwise, they'd just call for DL right now instead of delaying the decision to July and looking to the Governor for guidance ('air cover').

The students who will need to have their hands held and be caught up in DL would have the same struggles in person.

The kids who would do well in the physical classroom in terms of keeping up will do well with DL.

Frankly DL will eliminate more problems than it will create.

No, it will worsen problems, not solve them. Most people know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to go back to some sense of normalcy like everyone else, but frankly, as a teacher I don’t trust FCPS to make a sound call that’s protective to us. In case you all forgot, Brabrandt was planning to try and keep schools open.

The idea that we have so much control is laudable at best. Not a single one of these scenarios was developed using teacher input. We often get information until after it’s distributed to families.

I don’t know what the answer is here because I’m not an infectious disease expert. I do know that if my husbands office with 50 people has deemed it to unsafe to be in for the foreseeable future, I can’t see how it’s safe for teachers to be in a small space with 30 plus kids and in a building with thousands.

Are your husband and his co-workers effectively doing their jobs while tele-working? Work is still productive? Business is still good? My guess is yes, hence his office seems the risk of having everyone there unnecessary. If not, lay-offs would have already occurred.

Are you and your coworkers effectively doing your jobs through telework? Productivity is not reduced? All is still good and smooth running?

Not all jobs are conducive to telework. There are plenty of us, myself included, that still need to report to the office even in a pandemic because the type of work we do involves being there. And before you bring up money- my salary is definitely less then most FCPS teachers, nor do I have a lovely pension plan.

I’m all for FCPS moving to a full time professional and established DL program. Moving to the Virtual VA or K12 platform where the teachers there already have a vast amount of DL experience and I know my kids will get appropriate lessons.

That would leave teachers like you out of a job with FCPS but hey, you don’t actually want to work during the pandemic anyway. So win-win all around.

Please move your kid to virtual VA. That would not impact the workforce in FCPS. So these goofy fantasies of teachers being put out of work during a pandemic are silly.

Teaching is much more conducive to telework than any other profession. It’s also the profession it makes the most sense for during times like these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Oh please! Online education has been a thing for some time now. It just hasn't been as widespread or popular in the K12 market as it is in college, but it's been in existence and the families and teachers have been just fine.

Frankly, knowing teachers and accepting their authority/leadership is much LESS of an issue with DL. Everyone's there to learn and do their damn work. There's little room for the "Mr. X does like me! Mrs. Y is so mean!"

We'll see. Online education is an educational platform in and of itself. It's not simply a delivery vehicle, which we've seen during this pilot period. When expectations ramp up in Fall, both catching kids up and trying to move them forward in a gradable format, I suspect it's going to be a spectacular failure. I suspect FCPS leadership also knows this. Otherwise, they'd just call for DL right now instead of delaying the decision to July and looking to the Governor for guidance ('air cover').

The students who will need to have their hands held and be caught up in DL would have the same struggles in person.

The kids who would do well in the physical classroom in terms of keeping up will do well with DL.

Frankly DL will eliminate more problems than it will create.

Ehhh, what? This is the epitome of a "drive by" post with zero substance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to go back to some sense of normalcy like everyone else, but frankly, as a teacher I don’t trust FCPS to make a sound call that’s protective to us. In case you all forgot, Brabrandt was planning to try and keep schools open.

The idea that we have so much control is laudable at best. Not a single one of these scenarios was developed using teacher input. We often get information until after it’s distributed to families.

I don’t know what the answer is here because I’m not an infectious disease expert. I do know that if my husbands office with 50 people has deemed it to unsafe to be in for the foreseeable future, I can’t see how it’s safe for teachers to be in a small space with 30 plus kids and in a building with thousands.

Are your husband and his co-workers effectively doing their jobs while tele-working? Work is still productive? Business is still good? My guess is yes, hence his office seems the risk of having everyone there unnecessary. If not, lay-offs would have already occurred.

Are you and your coworkers effectively doing your jobs through telework? Productivity is not reduced? All is still good and smooth running?

Not all jobs are conducive to telework. There are plenty of us, myself included, that still need to report to the office even in a pandemic because the type of work we do involves being there. And before you bring up money- my salary is definitely less then most FCPS teachers, nor do I have a lovely pension plan.

I’m all for FCPS moving to a full time professional and established DL program. Moving to the Virtual VA or K12 platform where the teachers there already have a vast amount of DL experience and I know my kids will get appropriate lessons.

That would leave teachers like you out of a job with FCPS but hey, you don’t actually want to work during the pandemic anyway. So win-win all around.

Please move your kid to virtual VA. That would not impact the workforce in FCPS. So these goofy fantasies of teachers being put out of work during a pandemic are silly.

Teaching is much more conducive to telework than any other profession. It’s also the profession it makes the most sense for during times like these.

Sure thing, as soon as FCPS says they’ll pay for it.

[Anonymous]

I really had no idea how much FCPS teachers hated parents until I started reading these posts. It's really disheartening.

I'm incredibly disappointed with how FCPS administration has handled distance learning. My first grader isn't learning anything. The teachers are still fumbling around with Blackboard Ultra and the technical problems continue, weeks into this.

I worry that won't change in the fall. Braband will suggest the same DL regime of 1 hr of live instruction, four days a week and parents will just have to figure out the rest. Kids will fall further behind.

I guess that's better than sending my DD back in the fall to schools where many teachers clearly hate parents and don't want to be there.