Question to parents of kids doing DL

[Anonymous]

DL from our private high school has been incredibly rigorous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not.

+1

How could this possibly be a question? FWIW, we've never supplemented with our early elementary kids, and they're still accelerated. But for younger kids especially, I'd argue that learning is fundamentally coupled with social interaction and their relationships with their teacher and their peers. It's virtually impossible to replicate those via DL. Also, DL requires a hell of a lot more executive function capacity than in-person school, so most kids are going to struggle simply because of that.

[Anonymous]

For my 3rd grader it is close, but the fact that our district is not doing some math units except during homework time kills it. She's still doing small group work, the day is pretty normal. She is extra stressed doing it all online, though.

For my first grader it misses by miles and miles. Their entire class is so far behind where they would be otherwise in math and language arts.

[Anonymous]

It's really teacher dependent.

My 2nd grader is doing great in reading because she reads better in a quiet house than a noisy classroom. It also really helps that her reading teacher is great and is working hard to form reading groups and use materials that engage the kids.

In writing she's learning about 50-60% of what she would at school, even with heavy parental involvement. It's a huge fight to get her to do the assignments. At school she'd just do what everyone else is doing and use that time to learn instead of rage.

In math she's regressing. Her teacher is horrible and teaching very little material. Everything they're covering is below grade level, remedial content.

[Anonymous]

It's remedial at best.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anyone that will say DL completely replicates in person learning for most children.
So is this just another post to bash DL?
For my family, my 5th grader is doing well. His teacher is AMAZING. She puts a lot of effort into her class, including remaining online on Zoom thru lunch so kids without anyone at home still have the zoom going and have people to talk to.
8th grader. Meh. Barely learning anything. Zooms are only in 3 of his CORE classes, and they last 5-10 minutes. But he has learned to be a lot more independent. He has learned how to manage his time. These are good skills.
I get it. DL sucks. The pandemic sucks. No matter what the school board decides, people will be angry.
There is a vaccine. I sincerely believe school will be "normal" next fall.

[Anonymous]

No it's not as good. It's fine for a pandemic, but it's not as good. We're not doing supplemental activities.

[Anonymous]

Not for core subjects like reading/writing/math. My child is receiving NO writing instruction. None.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you took away all of the supplemental enrichment activities and tutors you have for your kids and only looked at the DL your child is getting, do you think DL is as good as regular school pre Covid?

My kids are highschoolers, so they don’t get supplemental learning.
They both say that they are learning more now than they do in person.

[Anonymous]

Middle school, private, DL has been great for DC (and rigorous) however we don't have virtual school on Fridays so I've had to supplement outdoor activity that day so it didnt turn into a three day weekend of video games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you took away all of the supplemental enrichment activities and tutors you have for your kids and only looked at the DL your child is getting, do you think DL is as good as regular school pre Covid?

It was never going to be "as good" as in person. It is a safe, intelligent alternative to putting people into prolonged indoor exposure for 6+ hours a day during a pandemic.

But for many people it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha. No.

Academically I don’t think it’s a ton worse though. My kids are still learning a lot.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone that will say DL completely replicates in person learning for most children.
So is this just another post to bash DL?
For my family, my 5th grader is doing well. His teacher is AMAZING. She puts a lot of effort into her class, including remaining online on Zoom thru lunch so kids without anyone at home still have the zoom going and have people to talk to.
8th grader. Meh. Barely learning anything. Zooms are only in 3 of his CORE classes, and they last 5-10 minutes. But he has learned to be a lot more independent. He has learned how to manage his time. These are good skills.
I get it. DL sucks. The pandemic sucks. No matter what the school board decides, people will be angry.
There is a vaccine. I sincerely believe school will be "normal" next fall.

What school district is this? How can an 8th graders Zoom classes look not be 5-10 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you took away all of the supplemental enrichment activities and tutors you have for your kids and only looked at the DL your child is getting, do you think DL is as good as regular school pre Covid?

It was never going to be "as good" as in person. It is a safe, intelligent alternative to putting people into prolonged indoor exposure for 6+ hours a day during a pandemic.

But for many people it is.

OK. I'm pro-DL for right now and my kids are succeeding.

But these boards are full of people screaming that we have to open buildings NOW because DL "isn't working." They demand that it replicate the in person classroom experience (or, more often, the idealized version of such the parent labors under the delusion of) and it won't do that, can't do that and should not be expected to do that. It should be expected to be a safe educational delivery method during a pandemic, not "classrooms with screens."

[Anonymous]

My SN 3rd grader has learned more in DL than in prior years in F2F school. He takes frequent breaks, he chews on his chewelry without being reprimanded, he fidgets noisily, in other words, he feels comfortable learning at home. He is not required to turn on the camera and does not do it. He misses his friends but would rather not go back to school.