DCPS (or a charter) should pilot a tech-free (or tech-lite) ES/MS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll find many parents care less about that than you do. As your kids get older you may care less too. Not that it isn't important, but there are a lot of other very important concerns and reasons to choose a school. People's choice of ES/MS is heavily driven by academic performance and feeder pattern (and obviously those things are linked), and behavior and their own commute. People who care about low screen don't necessarily care enough to compromise the other factors.

Maybe you're thinking EOTP DCPS wants to attract more high income crunchy people who fret about this kind of thing. But you need to question that assumption.

My kids are middle and high school and I car very much. My middle schooler knows how to game the ed tech to get through it quickly and not learn (click three times and it gives you the answer etc). My high school has adhd and a lot of interests, which means he is always sneaking off ed tech programs to watch youtube videos on his niche topics of interest.

Please - textbooks and worksheets and my kids would learn so much more!

Kids rush through classwork to play the dumb lame free games they can still get on their school devices.

plus, so much money saved without paying for tech.

Okay, you care. I'm saying lots of other people don't, even if they might have said they care when their kids are little.

I think you have it backwards. A lot of people who didn’t mind some screens in K are really fed up with the terrible “Ed tech” that gets more heavily used beginning in late ES.

NP. This is not my experience at all. Every ECE parent on our school's tour asks about how much screens are used... by the time kids are in 3rd, parents are proactively going to our math coach to ask that their kid be given access to the differentiating tech resources used for acceleration (e.g., Beast Academy).

You have to wait until MS. And no, I don’t think parents are actually wanting teachers to be replaced by Beast Academy.

What? Of course they'd rather teachers than ed tech, but again that is not the trade-off. A tech free DCPS doesn't magically have the cash for extra teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll find many parents care less about that than you do. As your kids get older you may care less too. Not that it isn't important, but there are a lot of other very important concerns and reasons to choose a school. People's choice of ES/MS is heavily driven by academic performance and feeder pattern (and obviously those things are linked), and behavior and their own commute. People who care about low screen don't necessarily care enough to compromise the other factors.

Maybe you're thinking EOTP DCPS wants to attract more high income crunchy people who fret about this kind of thing. But you need to question that assumption.

My kids are middle and high school and I car very much. My middle schooler knows how to game the ed tech to get through it quickly and not learn (click three times and it gives you the answer etc). My high school has adhd and a lot of interests, which means he is always sneaking off ed tech programs to watch youtube videos on his niche topics of interest.

Please - textbooks and worksheets and my kids would learn so much more!

Kids rush through classwork to play the dumb lame free games they can still get on their school devices.

plus, so much money saved without paying for tech.

Okay, you care. I'm saying lots of other people don't, even if they might have said they care when their kids are little.

I think you have it backwards. A lot of people who didn’t mind some screens in K are really fed up with the terrible “Ed tech” that gets more heavily used beginning in late ES.

Just as a counterview, my kid went to a tech-heavy DCPS ES. We later moved and sent him to an advanced MS, and was very well-prepared because of all the apps he used. He's a kid who prefers to learn on his own vs. through a teacher, so this was a fortunate circumstance -- and something I couldn't have predicted.

He was well prepared *despite* the apps, and that the g-d honest truth.

If your kid used apps more, they’d be better off, and that’s the g-d honest truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll find many parents care less about that than you do. As your kids get older you may care less too. Not that it isn't important, but there are a lot of other very important concerns and reasons to choose a school. People's choice of ES/MS is heavily driven by academic performance and feeder pattern (and obviously those things are linked), and behavior and their own commute. People who care about low screen don't necessarily care enough to compromise the other factors.

Maybe you're thinking EOTP DCPS wants to attract more high income crunchy people who fret about this kind of thing. But you need to question that assumption.

My kids are middle and high school and I car very much. My middle schooler knows how to game the ed tech to get through it quickly and not learn (click three times and it gives you the answer etc). My high school has adhd and a lot of interests, which means he is always sneaking off ed tech programs to watch youtube videos on his niche topics of interest.

Please - textbooks and worksheets and my kids would learn so much more!

Kids rush through classwork to play the dumb lame free games they can still get on their school devices.

plus, so much money saved without paying for tech.

Okay, you care. I'm saying lots of other people don't, even if they might have said they care when their kids are little.

I think you have it backwards. A lot of people who didn’t mind some screens in K are really fed up with the terrible “Ed tech” that gets more heavily used beginning in late ES.

NP. This is not my experience at all. Every ECE parent on our school's tour asks about how much screens are used... by the time kids are in 3rd, parents are proactively going to our math coach to ask that their kid be given access to the differentiating tech resources used for acceleration (e.g., Beast Academy).

Does DCPS pay for Beast Academy these days?

[Anonymous]

This thread is shocking and sad

- DC parent of a 20-yr old who missed literally ALL of this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll find many parents care less about that than you do. As your kids get older you may care less too. Not that it isn't important, but there are a lot of other very important concerns and reasons to choose a school. People's choice of ES/MS is heavily driven by academic performance and feeder pattern (and obviously those things are linked), and behavior and their own commute. People who care about low screen don't necessarily care enough to compromise the other factors.

Maybe you're thinking EOTP DCPS wants to attract more high income crunchy people who fret about this kind of thing. But you need to question that assumption.

My kids are middle and high school and I car very much. My middle schooler knows how to game the ed tech to get through it quickly and not learn (click three times and it gives you the answer etc). My high school has adhd and a lot of interests, which means he is always sneaking off ed tech programs to watch youtube videos on his niche topics of interest.

Please - textbooks and worksheets and my kids would learn so much more!

Kids rush through classwork to play the dumb lame free games they can still get on their school devices.

plus, so much money saved without paying for tech.

Okay, you care. I'm saying lots of other people don't, even if they might have said they care when their kids are little.

I think you have it backwards. A lot of people who didn’t mind some screens in K are really fed up with the terrible “Ed tech” that gets more heavily used beginning in late ES.

NP. This is not my experience at all. Every ECE parent on our school's tour asks about how much screens are used... by the time kids are in 3rd, parents are proactively going to our math coach to ask that their kid be given access to the differentiating tech resources used for acceleration (e.g., Beast Academy).

You have to wait until MS. And no, I don’t think parents are actually wanting teachers to be replaced by Beast Academy.

What? Of course they'd rather teachers than ed tech, but again that is not the trade-off. A tech free DCPS doesn't magically have the cash for extra teachers.

You’re missing the point. having kids learn math by a bad computer app is worse than not having extra teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll find many parents care less about that than you do. As your kids get older you may care less too. Not that it isn't important, but there are a lot of other very important concerns and reasons to choose a school. People's choice of ES/MS is heavily driven by academic performance and feeder pattern (and obviously those things are linked), and behavior and their own commute. People who care about low screen don't necessarily care enough to compromise the other factors.

Maybe you're thinking EOTP DCPS wants to attract more high income crunchy people who fret about this kind of thing. But you need to question that assumption.

My kids are middle and high school and I car very much. My middle schooler knows how to game the ed tech to get through it quickly and not learn (click three times and it gives you the answer etc). My high school has adhd and a lot of interests, which means he is always sneaking off ed tech programs to watch youtube videos on his niche topics of interest.

Please - textbooks and worksheets and my kids would learn so much more!

Kids rush through classwork to play the dumb lame free games they can still get on their school devices.

plus, so much money saved without paying for tech.

Okay, you care. I'm saying lots of other people don't, even if they might have said they care when their kids are little.

I think you have it backwards. A lot of people who didn’t mind some screens in K are really fed up with the terrible “Ed tech” that gets more heavily used beginning in late ES.

Just as a counterview, my kid went to a tech-heavy DCPS ES. We later moved and sent him to an advanced MS, and was very well-prepared because of all the apps he used. He's a kid who prefers to learn on his own vs. through a teacher, so this was a fortunate circumstance -- and something I couldn't have predicted.

He was well prepared *despite* the apps, and that the g-d honest truth.

If your kid used apps more, they’d be better off, and that’s the g-d honest truth.

He HAS TO. They have no textbooks or teaching - everything is “taught” via the computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is shocking and sad

- DC parent of a 20-yr old who missed literally ALL of this

It is extremely sad and the parents posting in favor of “tech” have not yet encountered it in its full blown terribleness. Not only have schools gutted the basic notion of learning math fundamentals via repetition and recall and direct instruction, but they have also decided to get read of actual math teaching altogether. I wish I was joking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids in DCPS are not using tech that much- math is mostly group work now, ELA assignments are all hand written, other classes were said to be “low tech or no tech” at back to school night. They don’t have 1:1 Chromebooks anymore and there is a no cell
Phone policy. It seems reasonable to me.

in a DCPS ES or MS or HS? If so which one? Sounds like you're happy with it? Can you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I would worry that the tech-free school would have no differentiation. I am aware that screen-free differentiation is possible, but it is harder without more resources (specifically, additional teachers/coaches/support staff), almost never happens and screens definitely make it much easier. As a result, I think a tech-free school would end up losing high achieving kids once their parents realized what was happening (1st/2nd).

100% agree. Screen-free is a cute fantasy of preschool mommies who haven't thought it through.

“Differentiation by computerized curriculum” is a grift perpetuated by ed tech companies. Just wait til your kid gets to MS.

Started my career working in edtech, with rosy glasses wanting to do good for kids, and move on—more like ran away, hid away—because of disillusionment and the grift you mention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would sign my kid up for tech-free or tech-lite MS. I live on the Hill with one kid in elementary and I'd instantly be extremely interested in this option.

I will say that our experience in DCPS elementary has not been terrible with regards to tech, Yes there is more than I'd like, especially when you get into the testing and assessments, which are all done on computer. However teachers have some latitude here and perhaps we've been lucky but we've had a lot of teachers who really sought to do as much hands on, screen-free learning as possible. I will say that we pushed back on screens as well -- I have always simply refused to have my kid do iReady as homework and have told teachers directly that if they send home written homework, we will make sure it gets done, but otherwise we will look for screen-free ways to enrich learning. My kid has always tested above grade level in everything so they can't argue with me on this.

I'm sure I sound smug. I don't really care. Choosing to keep screens minimal in our home and in our kid's life is one of the parenting choices I feel confident we got right. There are other things I would do differently, but not this.

In any case, if they decided to make EH or S-H a low tech MS, I'd sign my kid right up. I think the rule this year forcing kids to give up devices for the school day is a step in the right direction, I want to see more.

Which elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is shocking and sad

- DC parent of a 20-yr old who missed literally ALL of this

It is extremely sad and the parents posting in favor of “tech” have not yet encountered it in its full blown terribleness. Not only have schools gutted the basic notion of learning math fundamentals via repetition and recall and direct instruction, but they have also decided to get read of actual math teaching altogether. I wish I was joking.

So where do people go if they are aware of this and truly don't want it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is shocking and sad

- DC parent of a 20-yr old who missed literally ALL of this

It is extremely sad and the parents posting in favor of “tech” have not yet encountered it in its full blown terribleness. Not only have schools gutted the basic notion of learning math fundamentals via repetition and recall and direct instruction, but they have also decided to get read of actual math teaching altogether. I wish I was joking.

So where do people go if they are aware of this and truly don't want it...

So far in this thread people have named Latin, BASIS, and Hardy