APS Parent - incredibly disappointed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as an APS teacher, I agree with you. I really hate that all parents have to preface everything with "I know teachers are working so hard" and "you are so amazing" so they don't come off as horrible and get beaten down by the crowd. distance learning sucks. I'm a HS teacher and hate that I am only allowed to be on camera with each class for 45 minutes twice a week (I'm not an AP teacher).

I am NOT familiar with elementary, so this next thought doesn't apply to younger grades, but I'm so fed up with secondary teachers saying they are working 15+ hour days and are such martyrs. they'd have to be ridiculously incompetent to need such long hours to transfer a class online that they've been teaching for years. I very much agree that some teachers are riding the DL train because they like working from home better (who doesn't?). I'm probably just jaded from reading too much AEM where parents have to bow down to teachers before asking a question, and then teachers jump down their throats about how parents are so privileged and don't care about the lives of teachers. eye roll. while it's not feasible this week due to rising numbers, I do believe we should be back in the classrooms (and should have been since september). DL doesn't work for many, MANY students. mine are suffering, mentally if not academically.

+10000 Thank you for voicing this and not berating the posters with concerns over how DL is being handled. I find it interesting how quickly folks are to attack parent posters who are frustrated. They can dish it out, but they can't take it

There’s a big difference between saying “DL sucks” which most of us agree on and “ teachers aren’t doing anything and are taking advantage and putting in minimal effort.” That’s why OP is getting jumped on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's 2.5 months into distance learning, and my husband and I are so disappointed with the APS elementary instruction. The "live" portion of instruction amounts to roughly 12 hours/week. Mondays are teacher workdays, Tues-Fri is 9-2:20 with more than half that time spent on breaks or independent learning. Even "live teacher reading" is recorded, along with minimal grading and interaction with the teacher. We have lots of respect teachers and maybe it's just our school, but we are fed-up with the minimal effort here. Add in the 2 days of additional asynchronous learning in November for preparing for hybrid learning that was cancelled, the amount of effort put forth for our child's education right now is dismal.

I'm sorry to write this, but I feel that "some" teachers are taking advantage of this situation and a very large proportion of these teachers are also hoping to remain with DL. Teachers should be considered essential workers and the hybrid model has to become a priority for early 2021.

When the world is in the middle of a pandemic that leaves many dead or with long term issues, teachers are NOT essential employees.

People like doctors, nurses, scientists, grocery employees, food factory workers, etc. ARE essential.

Making sure people are in good health, have food, have water, and have shelter are the priorities. You know, things that help keep your fellow humans alive.

I have been saying this for months. Teachers are not essential employees. Essential employees are those that are needed to sustain life. Teachers are just trying to do their job like everybody else. It would be easier for parents if they were deemed essential, but that's not the way it is.

You do realize access education has be shown over and over to be directly tied to lifespans. It’s what raises you out of poverty. Any teacher that thinks they are not essential need to go. See ya!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just stop. It isn’t minimal effort. It isn’t teachers taking advantage. I’m so tired of you privileged APS whiners complaining.

x1 million

Just stop. The pandemic sucks. DL sucks. Teachers are doing their best in a crappy situation.

No they aren’t. Their best would be pushing the administration to be in person providing appropriate education. Any thing else is less than the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just stop. It isn’t minimal effort. It isn’t teachers taking advantage. I’m so tired of you privileged APS whiners complaining.

x1 million

Just stop. The pandemic sucks. DL sucks. Teachers are doing their best in a crappy situation.

No they aren’t. Their best would be pushing the administration to be in person providing appropriate education. Any thing else is less than the best.

Why would we be advocating to send students in person in winter when numbers are huffing record highs? That doesn’t make me a good teacher. Opposite. That’s me saying I think it best if my kids and their families get sick. I picked hybrid for my own children in summer yet I don’t want them in the building right now because I know they aren’t safe. Interesting you think pushing my students to be unsafe when I won’t put my kids in there would somehow make me a good teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's 2.5 months into distance learning, and my husband and I are so disappointed with the APS elementary instruction. The "live" portion of instruction amounts to roughly 12 hours/week. Mondays are teacher workdays, Tues-Fri is 9-2:20 with more than half that time spent on breaks or independent learning. Even "live teacher reading" is recorded, along with minimal grading and interaction with the teacher. We have lots of respect teachers and maybe it's just our school, but we are fed-up with the minimal effort here. Add in the 2 days of additional asynchronous learning in November for preparing for hybrid learning that was cancelled, the amount of effort put forth for our child's education right now is dismal.

I'm sorry to write this, but I feel that "some" teachers are taking advantage of this situation and a very large proportion of these teachers are also hoping to remain with DL. Teachers should be considered essential workers and the hybrid model has to become a priority for early 2021.

When the world is in the middle of a pandemic that leaves many dead or with long term issues, teachers are NOT essential employees.

People like doctors, nurses, scientists, grocery employees, food factory workers, etc. ARE essential.

Making sure people are in good health, have food, have water, and have shelter are the priorities. You know, things that help keep your fellow humans alive.

I have been saying this for months. Teachers are not essential employees. Essential employees are those that are needed to sustain life. Teachers are just trying to do their job like everybody else. It would be easier for parents if they were deemed essential, but that's not the way it is.

You do realize access education has be shown over and over to be directly tied to lifespans. It’s what raises you out of poverty. Any teacher that thinks they are not essential need to go. See ya!

It doesn't sound like you still understand what the words "essential to life" mean. Larla will not die because she didn't go to her second grade class today. Under that definition, I do not consider myself essential - and I have no plans of leaving my job. See ya!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ones who you think are “taking advantage” of the distance learning format were probably crappy teachers anyway. There are always people who are unmotivated and bad at their jobs. So yeah there is no connection to the amount of in-person time our kids get and the quality of the teacher.

Also when my child is doing independent work, the teacher is usually working in small groups with other kids. Just because you don’t see the teacher on the screen doesn’t mean the teacher isn’t working!

So one of my kids teachers JUST started small groups this week— and it’s only for math. She said at our conference that she had no evidence for determining his reading level or if he was meeting expectations for writing. That’s shocking! I get she’s overwhelmed but what reading instruction has my kid been getting for the past eight weeks?
There is such a discrepancy between schools that I don’t think you can really compare...

How come you didn't ask the teacher for evidence of their progress? Work samples? Anything?

Like... do people just let the teacher talk and then never ask questions? Is getting mad online your only recourse?

So after she did her part (telling me his progress or how little she knows about him), I asked for his reading level so I could make sure he was reading appropriate level books. She said that she had no way of knowing his reading level, but they hoped to start assessing them before Christmas. Then we spent the rest of the conference talking about how he has trouble focusing, and some strategies we had worked out (having me sit near him so he feels accountable to someone, having me review seesaw with him once a week, etc.).
I supplement pretty heavily at home as is with distance learning this year, and I attend 3/4ths of their math and la blocks since I set up my desk for work right next to him during school hours. I know how he is doing relative to the rest of the class, and all work samples are on seesaw.
He’s the second youngest of four— I know how to advocate for my kids and when to stay out and let the teacher do her thing. This teacher obviously is not that great. The difference before is it wouldn’t have been as obvious and probably wouldn’t have made a difference one way or the other since there was more instruction time.
My other kids teachers are great. But you have to understand that the discrepancy is really striking, even at the same school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

This only means you are used to lots of hand holding, like many of your fellow Americans.

South Korea, which has better educational metrics by far than the USA, has no live lessons during distance learning. Neither do many of the world’s wealthiest nations, most of which do better than the USA in terms of math and literacy in international comparisons (in math, they ALL do better). Families receive recorded lessons and worksheets. They get the job down.

Stop whining.

DCUM is full of some of the planet's softest people.

ARLINGTON is full of the world’s softest people: “Open Schools Now” in the middle of a pandemic because Johnny misses his friends. The only reason he is out massless playing with dozens of boys is because school isn’t open. And he keeps leaving his desk to play video games. I blame APS.

These parents are all just too much. I have sympathy for parents of kids with disabilities or severe mental health issues. They need help and they need in person school. Also families who MUST work in person should have a facility to send their kids to. The rest of you need to grow up.

I fervently agree.

Also, we’re now above a quarter million Covid deaths because of people like that. It’s not forgivable.

[Anonymous]

So after she did her part (telling me his progress or how little she knows about him), I asked for his reading level so I could make sure he was reading appropriate level books. She said that she had no way of knowing his reading level, but they hoped to start assessing them before Christmas.

What grade? APS teacher here again. All k-2 has done PALS but it wasn’t complete by conferences. 3-5 is finishing up DIBELS testing which we didn’t start until Nov 4. So, either way she should now have data to share. DIBELS doesn’t give a reading level like PALS does, it’s more of a benchmarking screener but it can tell you if then student is able to read and comprehend to grade level benchmarks (but not give you a specific level like DRA OR Lexile).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just stop. It isn’t minimal effort. It isn’t teachers taking advantage. I’m so tired of you privileged APS whiners complaining.

x1 million

Just stop. The pandemic sucks. DL sucks. Teachers are doing their best in a crappy situation.

No they aren’t. Their best would be pushing the administration to be in person providing appropriate education. Any thing else is less than the best.

YES, this. From my understanding, *most* teachers, even healthy, young teachers, are opting/hoping to remain remote/DL, knowing the damage it is causing for the early learners, where they could be providing support and input on how to make schools safe to return to. This is why some parents are questioning motive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just stop. It isn’t minimal effort. It isn’t teachers taking advantage. I’m so tired of you privileged APS whiners complaining.

x1 million

Just stop. The pandemic sucks. DL sucks. Teachers are doing their best in a crappy situation.

No they aren’t. Their best would be pushing the administration to be in person providing appropriate education. Any thing else is less than the best.

Ah no. The teachers didn't create the pandemic. They didn't create the incompetent response that could have kept #s lower. They didn't create the hoards of idiots who refuse to wear masks, etc. So stop trying to place all of the blame on teachers.

My DS's teacher desperately wants to get the kids back in the classroom...when it's safer. Certainly not now as numbers are rising exponentially (as predicted). She's not a moron.

She's not technically proficient so she spend A LOT of time putting her class plans into DL format (I follow along with my DC so I can see as she posts stuff and then goes back to fix the broken parts). She is an excellent in-person teacher who has been at the school for a long time, but DL is very tough for her. She is truly trying her best and working harder than ever.

So stop the incessant whining and take a step back to see the bigger picture. Bullying your kid's teacher isn't going to help.

Are you ones of those a-hole parents who gets on during live instruction to yell and curse at the teacher in front of the whole class? Sounds like you could be...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:as an APS teacher, I agree with you. I really hate that all parents have to preface everything with "I know teachers are working so hard" and "you are so amazing" so they don't come off as horrible and get beaten down by the crowd. distance learning sucks. I'm a HS teacher and hate that I am only allowed to be on camera with each class for 45 minutes twice a week (I'm not an AP teacher).

I am NOT familiar with elementary, so this next thought doesn't apply to younger grades, but I'm so fed up with secondary teachers saying they are working 15+ hour days and are such martyrs. they'd have to be ridiculously incompetent to need such long hours to transfer a class online that they've been teaching for years. I very much agree that some teachers are riding the DL train because they like working from home better (who doesn't?). I'm probably just jaded from reading too much AEM where parents have to bow down to teachers before asking a question, and then teachers jump down their throats about how parents are so privileged and don't care about the lives of teachers. eye roll. while it's not feasible this week due to rising numbers, I do believe we should be back in the classrooms (and should have been since september). DL doesn't work for many, MANY students. mine are suffering, mentally if not academically.

I don’t want to be mean and I sympathize with your general frustrations, but it doesn’t seem like you’re following the discussion well. OP says she doesn’t see teachers on screen much and so she suspects teachers are taking advantage of the DL system. Other commenters said that just because she doesn’t see the kids on screen doesn’t mean they are doing nothing and a few actual elementary teachers have kindly given a breakdown of what they do. . You’re not addressing any of that, you’re just saying that teachers are riding the DL train with no evidence except that some teachers are saying they’re working long hours and you (rightly) suspect they’re exaggerating. You didn’t refute anything and definitely didn’t show that people are jumping down OP’s throat. TBH I hope you teach STEM or something else that doesn’t deal with logic or writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So after she did her part (telling me his progress or how little she knows about him), I asked for his reading level so I could make sure he was reading appropriate level books. She said that she had no way of knowing his reading level, but they hoped to start assessing them before Christmas.

What grade? APS teacher here again. All k-2 has done PALS but it wasn’t complete by conferences. 3-5 is finishing up DIBELS testing which we didn’t start until Nov 4. So, either way she should now have data to share. DIBELS doesn’t give a reading level like PALS does, it’s more of a benchmarking screener but it can tell you if then student is able to read and comprehend to grade level benchmarks (but not give you a specific level like DRA OR Lexile).

It’s almost December no can tell you that my 4th grader is having trouble. Why do o have to wait until January for him to get help????

[Anonymous]

Who said that you have to wait until January? Your teacher should be done with DIBELS. Ask them now. APS gave us the testing window and it takes time to give this test as it’s done individually. Also DIBELS is new in APS and there was training we had to do to administer it. We didn’t get that training available until late Sept/early October and it was like 6 hours of training.

[Anonymous]

Let's face it, most of our kids will likely need to repeat whatever grade they are currently in.

APS has done a poor job with distance learning, and teachers need to step up and start thinking about how to support and brainstorm on what needs to get done to get back into the classroom, even part-time/hybrid.

To the best of my knowledge, from what I've seen, this is all coming from parents advocating for their children.

Where are the teacher voices here advocating for how to make classrooms and schools safe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's face it, most of our kids will likely need to repeat whatever grade they are currently in.

APS has done a poor job with distance learning, and teachers need to step up and start thinking about how to support and brainstorm on what needs to get done to get back into the classroom, even part-time/hybrid.

To the best of my knowledge, from what I've seen, this is all coming from parents advocating for their children.

Where are the teacher voices here advocating for how to make classrooms and schools safe?

Ooomggg THEY HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING. Usually here they get shut down and admin and the board ignores us because our feedback isn’t convenient for them.