From npr; 1/4th of students never logging on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not my kids, but:

Googled around and found huge documentd failures of distance learning, for example:

https://www.wbez.org/stories/during-one-week-in-may-nearly-25-of-cps-students-didnt-log-on-for-remote-learning/f2b7becf-cb5c-44a5-9ccf-3d6c947e6a13

But it’s not just one school;

https://www.nj.com/education/2020/12/about-25-of-kids-in-this-nj-school-district-are-ditching-remote-learning-every-day-superintendent-says.html


This is all over! Have we failed a whole generation? Should they repeat a grade??

That was NJ.

We have family in two very different communities in NJ. I have second cousins in a large inner city district. Their kids are logging in because both parents are teachers, but many kids are in incredibly difficult situations and not logging on because they are in survival mode. DH has a niece in a relatively affluent suburb. Her classmates all have the existential gloom DCUM is complaining about. They are too sensitive to log on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised! I’m a stay at home mom with a high HHI and I thought I was supervising my third grader but then I got an email saying that he hadn’t logged in to his afternoon math class for a whole damn week.

A lot of it was his straight-up lying about what they were doing, but a big part was he didn’t know where to go or when. He didn’t understand how to find the links for all the different rooms he was supposed to be in and he tried to set timers and reminders but sometimes the sound was off. This stuff is hard for little kids and I think the teachers expect too much or them in terms of keeping track of time and knowing how to navigate canvas to find the next class or small group.

Now he is doing great because I am with him all the time and listening to when asynchronous time ends and he doesn’t use his headphones anymore. If I had to work I’m pretty sure he would just repeat 3rd grade. I get why we are doing it but there’s no question it’s a disaster.

So it never occurred to you to check on your kid for a week and help an 8y.o. with set up? Of course he’s too little to be doing it alone, even in f2f school you have to help them navigate and organize. It’s silly to expect teachers to be able to provide support throughout.

I was really involved at the beginning and after three or four weeks I thought he has it figured out. Wrong!

Plus I have a 6th grader who was trying to get used to adjusting to a demanding middle school (including doing homework for the first time) in addition to learning how to do it all online. I was helping her a lot of the time. Now that she has figured things out I have more time to spend on my third grader but I cannot believe the number of hours throughout the day I spend supervising my kids. I just hope most parents who work have kids who are more on the ball than mine are.

HW is a normal part of secondary school. Maybe no HW in ES is a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, at least 25% of kids never study, never do their homework, never tried to keep up with school even in-person school. This is no surprise.

+1

Especially in secondary school, the kids not logging in are the same ones with previous attendance problems and previous work completion problems. I’m in HS and there are only a handful of kids who are really affected by tech/family issues. There are more who are underperforming because they can’t motivate themselves to do work. But most who are failing are just repeating previous patterns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, at least 25% of kids never study, never do their homework, never tried to keep up with school even in-person school. This is no surprise.

The difference its at least they were sitting in class before this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t think the DCUM area is the only area with this problem. The Pittsburgh city schools has similar stats. To add to the problem, they want to raise school taxes. This is very sad.

This is DC(um)... and while I wholeheartedly agree distance learning is a disaster everywhere, this information is not correct.

[Anonymous]

I teach math in a Title I middle school here in the DMV. It is unusual for me to have more than 1 or 2 students miss class. The 1 or 2 students who miss my classes always tell me why either by email beforehand or the next time we're in class via chat (oh, how they love the chat, private to me or otherwise!). Usually the absence is entirely understandable and unusual.

I agree with the high school teacher above that very few students in our school are negatively impacted by technology access. Our school system has done an outstanding job with ensuring that all children have ChromeBooks and Kajeets for hot spot access to the internet.

In some ways the access via technology has been a game-changer for a few of my students. In a Title I school we obviously have some families that have difficult living situations. Some of my students with the most difficult home and family situations are the first ones to pop in to my Office Hours and open class time to connect with me and get some positive feedback and support.

The current situation isn't ideal by any means but it also isn't the absolute worst thing to ever happen. We are so fortunate in this country to have the resources that we do and the ability to use them. I wish that some of the negative mindset people here on DCUM would start to recognize that. We certainly have challenges but we would be better off banding together to solve problems and overcome perceived obstacles. This continued negative harping does much more harm than good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, at least 25% of kids never study, never do their homework, never tried to keep up with school even in-person school. This is no surprise.

Teacher here. Lots of kids never do any work even during normal times. Distance learning is just making it more transparent.

💯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in Montgomery County they were also given hot spots.

So, a parent or caregiver should be rushing to a hot spot, despite they may have other children and a job of their own?

Not everyone has a car. Or the ability to leave their house for hours at a time to assist their child in learning at a remote location.

While yes, school isn’t childcare, the reality is for many families, It is.

LOL. You don't "rush to" a hot spot. You use it in your own home

I love when DCUM tries to compelling argument only to show that they have no idea what they're talking about. The hotspot is sitting right next to your laptop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our district gives out hotspots. The library does too. If you can’t log on at all ever with your free device and hotspot....

Look, if the SAHM upthread who presumably has the time and ability to help her kid thought it was teachers'/school's job to do it, then what do we expect from busy WOTH families many of whom also don't know/understand the school system well.

"But kids don't have enough internet."
"Kids in our district have hotspots."
"Did I say internet? Hold on. Let me think of the next excuse."

You really need to bend your brain around the idea to come to the conclusion that distance learning is disproportionately harder on poor families?

Public school failed you, I see.

Regular school is disproportionately harder for poor families. That is also a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, at least 25% of kids never study, never do their homework, never tried to keep up with school even in-person school. This is no surprise.

The difference its at least they were sitting in class before this

Being present at your desk doesn't mean you're actually doing anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS / Teachers Union bagmen (virtually all of DCUM) will give you a million reasons why it's not a problem that 1/4 of kids aren't being educated.

The district did all it could! Do you know what a hot spot is? If those kids are not logging in, screw 'em. Your whining about the importance of education shows how stupid you are.

No, it’s not ok that kid aren’t showing up and failing. Career teachers know that whatever happens this year, we’ll be in the school buildings next year helping to clean it up. Our classes that already have diverse abilities will be far more stratified and I’ll of students with knowledge gaps. Even if teachers were the uncaring goblins you make them out to be, it is a complete administrative nightmare to fail a student. It is literally less work to help them pass —when they show up.

Realistically, what are teachers supposed to do to get kids to school in a pandemic? In typical times, we don’t expect teachers to drag the children to school every day. That’s the parents’ job. We already have detailed protocol in place when children are chronically absent. Teachers contact home, the administration contacts home, and CPS gets brought in. When a child is failing, teachers must have a record of contacting the family at least three different times before the grades go home. I am absolutely empathetic to the fact the families lack childcare, have only one parent at home, work odd shifts, etc. Those are societal issues, however, and teachers cannot be the ones to fix every weak link in family life and income security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not reading the article, but I don’t find it the least bit surprising that 25% of kids can’t log on, considering around the same number of kids have food insecurity. Do think they can afford computers or DL tools, or have a parent able to stay home to watch them log in every day?

Bogus statistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised! I’m a stay at home mom with a high HHI and I thought I was supervising my third grader but then I got an email saying that he hadn’t logged in to his afternoon math class for a whole damn week.

A lot of it was his straight-up lying about what they were doing, but a big part was he didn’t know where to go or when. He didn’t understand how to find the links for all the different rooms he was supposed to be in and he tried to set timers and reminders but sometimes the sound was off. This stuff is hard for little kids and I think the teachers expect too much or them in terms of keeping track of time and knowing how to navigate canvas to find the next class or small group.

Now he is doing great because I am with him all the time and listening to when asynchronous time ends and he doesn’t use his headphones anymore. If I had to work I’m pretty sure he would just repeat 3rd grade. I get why we are doing it but there’s no question it’s a disaster.

So it never occurred to you to check on your kid for a week and help an 8y.o. with set up? Of course he’s too little to be doing it alone, even in f2f school you have to help them navigate and organize. It’s silly to expect teachers to be able to provide support throughout.

I was really involved at the beginning and after three or four weeks I thought he has it figured out. Wrong!

Plus I have a 6th grader who was trying to get used to adjusting to a demanding middle school (including doing homework for the first time) in addition to learning how to do it all online. I was helping her a lot of the time. Now that she has figured things out I have more time to spend on my third grader but I cannot believe the number of hours throughout the day I spend supervising my kids. I just hope most parents who work have kids who are more on the ball than mine are.

HW is a normal part of secondary school. Maybe no HW in ES is a bad idea.

Research supports the “no homework for elementary school” policy. I’m okay with it. It was a tough adjustment for a couple of months but it’s fine now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, at least 25% of kids never study, never do their homework, never tried to keep up with school even in-person school. This is no surprise.

The difference its at least they were sitting in class before this

Being present at your desk doesn't mean you're actually doing anything.

Great attitude. They weren’t going to learn anyway, so who cares if they’re completely absent from DL?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, at least 25% of kids never study, never do their homework, never tried to keep up with school even in-person school. This is no surprise.

The difference its at least they were sitting in class before this

Being present at your desk doesn't mean you're actually doing anything.

The kids who didn't do any homework last year don't do any of their work online either (I looped with my class). The same kids who had terrible attendance in the building have terrible attendance online. Likewise, the kids who did all their assignments, whose parents were in close contact with me, and who were always at school are doing the same remotely. It's silly to pretend otherwise. Not all students are reached by learning, period. You can take "remote" or "in person" out of the sentence and it still rings true. School will always just be an option for some parents. Teachers can't force kids to show up, to participate, or to learn.