WaPo on the mental health crisis students are experiencing

[Anonymous]

There are also months long waitlists for private therapists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why there’s no sense of urgency to get kids back. To me, keeping schools closed for almost a year is a crisis. I don’t think we even know yet the scope.

If you were to watch the Council meeting yesterday where people testified about reopening to City Councillors, you'd understand the issue. 90% of speakers were STRONGLY against reopening. NO mention made of the damage to children by those presenting, to mental health or to learning or for anything at all.

These are the loudest voices, most organized, by far.

Maybe because it’s a life-threatening public health crisis that affects all of us, not just your children who need to socialize. So weird that school is the only place your children can socialize. Maybe it’s because everything else was shut down to avoid spreading coronavirus?

Do please continue to minimize our concerns with our kids’ development and mental health as the trite “need to socialize.” It really endears me to your cause.

Well, they are getting educated via DL. The only piece that is missing is the socialization. So how else should your concerns be described?

My kid is in K. Half their report card couldn’t be filled out because it was “not observed” due to distance learning. There is more to education than drilling through a computer screen. But I know I won’t change your mind that DL is an adequate education. Next I’m sure you’ll tell me that K isn’t important or that I’ve failed as a parent. Honestly, I’ve been patient. I support teachers. I have lowered our expectations. I try to get my kid to outdoor play dates on the weekends. And I know this pandemic is very serious. But I can’t believe, after almost a year, we are no closer to getting kids back. Nor did I see any sense of urgency to do so at that city council meeting.

No closer to getting kids back? DCPS is opening February 1

DCPS is opening for SOME students on Feb 1st.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

But it's reasonable to expect parenrs to be able to fulfill 100% of their kids' social, emotional, academic, and physical and mental health needs, without ever interacting in person with another human? I just don't think that's realistic. Parents aren't all amazing at everything and other relationships outside the nuclear family do play important roles in child development too. This is so so much pressure and it's not realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

Hear hear!!! I don’t understand why we aren’t doing things either. It’s shocking beyond belief. Where is the innovation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why there’s no sense of urgency to get kids back. To me, keeping schools closed for almost a year is a crisis. I don’t think we even know yet the scope.

If you were to watch the Council meeting yesterday where people testified about reopening to City Councillors, you'd understand the issue. 90% of speakers were STRONGLY against reopening. NO mention made of the damage to children by those presenting, to mental health or to learning or for anything at all.

These are the loudest voices, most organized, by far.

Maybe because it’s a life-threatening public health crisis that affects all of us, not just your children who need to socialize. So weird that school is the only place your children can socialize. Maybe it’s because everything else was shut down to avoid spreading coronavirus?

Do please continue to minimize our concerns with our kids’ development and mental health as the trite “need to socialize.” It really endears me to your cause.

Well, they are getting educated via DL. The only piece that is missing is the socialization. So how else should your concerns be described?

My kid is in K. Half their report card couldn’t be filled out because it was “not observed” due to distance learning. There is more to education than drilling through a computer screen. But I know I won’t change your mind that DL is an adequate education. Next I’m sure you’ll tell me that K isn’t important or that I’ve failed as a parent. Honestly, I’ve been patient. I support teachers. I have lowered our expectations. I try to get my kid to outdoor play dates on the weekends. And I know this pandemic is very serious. But I can’t believe, after almost a year, we are no closer to getting kids back. Nor did I see any sense of urgency to do so at that city council meeting.

No closer to getting kids back? DCPS is opening February 1

DCPS is opening for SOME students on Feb 1st.

The Chicago Public School parents were honest at least. They testified that their kids missed their friends. I appreciate they didn’t try to claim the tantrums were over staring at a screen all day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why there’s no sense of urgency to get kids back. To me, keeping schools closed for almost a year is a crisis. I don’t think we even know yet the scope.

If you were to watch the Council meeting yesterday where people testified about reopening to City Councillors, you'd understand the issue. 90% of speakers were STRONGLY against reopening. NO mention made of the damage to children by those presenting, to mental health or to learning or for anything at all.

These are the loudest voices, most organized, by far.

Maybe because it’s a life-threatening public health crisis that affects all of us, not just your children who need to socialize. So weird that school is the only place your children can socialize. Maybe it’s because everything else was shut down to avoid spreading coronavirus?

Do please continue to minimize our concerns with our kids’ development and mental health as the trite “need to socialize.” It really endears me to your cause.

Well, they are getting educated via DL. The only piece that is missing is the socialization. So how else should your concerns be described?

My kid is in K. Half their report card couldn’t be filled out because it was “not observed” due to distance learning. There is more to education than drilling through a computer screen. But I know I won’t change your mind that DL is an adequate education. Next I’m sure you’ll tell me that K isn’t important or that I’ve failed as a parent. Honestly, I’ve been patient. I support teachers. I have lowered our expectations. I try to get my kid to outdoor play dates on the weekends. And I know this pandemic is very serious. But I can’t believe, after almost a year, we are no closer to getting kids back. Nor did I see any sense of urgency to do so at that city council meeting.

No closer to getting kids back? DCPS is opening February 1

DCPS is opening for SOME students on Feb 1st.

And?? Go move to MOCO where they aren’t even opening.

[Anonymous]

Arlington has given all public school teachers first dibs on vaccinations. Why aren't we doing that in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington has given all public school teachers first dibs on vaccinations. Why aren't we doing that in DC?

DCPS teachers currently in person or returning in person have the option to get vaccinated next week. Yes, it's 1-2 weeks behind some places, but it's now the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

I’m the one who posted the newer data. And I completely agree with this, which is why I said I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. Let’s just stop with the “people who have some concerns are anti-science” BS.

You call that WSJ article "the newer data"?

Uh, I call the data that has been collected in multiple European countries and then reported on by the WSJ the “newer data”, especially including the new strain. It is literally newer infection data for children in those places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

But it's reasonable to expect parenrs to be able to fulfill 100% of their kids' social, emotional, academic, and physical and mental health needs, without ever interacting in person with another human? I just don't think that's realistic. Parents aren't all amazing at everything and other relationships outside the nuclear family do play important roles in child development too. This is so so much pressure and it's not realistic.

No. But it's reasonable for parents to understand that school buildings are not the only way for their kids to have social contact and to arrange that if their kids need it, not to repeatedly demand that schools open in enclosed prolonged indoor contact during a pandemic. If your kids need socialixation, or their needs met, step up and arrange it. You don't need schools to parent for you. That's not their job. Education is their job and yes, is being provided, whether you like it or not, approve or not or agree or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

But it's reasonable to expect parenrs to be able to fulfill 100% of their kids' social, emotional, academic, and physical and mental health needs, without ever interacting in person with another human? I just don't think that's realistic. Parents aren't all amazing at everything and other relationships outside the nuclear family do play important roles in child development too. This is so so much pressure and it's not realistic.

No. But it's reasonable for parents to understand that school buildings are not the only way for their kids to have social contact and to arrange that if their kids need it, not to repeatedly demand that schools open in enclosed prolonged indoor contact during a pandemic. If your kids need socialixation, or their needs met, step up and arrange it. You don't need schools to parent for you. That's not their job. Education is their job and yes, is being provided, whether you like it or not, approve or not or agree or not.

To me it is totally reasonable for parents to provide those things, except education since that is free and available. Honestly though I love it, I'm confused why DCPS has initiatives for social and emotional responsibilities to teachers. Yes, of course as people who work with young children they should be caring and loving but not mental health providers. Yes we want to especially help at risk kids but why doesn't DC help families better? I mean it doesn't matter how great the school is if you are experiencing trauma at home.

I hear pp though, parents are humans and need support too, even high SES ones. I do think however yelling at the school and teachers won't get you much support during a pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Education is NOT being provided. End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Education is NOT being provided. End of story.

Unless you are at a private, that just simply isn’t true. It might not be the form of education you want or how much you want, but it is being offered. Even after schools physically reopen, it still won’t look like pre-pandemic school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

But it's reasonable to expect parenrs to be able to fulfill 100% of their kids' social, emotional, academic, and physical and mental health needs, without ever interacting in person with another human? I just don't think that's realistic. Parents aren't all amazing at everything and other relationships outside the nuclear family do play important roles in child development too. This is so so much pressure and it's not realistic.

No. But it's reasonable for parents to understand that school buildings are not the only way for their kids to have social contact and to arrange that if their kids need it, not to repeatedly demand that schools open in enclosed prolonged indoor contact during a pandemic. If your kids need socialixation, or their needs met, step up and arrange it. You don't need schools to parent for you. That's not their job. Education is their job and yes, is being provided, whether you like it or not, approve or not or agree or not.

THIS!

If you really think 6.5 hours in a classroom with 12 other kids is safe, then you are good to host a 2 hour play date for one kid at your house.

That said, a friend has tried this repeatedly and is finding that other parents don’t want to do the play dates. I think that’s a good signal that either they don’t think it’s safe or their kids are not having meltdowns like her son is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are also months long waitlists for private therapists.

I tried to find a therapist/psychologist/counselor/someone for my 9 year old at the beginning of the summer. He was withdrawn, angry, had no appetite, had no interest in things he had normally enjoyed. Started summer little league and summer soccer and in a few weeks he was back to his old self. Kids need IN PERSON social interaction. Virtual is not the same.