Child refusing to participate in virtual

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with these posters. It's school, and it's not optional. Rewards, punishments (hopefully not so she doesn't see school as a chore), whatever it takes. yes, it SUCKS, but it'll be a life lesson for them all.
- mom of wild 1st and 4th grade boys forcing them to learn however is available

Sitting at a computer and staring at a screen is not school. It’s bullshit and totally developmentally inappropriate for young children. Log in for 5 minutes and then go about your day.

Sets a terrible example for little kids. This is what's available right now. You get what you get etc. Then tons of playtime afterwards.

A child who is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, who is struggling through DL, isn't thinking "Well, this is what the schools system can offer given the constraints of the pandemic and health concerns -- I should just accept this and move forward." They may not even understand that they are struggling. That's what people mean when they say its developmentally inappropriate. For children this age, DL isn't merely inferior to in-person school. It's actively bad for them. You can see it when you watch these kids interacting via DL (or, more often, not interacting). They struggle to listen to the teacher because their language skills are still developing and they rely on a lot of context cues for speech to understand what's happening. Ever talked to a 5 year old on the phone? It's really frustrating because they don't know what's going on. It is hard for them to communicate in that way in that age, even though in person you could carry on a back and forth pretty easily.

And it's not merely a "screens are bad for young kids" thing, either (though never forget that just 1 year ago at this time parents were being screamed at to reduce their kids' screen time). There are things about DL that are specifically bad for this age. I've noticed that my kid struggles specifically with having multiple people on screen at once in different environments. With a one-on-one, she can be responsive and attentive, but the minute there are other kids and rooms appearing, she gets sensory overload and tunes it all out. It's been five months and our school still locks the screen view so we have to look at everyone at once -- we don't have the option of just pinning the teacher to the screen. And then add in all the small sounds and distractions -- the people moving on and off camera in each screen, the constant tech glitches as a teacher loads a video or streams are buffering, sound cutting in and out. Its the kind of thing that makes an adult feel a little fried when we are dealing with it for work. For a 3-6 year old, the impact is much, much bigger.

And that "tons of playtime" after? One, it's obvious many families are struggling to make that happen given work demands. And two, when we were still doing DL for our kid, those hours of playtime after DL ended were not about relaxing or playing or spending quality time. They were recovery time, that's it. It would take about four hours, and then my kid would come back. And this was distinct from the usual pent up energy you see in any young kid after a few hours in a classroom. It was like we had to undo DL every day.

It's bad for kids this age. Not inferior. Actively bad for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are allowing the child to choose doing other things vs. school. Sit down and help with the assignments and not allow it to be an option.

I do this. It’s not working. Do you currently have a five year old?

I have one too (well, just turned 6 but in K), and am having a similar experience. Fall was ok but January has been a downhill slide. We've been trying to make him attend every class and do every assignment, but can't sit next to him and redirect and threaten consequences all day, which is what he needs at this point. We are running out of reward ideas, it's the month after Christmas and it's a pandemic so we cant go a lot of places or see a lot of people.

I have no ideas for you, OP, but we are very much not hearing things like "just skip assignments" or "leave after morning meeting" as being acceptable from our school. We skipped ONE math app activity because the app was down the week it was assigned and we were too busy fighting over the next week's work to do makeup, and he apparently completely ignored his art teacher's instructions yesterday to draw Transformers instead, which I'm not even sure is worth forcing. So much of this feels like it's more about compliance than learning.

Our district is planning to start hybrid Feb 16, and we're debating whether to keep him signed up because even 2 days a week in person would probably help, vs move him to DL because we are nowhere near the metrics from Aug-Oct and the teacher's association came out against it. It sucks so much that this falls on parents to try to be ethical for their own kids and the community at once when the school system is making such arbitrary seeming decisions.

This sums it up so well. DL isn’t working for this age group at all, but this seems like the worst possible time to reopen. I’m so frustrated that they could not find a way to do *some* in person school in the fall, when cases were low, which I think would make it easier to keep the kids home now. Plus they could have figured out some things about logistics. I’ve been advocating for some form of outdoor school (with masks) since last summer, but there is no will to make this happen. It doesn’t help of course that Trump and Congress refused to allocate funds to schools to help make it happen.

It’s an awful situation. I was reading an argument from a teachers advocate yesterday saying it’s not fair to heap all the risk of this situation on teachers, and I agree with that. But they were also saying that instead of in person school , we should be looking for ways to improve DL, to provide mental health services to families, even money to parents who are supervising DL to compensate due list wages and time. The problem is that NONE of that is happening. So while I think it’s unfair to shift the burden onto teachers who feel it is not safe, it is also unfair that families have carried the burden on their own this entire time. I still can’t believe what working parents have been asked to perform over the last year. I feel broken. I’m not trying to put teachers in danger. But I need help, and it’s not coming.

Our private school has been open all year. Not a single case reported. The issue is most certainly the teachers and the union.

With no weekly testing, easy to say that and pretend.

PP here. All I know is my kids are in school, none of the teachers have been out sick, and things are fine. Weekly testing or not, we are in a much better situation than the public schools. Enrollment at our school is up significantly.

Its not just about teachers getting sick. That is not the issue. And, you cannot say everything is fine and the issue is the union but that shows you are really self-absorbed. Its about community spread. Schools are closed to reduce the community spread. Kids go to school, get it, bring it home and share. A responsible school would insist on weekly testing.

Sorry not sorry, grandma and grandpa can stay home.

No, selfish mommy. Your kids can stay home. They Drumpf MT get to be spreaders for "socialization."

Sorry not sorry.

Not PP, but she is right in many ways. Covid is for kids not a big deal (yes yes there are a few exceptions... just like with the flu) so why should they be the ones at home while grandma and grandpa can go to a restaurant? It’s a horrible situation all around, but if we could isolate only those over 60 and with pre-existing conditions, the others could live a more normal life (with masks, social distance, etc). Why should children (and their parents) pay the price when they are not going to be a burden on the system?

It’s unfair... grandma and grandpa stay at home and grandkids go to school

Actually it can be a big deal for kids. And, those who live with kids.

Only 100 kids have died of Covid. Let’s stop pretending that everyone is concerned about kids. If they were, kids would be in school. Kids don’t have lobbyists like old folks do. The vast majority of deaths are from those over 65 years old. There are always going to be outliers like the odd 30 year old with preexisting conditions dying, but we need to look at majority. We prioritize middle aged and older people going out to bars, restaurants, and concerts than we do kids going to school. We live in a shitty system that thrives on consumption. Kids going to school doesn’t help the economy, so we put education on the back burner in favor of throwing children in front of a screen for 6 hours a day and we call that “school”. It’s not school. It’s the last worst option that highlights how little we prioritize learning.

Most of the kids that have died have been Black and Brown. Agree schools are not prioritized right now, but let's not dismiss the BIPOC kids who have died from this who will continue to bear the brunt of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with these posters. It's school, and it's not optional. Rewards, punishments (hopefully not so she doesn't see school as a chore), whatever it takes. yes, it SUCKS, but it'll be a life lesson for them all.
- mom of wild 1st and 4th grade boys forcing them to learn however is available

Sitting at a computer and staring at a screen is not school. It’s bullshit and totally developmentally inappropriate for young children. Log in for 5 minutes and then go about your day.

Sets a terrible example for little kids. This is what's available right now. You get what you get etc. Then tons of playtime afterwards.

A child who is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, who is struggling through DL, isn't thinking "Well, this is what the schools system can offer given the constraints of the pandemic and health concerns -- I should just accept this and move forward." They may not even understand that they are struggling. That's what people mean when they say its developmentally inappropriate. For children this age, DL isn't merely inferior to in-person school. It's actively bad for them. You can see it when you watch these kids interacting via DL (or, more often, not interacting). They struggle to listen to the teacher because their language skills are still developing and they rely on a lot of context cues for speech to understand what's happening. Ever talked to a 5 year old on the phone? It's really frustrating because they don't know what's going on. It is hard for them to communicate in that way in that age, even though in person you could carry on a back and forth pretty easily.

And it's not merely a "screens are bad for young kids" thing, either (though never forget that just 1 year ago at this time parents were being screamed at to reduce their kids' screen time). There are things about DL that are specifically bad for this age. I've noticed that my kid struggles specifically with having multiple people on screen at once in different environments. With a one-on-one, she can be responsive and attentive, but the minute there are other kids and rooms appearing, she gets sensory overload and tunes it all out. It's been five months and our school still locks the screen view so we have to look at everyone at once -- we don't have the option of just pinning the teacher to the screen. And then add in all the small sounds and distractions -- the people moving on and off camera in each screen, the constant tech glitches as a teacher loads a video or streams are buffering, sound cutting in and out. Its the kind of thing that makes an adult feel a little fried when we are dealing with it for work. For a 3-6 year old, the impact is much, much bigger.

And that "tons of playtime" after? One, it's obvious many families are struggling to make that happen given work demands. And two, when we were still doing DL for our kid, those hours of playtime after DL ended were not about relaxing or playing or spending quality time. They were recovery time, that's it. It would take about four hours, and then my kid would come back. And this was distinct from the usual pent up energy you see in any young kid after a few hours in a classroom. It was like we had to undo DL every day.

It's bad for kids this age. Not inferior. Actively bad for them.

Its terrible because you decided its terrible and haven't even put effort into it. As a parent, regardless of DL or in person if you want your child to b successful you need to supplement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with these posters. It's school, and it's not optional. Rewards, punishments (hopefully not so she doesn't see school as a chore), whatever it takes. yes, it SUCKS, but it'll be a life lesson for them all.
- mom of wild 1st and 4th grade boys forcing them to learn however is available

Sitting at a computer and staring at a screen is not school. It’s bullshit and totally developmentally inappropriate for young children. Log in for 5 minutes and then go about your day.

Sets a terrible example for little kids. This is what's available right now. You get what you get etc. Then tons of playtime afterwards.

A child who is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, who is struggling through DL, isn't thinking "Well, this is what the schools system can offer given the constraints of the pandemic and health concerns -- I should just accept this and move forward." They may not even understand that they are struggling. That's what people mean when they say its developmentally inappropriate. For children this age, DL isn't merely inferior to in-person school. It's actively bad for them. You can see it when you watch these kids interacting via DL (or, more often, not interacting). They struggle to listen to the teacher because their language skills are still developing and they rely on a lot of context cues for speech to understand what's happening. Ever talked to a 5 year old on the phone? It's really frustrating because they don't know what's going on. It is hard for them to communicate in that way in that age, even though in person you could carry on a back and forth pretty easily.

And it's not merely a "screens are bad for young kids" thing, either (though never forget that just 1 year ago at this time parents were being screamed at to reduce their kids' screen time). There are things about DL that are specifically bad for this age. I've noticed that my kid struggles specifically with having multiple people on screen at once in different environments. With a one-on-one, she can be responsive and attentive, but the minute there are other kids and rooms appearing, she gets sensory overload and tunes it all out. It's been five months and our school still locks the screen view so we have to look at everyone at once -- we don't have the option of just pinning the teacher to the screen. And then add in all the small sounds and distractions -- the people moving on and off camera in each screen, the constant tech glitches as a teacher loads a video or streams are buffering, sound cutting in and out. Its the kind of thing that makes an adult feel a little fried when we are dealing with it for work. For a 3-6 year old, the impact is much, much bigger.

And that "tons of playtime" after? One, it's obvious many families are struggling to make that happen given work demands. And two, when we were still doing DL for our kid, those hours of playtime after DL ended were not about relaxing or playing or spending quality time. They were recovery time, that's it. It would take about four hours, and then my kid would come back. And this was distinct from the usual pent up energy you see in any young kid after a few hours in a classroom. It was like we had to undo DL every day.

It's bad for kids this age. Not inferior. Actively bad for them.

Its terrible because you decided its terrible and haven't even put effort into it. As a parent, regardless of DL or in person if you want your child to b successful you need to supplement.

NP here. You missed the point. The point is that in a DL environment you CANNOT supplement because there is no in-person school. We cannot supplement having a teacher teach our Kindergartener in person. We cannot supplement recess with other kids while the parents at home are trying to work full time and assist in DL. We cannot supplement the skills you learn by being IN a classroom and interacting with teachers and students (learning to raise your hand, listen, take turns, etc.)

[Anonymous]

You can’t supplement connection. That’s what’s missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t supplement connection. That’s what’s missing.

Well put.

Also, to the PP above who is saying DL isn’t working for us because we didn’t try to make it work: Nope. We went into DL with our PK kid very optimistic. Our kid was excited, we really liked our assigned teacher, and we put a bunch of effort in up front (creating a small classroom with all the materials, getting DD adjusted to the schedule ahead of time, talking it up to her before we started, etc.). I read every piece of material the school sent home. I really wanted this to be a good experience. Something I told my DH frequently back in August was “It’s not nothing!” We were excited for our child to have another adult in her life and some exposure to her peers, even if virtually.

Three months and a lot of sweat and tears later, my conclusion is that DL is developmentally inappropriate for my child and that she is better off by every metric (emotionally, academically, behaviorally, physically), if we skip DL and instead focus on getting her lots of physical exercise, in person time with other kids, and whatever in person instruction we can cobble together via outdoor classes and even my own efforts at what we call “preschool in the park” because we try to do it outside when possible. To say that DL failed fir us because we didn’t make the effort is absurd. It didn’t work because it’s terrible and it’s actually unkind to expect a young child to try and learn that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with these posters. It's school, and it's not optional. Rewards, punishments (hopefully not so she doesn't see school as a chore), whatever it takes. yes, it SUCKS, but it'll be a life lesson for them all.
- mom of wild 1st and 4th grade boys forcing them to learn however is available

Sitting at a computer and staring at a screen is not school. It’s bullshit and totally developmentally inappropriate for young children. Log in for 5 minutes and then go about your day.

Sets a terrible example for little kids. This is what's available right now. You get what you get etc. Then tons of playtime afterwards.

A child who is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, who is struggling through DL, isn't thinking "Well, this is what the schools system can offer given the constraints of the pandemic and health concerns -- I should just accept this and move forward." They may not even understand that they are struggling. That's what people mean when they say its developmentally inappropriate. For children this age, DL isn't merely inferior to in-person school. It's actively bad for them. You can see it when you watch these kids interacting via DL (or, more often, not interacting). They struggle to listen to the teacher because their language skills are still developing and they rely on a lot of context cues for speech to understand what's happening. Ever talked to a 5 year old on the phone? It's really frustrating because they don't know what's going on. It is hard for them to communicate in that way in that age, even though in person you could carry on a back and forth pretty easily.

And it's not merely a "screens are bad for young kids" thing, either (though never forget that just 1 year ago at this time parents were being screamed at to reduce their kids' screen time). There are things about DL that are specifically bad for this age. I've noticed that my kid struggles specifically with having multiple people on screen at once in different environments. With a one-on-one, she can be responsive and attentive, but the minute there are other kids and rooms appearing, she gets sensory overload and tunes it all out. It's been five months and our school still locks the screen view so we have to look at everyone at once -- we don't have the option of just pinning the teacher to the screen. And then add in all the small sounds and distractions -- the people moving on and off camera in each screen, the constant tech glitches as a teacher loads a video or streams are buffering, sound cutting in and out. Its the kind of thing that makes an adult feel a little fried when we are dealing with it for work. For a 3-6 year old, the impact is much, much bigger.

And that "tons of playtime" after? One, it's obvious many families are struggling to make that happen given work demands. And two, when we were still doing DL for our kid, those hours of playtime after DL ended were not about relaxing or playing or spending quality time. They were recovery time, that's it. It would take about four hours, and then my kid would come back. And this was distinct from the usual pent up energy you see in any young kid after a few hours in a classroom. It was like we had to undo DL every day.

It's bad for kids this age. Not inferior. Actively bad for them.

Its terrible because you decided its terrible and haven't even put effort into it. As a parent, regardless of DL or in person if you want your child to b successful you need to supplement.

NP here. You missed the point. The point is that in a DL environment you CANNOT supplement because there is no in-person school. We cannot supplement having a teacher teach our Kindergartener in person. We cannot supplement recess with other kids while the parents at home are trying to work full time and assist in DL. We cannot supplement the skills you learn by being IN a classroom and interacting with teachers and students (learning to raise your hand, listen, take turns, etc.)

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. None of that teacher stuff is what someone is talking about. Its making sure your child can read, write a sentence, and knows numbers/addition. They will figure all that out when they go in person. You can teach taking turns and listening at home. That's regular parenting. You don't want to put any effort in and that's ok but stop making excuses. Get some cheap workbooks and sit down 30-45 minutes a day and do them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t supplement connection. That’s what’s missing.

Yup. I’ve been teaching for almost 20 years, almost all of it in-person. Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t supplement connection. That’s what’s missing.

Well put.

Also, to the PP above who is saying DL isn’t working for us because we didn’t try to make it work: Nope. We went into DL with our PK kid very optimistic. Our kid was excited, we really liked our assigned teacher, and we put a bunch of effort in up front (creating a small classroom with all the materials, getting DD adjusted to the schedule ahead of time, talking it up to her before we started, etc.). I read every piece of material the school sent home. I really wanted this to be a good experience. Something I told my DH frequently back in August was “It’s not nothing!” We were excited for our child to have another adult in her life and some exposure to her peers, even if virtually.

Three months and a lot of sweat and tears later, my conclusion is that DL is developmentally inappropriate for my child and that she is better off by every metric (emotionally, academically, behaviorally, physically), if we skip DL and instead focus on getting her lots of physical exercise, in person time with other kids, and whatever in person instruction we can cobble together via outdoor classes and even my own efforts at what we call “preschool in the park” because we try to do it outside when possible. To say that DL failed fir us because we didn’t make the effort is absurd. It didn’t work because it’s terrible and it’s actually unkind to expect a young child to try and learn that way.

We are at a private school and every educator at our school fundamentally agrees that the distance learning "modality" is totally inappropriate for young children. This was never how any education program was designed to work. But - surprise surprise - none of the other "educators" in the public schools have ever brought this up.

Interesting, huh? Did these public school "educators" (aka unprofessional hourly union workers) forget everything they learned when they became a teacher? Oh wait, they did, as the only thing the teachers care about is themselves, not the children. It's so pathetic and my heart breaks for all of the children impacted by this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with these posters. It's school, and it's not optional. Rewards, punishments (hopefully not so she doesn't see school as a chore), whatever it takes. yes, it SUCKS, but it'll be a life lesson for them all.
- mom of wild 1st and 4th grade boys forcing them to learn however is available

Sitting at a computer and staring at a screen is not school. It’s bullshit and totally developmentally inappropriate for young children. Log in for 5 minutes and then go about your day.

Sets a terrible example for little kids. This is what's available right now. You get what you get etc. Then tons of playtime afterwards.

A child who is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, who is struggling through DL, isn't thinking "Well, this is what the schools system can offer given the constraints of the pandemic and health concerns -- I should just accept this and move forward." They may not even understand that they are struggling. That's what people mean when they say its developmentally inappropriate. For children this age, DL isn't merely inferior to in-person school. It's actively bad for them. You can see it when you watch these kids interacting via DL (or, more often, not interacting). They struggle to listen to the teacher because their language skills are still developing and they rely on a lot of context cues for speech to understand what's happening. Ever talked to a 5 year old on the phone? It's really frustrating because they don't know what's going on. It is hard for them to communicate in that way in that age, even though in person you could carry on a back and forth pretty easily.

And it's not merely a "screens are bad for young kids" thing, either (though never forget that just 1 year ago at this time parents were being screamed at to reduce their kids' screen time). There are things about DL that are specifically bad for this age. I've noticed that my kid struggles specifically with having multiple people on screen at once in different environments. With a one-on-one, she can be responsive and attentive, but the minute there are other kids and rooms appearing, she gets sensory overload and tunes it all out. It's been five months and our school still locks the screen view so we have to look at everyone at once -- we don't have the option of just pinning the teacher to the screen. And then add in all the small sounds and distractions -- the people moving on and off camera in each screen, the constant tech glitches as a teacher loads a video or streams are buffering, sound cutting in and out. Its the kind of thing that makes an adult feel a little fried when we are dealing with it for work. For a 3-6 year old, the impact is much, much bigger.

And that "tons of playtime" after? One, it's obvious many families are struggling to make that happen given work demands. And two, when we were still doing DL for our kid, those hours of playtime after DL ended were not about relaxing or playing or spending quality time. They were recovery time, that's it. It would take about four hours, and then my kid would come back. And this was distinct from the usual pent up energy you see in any young kid after a few hours in a classroom. It was like we had to undo DL every day.

It's bad for kids this age. Not inferior. Actively bad for them.

Its terrible because you decided its terrible and haven't even put effort into it. As a parent, regardless of DL or in person if you want your child to b successful you need to supplement.

NP here. You missed the point. The point is that in a DL environment you CANNOT supplement because there is no in-person school. We cannot supplement having a teacher teach our Kindergartener in person. We cannot supplement recess with other kids while the parents at home are trying to work full time and assist in DL. We cannot supplement the skills you learn by being IN a classroom and interacting with teachers and students (learning to raise your hand, listen, take turns, etc.)

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. None of that teacher stuff is what someone is talking about. Its making sure your child can read, write a sentence, and knows numbers/addition. They will figure all that out when they go in person. You can teach taking turns and listening at home. That's regular parenting. You don't want to put any effort in and that's ok but stop making excuses. Get some cheap workbooks and sit down 30-45 minutes a day and do them.

That's not regular parenting. What you're describing is teaching. Those skills cannot be taught in a virtual setting. Particularly when both parents are trying to simultaneously work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with these posters. It's school, and it's not optional. Rewards, punishments (hopefully not so she doesn't see school as a chore), whatever it takes. yes, it SUCKS, but it'll be a life lesson for them all.
- mom of wild 1st and 4th grade boys forcing them to learn however is available

Sitting at a computer and staring at a screen is not school. It’s bullshit and totally developmentally inappropriate for young children. Log in for 5 minutes and then go about your day.

Sets a terrible example for little kids. This is what's available right now. You get what you get etc. Then tons of playtime afterwards.

A child who is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, who is struggling through DL, isn't thinking "Well, this is what the schools system can offer given the constraints of the pandemic and health concerns -- I should just accept this and move forward." They may not even understand that they are struggling. That's what people mean when they say its developmentally inappropriate. For children this age, DL isn't merely inferior to in-person school. It's actively bad for them. You can see it when you watch these kids interacting via DL (or, more often, not interacting). They struggle to listen to the teacher because their language skills are still developing and they rely on a lot of context cues for speech to understand what's happening. Ever talked to a 5 year old on the phone? It's really frustrating because they don't know what's going on. It is hard for them to communicate in that way in that age, even though in person you could carry on a back and forth pretty easily.

And it's not merely a "screens are bad for young kids" thing, either (though never forget that just 1 year ago at this time parents were being screamed at to reduce their kids' screen time). There are things about DL that are specifically bad for this age. I've noticed that my kid struggles specifically with having multiple people on screen at once in different environments. With a one-on-one, she can be responsive and attentive, but the minute there are other kids and rooms appearing, she gets sensory overload and tunes it all out. It's been five months and our school still locks the screen view so we have to look at everyone at once -- we don't have the option of just pinning the teacher to the screen. And then add in all the small sounds and distractions -- the people moving on and off camera in each screen, the constant tech glitches as a teacher loads a video or streams are buffering, sound cutting in and out. Its the kind of thing that makes an adult feel a little fried when we are dealing with it for work. For a 3-6 year old, the impact is much, much bigger.

And that "tons of playtime" after? One, it's obvious many families are struggling to make that happen given work demands. And two, when we were still doing DL for our kid, those hours of playtime after DL ended were not about relaxing or playing or spending quality time. They were recovery time, that's it. It would take about four hours, and then my kid would come back. And this was distinct from the usual pent up energy you see in any young kid after a few hours in a classroom. It was like we had to undo DL every day.

It's bad for kids this age. Not inferior. Actively bad for them.

Teacher and parent, and I agree completely. I have an older child, and it's just as bad for him. His classes consist of an off-camera voice narrating a slide show for 4 hours a day, then a bunch of homework from confusing and repetitive online math "textbooks" or websites. He hasn't learned one single thing all year, and berates himself constantly for being stupid and lazy because as hard as he tried, he couldn't pay attention to the slide show. He would just drift off, and then he'd get upset because he couldn't follow the class. He went from AAP to failing everything. We don't log in anymore at all. I just can't do that to him. No idea what to do, but this is not it. We are looking for private, but of course that's nearly impossible, and are at least getting something from some outschool classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t supplement connection. That’s what’s missing.

Well put.

Also, to the PP above who is saying DL isn’t working for us because we didn’t try to make it work: Nope. We went into DL with our PK kid very optimistic. Our kid was excited, we really liked our assigned teacher, and we put a bunch of effort in up front (creating a small classroom with all the materials, getting DD adjusted to the schedule ahead of time, talking it up to her before we started, etc.). I read every piece of material the school sent home. I really wanted this to be a good experience. Something I told my DH frequently back in August was “It’s not nothing!” We were excited for our child to have another adult in her life and some exposure to her peers, even if virtually.

Three months and a lot of sweat and tears later, my conclusion is that DL is developmentally inappropriate for my child and that she is better off by every metric (emotionally, academically, behaviorally, physically), if we skip DL and instead focus on getting her lots of physical exercise, in person time with other kids, and whatever in person instruction we can cobble together via outdoor classes and even my own efforts at what we call “preschool in the park” because we try to do it outside when possible. To say that DL failed fir us because we didn’t make the effort is absurd. It didn’t work because it’s terrible and it’s actually unkind to expect a young child to try and learn that way.

We are at a private school and every educator at our school fundamentally agrees that the distance learning "modality" is totally inappropriate for young children. This was never how any education program was designed to work. But - surprise surprise - none of the other "educators" in the public schools have ever brought this up.

Interesting, huh? Did these public school "educators" (aka unprofessional hourly union workers) forget everything they learned when they became a teacher? Oh wait, they did, as the only thing the teachers care about is themselves, not the children. It's so pathetic and my heart breaks for all of the children impacted by this mess.

Public school teachers agree. But in public school teachers can lose their jobs for speaking out and saying anything negative at all about the school or county.

[Anonymous]

Private school parent poster, please stop twisting the negative Nancy knife. It’s not needed. This was not begun to diss schools or teachers.

We’re trying to sort out limits in what to expect in attendance of the kids that are in virtual, K or higher. Not homeschool, not private. Those approaches are irrelevant here.

[Anonymous]

Most of the kids that have died have been Black and Brown. Agree schools are not prioritized right now, but let's not dismiss the BIPOC kids who have died from this who will continue to bear the brunt of this.

Way to miss the forest for the trees. If you are so concerned about Black and Brown kids, how about re-opening schools. Much more harm is being done to minorities from lack of school than from COVID.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Most of the kids that have died have been Black and Brown. Agree schools are not prioritized right now, but let's not dismiss the BIPOC kids who have died from this who will continue to bear the brunt of this.

Way to miss the forest for the trees. If you are so concerned about Black and Brown kids, how about re-opening schools. Much more harm is being done to minorities from lack of school than from COVID.

Studies show, pollings hows, and FCPS own numbers show that minorities are not going to return to in-person school. The schools with the highest distance learning percentages are minority schools. This is because minority families have been disproportionately affected by COVID. And minority families are more likely to have multi-generational homes. And minority families are more likely to need siblings to watch siblings. The wonky school schedules and lack of before and after care programs are going to prevent older kids from going in-person so they can be home to watch younger siblings.

There are many reasons to push for schools being open but the educational gap is not one of them because the kids who are the most behind are the least likely to return to in-person learning.