If you can, pull your kid from school - it is the only right thing to do

[Anonymous]

If you are privileged economically, are in a one working parent household, have family around to assist with childcare, you should pull your child from the public school systems and figure out a way to distance learn. Leave the public system for those that truly need to utilize it. This will create less stress on that system organizationally, and with health risks.

I am just a parent with no background in anything education, but here is what I propose you do if you are actually able to - even if it a bit harder for you and your family to do;

1) Families need to come together and create mini cohorts of students. 3-5 student groups that can learn the necessities a few hours a day, together. Done in a mixed in person plus virtual environment.
2) These cohort families need to decide whether they wish to make use of the willing adult bodies that are part of their families, or hire a "teacher" to instruct.
3) They should decide on the best location/s for the in person experience and how it set up. Maybe there is Covid consultancy company that exists that helps people/companies create best layouts for given space. Outdoor learning spaces being ideal.
4) The government needs to step up and offer some sort of rebate, subsidy, grant that makes this more possible for families to have a stay at home learning experience.
5) Instead of pushing for public schools to open fully to everyone, they need to think smarter and shift the paradigm, as they say. We can, and should have, more than 1 learning environment. DC public schools, in particular, stink, and they have needed a refresh for a long time. We do not need to focus on testing and scores so that our schools look better, we need to focus on teaching to learn, safely.

To the bashers that want nothing more than to see kids streaming back into schools this fall, I am not sending mine. The risk is not worth it. Learning while clearly important, does not weigh as heavily on my conscious as does human life and long term health. My kid can catch up the intricacies of algebra next year.

We do not how dangerous the Covid virus truly is, and I am not guinea pigging my kid out, to see what happens.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/doctors-concerned-that-covid-19-may-be-harming-lungs-of-children
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/health/coronavirus-brain-damage-study-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/dozens-more-cases-reported-of-neurological-problems-in-covid-19-67717

[Anonymous]

So rich people like you can pull your kids, hire tutors, pay a COVID consultant, and expect government subsidies so other people's kids can be the guinea pigs? Nice.

How about, use that privilege you have to pressure state and local governments to make sure that schools open safely, to help pay for the necessary supplies, and to facilitate effective DL for ALL children? Instead of just spending the money on your own kids, donate it to the local school to buy what they need and hire the necessary staff to teach everyone, whether in-person or remotely?

[Anonymous]

OP, some people have no choice. I am an essential worker, while I make a decent salary as a single mom, affording quality instructional care for my child will be very expensive. I am estimating 2,500 to 3,000 a month so that I can work.

[Anonymous]

Eff off. Stop telling others what the "right" thing is to do. All children deserve an education. Privilege has nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

I am going to use the distance learning provided by the school system. They need our taxpayer dollars now more than ever.

[Anonymous]

uh no.. my kids need to be around other kids even if it's 6' apart and half the time. They want to go back themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going to use the distance learning provided by the school system. They need our taxpayer dollars now more than ever.

Goody Goody for you. Mine are going to school. Let's check back in five years and see who made the right decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eff off. Stop telling others what the "right" thing is to do. All children deserve an education. Privilege has nothing to do with it.

Agree. You can only control yourself. Go ahead and do what you want with you own kids & that’s all you can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are privileged economically, are in a one working parent household, have family around to assist with childcare, you should pull your child from the public school systems and figure out a way to distance learn. Leave the public system for those that truly need to utilize it. This will create less stress on that system organizationally, and with health risks.

I am just a parent with no background in anything education, but here is what I propose you do if you are actually able to - even if it a bit harder for you and your family to do;

1) Families need to come together and create mini cohorts of students. 3-5 student groups that can learn the necessities a few hours a day, together. Done in a mixed in person plus virtual environment.
2) These cohort families need to decide whether they wish to make use of the willing adult bodies that are part of their families, or hire a "teacher" to instruct.
3) They should decide on the best location/s for the in person experience and how it set up. Maybe there is Covid consultancy company that exists that helps people/companies create best layouts for given space. Outdoor learning spaces being ideal.
4) The government needs to step up and offer some sort of rebate, subsidy, grant that makes this more possible for families to have a stay at home learning experience.
5) Instead of pushing for public schools to open fully to everyone, they need to think smarter and shift the paradigm, as they say. We can, and should have, more than 1 learning environment. DC public schools, in particular, stink, and they have needed a refresh for a long time. We do not need to focus on testing and scores so that our schools look better, we need to focus on teaching to learn, safely.

To the bashers that want nothing more than to see kids streaming back into schools this fall, I am not sending mine. The risk is not worth it. Learning while clearly important, does not weigh as heavily on my conscious as does human life and long term health. My kid can catch up the intricacies of algebra next year.

We do not how dangerous the Covid virus truly is, and I am not guinea pigging my kid out, to see what happens.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/doctors-concerned-that-covid-19-may-be-harming-lungs-of-children
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/health/coronavirus-brain-damage-study-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/dozens-more-cases-reported-of-neurological-problems-in-covid-19-67717

Great. And I am not guinea pigging my kids out for a half-baked distance learning program, just to see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eff off. Stop telling others what the "right" thing is to do. All children deserve an education. Privilege has nothing to do with it.

This. A million times this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are privileged economically, are in a one working parent household, have family around to assist with childcare, you should pull your child from the public school systems and figure out a way to distance learn. Leave the public system for those that truly need to utilize it. This will create less stress on that system organizationally, and with health risks.

I am just a parent with no background in anything education, but here is what I propose you do if you are actually able to - even if it a bit harder for you and your family to do;

1) Families need to come together and create mini cohorts of students. 3-5 student groups that can learn the necessities a few hours a day, together. Done in a mixed in person plus virtual environment.
2) These cohort families need to decide whether they wish to make use of the willing adult bodies that are part of their families, or hire a "teacher" to instruct.
3) They should decide on the best location/s for the in person experience and how it set up. Maybe there is Covid consultancy company that exists that helps people/companies create best layouts for given space. Outdoor learning spaces being ideal.
4) The government needs to step up and offer some sort of rebate, subsidy, grant that makes this more possible for families to have a stay at home learning experience.
5) Instead of pushing for public schools to open fully to everyone, they need to think smarter and shift the paradigm, as they say. We can, and should have, more than 1 learning environment. DC public schools, in particular, stink, and they have needed a refresh for a long time. We do not need to focus on testing and scores so that our schools look better, we need to focus on teaching to learn, safely.

To the bashers that want nothing more than to see kids streaming back into schools this fall, I am not sending mine. The risk is not worth it. Learning while clearly important, does not weigh as heavily on my conscious as does human life and long term health. My kid can catch up the intricacies of algebra next year.

We do not how dangerous the Covid virus truly is, and I am not guinea pigging my kid out, to see what happens.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/doctors-concerned-that-covid-19-may-be-harming-lungs-of-children
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/health/coronavirus-brain-damage-study-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/dozens-more-cases-reported-of-neurological-problems-in-covid-19-67717

Sure, and how is my family, or my cohort of families, supposed to achieve #4?

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, I wonder which parent will be able to teach my kid AP Statistics? AP Physics?

[Anonymous]

OP, pulling your child does not help other children. It hurts them. Children need to be in school. School includes classmates, which includes your children.

Send your children to school.

[Anonymous]

This is a pretty obnoxious post, op, even by dcum standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am going to use the distance learning provided by the school system. They need our taxpayer dollars now more than ever.

Goody Goody for you. Mine are going to school. Let's check back in five years and see who made the right decision.

Welp. We're going to continue with homeschooling, where my child has been thriving for three years. Other than not being able to attend in person classes, her education continued without missing a beat. She actually finished all subjects at the end of April, took a one month break and began her summer studies. I'll also check in in five years.