What am I missing about the difficulty of distance learning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys remember that pandemic that was totally easy and no one had to make any sacrifices and it was over before you knew it? Me either because it doesn't exist. I cannot understand why people think that everything should carry on as normal and their children or their families won't have any hardship from this. Pandemics are awful for everyone! You're supposed to hate it and so are your kids.

"Everything should be normal with no hardships!" is something nobody is saying.

"Sorry, kid, it's a pandemic, don't expect to get an education in the next year or two" is something some people are apparently quite comfortable saying, but I'm not.

Good news! Nobody is saying "don't expect to get an education." You will still get one, little Johnny. Just, since we're in a pandemic, it will not be in a pile of bricks crammed in with way too many other people, putting everyone at risk. Your parents (well, your Mom) will probably bitch, but you will still get that education.

Some kids will. Some kids kinda will. Many kids won't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys remember that pandemic that was totally easy and no one had to make any sacrifices and it was over before you knew it? Me either because it doesn't exist. I cannot understand why people think that everything should carry on as normal and their children or their families won't have any hardship from this. Pandemics are awful for everyone! You're supposed to hate it and so are your kids.

"Everything should be normal with no hardships!" is something nobody is saying.

"Sorry, kid, it's a pandemic, don't expect to get an education in the next year or two" is something some people are apparently quite comfortable saying, but I'm not.

Good news! Nobody is saying "don't expect to get an education." You will still get one, little Johnny. Just, since we're in a pandemic, it will not be in a pile of bricks crammed in with way too many other people, putting everyone at risk. Your parents (well, your Mom) will probably bitch, but you will still get that education.

Some kids will. Some kids kinda will. Many kids won't.

Same with regular school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys remember that pandemic that was totally easy and no one had to make any sacrifices and it was over before you knew it? Me either because it doesn't exist. I cannot understand why people think that everything should carry on as normal and their children or their families won't have any hardship from this. Pandemics are awful for everyone! You're supposed to hate it and so are your kids.

"Everything should be normal with no hardships!" is something nobody is saying.

"Sorry, kid, it's a pandemic, don't expect to get an education in the next year or two" is something some people are apparently quite comfortable saying, but I'm not.

Good news! Nobody is saying "don't expect to get an education." You will still get one, little Johnny. Just, since we're in a pandemic, it will not be in a pile of bricks crammed in with way too many other people, putting everyone at risk. Your parents (well, your Mom) will probably bitch, but you will still get that education.

Some kids will. Some kids kinda will. Many kids won't.

Same with regular school.

Well, if you think that more kids will get an education with Remote School than with School School, then should we expect to continue with Remote School after the pandemic is finally under control? Just think about how much money we'll save on public education if we can just prop kids up in front of a screen at home. Get rid of maintenance staff and bus drivers, sell off the school buildings, get rid of most of the teachers... Betsy DeVos's dream come true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't they just have the teachers in the classrooms with a camera live streaming the classes? It would just be like a regular class except students would be at home.
The kids could then cycle through each of their 8 periods each day.

They can’t afford soap in my school district. How do you think think they can afford cameras in every classroom. Here is a partial list of things we need before cameras: air conditioning that actually works, clean bathroom, paper towels, soap, sufficient bottled water (lead in the pipes), a functional dehumidifier in our building (the walls and floors are slick with moisture when the a/c runs), no mold, no dripping water causing mold, a classroom for every teacher (we are close to 200% capacity), one-to-one devices, a FT nurse, more paras, substitutes so we don’t have to combine classes or pull other teachers in to sub), security at school, more money for supplies (we run out of copy paper by April), a good curriculum, effective rodent and pest control (who needs a class pet when you have lots of them), money to renovate our school because we are crammed in like sardines, technology in the classroom (most Smartboards don’t work because when the bulb blows out, they are too expensive to replace).....................

Don't you just need an iPad or a laptop with zoom?

I work for an international non-profit with offices all over. Our business is mostly conductive virtually, as are the technical learning programs we deliver to staff. I’m talking about a 90 min webinar, I’m talking about a full day, or two hours every day for two weeks. And it doesn’t involve cameras in the classroom and NSA level tech. It requires WiFi and laptops, and perhaps most importantly (and the weak spot here) an understanding of bended learning design. IT costs are not prohibitive. They have ... stands ...to hold iPads.

I am concerned for my child (elementary) about losing social interactions and building those skills. But we are in a pandemic. We have to collaboratively figure it out.

Think about it--how would a teacher instruct a class in person and stream the class using just an iPad or laptop with zoom? Who will hold the iPad and follow the teacher around as they teach the students in the class? Even if the teacher stayed in front of the class, he or she would be limited to the area covered by the laptop camera and microphone, which is limited to the device screen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School is boring enough for most MS and HS students as it is. In-person there are more stimuli and fewer choices. Plus there is peer pressure and teacher-pressure to tune in. So much harder at home, so much harder alone.

Why are they alone? Don't most parents make their kids go to school? How is this any different?

Because they are sitting alone in a room with a screen. They are also missing the teacher who is walking around the room telling them to stop talking and start working. They may have the zoom on, but that doesn't mean they are actually paying attention and tuning in.

Thats pretty solvable. Be sure to ask each kid questions randomly. Take points off if they aren't paying attention. Oh i forgot we dont ask students to bare repercussions anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys remember that pandemic that was totally easy and no one had to make any sacrifices and it was over before you knew it? Me either because it doesn't exist. I cannot understand why people think that everything should carry on as normal and their children or their families won't have any hardship from this. Pandemics are awful for everyone! You're supposed to hate it and so are your kids.

"Everything should be normal with no hardships!" is something nobody is saying.

"Sorry, kid, it's a pandemic, don't expect to get an education in the next year or two" is something some people are apparently quite comfortable saying, but I'm not.

Good news! Nobody is saying "don't expect to get an education." You will still get one, little Johnny. Just, since we're in a pandemic, it will not be in a pile of bricks crammed in with way too many other people, putting everyone at risk. Your parents (well, your Mom) will probably bitch, but you will still get that education.

Some kids will. Some kids kinda will. Many kids won't.

Same with regular school.

Well, if you think that more kids will get an education with Remote School than with School School, then should we expect to continue with Remote School after the pandemic is finally under control? Just think about how much money we'll save on public education if we can just prop kids up in front of a screen at home. Get rid of maintenance staff and bus drivers, sell off the school buildings, get rid of most of the teachers... Betsy DeVos's dream come true.

Focus please. We aren’t comparing remote school to regular school. We are comparing fully remote school to a hybrid of distanced in-person and remote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School is boring enough for most MS and HS students as it is. In-person there are more stimuli and fewer choices. Plus there is peer pressure and teacher-pressure to tune in. So much harder at home, so much harder alone.

Why are they alone? Don't most parents make their kids go to school? How is this any different?

They are alone because their parents are...wait for it...working. The entire point is that parents cannot be home schooling, they have jobs.

I mean, they are alone because they are distance learning individually in their homes. Is that difficult to understand? Teens are pack animals. Just being in a group setting makes things easier for many of them.

We are choosing DL for our teens, but I don't think it's easy at all. And sadly I think that the attempts to basically replicate IP learning at home via the internet does a lot to expose the flaws in the system without leveraging the opportunities posed by DL. That will come, in due time. But in the meantime, it's going to be very challenging for all of us.

And, hey, if DL is easy for you and your family, then great! That is a good thing and I'm genuinely glad that a good option is open to you.

My kids are participating in pack activities online for hours a day. They're playing on line games with groups of other kids. How is this different?

Because it’s voluntary screen usage, whereas DL is not. Kids tune out. Parents aren’t used to monitoring screen usage because it functions as an entertainer/babysitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys remember that pandemic that was totally easy and no one had to make any sacrifices and it was over before you knew it? Me either because it doesn't exist. I cannot understand why people think that everything should carry on as normal and their children or their families won't have any hardship from this. Pandemics are awful for everyone! You're supposed to hate it and so are your kids.

"Everything should be normal with no hardships!" is something nobody is saying.

"Sorry, kid, it's a pandemic, don't expect to get an education in the next year or two" is something some people are apparently quite comfortable saying, but I'm not.

Good news! Nobody is saying "don't expect to get an education." You will still get one, little Johnny. Just, since we're in a pandemic, it will not be in a pile of bricks crammed in with way too many other people, putting everyone at risk. Your parents (well, your Mom) will probably bitch, but you will still get that education.

Some kids will. Some kids kinda will. Many kids won't.

Same with regular school.

Well, if you think that more kids will get an education with Remote School than with School School, then should we expect to continue with Remote School after the pandemic is finally under control? Just think about how much money we'll save on public education if we can just prop kids up in front of a screen at home. Get rid of maintenance staff and bus drivers, sell off the school buildings, get rid of most of the teachers... Betsy DeVos's dream come true.

Focus please. We aren’t comparing remote school to regular school. We are comparing fully remote school to a hybrid of distanced in-person and remote.

Actually, we're wondering whether how much of their education our children will miss during the pandemic, or at least that's what I'm wondering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP DL can work ok for HS and middle school, but it doesn't work for ES at all. The younger the kid, the more quickly they tune out, need redirection and engagement, socialization and physical help. What you are describing sounds ok for 16 year olds - and even then it will still not work well.

I can tell you are a parent of young kids. How do you propose to teach AP Physics via DL? Or any serious science class with a lot of lab time? Same for lots of other HS classes. The world does not revolve around your 5yo; all kids need in-person classes if possible.

Seriously, these SAHMs and helicopter Moms are giddy that they can have their kids home 24/7 controlling every aspect of their lives. They have no idea nor do they care about upper school learning and how this will affect HS learners. Little Jimmy is thriving in his 2nd grade Zooms!

I think the younger kids are the ones not doing well with zoom. High school kids -- what's the issue exactly?

I often think that people have entirely forgotten what they were like when they were in high school.

No, I'm 22. I actually took some online college classes to graduate early. It takes discipline and some kind of motivation. In my case I wanted HS to be done and live my life.

I'm also a special education teacher (elementary) and most of my kids did great with group and 1 on 1 lessons. But I'm pretty sure since they weren't dirt boring that helped.
DL can be done with little kids for about 2 hours (live lessons)

I do feel bad parents have to be a facilitator but now you get more knowledge on how to teach your child. (I am a parent of a 3 month year old btw). My husband is also learning a lot lol. We are all going to have to make sacrifices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School is boring enough for most MS and HS students as it is. In-person there are more stimuli and fewer choices. Plus there is peer pressure and teacher-pressure to tune in. So much harder at home, so much harder alone.

Why are they alone? Don't most parents make their kids go to school? How is this any different?

They are alone because their parents are...wait for it...working. The entire point is that parents cannot be home schooling, they have jobs.

I mean, they are alone because they are distance learning individually in their homes. Is that difficult to understand? Teens are pack animals. Just being in a group setting makes things easier for many of them.

We are choosing DL for our teens, but I don't think it's easy at all. And sadly I think that the attempts to basically replicate IP learning at home via the internet does a lot to expose the flaws in the system without leveraging the opportunities posed by DL. That will come, in due time. But in the meantime, it's going to be very challenging for all of us.

And, hey, if DL is easy for you and your family, then great! That is a good thing and I'm genuinely glad that a good option is open to you.

My kids are participating in pack activities online for hours a day. They're playing on line games with groups of other kids. How is this different?

Because it’s voluntary screen usage, whereas DL is not. Kids tune out. Parents aren’t used to monitoring screen usage because it functions as an entertainer/babysitter.

Kids tune out in the classroom. Kids tune out during DL. Kids tune out.

[Anonymous]

One-on-one lessons would work for short periods for elementary students. Maybe two kids to one teacher. But get anything more than that and have them sit there for longer, and you lose them.

The only way I could see it working is if teachers met with two kids for 10-15 minutes on a rotating basis all day, maybe giving them some small assignment to complete on their own afterwards. Of course, then the parents need to be there to help because they won't be able to or simply won't do it otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Most people want their kids to have regular school but just online until they see it actually happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for at a public university and we explored the idea of placing cameras in classrooms to implement a live hybrid model. The cost was $250K+ to outfit classrooms with cameras, AV equipment and quality microphones, plus labor costs. It would cost MCPS at least $1M. No way the county can cover the cost.

$1 million dollars? Easy peasy. Fire librarians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and specials teachers that are not working. Boom. There is at least a $1MM.

That is a piece of cake from the budget. That is literally 4-5 administrations salaries. You also can every teacher not needed. Chorus, band, sports, PE, music, librarian, cafeteria workers, extra secretary and extra VP’s in each school. Long list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP DL can work ok for HS and middle school, but it doesn't work for ES at all. The younger the kid, the more quickly they tune out, need redirection and engagement, socialization and physical help. What you are describing sounds ok for 16 year olds - and even then it will still not work well.

I can tell you are a parent of young kids. How do you propose to teach AP Physics via DL? Or any serious science class with a lot of lab time? Same for lots of other HS classes. The world does not revolve around your 5yo; all kids need in-person classes if possible.

Seriously, these SAHMs and helicopter Moms are giddy that they can have their kids home 24/7 controlling every aspect of their lives. They have no idea nor do they care about upper school learning and how this will affect HS learners. Little Jimmy is thriving in his 2nd grade Zooms!

I think the younger kids are the ones not doing well with zoom. High school kids -- what's the issue exactly?

I often think that people have entirely forgotten what they were like when they were in high school.

No, I'm 22. I actually took some online college classes to graduate early. It takes discipline and some kind of motivation. In my case I wanted HS to be done and live my life.

I'm also a special education teacher (elementary) and most of my kids did great with group and 1 on 1 lessons. But I'm pretty sure since they weren't dirt boring that helped.
DL can be done with little kids for about 2 hours (live lessons)

I do feel bad parents have to be a facilitator but now you get more knowledge on how to teach your child. (I am a parent of a 3 month year old btw). My husband is also learning a lot lol. We are all going to have to make sacrifices.

How. The he!!. Are working parents. Supposed to do this???

We all have to make sacrifices. Cool. Like one of us has to quit our job. That loss of half our income, just wave it away as a sacrifice we all have to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No, I'm 22. I actually took some online college classes to graduate early. It takes discipline and some kind of motivation. In my case I wanted HS to be done and live my life.

I'm also a special education teacher (elementary) and most of my kids did great with group and 1 on 1 lessons. But I'm pretty sure since they weren't dirt boring that helped.
DL can be done with little kids for about 2 hours (live lessons)

I do feel bad parents have to be a facilitator but now you get more knowledge on how to teach your child. (I am a parent of a 3 month year old btw). My husband is also learning a lot lol. We are all going to have to make sacrifices.

Yep, and those of us with the fewest resources and the most vulnerabilities will have to make the most sacrifices.

My tolerance for "it's a pandemic! this is just how it is!" is rapidly approaching zero.