4th grade dropouts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Are you all parents of young children?

Because please realize that teaching basic math and reading comprehension to elementary schoolers is... easy. There is nothing easier, unless your child has special needs or you have a particular hardship at home.

Again, unless there is a serious issue in the home, there is no excuse for 4th graders forgetting multiplications or experiencing other forms of academic regression. This is entirely on the parents.

I homeschooled my son with special needs years ago. I know the hard work it entails. I also have a normally-functioning child and never have to supervise anything - the learning happens without me.

Did you homeschool while also working a FT job? Was that easy? This is nonsense.

That should be easy when you understand how little instructional time there is in elementary school.

I homeschooled while working FT. It can be done - a little in the evenings, on weekends, and in the summer. It doesn't have to happen September to June from 8-3. The upper elementary content could be covered in about 15 hours a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it always the same poster who complains about regression? Because that's not normal, and shouldn't happen if your child attends their virtual learning and you do your parenting job.

Do you check the homework? You must, every day.
Also check for organization, and that your child knows what to hand in when.
Multiplication is supposed to be practiced regularly at home until it's solid. Ask for one table a day.

I think your mistake is thinking that you can be totally hands-off as your child grows older. This isn't preschool. Even if your child were in the building, you'd need to help your child memorize their multiplication tables. I don't know one parent who hasn't helped their child to practice this!

Essentially, this is a failure of understanding your changing role as a parent of a grade-school child.

Go back to sleep, granny. We'll wake you when your life experience is relevant.

I have a 5th grader and a 10th grader and I'm 40. I know what I'm talking about. Stop dodging.

My kids have no interest in anything educational after all day online learning. They have headaches and hate school. Should I just beat them until they do their extra multiplication tables?

Yes. You need to develop their resilience. Don't let them whine their way out of it. Also review their virtual learning set-up - over-the-ear headphones, not earbuds. The latter are painful and could very well lead to headaches.Perhaps they're too close to their screen. Encourage them to move about during each break, look out of the window every now and then, drink water...

[Anonymous]

What's apparent on this thread is that some parents are blaming virtual learning for educational problems their kids would have had anyway, just because their kids need a little more hand-holding and the parents are not providing it. At some point, if this had been a normal year, the teacher would have made noises and grades would have slipped and perhaps the parents would have come on DCUM to ask for help and eventually gotten a tutor or helped their kids themselves. But in the current situation, it's really easy for those parents to just blame virtual learning.

[Anonymous]

Can I please remind all of you that 4th grade is a big step up from 3rd, in terms of reading comprehension, math and writing. This is when elementary gets serious.

So what you're seeing can be normal difficulties some students face in 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What's apparent on this thread is that some parents are blaming virtual learning for educational problems their kids would have had anyway, just because their kids need a little more hand-holding and the parents are not providing it. At some point, if this had been a normal year, the teacher would have made noises and grades would have slipped and perhaps the parents would have come on DCUM to ask for help and eventually gotten a tutor or helped their kids themselves. But in the current situation, it's really easy for those parents to just blame virtual learning.

Knee-jerk blaming the OP is fun but wrong.

FCPS knows that they're doing a miserable job. Did you watch the meeting yesterday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it always the same poster who complains about regression? Because that's not normal, and shouldn't happen if your child attends their virtual learning and you do your parenting job.

Do you check the homework? You must, every day.
Also check for organization, and that your child knows what to hand in when.
Multiplication is supposed to be practiced regularly at home until it's solid. Ask for one table a day.

I think your mistake is thinking that you can be totally hands-off as your child grows older. This isn't preschool. Even if your child were in the building, you'd need to help your child memorize their multiplication tables. I don't know one parent who hasn't helped their child to practice this!

Essentially, this is a failure of understanding your changing role as a parent of a grade-school child.

You think there is just one child in northern va public school who has experienced a year of summer slide? And that parent posts on here repeatedly? Any kid whose parents are not regularly supplementing with a different curriculum or paying for tutors has regressed this year.

Not my kids.

But I think kids of educated UMC parents dropping out in elementary for the rest of the year is absolutely fine. It’s not like the kid won’t make it up next year.

If you aren't supplementing, your kids have regressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they were in school face to face, they came home excited to tell me about their day and show me what they were working on. Now they log off and cry for hours.

Well, that's the point. How excited were you after a day of calculus in person?

DP. I enjoyed my calculus class. Now my poor kids are stuck yelling at a penguin.

Some of us are scientists and engineers. We like calculus. Differential equations I hated with a passion.

That was not my point, but if you need to hear it - I am very very much impressed that you learned differential equations in HS and hurried back to discuss them with your parents.

To the parents of less impressive kids: the older the kids get, the fewer of them will excitingly tell you parents about their school work, be it online or f-2-f course. School becomes work, not just a social outlet, and many parents need to provide support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not really sure what it means to be honest. I'm not signing up for a homeschooling program. My husband and I both work although our hours are flexible. This afternoon we just all sort of hit the wall. My kids had epic meltdowns after school - my daughter crying endlessly about her headache - and then I got another email from FCPS pushing back distance learning and we decided we can't do it anymore.

Take the weekend to just relax and let the kids be kids. You can come up with a plan next week.

Signed,
Mom who pulled her kid out of second grade NOT during the pandemic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Can I please remind all of you that 4th grade is a big step up from 3rd, in terms of reading comprehension, math and writing. This is when elementary gets serious.

So what you're seeing can be normal difficulties some students face in 4th grade.

No, that's 3rd and 5th. Those are the big step up grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can I please remind all of you that 4th grade is a big step up from 3rd, in terms of reading comprehension, math and writing. This is when elementary gets serious.

So what you're seeing can be normal difficulties some students face in 4th grade.

No, that's 3rd and 5th. Those are the big step up grades.

Imagine how much more of a step up 5th will be when you dropped out of 4th!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not really sure what it means to be honest. I'm not signing up for a homeschooling program. My husband and I both work although our hours are flexible. This afternoon we just all sort of hit the wall. My kids had epic meltdowns after school - my daughter crying endlessly about her headache - and then I got another email from FCPS pushing back distance learning and we decided we can't do it anymore.

Are you familiar with Virginia’s compulsory education laws?

How can it be compulsory if the state fails to provide an education? Sounds like a great defense to me. Let the county try to defend its alleged educational services this year.

They are providing an education. You are choosing not to partake.

We can call this online screen dribble a lot of things but it is definitely not an education. FCPS dropped the ball and essentially gave up. You can't blame the parents for doing the same.

You really need to start holding your principal accountable. My kid does not love distance learning but she has learned a lot this year. She just took a big math test, a quarter social studies test, and a science test on a unit about the oceans. She has also read two class novels this year and completed at least five projects. Distance learning is possible but it starts with the admin at your school and the expectations they have for teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What's apparent on this thread is that some parents are blaming virtual learning for educational problems their kids would have had anyway, just because their kids need a little more hand-holding and the parents are not providing it. At some point, if this had been a normal year, the teacher would have made noises and grades would have slipped and perhaps the parents would have come on DCUM to ask for help and eventually gotten a tutor or helped their kids themselves. But in the current situation, it's really easy for those parents to just blame virtual learning.

Those same parents should get a tutor or work with their kids. We always supplemented in ES as the curriculum doesn't cover everything. Most kids need handholding. That's part of being a parent. You cannot just expect an ES student to be fully independent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they were in school face to face, they came home excited to tell me about their day and show me what they were working on. Now they log off and cry for hours.

Well, that's the point. How excited were you after a day of calculus in person?

DP. I enjoyed my calculus class. Now my poor kids are stuck yelling at a penguin.

They do not have to do ST Math. My fifth grader has not since the second week of school, however, all actual assignments by her teacher are completed and she is learning new material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. I enjoyed my calculus class. Now my poor kids are stuck yelling at a penguin.

Above comment probably shouldn't have made me laugh as much as it did, but yep, yelling so much over here surprised hasn't been noise complaint "COME ON, PENGUIN!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not really sure what it means to be honest. I'm not signing up for a homeschooling program. My husband and I both work although our hours are flexible. This afternoon we just all sort of hit the wall. My kids had epic meltdowns after school - my daughter crying endlessly about her headache - and then I got another email from FCPS pushing back distance learning and we decided we can't do it anymore.

Are you familiar with Virginia’s compulsory education laws?

How can it be compulsory if the state fails to provide an education? Sounds like a great defense to me. Let the county try to defend its alleged educational services this year.

They are providing an education. You are choosing not to partake.

We can call this online screen dribble a lot of things but it is definitely not an education. FCPS dropped the ball and essentially gave up. You can't blame the parents for doing the same.

You really need to start holding your principal accountable. My kid does not love distance learning but she has learned a lot this year. She just took a big math test, a quarter social studies test, and a science test on a unit about the oceans. She has also read two class novels this year and completed at least five projects. Distance learning is possible but it starts with the admin at your school and the expectations they have for teachers.

Novels? My 5th and 6th graders haven’t had any novels or even reading groups.