After This Last School Year, Is Anyone Leaving for Private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the MCPS bashers. I've seen other public school systems, having moved a lot for secondary and higher education as well as for jobs, and there are a lot of poorly run school systems out there. I'd gladly pick MCPS over all of them.

By the end of the year my daughter's math teacher did the tests live with the whole class, giving them the answers. Things are not okay.

Was this Middle School?

My kid’s MS Science teacher would also straight up give the kids the answers. The kids just had to show up, copy down what the teacher said, and they would get an A.

Would you believe some kids in the class STILL didn’t do the work? What the actual F? Even my kid was puzzled by that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the MCPS bashers. I've seen other public school systems, having moved a lot for secondary and higher education as well as for jobs, and there are a lot of poorly run school systems out there. I'd gladly pick MCPS over all of them.

By the end of the year my daughter's math teacher did the tests live with the whole class, giving them the answers. Things are not okay.

Was this Middle School?

My kid’s MS Science teacher would also straight up give the kids the answers. The kids just had to show up, copy down what the teacher said, and they would get an A.

Would you believe some kids in the class STILL didn’t do the work? What the actual F? Even my kid was puzzled by that.

Last Fall, MCPS changed the grading system so not turning in an assignment got you 50% instead of 0%, and you could take more classes pass/fail compared to before. So if you just do 1-2 assingments, that'll put you over the % you need to pass (60%?) since not doing it gave you a 50%. MCPS cooked the books basically.

We moved to private last year. There was no such chicanery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Last Fall, MCPS changed the grading system so not turning in an assignment got you 50% instead of 0%, and you could take more classes pass/fail compared to before. So if you just do 1-2 assingments, that'll put you over the % you need to pass (60%?) since not doing it gave you a 50%. MCPS cooked the books basically.

We moved to private last year. There was no such chicanery.

No, that's not what "cooking the books" means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the MCPS bashers. I've seen other public school systems, having moved a lot for secondary and higher education as well as for jobs, and there are a lot of poorly run school systems out there. I'd gladly pick MCPS over all of them.

By the end of the year my daughter's math teacher did the tests live with the whole class, giving them the answers. Things are not okay.

I heard this pandemic was just a hoax perpetrated by the teachers union so their members could lounge at the beach while "teaching"!

The maturity of posts like this (assume from a teacher) shows exactly what they think of giving our children an education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't blame you.

I just hope that in the future we as a society can recognize that stopping in person learning has real consequences. Education is essential (and for large numbers of students, does not work virtually).

We were in a tough place, with no easy answers. Yes, school sucked for a lot of kids, mine included. How many more people might have died with 100% in-person school? I'm not qualified to answer that, but I can say I think we lost enough lives as it was.

We know that schools could have reopened safely with precautions in place.

We saw this happen in other parts of the country. And we saw it happen right here with private schools.

MCPS stayed closed longer than most other school systems in the US. That had too many negative effects.

Most of that information is in hindsight. The schools that opened up were doing an experiment with insufficient and evolving data. They weren’t smart they were lucky. I’m a public school parent and the sibling of a public school teacher and I am glad that they put the health and safety of my sibling and that of the children first.

Sure. And we were really UNlucky that our kids were kept out of school buildings for over a year. For no good reason.

Ah the Monday morning quarterback. We were unlucky there was a global pandemic. Most people
Did the best they could with the info they had. The idea that any of this was easier for the teachers and schools is laughable. Too bad you can’t or won’t look past the end of your own nose. We are very lucky this virus isn’t killing very many kids…..yet.

+1

It's not "Monday morning quarterbacking" if we were saying it last summer. We knew closing schools would have horribly harmful effects. And it was a political decision. The proof of that to me is that MCPS didn't even offer PEP in person, while child care programs were operating for the same ages in MCPS facilities. What on earth is more freaking essential than early intervention for preschool-aged children with developmental delays? This was about the union flexing it's muscle to "prove" teachers have more power than other workers. And it was a really dumb decision - as many have pointed out this past year has been hell for teachers. Guess what, it didn't need to be. Education is essential.

What’s more important ? Umm hundreds of thousands dead for one. Just because YOU thought we should go back does not mean that the science supported that. This was a novel virus, still is. Last summer they didn’t know why it wasn’t affecting kids the same and they still don’t. The decision made in the south was just AS political if not more. No one really knew where this was going so they made the best decision they could with the Information and resources they had. I love the idea the the union has so much power. They chose to flex their power so they could make their job twice as hard? Hmm wouldn’t you think if they had the power you think they do they would flex it for more funding, more supports and more freedom to teach as they like and not to the test. You are just upset that someone got something you wanted and you are looking to blame someone in a situation where there is no one to blame except Mother Nature or God. If they had opened and thousands of kids and teachers had died I’m sure you’d be first in line to call them stupid. They can’t win. Be glad that you and your family are well in the middle of a global pandemic. Sheesh

Very true! Sadly some felt this was an inconvenience because into their me time and complained about it without regard for the risks to their children or others.

Oh yeah it's really "inconvenient" to be denied early intervention.services for a developmentally delayed young child (or told that virtual is "fine") The reality is that during the pandemic the private sector provided the essential services that that the public sector (specifically public school systems) refused to provide, services that only the wealthy could access. That choice is going to undermine public education for a long time.

What you fail to understand is that in the public system, what they do for one they must do for all. I was one of the people who from the beginning was supporting bringing back the Special Ed kids, low income, even kids and others at risk identified by counseling and spreading them out but they aren’t allowed to do that. Had they done that they would have been inundated with complaints from perfectly fine kids because someone got something their kid didn’t whether they needed it or not. As I said before, they cannot win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What you fail to understand is that in the public system, what they do for one they must do for all. I was one of the people who from the beginning was supporting bringing back the Special Ed kids, low income, even kids and others at risk identified by counseling and spreading them out but they aren’t allowed to do that. Had they done that they would have been inundated with complaints from perfectly fine kids because someone got something their kid didn’t whether they needed it or not. As I said before, they cannot win.

Were they not inundated by complaints this past year?

[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:I don't blame you.

I just hope that in the future we as a society can recognize that stopping in person learning has real consequences. Education is essential (and for large numbers of students, does not work virtually).

We were in a tough place, with no easy answers. Yes, school sucked for a lot of kids, mine included. How many more people might have died with 100% in-person school? I'm not qualified to answer that, but I can say I think we lost enough lives as it was.

We know that schools could have reopened safely with precautions in place.

We saw this happen in other parts of the country. And we saw it happen right here with private schools.

MCPS stayed closed longer than most other school systems in the US. That had too many negative effects.

Most of that information is in hindsight. The schools that opened up were doing an experiment with insufficient and evolving data. They weren’t smart they were lucky. I’m a public school parent and the sibling of a public school teacher and I am glad that they put the health and safety of my sibling and that of the children first.

Sure. And we were really UNlucky that our kids were kept out of school buildings for over a year. For no good reason.

Ah the Monday morning quarterback. We were unlucky there was a global pandemic. Most people
Did the best they could with the info they had. The idea that any of this was easier for the teachers and schools is laughable. Too bad you can’t or won’t look past the end of your own nose. We are very lucky this virus isn’t killing very many kids…..yet.

+1

It's not "Monday morning quarterbacking" if we were saying it last summer. We knew closing schools would have horribly harmful effects. And it was a political decision. The proof of that to me is that MCPS didn't even offer PEP in person, while child care programs were operating for the same ages in MCPS facilities. What on earth is more freaking essential than early intervention for preschool-aged children with developmental delays? This was about the union flexing it's muscle to "prove" teachers have more power than other workers. And it was a really dumb decision - as many have pointed out this past year has been hell for teachers. Guess what, it didn't need to be. Education is essential.

What’s more important ? Umm hundreds of thousands dead for one. Just because YOU thought we should go back does not mean that the science supported that. This was a novel virus, still is. Last summer they didn’t know why it wasn’t affecting kids the same and they still don’t. The decision made in the south was just AS political if not more. No one really knew where this was going so they made the best decision they could with the Information and resources they had. I love the idea the the union has so much power. They chose to flex their power so they could make their job twice as hard? Hmm wouldn’t you think if they had the power you think they do they would flex it for more funding, more supports and more freedom to teach as they like and not to the test. You are just upset that someone got something you wanted and you are looking to blame someone in a situation where there is no one to blame except Mother Nature or God. If they had opened and thousands of kids and teachers had died I’m sure you’d be first in line to call them stupid. They can’t win. Be glad that you and your family are well in the middle of a global pandemic. Sheesh

Very true! Sadly some felt this was an inconvenience because into their me time and complained about it without regard for the risks to their children or others.

Oh yeah it's really "inconvenient" to be denied early intervention.services for a developmentally delayed young child (or told that virtual is "fine") The reality is that during the pandemic the private sector provided the essential services that that the public sector (specifically public school systems) refused to provide, services that only the wealthy could access. That choice is going to undermine public education for a long time.

What you fail to understand is that in the public system, what they do for one they must do for all. I was one of the people who from the beginning was supporting bringing back the Special Ed kids, low income, even kids and others at risk identified by counseling and spreading them out but they aren’t allowed to do that. Had they done that they would have been inundated with complaints from perfectly fine kids because someone got something their kid didn’t whether they needed it or not. As I said before, they cannot win.

You can support it all you want but reality is many of these families choose not to return last spring in person.

MCPS has always been terrible with services. Many of us have spent a fortune for private services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the MCPS bashers. I've seen other public school systems, having moved a lot for secondary and higher education as well as for jobs, and there are a lot of poorly run school systems out there. I'd gladly pick MCPS over all of them.

By the end of the year my daughter's math teacher did the tests live with the whole class, giving them the answers. Things are not okay.

Was this Middle School?

My kid’s MS Science teacher would also straight up give the kids the answers. The kids just had to show up, copy down what the teacher said, and they would get an A.

Would you believe some kids in the class STILL didn’t do the work? What the actual F? Even my kid was puzzled by that.

That was not at our MS. We did have one teacher who kept messing up assignments and would give the kids c/d's and you'd have to complain to her and she'd fix it (the grade made no sense as why bother doing the work at that point).

[Anonymous]

Really sorry to hear so many struggled with the situation but at both my kids schools the teachers went above and beyond to make it work. I have nothing but praise for them. All I had to do was get them in front of the Chromebook with camera on. The rest took care of itself but even this small effort was too daunting for many parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the MCPS bashers. I've seen other public school systems, having moved a lot for secondary and higher education as well as for jobs, and there are a lot of poorly run school systems out there. I'd gladly pick MCPS over all of them.

By the end of the year my daughter's math teacher did the tests live with the whole class, giving them the answers. Things are not okay.

Was this Middle School?

My kid’s MS Science teacher would also straight up give the kids the answers. The kids just had to show up, copy down what the teacher said, and they would get an A.

Would you believe some kids in the class STILL didn’t do the work? What the actual F? Even my kid was puzzled by that.

That was not at our MS. We did have one teacher who kept messing up assignments and would give the kids c/d's and you'd have to complain to her and she'd fix it (the grade made no sense as why bother doing the work at that point).

That's terrible! You should definitely go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really sorry to hear so many struggled with the situation but at both my kids schools the teachers went above and beyond to make it work. I have nothing but praise for them. All I had to do was get them in front of the Chromebook with camera on. The rest took care of itself but even this small effort was too daunting for many parents.

Which school cluster are you in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Last Fall, MCPS changed the grading system so not turning in an assignment got you 50% instead of 0%, and you could take more classes pass/fail compared to before. So if you just do 1-2 assingments, that'll put you over the % you need to pass (60%?) since not doing it gave you a 50%. MCPS cooked the books basically.

We moved to private last year. There was no such chicanery.

No, that's not what "cooking the books" means.

Call it what you want. Are the facts correct?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really sorry to hear so many struggled with the situation but at both my kids schools the teachers went above and beyond to make it work. I have nothing but praise for them. All I had to do was get them in front of the Chromebook with camera on. The rest took care of itself but even this small effort was too daunting for many parents.

Did you hear the part where parents whonwere sitting with their kids all day long witnessed teacher lead cheating and lack of instruction? Test scores don't lie. There's a huge problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really sorry to hear so many struggled with the situation but at both my kids schools the teachers went above and beyond to make it work. I have nothing but praise for them. All I had to do was get them in front of the Chromebook with camera on. The rest took care of itself but even this small effort was too daunting for many parents.

Did you hear the part where parents whonwere sitting with their kids all day long witnessed teacher lead cheating and lack of instruction? Test scores don't lie. There's a huge problem.

And what I saw personally was teachers working really hard and a few students tuned out completely. Seems like your school's very different than ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really sorry to hear so many struggled with the situation but at both my kids schools the teachers went above and beyond to make it work. I have nothing but praise for them. All I had to do was get them in front of the Chromebook with camera on. The rest took care of itself but even this small effort was too daunting for many parents.

Did you hear the part where parents whonwere sitting with their kids all day long witnessed teacher lead cheating and lack of instruction? Test scores don't lie. There's a huge problem.

And what I saw personally was teachers working really hard and a few students tuned out completely. Seems like your school's very different than ours.

It is unfortunate that there is such disparity amongst schools. Shouldn’t all schools have offered a robust curriculum online?

My kid missed about 30% of what was supposed to be covered in Algebra this year, and they simply cancelled the Proficiency Test. I know for a fact they missed lessons because we ended up signing her up for an online class to fill in the gaps.