Why can't teachers teach from their classrooms to the online learners and a few in class students?

[Anonymous]

I'm honestly at a loss as to why teachers are at any more risk than everyone else who's been working this entire pandemic? I just saw a news report that Fairfax High School the teachers are teaching a few students from their classroom and their is a camera pointing at them to teach everyone else at home and they'll slowly add other students if this model goes well. Why can't we do this? We have to learn to live with this pandemic. It's not going away. What is it that makes teachers at a higher risk than the rest of us that have worked the entire time and are taking as much precautions as one can given what we know. Can't they at least try? If it's a disaster then reassess but at least try something. Kids need to get back to school. We can close other things if need be but children's education should be a huge priority to the Mayor and everyone else right now.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a teacher, but imagine it's pretty hard to mute and unmute, play a video, send kids to breakout rooms, engage in the chat, and do one on one when you're also away from the computer talking to the live kids and dealing with their shenanigans. It's probably not a great situation for either the video or in-person kids. But I think some teachers might be able to make it work...not perfectly, and not as well as doing one or the other.

[Anonymous]

It's doable and it's being done by teachers all over the country and by many privates in the DC area.

My daughter went back to her private yesterday and the teacher is teaching to two cohorts: the in-person and via a simple mic (not even a camera) to the kids at home.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

[Anonymous]

This is being called “concurrent” and many places are doing it. WTU and the DL parents will oppose it though.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine. It helps to plan ahead for the technology that makes it work smoothly. Too bad DC didn’t have 8 months to figure that out....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's doable and it's being done by teachers all over the country and by many privates in the DC area.

My daughter went back to her private yesterday and the teacher is teaching to two cohorts: the in-person and via a simple mic (not even a camera) to the kids at home.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

It is much easier in private schools where teachers have far fewer students per class. Also, far fewer special Ed kids. One of my kids is in private and is back to a hybrid model but it is not working all that well. A couple of teachers are fully virtual. The others look exhausted and either ignore the in-person kids or the virtual kids. It is tough to do both in a effective way

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s fine. It helps to plan ahead for the technology that makes it work smoothly. Too bad DC didn’t have 8 months to figure that out....

DCPS was working on an entirely different model - first hybrid where all kids come back, and second the small in-person classes. Both tanked by WTU. "Concurrent" is another strategy that could be used, but look forward to WTU and hysterical parents telling us why it's impossible/unfair/killing teachers/racist etc etc etc.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who is a teacher in a public school in CO who is doing exactly this. Half of her students are at home, half in class. The ones at home get video and audio and she has learned to integrate questions from both. It's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Our school in DC is doing that right now.

[Anonymous]

So really the answer is that they can, but they just don't want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who is a teacher in a public school in CO who is doing exactly this. Half of her students are at home, half in class. The ones at home get video and audio and she has learned to integrate questions from both. It's not that hard.

My son's private school (in an outer DC suburb) is doing this.

Granted it's a small high school and not tons of kids to start, but the school also doesn't have the same resources (e.g., money) that the publics do. Amazing how during all of this some of our county's public schools could rehaul their fancy sports fields and press boxes, but couldn't be bothered with coming up with a plan for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's doable and it's being done by teachers all over the country and by many privates in the DC area.

My daughter went back to her private yesterday and the teacher is teaching to two cohorts: the in-person and via a simple mic (not even a camera) to the kids at home.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

It is much easier in private schools where teachers have far fewer students per class. Also, far fewer special Ed kids. One of my kids is in private and is back to a hybrid model but it is not working all that well. A couple of teachers are fully virtual. The others look exhausted and either ignore the in-person kids or the virtual kids. It is tough to do both in a effective way

DCPS generally does not have huge class sizes. My child’s class has never been bigger than 21.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who is a teacher in a public school in CO who is doing exactly this. Half of her students are at home, half in class. The ones at home get video and audio and she has learned to integrate questions from both. It's not that hard.

My son's private school (in an outer DC suburb) is doing this.

Granted it's a small high school and not tons of kids to start, but the school also doesn't have the same resources (e.g., money) that the publics do. Amazing how during all of this some of our county's public schools could rehaul their fancy sports fields and press boxes, but couldn't be bothered with coming up with a plan for this.

Some publics in the DMV are planning the concurrent approach. DCPS has not so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's doable and it's being done by teachers all over the country and by many privates in the DC area.

My daughter went back to her private yesterday and the teacher is teaching to two cohorts: the in-person and via a simple mic (not even a camera) to the kids at home.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

It is much easier in private schools where teachers have far fewer students per class. Also, far fewer special Ed kids. One of my kids is in private and is back to a hybrid model but it is not working all that well. A couple of teachers are fully virtual. The others look exhausted and either ignore the in-person kids or the virtual kids. It is tough to do both in a effective way

DCPS generally does not have huge class sizes. My child’s class has never been bigger than 21.

The challenge is there is not one size fits all. My kids elementary school class is in high 20s - and doing this with 28 as opposed to 20 is more complex.
Some middle school classes at Deal have 30 kids in them.

[Anonymous]

In our city/school that was done for a week with specials (epic disaster but now specials teachers do seperate instruction). They still do have some minimal instruction from at school teachers. The majority is quality at home teacher instruction. That has been productive. The bit they get from the at school teacher is awful, she has conversations with in person kids then repeats it to zoom kids, its messy and half way distracted with constant interruptions. Thankfully, that is not more than a half hour a day but they really should sever that connection.