Our DS had a terrible time with DL in the Spring, he blew off assignments, goofed off during class and figured out that grades were going to be sort of "pass/pass" because of all the problems in DL (ie everyone seemed to get an A because it was so hard for everyone).
He was convinced the fall would be equally low-bar and he could coast and do basically nothing all day, and figured out a way to chat with his friends using shared Google Classroom docs. We both work out of the house so couldn't monitor him all day, though we did lock up all computers other than his APS tablet when we left, so at least he wasn't gaming. But in the end we decided to home school. I get home from work and then spend 3 hours drilling in a mail order curriculum we bought on line, and I think he is learning *something*. He actually was a good student in the before times, he just feels that everything was fake busy work and doesn't really "count" because its all such a mess. It seems like everyone is having much better luck with DL, so maybe we can venture back to DL in the spring (he is in 7th grade, and I've been working on Algebra with him so I think we are aligned somewhat). Are kids fairly engaged in class, and teachers keep tabs on them, and there is real assignments that are not busywork and are actually graded or at least reviewed? I would love to have my evenings back to do other things than be a teacher! |
Ladies and gentlemen, this is mambo n°5 |
The work is there. Teachers can’t make your kid do it, though. |
But they are grading it and holding them accountable? DS hates getting bad scores so that would be enough to keep in line |
Yes my APS middle schooler is getting grades - which is helping him take it more seriously than the spring. But I will tell you - I'm finding it to be a heck of a lot of work for me to help him keep on track with all the assignments and the dozen locations they're posted and different ways to submit. Not as labor intensive as home schooling - but still different that usual.
|
Yes. You should opt in to DL. It’s pretty darn good. Teachers and students are engaged. It’s got to be better than home school. I’m exhausted just reading your email. |
The DL this fall is leaps and bounds better than the spring. That is still not saying much, but they are definitely getting grades and being held accountable. I still think it is way too easy but I am going to let that go. |
How would you compare it to in person, like 50% less material? How is a typical day, thay have 2 days sync and 2 days async still? 2 days just doing work on their own? |
+1 1 day asynchronous, 4 days synchronous. Now it seems about the same workload as in-person. It was slow to start but I think by design. |
^ this is for 7th grade. I also thought in-person 6th grade was very “light”. |
+1 |
We've also had good luck with DL thus far. I am concerned about what will happen to DL when they introduce hybrid. I watched the video on what a hybrid day in MS/HS would look like and they seem to be really unprepared as far as how the instructional piece will work - for both hybrid and DL. They do seem prepared on the arrivals/dismissal process and social distancing practices on campus. As a parent who has chosen to continue DL, the lack of focus on learning and instruction is really disappointing. Not sure if future hybrid parents feel the same way. |
Haha. Yes! That video is something else. “We don’t know how this concurrent instruction is going to work, so bear with us.” What, exactly, is the point of the video?? They don’t even show the other hybrid group or the DL group on the video screens and they barely mention the fact that the teacher will be dividing their time between the two. The video makes it look like all the teacher is gonna do is teach the 7 kids in front of them. It’s very light on substance! |
The video convinced me to stay with DL. Their plan is pros with 6 kids in a a class. That’s not really what it will look like. Also, the bear with us part was eye opening. DL in 8th is intense. We aren’t going to mess with it. |
I known if this concurrent thing is going to be a hot mess, at least it can be a hot mess at home where you are not exposed to seven classes worth of kids and a lot of sitting around watching screens. This is just a silly exercise, in my opinion. When they outright admit in the video they have no info on instructional plans you know that hybrid is not ready for prime time. I feel bad for the teachers and administrators who are being distracted to make logistical plans without any instructional guidance. They should be focusing on current instruction. Plenty to work on there. |