My kids are more comfortable at home

[Anonymous]

Is the most selfish, irresponsible reason for keeping schools closed or staying distance learning.

Because you are privileged and lucky - or maybe your kids are awkward socially and prefer not to interact - is not a good reason that thousands of children should get a subpar education. Many are left alone all day long because their parents have to work. Most children whose parents don't have the resources for tutors and extra help are not learning a thing. Children are gaining weight and getting depressed from not leaving their houses all day - not everyone has a park or a big backyard they can go to.

So at least on this board, can we agree that just because you prefer it, it doesn't make it better?

[Anonymous]

I've been saying this for months. It's one thing to focus on the positives of this temporary period of DL, from sleeping later, to being with your dogs, to bein comfortable in your room. But that doesn't mean that it is reasonable to expect DL for all to continue forever. Somehow, the "my kids are thriving" camp has shifted the dialog to focus on why we should not reopen because some kids and families feel their experience in DL is superior to in person learning. In person school is the default, not DL. Anything other than in person requires intense scrutiny and assessment of risk.

[Anonymous]

My kids' virtual learning experience is better than what hybrid/concurrent instruction will be.

The default is in person? OK. When they go back to fully in person, my student will return if it is safe (I'm mostly concerned about spread on the buses and at lunch).

I see no point to sending them back for 2 days/week of concurrent instruction. It doesn't solve any problem I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids' virtual learning experience is better than what hybrid/concurrent instruction will be.

The default is in person? OK. When they go back to fully in person, my student will return if it is safe (I'm mostly concerned about spread on the buses and at lunch).

I see no point to sending them back for 2 days/week of concurrent instruction. It doesn't solve any problem I have.

AH, and therein lies the rub. (bolded)

You see, PP, some of us are desperate to get our kids back to school to solve problems THEY have. It is not about us, the parents.

If you don't see any point to having your kids in a classroom, even a modified situation, so that they can interact with peers and adults outside the home, plus enjoy some of the million nuances a day we all benefit from in human interaction, I don't know what to tell you. Except that I feel very, very sorry for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids' virtual learning experience is better than what hybrid/concurrent instruction will be.

The default is in person? OK. When they go back to fully in person, my student will return if it is safe (I'm mostly concerned about spread on the buses and at lunch).

I see no point to sending them back for 2 days/week of concurrent instruction. It doesn't solve any problem I have.

It would solve alot for me. I would welcome even one day a week in person.

[Anonymous]

My kids are more comfortable at home and are doing fine at virtual learning, but I still want school to open. Do I have a say? Because the folks who don't want schools to open seem to think that I don't get a say precisely because we don't *need* the schools to be open.

[Anonymous]

Agree completely. Also, if your kid is awkward socially, avoiding people forever isn't the solution.

[Anonymous]

My kids are more comfortable at home, this doesn’t mean that I don’t want the schools to reopen for in person study. The two are not mutually exclusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are more comfortable at home and are doing fine at virtual learning, but I still want school to open. Do I have a say? Because the folks who don't want schools to open seem to think that I don't get a say precisely because we don't *need* the schools to be open.

We're in this boat, too. Just because it's working fine for my kid doesn't mean I don't think schools ought to open -- with appropriate safety precautions. It just means that DL hasn't been an unmitigated disaster, and I don't need the school for child care reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree completely. Also, if your kid is awkward socially, avoiding people forever isn't the solution.

And periodic backyard meet ups with friends is not going to teach kids the skills they need to understand and get along with different types of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are more comfortable at home and are doing fine at virtual learning, but I still want school to open. Do I have a say? Because the folks who don't want schools to open seem to think that I don't get a say precisely because we don't *need* the schools to be open.

This is me, too. I want schools to open even though my kids are doing fine virtually and may be staying home for this spring. For me it makes sense - but I don't think I should be able to take away the ability of other parents to make different decisions for their struggling children or for their situations that require in-person schooling. I recognize that we are lucky because our kids were able to make the adjustment. It could very easily have gone a different way. What I really wish is that we could go back 5 days a week every week - because that's normal and might be doable if we thought creatively about space and moving kids around to different settings and schools (but I realize that's a pipedream). This is not normal, and I am not sure that this hybrid solution is going to be the panacea that many are expecting when their kids go back. And its taking a ton of resources, both financial and people, to make it happen for what will turn out to be what - 10-20 hours of in-person instruction after all the testing is completed? That said, there is no perfect solution in this county - and I empathize with the parents, teachers, and administrators who are all trying to make difficult choices within the constraints that they have. I do think most have the best interests of the children in mind, and many have the best interests of the teachers in mind. I just don't think there is a great solution right now. September, I think, I hope, will be a different story.

[Anonymous]

No one is saying it’s better. It’s what they prefer. If someone wants to stay virtual because their kids prefer it, is there any skin off your back since it gives your kid a spot to be in a classroom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree completely. Also, if your kid is awkward socially, avoiding people forever isn't the solution.

I agree. My son is an introvert and perfectly happy doing distance learning at home and socializing with friends over video games. He does not need to be at school for academic reasons, he needs to be there to improve his in-person communication skills.

[Anonymous]

I agree with this for next year. For this year, given the choices that we presented and the information that we had at the time, I chose to keep my child in DL for the remainder of the school year because it seems to be the better option for them educationally. They are in middle school and as presented when we selected, hybrid meant that they would see their teacher only once per week because of block scheduling. They would have 2 days in person and 3 asynchronous. That doesn't work for my child. By time they developed the concurrent approach, selecting in person would have meant changing my child's entire schedule (including three team-taught classes), and we don't believe that is in their best interest. Especially because it was made clear that for any particular class, the teacher might not be in person.

However, I strongly believe that next year needs to be 5 days a week, full time, in person, with teachers and staff in the building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the most selfish, irresponsible reason for keeping schools closed or staying distance learning.

Because you are privileged and lucky - or maybe your kids are awkward socially and prefer not to interact - is not a good reason that thousands of children should get a subpar education. Many are left alone all day long because their parents have to work. Most children whose parents don't have the resources for tutors and extra help are not learning a thing. Children are gaining weight and getting depressed from not leaving their houses all day - not everyone has a park or a big backyard they can go to.

So at least on this board, can we agree that just because you prefer it, it doesn't make it better?

Do you realize that you sound like an ass?