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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]To 13:45, We are in the middle of a pandemic where some admins have been sick, had sick family, have a child out of work, are also stressed out themselves by the BLM momentum, so try to give them a break. Kids can get rah-rah from parents who are positive and encouraging, and don’t automatically dis or complain about DL. Again, I think that’s something you want over your kid. And, it’s on you that your kid didn’t go to Deal and have a built in community, so you can’t ask for more your fairly unique situation.

Ms. Neal is incredible. She responds with grace in every situation, including zoom meetings where parents grotesquely attack her. However, she does not have nearly the same scheduling challenges that Ms. (Is she dr. now?) Martin does. Not only does every kid have an individual schedule, she is going down to 4 classes. She is definitely more serious, which is fine. Give her and the school a chance.

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Please, I’m not criticizing anyone.  I’m trying to make a constructive suggestion going forward.  I never “dis or complain” about DL to my child or anyone else.  We are in a pandemic, and the lives of teachers and students are sacred.  Also, education - in whatever form it takes — is sacred.

To be honest, thiis idea that “team spirit” is a key component of academic success is new to me.  If I were a teen doing DL, I would be very happy to stay in my corner, and focus on Zoom sessions and homework.  In terms of what I want for my child, I would actually prefer limited social interaction, so as not to be distracted.  To my mind, “rah rah” is extraneous at best, a dangerous distraction at worst.

But these days, DC and many/most teens rely on a group dynamic to feel engaged in any effort.  DC actually knows most of the incoming ninth graders from Deal (yes, hundreds, long story).  DC is “popular”.   But still, I suspect that once school gets started, anything the school can do to instill a sense of team motivation will help in motivating academic participation.

I have met Dr. Martin briefly and was very impressed by her.  So full of life.  We participated in the June or July meeting via Zoom with Assistant Pirncipals and we were similarly impressed.  Very thoughtful.  One thing they stressed again and again is that getting involved in a sport or extracurricular activity is key to success.  They said that, not me.

Obviously, it may not be possible for the school to foster a “rah rah” group dynamic via distance learning.   That’s okay.  As a parent, if my student is not motivated, I can if need be: email school to get onto Aspen, get schedule and assignments from Aspen, remind child of Zoom sessions/assignments, urge student one more time to get out of bed to do Zoom session (and dress to show respect for teacher), be on the look out for inevitable teaching gaps, encourage child to contact teachers for help, hire tutors.

But I can’t instill an instrinsic sense of enthusiasm for DL school assignments, Khan Academy, self-teaching, and independent study because that needs to come from teachers and fellow students.  It can’t come from parents.

If that’s simply not possible during this pandemic periodic, that’s perfectly understandable.  I’m SAHM, and DH works from from home.  We will certainly get by.

And when people complain in x weeks that disadvantaged students are not engaged in DL, so we should return to school ASAP, I will post again and again as I did this summer that we should prioritze public health.  I truly believe that teachers’ lives matter.

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