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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a native New Yorker, I am completely and totally sick of the Washington Teachers Union/ ELIZABETH DAVIS and her unrealistic notion of virtual school-going forever... My Kindergartener is new to her DCPS school and starting a BRAND NEW SCHOOL VIRTUALLY SUCKS. I hate everything about this. I'm beyond angry at the Mayor and "leadership" but mostly disgusted by the WTU and their complete lack of concern for how badly these new learners in elementary school are going to be behind due to the WTU's  BS demands. 
NYC managed to get the kids back in school in a much more complicated school district and after a Spring and Summer of MUCH worse conditions than DC but DC teachers can not? The parents in NYC are not standing for the city shutting down the schools and are FIGHTING BACK but in DC? every parent here is too Politically correct and scared to stand up to the WTU and demand we open schools. I'm so sick of this and can't believe parents are just lying down and taking this garbage.  [/quote]

OP, I also have an early elementary child who is new to her DCPS school, and I can't agree more. And our school has made no effort to help. The attitude seems to be to let parents figure it out on their own, but as a new family, we feel completely on our own. I feel particularly bad for our kid, because she knows that if she were in school in-person, she could be making friends, but DL doesn't facilitate that in any way. It might be sufficient for older kids to keep in touch with friends from prior years, but for kids this age (5-6) who don't already know each other, there's just no way for them to develop relationships.

I honestly feel equally frustrated with the union and DCPS itself. I do think the union has acted unreasonably at times, and I especially feel that their rhetoric has been divisive at a time when it's particularly unproductive. I can support teachers and want them to have reasonable safety measures, and also want schools to open, and those are not inconsistent positions. But DCPS and Bowser have been equally terrible, and are too happy to blame the union for a lot of stuff that isn't their fault at all. The union is not the reason DL is so inadequate and bad -- that's due to Central Office policies that ignore what teachers know is the better pedagogical approach. And the union isn't at fault for DCPS's terrible communication, and their refusal to really engage parents and teachers on what is working (and what is very much not) and how best to meet the needs of kids and families.

Honestly, if DCPS had engaged parents early and listened, I think they would have had an easier time negotiating with the union. Part of the problem is that they kept everyone in the dark and then when they announced things, teachers and parents alike were confused and frustrated. I do think there is some political posturing among parents (some people claim to love DL or act like opening schools is an automatic death sentence, which it clearly is not) but I also think a lot of parents sided with teachers because they know them, they actually talk to them, and DCPS has offered so little in the way of communication or leadership.

What a mess.[/quote]

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