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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Personally, I don't trust many parents' assessments of how their children are "thriving" in DL.[/quote]

Why not? Doe the first time have a front row seat and can see everything they are doing and how they’re reacting to it. [/quote]

Because I don't think a lot of parents are very good at impartially assessing the academic progress of their kids, and we already know a lot of parents don't assess the emotional and mental health of their children well. [/quote]

But then they aren’t really doing any worse now than they would be doing in general right? [/quote]

No, it's very different. In non-DL, there are many more external and more impartial measurements going on, both formal and informal. There is a wider community that provides essentially continuous feedback, and that's largely not happening now. If you talk with teachers honestly (without flaming them or calling them lazy or other stupid insults), they'll often open up about how they don't have a lot of faith in formal assessments going on, and informal non-parental assessment has largely disappeared. The fact is, in DL the wide variety of inputs a thoughtful parent might get about their children is severely diminished.

Have you ever read any homeschool survivor forums? I have, and the "my kid is thriving!" posters sound remarkably like the parents of those kids. The kids themselves, particularly as adults, often have wildly different and typically more accurate assessments of their own educational progress, because they have to live with the results as adults.

I am sure there are some kids who are actually thriving, but I don't trust the assessment of most parents as to that point. [/quote]

I agree with this. I am suspicious of anyone who says that their kids is "thriving." They might be doing well in school or enjoying aspects of DL like the ability to sleep in, but to me, the word "thrive" involves a comprehensive wellness that DL cannot provided. This is not to say that the need for the relationships, personal connections that come with in person learning require immediate return to school buildings. But part of education is building and even more navigating relationships, and that is missing with DL. I think this layoff will come at great cost, but hopefully we can get kids back to where they need to be.

My oldest child took largely duel enrollment classes, got all As, and learned a great deal about managing him time. However, he lacked in person connection with classmates and even with teachers and therefore, despite his good grades and general good humor, I won't say he is thriving. To the contrary, his development has been hampered by this period where he is completely out of touch with his peers, making it impossible to "thrive."

I honestly think that people who rave about DL are control freaks who want their children to be separated from the world. While my son socializes through video games, I don't consider that the type of socialization that a teenage boy needs to learn how to navigate the world. Life is about being around all types of people, those you like and those you don't.  While they might be learning, they might be content or adopting, kids aren't connecting and therefore, are not thriving.

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Well said.[/quote]

I am not raving about DL but my kids are doing well. Their teachers have done a really good job.  DC came from a highly stressful school environment and DL has been a much needed pause.  DC’s are teens who have learned to cook, be more organized, independent and self monitor, plan for assignments, and have found time to tutor others. I get this is not for everyone but for some kids DL has been a break from the pressure of school and social life.  As parents, we are getting to spend more time with our kids and I recognize not all families can do this. Have we done anything differently? Perhaps. We set parameters about keeping balance bt online and chores and we stressed the need to give to others.  DL is not ideal and we do wish for our kids to go back to school and for social life to resume but in our experience, it has not been as bad as it has been for others.[/quote]

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