Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"staring at a screen most of the day, in a mask, 6 feet apart from every other person, eating lunch at her desk, and being taught the a teacher who is not using manipulative or hands on learning. Two days a week."

This is exactly what the hybrid/concurrent model looks like, which is not brand new information. The "not using manipulatives/hands-on learning" might be a class by class decision (e.g. each in person child could have their own set of cards to sort, or dice to use), but most likely won't go beyond that.

Hybrid was different. Hybrid was 2 days in-person learning in the classroom, 3 days asynch at home. Kids who choose DL would have been in a different class with a teacher 4 learning synchronously for 4 days, 1 day asynch. Very different then concurrent. Hybrid sounds far better because they kids would have a chance to learn more material in the two days, due to fewer kids and fewer classroom issues. The asynch days would have been home practice to reinforce what had been done in the classroom.

I have a SIL&BIL whose kids are doing a hybrid plan. They said it it less learning than DL because the asynch days are worthless.

Asynch is what you make of it. DS is required to do all the work his Teachers assign plus any of the "may dos." That keeps him busy and reinforcing whatever it is they are learning for most of the day. His friends parents complain about asynch but they don't have their kids do the work because the kids complain about doing it. I know this because they tell me. My son complained a few times that his friends don't do the work so why should he. We reminded him that every family does things differently but our expectation is that he does hte work his teacher assigns to the best of his ability. Do I think it is great? Nope. Do I think it is better then being stuck in a classroom doing distance learning, which is what concurrent is. yup.

None of the options are going to compare to 5 days in the classroom. Hybrid is a better option because the Teacher doesn't have to divide her/his attention between kids in the classroom and kids at home. Neither group will get close to the Teachers full attention and both groups will suffer. At lest in hybrid, the Teachers focus is on the kids who are in the classroom. I would prefer the Teachers full attention on 8-9 kids in class twice a week with work at home reinforcing the classroom learning then divided attention over four days.

Even if the asynch days are crap, I can only imagine how much more a Teacher can cover with a class of 8 compared to a class of 24.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"staring at a screen most of the day, in a mask, 6 feet apart from every other person, eating lunch at her desk, and being taught the a teacher who is not using manipulative or hands on learning. Two days a week."

This is exactly what the hybrid/concurrent model looks like, which is not brand new information. The "not using manipulatives/hands-on learning" might be a class by class decision (e.g. each in person child could have their own set of cards to sort, or dice to use), but most likely won't go beyond that.

Hybrid was different. Hybrid was 2 days in-person learning in the classroom, 3 days asynch at home. Kids who choose DL would have been in a different class with a teacher 4 learning synchronously for 4 days, 1 day asynch. Very different then concurrent. Hybrid sounds far better because they kids would have a chance to learn more material in the two days, due to fewer kids and fewer classroom issues. The asynch days would have been home practice to reinforce what had been done in the classroom.

I have a SIL&BIL whose kids are doing a hybrid plan. They said it it less learning than DL because the asynch days are worthless.

Anonymous wrote:"staring at a screen most of the day, in a mask, 6 feet apart from every other person, eating lunch at her desk, and being taught the a teacher who is not using manipulative or hands on learning. Two days a week."

This is exactly what the hybrid/concurrent model looks like, which is not brand new information. The "not using manipulatives/hands-on learning" might be a class by class decision (e.g. each in person child could have their own set of cards to sort, or dice to use), but most likely won't go beyond that.

Hybrid was different. Hybrid was 2 days in-person learning in the classroom, 3 days asynch at home. Kids who choose DL would have been in a different class with a teacher 4 learning synchronously for 4 days, 1 day asynch. Very different then concurrent. Hybrid sounds far better because they kids would have a chance to learn more material in the two days, due to fewer kids and fewer classroom issues. The asynch days would have been home practice to reinforce what had been done in the classroom.

Anonymous wrote:Most private schools are operating in some form of concurrent (even if its just 1 or 2 students doing DL) because they don't have the staff for a seperate DL program. By all accounts its going fine. I don't understand the angst.

My friends in private school doing concurrent says it is awful but better then having the kids at home for work purposes. Their kids have not liked it from day one. One reported that their sons friends all choose DL and it bothers their son that he can hear them but not see them. His friends parents report the same thing. The distancing requirements mean that recess and PE are not all that enjoyable. Teachers are not able to interact with the kids normally.

So, if by fine you mean the kids are in school, not enjoying it, but the parents are able to go to work more easily then yes, it is going fine.

My friend who had a child in school at LCPS reported that her child had a taped area around his desk that he had to stay and a taped off area on the playground area that he could play in, by himself, at recess. Kids brought their own toys to play with during down time.

The Teachers don't like it. The kids don't like it. The parents are not thrilled with it.

Essentially, your kid is going to be doing DL in the school building. They can wave at other kids in the classroom. Two days a week.

SOooooooo much better.

"staring at a screen most of the day, in a mask, 6 feet apart from every other person, eating lunch at her desk, and being taught the a teacher who is not using manipulative or hands on learning. Two days a week."

This is exactly what the hybrid/concurrent model looks like, which is not brand new information. The "not using manipulatives/hands-on learning" might be a class by class decision (e.g. each in person child could have their own set of cards to sort, or dice to use), but most likely won't go beyond that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There isn’t space for social distancing if everyone is back at the same time.

Unless they get creative...

How?

Use the gym, library, cafeteria, auditorium, music room, and other spaces to spread kids out. Also, hold class outside using picnic tables/wooden benches when weather permits. There are many creative possibilities. If they had already brought back k-2nd already, schools could have figured it out by now and made adjustments in anticipation of more kids going back. Instead, everyone remains stuck at home parked in front of screens all day.

Yes to the bolded. I support concurrent only because it helps them start to figure things out and helps students and staff get into the rhythm of school with COVID mitigations in place. Once kids are in, they need to start pushing for as much in-person education for students who need it as possible (and higher quality DL for those who medically need to be home).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple more weeks? This is been the plan from the get go. A couple more weeks is not going to solve what many of us see as a subpar school experience. I’m not trying to be rude, but I do find it frustrating the parents didn’t pay attention in the summer/fall to what hybrid was going to be. Our principal very clearly laid it out. Staring at a screen in a classroom. I want my kids back more than anything so they can see friends, build connections, they can pay attention better in a classroom. But this solution is awful.

In the fall at our school they had parent q and a sessions to go through what hybrid would be. It was supposed to be more pen and paper instruction— paper books, no iPad. This was what our principal told us. That is very different from what it is now. I did pay attention, aps just changed everything as time went on— instructional models, metrics, everything.

The difference between then and now is concurrent instruction. Concurrent instruction doesnt work unless everyone has access to the same materials. Taht means digital work.

In FCPS, the situation will look like OP describes, but your child's teacher might not even be there. She or he would be teaching remotely and projected on a smart screen and there would be a classroom monitor to watch the kids and make sure they socially distance. It sounds as terrible as being home full time honestly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There isn’t space for social distancing if everyone is back at the same time.

Unless they get creative...

How?

Use the gym, library, cafeteria, auditorium, music room, and other spaces to spread kids out. Also, hold class outside using picnic tables/wooden benches when weather permits. There are many creative possibilities. If they had already brought back k-2nd already, schools could have figured it out by now and made adjustments in anticipation of more kids going back. Instead, everyone remains stuck at home parked in front of screens all day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There isn’t space for social distancing if everyone is back at the same time.

Unless they get creative...

How?

All that space above the kid's heads! Create a second level in every classroom! It will still be six feet apart! Marty, you aren't thinking 3rd dimensionally!

Hang them from the ceiling with wires! God, just be "creative" already!

Anonymous wrote:Most private schools are operating in some form of concurrent (even if its just 1 or 2 students doing DL) because they don't have the staff for a seperate DL program. By all accounts its going fine. I don't understand the angst.

Private schools have some kids logging in virtually from home by choice or necessity, but they don’t generally have kids in classrooms logging in virtually. That is the main concern with many of the public school hybrid models. The priority should be bringing kids back into classrooms for live, in-person instruction. Having my child take a laptop to the school building for virtual teaching is not much better than what we have now. These public school systems in our area are seriously missing the mark!

Most private schools are operating in some form of concurrent (even if its just 1 or 2 students doing DL) because they don't have the staff for a seperate DL program. By all accounts its going fine. I don't understand the angst.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how you got this far into the school year, including presumably having chosen the hybrid option for your child(ren), and are just now hearing about what hybrid will look like. This information has been out there for a long time.

Exactly! I wish more parents had paid attention and had spent more energy on improving it over the last six months instead of complaining about when kids would be back in.

+1. At least in APS this is always what hybrid was going to be. Concurrent is going to make it even more awful. My 4th grader really wanted to go back but when I shared what hybrid was going to look like the answer was "no thanks, I have more freedom in DL".

Maybe way back last summer there was a push to open school buildings to make them as safe as possible.

But the rhetoric you've seen on this site has festered into "what will be good for my student once the building is open" to "punishment of teachers for apparent wrongthink is my priority."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how you got this far into the school year, including presumably having chosen the hybrid option for your child(ren), and are just now hearing about what hybrid will look like. This information has been out there for a long time.

Exactly! I wish more parents had paid attention and had spent more energy on improving it over the last six months instead of complaining about when kids would be back in.

+1. At least in APS this is always what hybrid was going to be. Concurrent is going to make it even more awful. My 4th grader really wanted to go back but when I shared what hybrid was going to look like the answer was "no thanks, I have more freedom in DL".

Nobody ever accused users here of having sharp critical thinking skills