Are American kids going back to school now

a reply to: ChiefD

I'm sort of getting annoyed with teachers.

They want be hailed like the essential workers as heroes, but they don't want to actually go out and work like the essential workers. There's a basic disconnect there.

Yes, I've been working this whole time, but I'm not a hero. My job is at home. So I'm not in that category like police, health care workers, even store clerks are. Teachers want to treated like the latter group and not just like those of us who are working from home, but they just want to work from home.

Thing is ... kids need some hands on work to learn. There are a lot of kids who aren't able to simply sit in front of a screen and do it. You have kids with learning disabilities, kids who need to be in a hands on environment, kids who don't have access to the technology, etc.

My wife is an education coordinator for a charter school system with 73 schools across the US. She was working 12-16 hour days every day this summer getting everything sorted out.

Each district had to have 3 plans:
Full return of all students
All students learning from home
Some students returning, others working from home

The amount of money that went into prepping their schools was insane. Each classroom has had new cameras installed that follow the teacher (who wears a tracking bracelet) around the room as they’re teaching, so the students at home can see. The school’s head IT guy almost quit the week before school started and it was almost a complete failure.

Broward, Dade and Palm Beach Counties decided not to re-open, but my wife’s company said “We’re opening regardless in those counties.”, then 3 days before school started they changed their minds and decided those counties will stay closed as well.

The last couple of weeks she’s been traveling to the schools to see how it’s all working out. A major thing she noticed right away was that the kids at home are getting screwed due to technical issues. In one case a child at home had a question, the teacher used the students in the classroom to answer it, but because only the teacher has a microphone, the student at home didn’t get to hear the answers. There’s also a case of students at home raising their hands to answer/ask questions and the teacher not noticing it.

This has all the potential to fall flat on it’s face. Kids are smart these days, especially with technology. I know if it were me, I would have figured out a way to loop a video of me paying attention while I was sitting there playing guitar instead. Or I’d have a tablet setup off camera where I could dick around while “learning”.

All 4 of my kids are in school M-F. The county gave us the option to do virtual classes, but I want my kids to have social interaction while they can.

The local school board polled parents over the summer and gave us 3 options: everyone does virtual school, Students do in class M, W, F, with the other 2 days for cleaning, or back as usual, with the option to do virtual if you aren't comfortable with in person class. Most of the sports players are doing virtual school, otherwise one exposed kid would quarantine the whole team for 24 days, missing way too many games.

Our Superintendent says he will not shut the schools down again, but if it comes from the federal level, he won't have a choice. I will be surprised if schools (and everything else) doesn't shut down prior to the election. I don't see a reason to, but some people have an agenda.

a reply to: musicismagic

My daughter will be going this week for two days in person and the rest is online. We have very low Covid rate here, so I don't know why we are doing this??

a reply to: musicismagic

Dont know where you live, but in most of the US its insane to send your kids back to school.....at least the public schools. As it is, from what I read, most schools arent reopenning until October.

a reply to: ketsuko

I have a teaching credential and a MA. I used to sub occasionally now I'm getting constant email job offers to teach in HS and Junior college as well as sub; No way!!!..they can't pay me enough to put my family at risk for a job with so much responsibility, constant derision from the parents and BS from the administration. School starts today.... You can take that job and shove it!!

a reply to: musicismagic

Here in the USA it's a huge mess with a mix depending on what state, county, city, town you live in. They are really pushing online distance learning and for school districts who don't get the hint then this happens...

Hart ford mayor: No timeline for when school can start following ransomware attack

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - A ransomware attack forced officials to cancel Hartford Public Schools' first day of school.

Hartford Public Schools confirmed that there would be no in person or online classes on Tuesday.

Mayor Luke Bronin said during a 10 a.m. news conference that there is no time frame yet for when the school year will begin.

source

It appears most schools are not reopening until October; some in November and some not until 2021, and some are a mix of in classroom a few days and online at home. A few of my friends who live in Dem controlled city and have grade school children decided last month they will not send their kids back to school no matter what and will attempt the home schooling thing. Obviously, not all parents are equipped to do this so it's going to be rough times for awhile. This will become the largest distance learning experiment in history and probably the demise of teacher unions.

The parents I know refuse to put their kids through this type of hell...

a reply to: EndtheMadnessNow

Ours really wanted to go back. He craves the social aspect.

We told him though that ultimately it is up to him. If it's going to be worse for him or the same as the year he was bullied relentlessly, we will pull him out and homeschool him right away ... that we're only sending him because we know how much he looks forward to seeing all the other kids, but he doesn't have to let it be torture.

So we're seeing how it goes. He was so painfully excited this morning.

I just saw an ad for tutors. $50 per hr per student. I might have to reconsider. In my affluent little village full of MDs, dentists, architects and various CEOs I could make some real money with a few Chromebooks to babysit some kids. That's much better than my union gig and I could pick and choose the families I wanted to work for.

tutors.com...

Or perhaps an employment agency specializing in tutors/educators, on a contractual basis. This new normal could be lucrative!! Maybe even some startup grants for a new business. SBA, here we come....

www.sba.gov...