Kids going back to school, a non-parent observation

[shortylickens]

But anyway, there still should be a common sense of this ratio "teachers / students". I don't think that it's cool to have less than 10 pupils in the classroom.

those of us who actually care about the public education have been saying for years theres not enough teachers and not enough rooms.
I think once again "common sense" is what one person believes and not necessarily the best choice. Now that we are in the middle of a pandemic AND we have a psycho in the White House its even more obvious America does not value children or teachers. The vast majority of parents just think of school as free day-care, even though its not free and its not day-care.

It was inevitable we'd have a collapse. The system has been a horrible mess for decades and now thanks to medical crisis its all gonna come crashing down.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The concept of virtual kindergarten is fucking hilarious.

Excuse me teacher I have to poopies!!

 

[Scarpozzi]

My kids are in 1st/3rd grade right now. They have buses running, but aren't allowing parents to walk up to the school anymore. Normally, for pickup/drop off, they have a car line and they have people who walk up to fetch their kids. They split the car line into 2 lanes by grades and it takes a solid 45 minutes to get through the line or more if you're in the back. Today was a little more structured, but it's pretty brutal when you know you're blocks away from the school and traffic isn't moving. All it takes is 1-2 kids having issues and everyone else has to wait because the cars just have no where they can go.

They've been wearing masks and seem to be adjusting pretty well. Covid cases have dropped a little in my county, but not by much. I expect numbers around here to rise a little now that the schools are open. Hoping we can avoid whatever wave occurs from this mess.

 

[rh71]

My son started virtual kindergarten on Monday and I don't see how this is going to work. Kids his age simply are not supposed to be sitting down for hours straight especially behind a computer. He has to go from 9-11:30 then a 90 minute break for lunch/recess, then from 1-3:15. The first day they let kids go at 2:15 and I'm pretty sure it's because the kids were ready to get off. Yesterday was a bit better but he gets bored and loses focus after like an hour. I hope it gets better but I don't have high hopes after the first 2 days.

During the recess time my son and 4 other kids in kindergarten on our street all meet up and play outside at the court down the street. My wife has taken him down there the past 2 days and all the parents are saying the same thing about the experience. So it's not just our son. At least we have that time though where he can socialize and act like a normal kindergarten kid every day, at least while the weather is warmer.

K-4th grade here are in-person 5 days a week for that reason. During the March-June sessions, it was obvious kids were having attention issues at home. The younger ones needed constant supervision from parents.

To keep school attendance low & manageable, my boys in 7th are only 2 days a week in-person, with Friday being full interactive online, and the other 2 days work on their own (assuming assigned busy work). They have to wear a mask for at least 27 of the 37 minutes they're in each class. It will be interesting.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Off to a rocky start for my wife. Lots of extra duties assigned, half the prep hours and marginal quantities of supplies. Another side effect - the mask muffles her voice enough that, as a language teacher, she basically spends all day shouting. Microphone and speaker are on their way from an Amazon warehouse which brings us up to about $200 out of pocket in extra supplies than normal for us in less than two weeks of school. (Better masks, better cleaning cloths because the ones supplied just leave surfaces damp - like the desk where students put paper..., more hand sanitizer because no way the little bottle she was given will last until the school supplied replacement is given etc)

Can't these expenses be written off on your taxes? It sucks and before the wife got a work laptop assigned to her she spent $800 on a PC seven years ago to be able to work from home PT while teaching in classroom.

 

[Exterous]

Can't these expenses be written off on your taxes? It sucks and before the wife got a work laptop assigned to her she spent $800 on a PC seven years ago to be able to work from home PT while teaching in classroom.

Teacher's get up to a $250 teaching supply exemption but that is usually it. I'm not sure where pandemic supplies fit in IRS rules though - especially when the school technically supplied some materials just not enough or really shitty quality

 

[bigi]

There is the academic part and there is the interacting with peers part. I see many don't even mention the latter, but I think this is the crucial part of development. Missing the human interaction part is not repairable. What is gone is gone and there is no way to get this back.

Where I live everybody got back to work except teachers. That's actually quite unbelievable. Shops, offices, hospitals, restaurants and so forth are back at work. Teachers for some reason rob our kids from their future.

Go and shove that pitiful computer meeting down your asses

 

[JM Aggie08]

There is the academic part and there is the interacting with peers part. I see many don't even mention the latter, but I think this is the crucial part of development. Missing the human interaction part is not reparable. What is gone is gone and there is no way to get this back.

Where I live everybody got back to work except teachers. That's actually quite unbelievable. Shops, offices, hospitals, restaurants and so forth are back at work. Teachers for some reason rob our kids from their future.

Go and shove that pitiful computer meeting down your asses

Lol

 

[snoopy7548]

There is the academic part and there is the interacting with peers part. I see many don't even mention the latter, but I think this is the crucial part of development. Missing the human interaction part is not reparable. What is gone is gone and there is no way to get this back.

Where I live everybody got back to work except teachers. That's actually quite unbelievable. Shops, offices, hospitals, restaurants and so forth are back at work. Teachers for some reason rob our kids from their future.

Go and shove that pitiful computer meeting down your asses

Exhibit A.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

There is the academic part and there is the interacting with peers part. I see many don't even mention the latter, but I think this is the crucial part of development. Missing the human interaction part is not repairable. What is gone is gone and there is no way to get this back.

Where I live everybody got back to work except teachers. That's actually quite unbelievable. Shops, offices, hospitals, restaurants and so forth are back at work. Teachers for some reason rob our kids from their future.

Go and shove that pitiful computer meeting down your asses

Really? My observations is that the kids in the neighborhood are all physically interacting with one another just fine. And I'm betting the kids' parents are happy with that during happy wine hours, too.

 

[bigi]

Really? My observations is that the kids in the neighborhood are all physically interacting with one another just fine. And I'm betting the kids' parents are happy with that during happy wine hours, too.

This is what is supposed to happen after school and/or on weekends. The school interaction ain't happening obviously. In case you did not know better, I was referring to that aspect.

Nice try.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I don't have any other kids in my neighborhood my daughter can just go out and play with. But we live in a small town, and her cousins who we've spending time with during this whole thing are only a 5 minute drive. I think she's been lucky enough to have family in her age group to spend time with and socialize, with the occasional mixing of visiting friends at small get togethers. I don't think a lot of kids in town have this ability.

Every day my wife comes home complaining about a kid not logging on at all or after a certain amount of time. She's frustrated with the parents who just don't give a $%^& and frustrated that she can't do anything about it. Apparently the DA came to a parents house for a no show kid, and the parent said her internet is unreliable (bull$#@!) and my wife had to change all the kids abscences to "present" due to the "technology issue". Ridiculous.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Still better than grandma or parents with high risk issues dying.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

This is what is supposed to happen after school and/or on weekends. The school interaction ain't happening obviously. In case you did not know better, I was referring to that aspect.

Nice try.

Hey now, I seldom (rarely?) intereacted with kids in the pubic school system, and even less afterwards. Look how I, an Anandtech member, turned out! LOL

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Still better than grandma or parents with high risk issues dying.

Because grandma/grandpa can't self-isolate?

This is the problem I have with a lot of this stuff is self-control. If you feel you're at risk - people coming to visit you is under your own control. It's not like people come to your door and say "Oh NO! I better let them in and expose myself to this risk! I have no control of this situation!"

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Because grandma/grandpa can't self-isolate?

This is the problem I have with a lot of this stuff is self-control. If you feel you're at risk - people coming to visit you is under your own control. It's not like people come to your door and say "Oh NO! I better let them in and expose myself to this risk! I have no control of this situation!"

It's a highly infectious virus with a long incubation period, is often symptom free, and exceedingly dangerous to certain groups of people. There's also a high rate of long-term damage to even non-ay risk individuals. You're basically stating we should quarantine at risk individuals, rather than the infected, just so kids can go to school rather than just learn at home.

 

[ultimatebob]

I think that remote learning works for grade 6 or above, but it seems to fail for anything younger than that. Younger kids just don't have the patience or maturity to stick to a lesson without being watched constantly (my wife can confirm this, she's a teacher AND we have a 2nd grader), and they need to learn proper in-person social interactions that you just can't learn from Google Classroom or a Zoom chat.

My kid is going to be doing a 3 day online/2 day in person hybrid model this year, and I'm seriously concerned that she's going to fall behind where she's supposed to be by the end of the school year without extra tutoring.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Because grandma/grandpa can't self-isolate?

This is the problem I have with a lot of this stuff is self-control. If you feel you're at risk - people coming to visit you is under your own control. It's not like people come to your door and say "Oh NO! I better let them in and expose myself to this risk! I have no control of this situation!"

In addition to what Osiris said, your scenario also does not account for elderly folks being primary caretakers for school-aged kids, or those potentially not financially in a position to retire, that may work in public-facing jobs that continue to put them at risk because kids will continue to spread this mess and visit said public-facing businesses.

If you think a grandparent who hasn't likely seen their family in months is going to turn their family away, especially if they're likely feeding on the bullshit POTUS is spewing, I've got a bridge to sell you.

EVERYONE should be exercising self-control -- not just those at-risk.

 

[Red Squirrel]

1st day of school today, should be interesting to hear how that goes.

 

[vi edit]

My nieces are in Central, IL. First week back one of my nieces starts being symptomatic and has to go distance learning until her test came back negative. Second week back a kid at her table tested positive and now the whole class is quarantined and they told my sister that she "has to remain 6 feet from her siblings and other family members".

Ok, good luck with that with a single mom, 2 kids under 10 that share a room in an 800 sq/ft home.

I can't even imagine having to deal with that as a parent. Just should have all gone remote this year and crossed fingers we'd have a vaccine in January. Set expectations and all plans for remote and not yo-yo on a given basis because of in class infections.

I've got an 8 year old and a 12 year old. Yeah, I totally wish they were in school. But we aren't in a normal time and won't return there for a while. I'm just glad our school district set the expectation up front that they'd be remote. And then not half ass some hybrid model or start sending kids home in mass once they started getting positive tests in the classrooms. I can plan for this as working parent.

 

[snoopy7548]

Yeah, I can't imagine being a parent right now. My brother's wife is working from home full-time while trying to teach their two kids. My brother is a teacher and is teaching remotely, but the school system doesn't really have a plan and is allowing students to come into school if they want to.

 

[rh71]

My nieces are in Central, IL. First week back one of my nieces starts being symptomatic and has to go distance learning until her test came back negative. Second week back a kid at her table tested positive and now the whole class is quarantined and they told my sister that she "has to remain 6 feet from her siblings and other family members".

Ok, good luck with that with a single mom, 2 kids under 10 that share a room in an 800 sq/ft home.

I can't even imagine having to deal with that as a parent. Just should have all gone remote this year and crossed fingers we'd have a vaccine in January. Set expectations and all plans for remote and not yo-yo on a given basis because of in class infections.

I've got an 8 year old and a 12 year old. Yeah, I totally wish they were in school. But we aren't in a normal time and won't return there for a while. I'm just glad our school district set the expectation up front that they'd be remote. And then not half ass some hybrid model or start sending kids home in mass once they started getting positive tests in the classrooms. I can plan for this as working parent.

How was IL with regard to strict rules / masking at the outset? Did they re-open stores/restaurants early? That "yo-yo-ing" is less likely if your infection rate is low enough. We're down below 1% rate here in NY because of how strict it has been - and I have a lot of faith in my boys not catching it (2 days/week in school) and then giving it to me (immunocompromised). They're in masks 90% of the time while there too.

I am not for remote-learning after the mess from March-June.

 

[vi edit]

How was IL with regard to strict rules / masking at the outset? That "yo-yo-ing" can be controlled a lot better if your rate is low enough. We're down below 1% here in NY and I have a lot of faith in my boys not catching it (2 days/week in school). They're in masks 90% of the time while there too.

I am not for remote-learning after the mess from March-June.

It's hard to say. They are downstate and it was much worse there in the last few weeks than Chicago had early on. I don't know what the positivity rates were going into the start of school season.

 

[sactoking]

First day of school here was Monday, August 24. Families were given the option of full-time at-home or part-time hybrid. The hybrid was at-home 2 days and in-person 2 days, but the in-person days were only half days. We elected full-time at-home for both of our school age kids (grades 2 and 5) for many reasons, one of which is that I'm immune compromised. It was interesting to find out that my at-home kids actually get more direct and indirect teacher time than the in-person kids...

Anyway, school started Monday, August 24. On Sunday, September 6 it was announced that there was the first COVID positive in the school district. On Monday, September 7 it was announced that the positive was a staffer in the Transportation department. Due to the number of contacts and isolations resulting from those contacts there were no longer sufficient bus drivers to provide transportation. Bus service is now ended district-wide indefinitely.

Monday, August 24. Monday, September 7. 2 weeks. Exactly.

Who couldn't see this coming? Who knew pandemic-ing could be so hard?