Digital School Stinks for Elementary Kids

[MamaLema]

My kids are in college and high school and they both say it stinks too.

One of my kids woke up for an 8:00 class. The teacher wasn’t there. He hasn’t received an explanation why.

My other kid’s teacher send them an article to read and questions to answer due tomorrow. There were no questions attached. He emailed the teacher 3 hours ago so he can get the work done. No response.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I work full time out of the home at a hospital. My XH works full time Out of the home as a truck driver. My SO works full time at home but he’s actually working. He can’t watch children during his hours

My kids are 14 and 20 and self sufficient with online school. Thank god.

I have no idea what we would do if we had small children who we had to sit with and monitor and work with all day. There is literally no one who could be home with them homeschooling. We would probably have to take them out of school.

I truly feel for those in that situation.

 

[Music City Mama]

I feel for those of you with younger kids -- it's got to be difficult.

Our district gave the option for in-person or an online program that's a separate platform from the in-person students who may have to work remotely at times. You are committed for the entire semester. Around 80-85% chose in-person.

When we started back (early August), our district made a decision that K-2 needed to be in person if they had chosen that option even if the other grades were going to be remote for a while -- I thought that was a great decision.

Grades 3-12 who chose in-person were remote for the first three weeks. They would log in via zoom during each period, but most teachers didn't really give "live instruction" the whole period. It was workable, but far from ideal. I'm glad I was working from home to keep my 8th grader on task.

They've now been back in-person for about five weeks (in masks) and we're all a lot happier. There have been some positive cases in the schools, but we knew all along that was inevitable. We aren't seeing huge spikes -- 40,000 kids in the district, and things seem to be going well. Extracurriculars are chugging along too.

 

[superme80]

I can't even imagine. My friend's son started kindergarten this fall and it has been a battle every day to get him to attempt to focus for school. It has been very difficult. She has to return to work soon, so not sure how that will go. If I wasn't so far away, I would help in a heartbeat. I just feel so bad for everyone involved.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Right, but families and teachers can opt out. There's no way they would mandate in-person at this point.

In the district where I work, if your class is told to open it is very difficult for staff to opt out. So far they have opened special ed classes for moderate/severe students. My co-workers and I communicated that we were very uncomfortable with the prospect of being in a classroom with our disabled preschoolers. They will not keep masks on their faces, and have no concept about social distancing or the need to keep things clean. We could only opt out if we had a documented medical reason to avoid Covid, which none of us do. The other option was to take an unpaid leave of absence and either lose our benefits or pay for them out of pocket. I am currently covering medical benefits for my family. If I stayed home, not only would I not get a paycheck but I would have to pay $1600 a month to keep our coverage. DH is just finishing a contract position and will be unemployed soon. Taking a leave is not an option for me.

I've been back working in-person for a week while most of the district is still on distance learning. It's been nerve-racking and a bit scary. We work all day in masks and plastic face shields and use lots of gloves. I do not think it's totally safe for the kids. They are allowed to play together and with the same toys since they're part of the same cohort. We try to grab and wash toys that have been in mouths, but our kids tend to drool and wipe their noses and faces everywhere. We try to be ready with tissues, but the germs still get spread around. It's pretty clear that if one child has Covid, they will all get it and take it home. It's even more scary that small kids tend to be asymptomatic. We do take their temperatures and ask parents health-related questions each morning. But we could easily miss an asymptomatic case. Personally, I would not be sending my small child to class right now, but that's just my opinion.

 

[tvguy]

I am at home with our 3 kids, and I am over it. These kids would face almost no risk returning to school, it's time to just make it happen. Neighboring schools and private schools are in session.
I either get to focus on my job, or focus on them. If I focus on them too much, my job is at risk. If I focus on my job too much, then they can't stay focused.
Daily tech issues, either with software, hardware, or Internet... ugh.
There is too much down time during the day for them to dream of staying on task, and I can't be there with them every moment.
Pets and access to their familiar things are a problem.

Kudos to those managing this situation right now. It stinks.

/end rant

I don't know, I don't think you can win.
So far here they are experimenting with in person instruction, only at the elementary level. Junior High and above is only digital.
Two schools here Friday had outbreaks. Switched to digital only for the next weeks starting today. All those students and EVERYONE in their households are now quarantined for two weeks. At least for me that would stink more than having my kids learning at home.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I am at home with our 3 kids, and I am over it. These kids would face almost no risk returning to school, it's time to just make it happen. Neighboring schools and private schools are in session.
I either get to focus on my job, or focus on them. If I focus on them too much, my job is at risk. If I focus on my job too much, then they can't stay focused.
Daily tech issues, either with software, hardware, or Internet... ugh.
There is too much down time during the day for them to dream of staying on task, and I can't be there with them every moment.
Pets and access to their familiar things are a problem.

Kudos to those managing this situation right now. It stinks.

/end rant

We have 2 buldings that are closed in a neighboring district due to cases, working on a third. I know it's frustrating but everyone is safer with kids home.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

In the district where I work, if your class is told to open it is very difficult for staff to opt out. So far they have opened special ed classes for moderate/severe students. My co-workers and I communicated that we were very uncomfortable with the prospect of being in a classroom with our disabled preschoolers. They will not keep masks on their faces, and have no concept about social distancing or the need to keep things clean. We could only opt out if we had a documented medical reason to avoid Covid, which none of us do. The other option was to take an unpaid leave of absence and either lose our benefits or pay for them out of pocket. I am currently covering medical benefits for my family. If I stayed home, not only would I not get a paycheck but I would have to pay $1600 a month to keep our coverage. DH is just finishing a contract position and will be unemployed soon. Taking a leave is not an option for me.

I've been back working in-person for a week while most of the district is still on distance learning. It's been nerve-racking and a bit scary. We work all day in masks and plastic face shields and use lots of gloves. I do not think it's totally safe for the kids. They are allowed to play together and with the same toys since they're part of the same cohort. We try to grab and wash toys that have been in mouths, but our kids tend to drool and wipe their noses and faces everywhere. We try to be ready with tissues, but the germs still get spread around. It's pretty clear that if one child has Covid, they will all get it and take it home. It's even more scary that small kids tend to be asymptomatic. We do take their temperatures and ask parents health-related questions each morning. But we could easily miss an asymptomatic case. Personally, I would not be sending my small child to class right now, but that's just my opinion.

There is currently no way to opt out in my district either, not sure why people believe that at-risk teachers don't have to return to work. I have no options, I either work or I quit. There is no distancing in elementary school and I don't feel safe at work. I wear a mask all day but the children don't. they are constantly fiddling with their masks, or wearing only face shields (which do nothing!).

In my district each room was provided with a milk crate of supplies--a container of sanitizing wipes, 5 face shields (not sure how they arrived at that number?), a baggie with 10 nitrile gloves, and a baggie containing 20 paper masks. Almost every single classroom is out of masks at this point because so many kids are sent to school without masks or with the cheap paper masks that they break within an hour of coming to school, the gloves are gone, the wipes are almost gone, and all the shields were given out to students that forgot their masks. We asked for another container of wipes a week ago and haven't received any. We were promised shields over the summer but were told they were "backordered". we do have plexiglass dividers, which probably work better for older kids but they aren't much use with elementary. Edited to add that we were not even provided with hand sanitizer, the district is still only supplying the alcohol-free sanitizer that is antibacterial but not anti-viral. Luckily I was able to get my hands on a big bottle of it at Walmart this summer, but it's going fast.

There are no subs to be found, so when I called off one day this school year I was called into the principal's office the next day and told not to call off again. Contractually I am allowed to use sick days but the district is cracking down on us because we are already understaffed. We currently have outbreaks in 2 buildings and we are working on a third--if one more person is confirmed to have Covid that building will close as well, so it is doubtful that any substitute would be tempted to pick up any shifts in our district. I've heard the subs are laying low and collecting unemployment. Schools in this country are notriously underfunded and they are not safe!

 

[rjb123]

I have three children. My oldest is a junior in HS and attends a private school (has since pre pandemic). They had a fantastic plan that was thoughtful and involved hiring actual infectious disease doctors and epidemiologists the create. That said, he has been back over a month and now they have an outbreak in the high school with most of the sophomore class in quarantine, and now they also have a large outbreak in the lower school with them moving to remote for the next several weeks as they monitor the situation. This was with full masking, distancing, hand washing, lunch outdoors under tents, etc. My middle child does a full online school (9th grade) and this is her second year doing it. She LOVES it. She is a competitive gymnast and spends many (20 plus) hours a week training so online gave her more flexibility with her schedule. She is also very focused and driven- she is an independent learner and sets high standards for herself. Online requires the student to seek out their learning in a more independent manner. She uses not only her resources that are provided but also other books, programs and materials to ensure she has full mastery of the topics. it is more like college type learning than your typical high school education. My youngest (5th) has moved to her sister's online school and has had a good year thus far. She is not quite the "type A" personality of her sister, but she is very bright and likes to get good grades. She is finding her stride with online as well, though while her sister will potentially stay in online and then add in dual enrollment classes her junior and senior years, she is doing it as a covid stop gap. Online learning is not for everyone long term, but it can be done really well at least for the short term. I don't understand why so many schools are reinventing the wheel with it instead of using programs that are already out there, being used successfully by thousands of students. Around here, schools are having kids log on ALL DAY LONG and sit in front of the computer and then assigning homework. Its insane! Frankly it is no wonder that kids hate it!

 

[China Expat]

I work at a Tier 1 private boarding school. Our numbers have declined due to the loss of our international students. They see the violence in the US and the Covid cases and are staying home.

 

[gwynne]

The fever could be a sinus infection. Or any kind of infection.

In addition, many children take off their masks when they eat.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I work at a Tier 1 private boarding school. Our numbers have declined due to the loss of our international students. They see the violence in the US and the Covid cases and are staying home.

Completely understandable.

 

[VandVsmama]

I work at a Tier 1 private boarding school. Our numbers have declined due to the loss of our international students. They see the violence in the US and the Covid cases and are staying home.

What is a Tier 1 private boarding school? There's tiers?

 

[China Expat]

What is a Tier 1 private boarding school? There's tiers?

Hello. Yes, there are tiers in the independent/private school world. The tiers are based on accreditation, program offerings, academic outcomes, endowment, enrollment, college placement record, and more. The most famed tier one boarding schools in New England include Deerfield, Choate-Rosemary, Hotchkiss, Andover, and many more. Tier one schools in CA include Webb, Cate, Thatcher. THere are many fabulous boarding schools in the country; I have listed some of the more well known. I have worked in boarding schools continuously since 1991 and absolutely believe in the benefits and outcomes of boarding school life.

 

[julietsstars]

My daughter is a sophomore and she is hating this. No grades. All essays. No instruction. Im nervous how colleges will view her transcripts. I can see in 2-3 years colleges completely forgetting what this was like and taking preference to those that attended in person and have actual grades.