Remote Learning

This may help the situation.

From today
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-stops-forcing-child-care-providers-to-quarantine-kids-who-get-near-someone-with-covid-19/600135125/

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So many variables that are a part of how successful remote learning can be. Children ages, home structure, and what I find to be most important whether there was/is a parent at home or not. Many parents out there who can’t work remotely from home, kinda weird making a cold lunch for your kid when they are eating it at the dinner table.

Mom and Dad worked thru the pandemic here, kids flew pretty much solo as was the case for many. Kids will be kids at some point….

I wonder if there is a tipping point were a district will say we’re shutting down for a week or two and tack it on the end of the school year because they can’t get enough staff.

Just got a phone call tonight from Rochester public schools that the kids are going distant learning for 10 days

As some have mentioned that there children did better with distance learning I hope this didn’t happen in your school district. When talking to my daughter she said when she had distance learning it takes her about 3 hrs a day to do her school work. She said since they have been back in school the amount of school work has tripled. Basically our schools decreased the amount of schooling so the kids would have less work and get better grades. She said it is amazing how many kids that are now struggling because they are so far behind. Like I said something has to be done to make up for this lost education. Luckily our daughter has a stable home life and has always done good in school but others need help.

As a middle school teacher I can agree with so many on here about the assessments of the situation. We were, and are all learning on the fly: administrators, parents, teachers, students, legislators and paraprofessionals. We were given a test (COVID) before any of us even knew we to expect the test. That is life unfortunately sometimes experiences (the test) is given before you get the opportunity to prepare (study). The whole chaos within the school system nationwide was due to a operating on conflicting timelines, information, and district circumstances, and we still are. In short, we have no consistency. And say what you will about the public school system but some students, not all, need consistency. Many times the relationships, heck even the food at school, is the only thing they can depend upon. An interaction with peers or adults who are trying to teach them content and character all while balancing the maelstrom of the world that keeps on spinning.

With most of standardized testing ignored the last two last years, we will really start to see the learning gaps emerge this spring and the years to follow. Speaking from frustrating personal experience, many students were moved along the line the last two years without being held accountable for the reduced work they missed. I understand situations require adaptations but I hope when school report cards come out and test scores come out the public understands that the staff in their districts would love to retain students to complete the learning experience but pressures from external sources often push them along. Hence knowledge gaps, and hence groups of children who then learn that they can get by without finishing requirements. I wish we had more time, but the “real world” is so to speak going to have to fill in the knowledge gaps at some point and teach those lessons if the parents choose not to.

The resiliency of the youth will be tested, the question remains, will they use the pandemic as an excuse to not push themselves and just shrug off life’s curveball or will we as teachers and learners be able to turn the crucible of the current experiment into something authentic and a learning experience? I hate online learning/teaching but with shortages etc. some education is better than nothing at this juncture. I try everyday with my students to rebuild and advance relationships and focus on life lessons we can take from what we experience. I know I would have struggled if in their shoes, I simply hope for patience and perseverance, lord knows we all can use that.