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Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

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Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#141

Post by actfrench »

bargl wrote: post #69
actfrench wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi:) I can answer this. I'm the founder of Modulo. Modulo can be used as a supplement or replacement for school. If families want to use it as a replacement, they need to register as homeschoolers, but we help families make sure their kids are on track academically and developmentally. feel free to be in touch if you have any questions. My email is manisha@modulo.app

I just wanted to say, I had a hard time googling your product. It was easier with DDG. The name made me have to dig deeper with keyword searches. This looks like a cool service though and I'll be taking a deeper look TY.

Thanks so much for the feedback. We just launched our website and definitely need to work on our SEO. Any feedback/advice would be really appreciated! Here's the website if it helps. https://www.modulo.app/

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#142

Post by actfrench »

dbancajas wrote: post #65
actfrench wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi:) I can answer this. I'm the founder of Modulo. Modulo can be used as a supplement or replacement for school. If families want to use it as a replacement, they need to register as homeschoolers, but we help families make sure their kids are on track academically and developmentally. feel free to be in touch if you have any questions. My email is manisha@modulo.app

how much does it cost?

Here are our different monthly pricing plans. We also offer partial and full scholarships. Let me know if I can help answer any questions for you - or feel free to reach out via intercom on our website. https://www.modulo.app/services

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#143

Post by actfrench »

jeffrallen wrote: post #121
weagle05 wrote: post #20

The whole thing is fubar. We're doing our public school's virtual school for our 3 elementary age children. I don't see how its sustainable. This age group cannot do school by themselves, so my wife and I are having to do school while also trying to keep our work going. My productivity is just going to be shot. This is day one, but here's what I'm going to try this week: 1). Get up earlier. I'm going to try to be in…

Your proposed schedule will also need time for burnout and therapy. Maybe not a good plan... You're going to have to let something slide. Choose one priority and then fit what you can into the time that's left, and accept that it doesn't all fit. I hope you choose your child as your priority, but you'll find your own way. Good luck.

I agree. Everyone knows that this is hard. And I think you should definitely consider asking your school to give you some leeway or change the schedule to make it work better for your kids. I know a lot of parents who have asked their companies and their schools to accommodate to what they needed and were surpised at the flexibility they found. This is a new situation for everyone. Ask for what you need and you might be surprised by the answer.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#144

Post by actfrench »

actfrench wrote: post #143
jeffrallen wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your proposed schedule will also need time for burnout and therapy. Maybe not a good plan... You're going to have to let something slide. Choose one priority and then fit what you can into the time that's left, and accept that it doesn't all fit. I hope you choose your child as your priority, but you'll find your own way. Good luck.

I agree. Everyone knows that this is hard. And I think you should definitely consider asking your school to give you some leeway or change the schedule to make it work better for your kids. I know a lot of parents who have asked their companies and their schools to accommodate to what they needed and were surpised at the flexibility they found. This is a new situation for everyone. Ask for what you need and you might…

I'd also add that kids learn a lot faster with 1-1 instruction than in a group setting, so if you want to consider homeschooling, you might find that you only need to teach them an hour or two a day and that will be more than enough to keep them at or above grade level. The rest of the time they can plan and enjoy being kids. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#145

Post by actfrench »

winphone1974 wrote: post #4

I have 2 in elementary and one in middle school. Our public schools will supposedly open physical classes with an online option as well. You need to pick and commit to one. I'm strongly in the physical camp for many reasons, most importantly the online school in the spring was garbage and a lack of socialization at this age is a very real and serious public health concern-for healthy young kids with no underlying hea…

This has been a painfully lonely time for many children. There's no good solution for this. But here are some ways, I've found families have navigated the social isolation piece

-small online clubs -daily scheduled facetime with friends -focusing on developing/nurturing healthy relationships with siblings and parents (this goes along way in building healthy attachments later in life) -socially distanced hikes with friends wearing masks -make friends with one other family who is also socially distancing.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#146

Post by wyclif »

Negros Occidental, Philippines: I'm a US citizen, married, ops engineer with two kids (ages 9 and 2). I've been WFH for 5 years before the pandemic, so I'm an old hand at remote work.

I'm going to homeschool the eldest myself for the first time. I actually know a lot about homeschooling because of circumstances I won't explain here, but I've never done it before and my wife and I were both educated at public and private schools from K through university.

Down here, I work about 4 solid and productive hours a day with only very occasional Zoom meetings, most of my team interaction is done over email, Discord, or Slack. I have a degree in the humanities so I've been spending the past few weeks designing a curriculum. It will revolve heavily around reading real books (no textbooks) and we'll be using Khan Academy for Math, I will handle the Science and Biology. Most of the books I will be using I've found for free on archive.org and follow the contours (but not the letter) of the Charlotte Mason curriculum book recommendations.

Doing this schedule isn't as hard as it is for some families because of the time differential: we're UTC +8, 12 hours ahead of EST. So I plan to do homeschool in the morning, while it's evening hours in the US, and be finished by lunchtime here, then work most of the afternoon when it's overnight in the States, and send all the status emails at the end of my day when they'll be only a few hours old when EST wakes up. It works great for me so far.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#147

Post by actfrench »

pgrote wrote: post #42
GiorgioG wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lack of socialization at this age is a very real and serious public health concern (No offense intended) I keep hearing this and wonder what proof we have of this? I have two kids, one introvert, one extrovert and neither seem to have been impacted. Sure they'd like to hang out with friends, but they're basically the same personality/kids/temperament they had pre-pandemic.

We are in the same situation with kids of the same temperament. The extrovert has discovered self initiative play and done some creative things. The introvert discovered roblox and picsart and is now more social than ever before. It has sort of worked out for them. More to your question, how would you study something like that? Previously home schooled students who had limited social interactions?

If one were to study that, I don't know if homeschoolers are the best group to look at. Also, it's tricky because there is a big difference between healthy socialization and unhealthy socialization. Are we talking about being completely alone or being in a huge group with no friends?

I don't know that this would work so well because lack of socialization is one of the biggest myths about homeschooling. The homeschoolers I know hang out in the park for hours 2-3 times a week, do skill shares together, take classes and electives, travel the world. This pandemic has been harder , if not more so than other groups, because they can't use the world as their classroom in the way they've done before. Also, many children struggle mighily in school. Just because there are lots of people there doesn't mean kids don't feel incredibly isolated. A bad social experience (Eg being bullied and isolated in school. Bullying and systemic racism run rampant in our schools. Teachers are exhausted spending most of their time managing behavior rather than getting time to teach and facilitate healthy social-emotional learning in the classroom.

I started a digital pod this fall and some of our kids didn't say a single word in class last fall. Now, in a group of 5-6 kids they are actively participating, sharing their hopes and dreams. Some communicate verbally, others prefer to observe.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#148

Post by actfrench »

mrburkins wrote: post #132
flowerlad wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lack of socialization at this age is a very real and serious public health concern-for healthy young kids with no underlying health issues maybe as important as COVID itself Lack of socialization - for a few months - is as serious as a disease that's killing people by the hundreds of thousands? Even if the kids themselves are at lower risk, they can transmit the disease to parents as well as teachers, who are much…

Anecdote: my son is 3.5 and has effectively not been around other children since we left NYC in February. Prior to leaving he was beginning to have a friend group. A group of parents have tried to keep them in touch with FaceTimes etc but to this day he still asks when he can see his friends in real life. We’ve also noticed social regression - especially being afraid of people leaving, not sleeping regularly and rand…

I am not sure if this is helpful, but sometimes the best thing to do is simply reflect what the child is feeling and make sure that they really feel heard, rather than trying to make them feel better. When I first started dating my boyfriend, his 3 year old had a lot of discomfort around me. He kept telling me to go away and even butting his head against me or trying to bite me. (Little boys are strong!) I have been a teacher for 15 years and am used to children of all ages adoring me so I didn't know what to do with this situation. I could tell he was really stressed and this hurt my heart. Eventually, I just built a practice of reflecting back to him what he was feeling, making sure I really understood and that he knew I did. If I felt upset, I took some time to sit with my inner child. One night, I put him to bed and he confessed to me that he was afraid he was going to "throw me away." I reassured him that he was not going anywhere. After that things changed a lot between us.

This story might not seem that relevant to your situation, but I think my overall point is that childhood development is not necessarily linear. What seems like social regression could be a new phase he's passing through. Your child may not have had a trauma like COVID happen before and he's learning to deal with it. This crisis may not be parallel to anything we've experienced in our time, but we also do not know what is to come and we can give our children tools to navigate what lies ahead. We all have our ups and downs. As a parent or someone loves children, we yearn so much to help them feel better. It hurst our hearts so much when they are in pain. But sometimes the best thing to do is allow their pain, really listen to it, accept it, let them know we love them, that they're safe...and eventually it passes. This helps them stand strong and process emotions for their whole life. If you would like someone to talk to, feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to connect. It seems to me that if you're thinking about these things deeply that your son is very lucky and he will do quite well. It's been really hard for everyone and I hope you're taking good care of yourself.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#149

Post by actfrench »

toddmorey wrote: post #38

We're in a tough spot because my wife has struggled with chronic respiratory infections and is in the high-risk patient population. But our youngest has special needs and remote learning can't provide the educational support he needs (though damn the teachers are awesome and creative and trying all they can). First three weeks are remote for all students in my district, but we'll have some hard choices ahead balancin…

Hi Todd, there is a group that might help you. It's a homeschooling group for children with special needs. Since many parents have pulled their kids out to address special needs, these parents have a huge wealth of knowledge about how to homeschool neurodiverse children. https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolingpoppies/

What curriculum or learning apps have you tried so far? Some are better suited to different types of educational needs than others. I'd be happy to recommend some resources that might be helpful and also can connect you to specialists and tutors who are volunteering for free to help kids with special needs during the crisis.

Please let me know if I can be of support in any way I can.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#150

Post by actfrench »

h0p3 wrote: post #112
actfrench wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most qualified person to be your children's father is you. You're the only one who cares enough to throw everything but the kitchen sink at them to help create a personalized, enriching experience for them.

Hello Manisha, that is very kind of you, and I admire your work. I will agree I am the most motivated and accountable person in their lives.

Heart emoji.
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