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My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

theatlantic.com

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Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#301

Post by dorchadas »

tboyd47 wrote: post #167
bcrosby95 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our first week was rough. But our school came up with a much better schedule for our kindergartener. Class is now from 8:20-9am, meet in small group with the teacher for 30 minutes (time depends upon your group), then closing instruction at 12:45pm-1:15pm. The rest of the time is "self study". Basically, you have assignments you need to do and complete with your kid. You can do it during self study time. Or at night.…

I imagine most school districts, including ours, will land on something like what you just described, albeit after a period of jerking parents around. Since your school was only planning on three hours a day, sounds like they are more flexible than mine, which demands six. I understand even the most school-marmiest of homeschooling parents wouldn't impose more than 1-2 hours of class on 5 and 6-year-olds. I have been…

The district I teach at (high school) is requiring two hours for kindergartners, three for 1st and 2nd graders, and 4 for all the rest. Everyone is done by noon, and teachers are there until three to answer any questions people have while working on assignments. I think for the lower levels, it definitely might be best.

Though a coworker has a son starting kidnergarden in a neighboring district, and they're there from 8-2:30, with planned time for recess and lunch. However, they're only in the main class for 30 minutes at the beginning and the end, and then each kid goes into a small group instruction with an instructor, and gets one-on-one time. I'm interested to see how that will work out overall, as it sounds like it could be a good compromise if you can get enough instructors.

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#303

Post by argc »

My daughter is only 1, and has gone to daycare through the entire pandemic, but I can say with near certainty that if she was a few years older, I would rather hire a nanny to take her to the park everyday rather than put her in a virtual kindergarten class. It sounds absolutely awful and pointless. I don't see how a child could learn anything from it.

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#304

Post by chadash »

dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #40

All of these comments make me think HN has never interacted with a 5 year old. Adults are barely able to make it through a day of Zoom meetings without feeling drained, how do you expect an almost toddler to react when forced to sit in front of a screen? The only reasons adults can do it is years and years of learning impulse controls and suppression of bad emotions for everyone's good. A 5 year old does not have the…

> The only reasons adults can do it is years and years of learning impulse controls and suppression of bad emotions for everyone's good.

I'd go a step further and say that many--if not most--adults can't do this at all. I would go back to college any day, where classes are a few hours a day and I set my own schedule, but personally can't imagine that I'd do well if you put me back in high school (where i did fairly well academically), with a rigid schedule of back-to-back classes. If you told me that I have to do it again, but on zoom this time... I can't even fathom what kind of punishment that would be.

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#305

Post by Aeolun »

war1025 wrote: post #277
asldkjaslkdj wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a scary prospect considering all the studies and news articles that say that putting your kids in school as early as 4 can result in life-long benefits. It's hard to be a parent these days, you feel like nothing you do is ever "right".

> putting your kids in school as early as 4 can result in life-long benefits. Giving a shit about your kids is mainly what results in life-long benefits. The sad truth is a lot of parents either don't care about their kids or care about them only as a proxy of how it reflects back on them.

I find that hard to understand. Isn’t having a kid something you do exactly so you have someone to care for and nurture?

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#306

Post by [deleted] »

balfirevic wrote: post #128
threatofrain wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get ahead on placement exams. Schools have only so many teachers for Algebra. Also not all kids are doing remote education.

How does that work? The idea is to just resume schooling where you left off a year prior. In what way can anyone get ahead? Kids who didn't pause would simply be in a higher grade, others in a lower grade, but so what?

[deleted]

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#307

Post by [deleted] »

redshirtrob wrote: post #293
ardit33 wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a curious question, can you speak/do you know French now?

Sadly no. But that's because we moved from the school district the following summer. It's a bit of a sore point for me. I have no doubt if I'd stayed there (K-6), I would have been close to fluent. After lunch was a full immersion in French. My teacher was a native speaker from Belgium. I remember having mastered counting in French, which is quite interesting considering most kindergarteners probably have not mastere…

[deleted]

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#308

Post by Aeolun »

actfrench wrote: post #208
mrighele wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how do you expect an almost toddler to react when forced to sit in front of a screen? I'm sure any parent will say that it is impossible, and the issue is not the screen, but sitting still. I am in fact surprised that the teachers even asked to make video calls at that age. I don't know about USA preschools but here 5 years olds don't study sitting on a desk all day long, so I don't know how they can expect a kid t…

A lot of US kids are forced to sit still whether they're in front of a screen or in a physical classroom. Typically it's better in preschool, but many kindergarteners only get 20 minutes a day to play if that. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/learning/do-kids-need-rec...

I don’t see how that could possibly work, unless your goal is to create brain dead monkeys.

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#309

Post by [deleted] »

dpcan wrote: post #241
james_s_tayler wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, so the original comment is predicated on the assumption that all adults are capable of doing that for their kids. Some are. Some aren't. Same goes for the kids.

I'm saying that all adults are capable of making distance learning work for their kids. They CAN do it, but it will be HARD.

[deleted]

Re: My kid can’t handle a virtual education, and neither can I

#310

Post by NateEag »

danShumway wrote: post #104
dpcan wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My son had to miss pre-school when he was 4. I created a home-based program (week to week) where we learned everything I could find that would normally be in a regular pre-school curriculum. We worked for 3 hours every morning "studying", and he was 4. I made it fun. I made it productive. We took breaks. We had snacks. We had recess. It worked. By the end of the summer, he was reading and more prepared for Kindergart…

Effectively, what you're advocating for is that parents should all homeschool their children. Which... I mean, that's a position some people advocate for. But if every parent was equipped to do that, then their kids wouldn't have been in public school in the first place.

I don't think everyone should homeschool.

However, I do think a lot of people put their kids in school because it's easy, not because they couldn't homeschool them.

I've been surprised several times that the immediate reaction I've gotten when I tell someone we're homeschooling is "Oh, I could never do that."

The truth is almost anyone can. I used to think it should be more regulated and only "good" parents should do it.

Then I saw a single mom with only a high school degree and terrible teaching skills take her failing boys out of public school, homeschool then for a year, and send them back to school a year later, more in advanced placement classes.

If she could achieve that on n her own, without spousal support or any of the right skills, then this is within most parents' grasp.

I suspect she was more willing to suffer and fight for her children than a lot of wealthy parents are, though.

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