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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

#61

Post by MisterBastahrd »

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…

I have two 7 year olds and a 9 year old. They are taught a remote curriculum, supplemented by homework in the form of online quizzes that reward correct answer with turns at a video game. They LOVE doing this homework, which is every bit as rigorous as the homework done via paper sheets, because it rewards them for getting their answers right in a way that a number at the top of a page never would. And they get their homework done quicker since procrastinating just keeps them from playing the games.

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

#62

Post by pyzon »

I can't help but feel that many of the dismissive comments here must be either from folks without kids, or from people that got lucky with a well-mannered child. You think those good manners were all your amazing parenting? You probably deserve some credit, but I think you also lucked out more than you realize. Haven't you seen parents with multiple kids and those kids have wildly different dispositions?

I urge you to have more empathy with parents and kids. Kids handling remote learning badly is such a pervasive complaint right now that it defies logic that all of these parents are bad parents.

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

#63

Post by coderholic »

dpcan wrote: post #50
coderholic wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too! We're jugging 3 kids and working from home, and I thought the article was on point. My guess is that most of the dismissive comments are from people without kids!

I have 4 kids. I work from home. My wife works 11 hours a day away from the house. I feel like this world is full of "can't" people who aren't willing to do the extra work. We seem to have enough time to comment on Hacker News. To argue about masks on Facebook. To watch every TikTok, and spend hours on Twitter. But put in the necessary work to make learning at home productive. Nope, can't do that. We have put in the…

I don't think the point is it can't be done. I think it's just acknowledging that it's HARD. Both for the kids, and the parents.

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

#64

Post by actfrench »

A glaring irony for me here is that historically, wealthier families have significantly more access to online courses. Rather than being the great force for democratization of education we all hoped for, research shows they are privileging the elite. What if we worked to expand access to online courses and improve them for all? https://edlab.tc.columbia.edu/blog/18957-MOOCs-Are-Not-the-S...

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

#65

Post by dpcan »

mumblemumble wrote: post #57
dpcan wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet, with a little time, patience, and dedication from parents, all children can be taught to be respectful, focus, and learn the way we need them to learn during a strange and complicated time. This world is full of can't can't can't. Everywhere we turn, if there's an inconvenience involved. If we have to do something boring. If it won't be fun. If it's hard work..... we can't do it. It can't be done. I wish we…

If, by "a little time", you mean a few years, until they're psychologically developed enough that you can expect this of them. "The way we need them to learn" strikes me as a very telling choice of words. This is a moment where we need to be meeting their needs, not just molding them to our expectations.

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 Kindergarten than any of the kids in his class.

Yes. If parents stop complaining, and get down to work, and make this fun for their kids, and have a positive attitude, even the youngest students can learn from home.

Now days we even have Zoom options, so we WILL be able to get kids eye to eye with teachers, friends, other students. I would have loved that 8 years ago.

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

#66

Post by loxs »

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…

I don't think Zoom is the problem. It's just as bad in the classroom. The only difference is that in the classroom there is a century old system in place, designed and tested to crush children's emotions and frustrations and also designed to transform them into obedient tax cows. And in the classroom you are not witness to this process.

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

#67

Post by throwawaydad101 »

function_seven wrote: post #26

I'm amazed how dismissive all the comments are here. I read the article and it seems totally normal for a little kid not to be able to do "school" on a laptop. Kindergarten is so much different than later years of schooling. It's not about lectures and subjects, or homework and tests. It's about much more fundamental lessons, interspersed with creativity, socialization, and learning to be separated from your parents.…

Saying you can relate to what the author describes means that you can fill in the iceberg below the surface. I'm not sure I can say that for those without kids developing an appreciation for the magnitude of this iceberg is possible without having a child. I'm still learning how to dad and part of that is sharing the experience of the phase transition from childless to parent with those who have yet to or choose not to pass through the transition. With enough time and thought (which is hard to come by when you have a kid), maybe I'll get there.

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

#68

Post by coderholic »

supergeek133 wrote: post #59
function_seven wrote: post #26

I'm amazed how dismissive all the comments are here. I read the article and it seems totally normal for a little kid not to be able to do "school" on a laptop. Kindergarten is so much different than later years of schooling. It's not about lectures and subjects, or homework and tests. It's about much more fundamental lessons, interspersed with creativity, socialization, and learning to be separated from your parents.…

I understand dealing with children, I'm not being dismissive (at least I don't think I am) of that. I'm confused why this was written or published. There is no "point". Yes, it's very hard to keep adults much less kids cooped up in a house all day. Especially for 6+ months. But, what else are we supposed to do? This is just a paid, public gripe that a lot of people can relate with, but what purpose does it serve? The…

> This is just a paid, public gripe that a lot of people can relate with

It is

> but what purpose does it serve?

It lets the millions of other parents who find themselves suddenly in the same situation, feeling the same things, know they're not alone, and that the struggle is real!

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

#69

Post by maps7 »

actfrench wrote: post #54

Here's a crazy idea: What if we raised our children to process their difficult emotions instead of suppress them and stay active and move freely while working and studying (instead of sitting in a chair at a desk)

I feel I would thrive in a movement based work environment. I think and articulate much better when walking.

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

#70

Post by dpcan »

coderholic wrote: post #63
dpcan wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have 4 kids. I work from home. My wife works 11 hours a day away from the house. I feel like this world is full of "can't" people who aren't willing to do the extra work. We seem to have enough time to comment on Hacker News. To argue about masks on Facebook. To watch every TikTok, and spend hours on Twitter. But put in the necessary work to make learning at home productive. Nope, can't do that. We have put in the…

I don't think the point is it can't be done. I think it's just acknowledging that it's HARD. Both for the kids, and the parents.

What the hell is wrong with HARD???? Why is everyone so lazy? We are going backwards as a society. I was raised thinking that if it wasn't hard to do, it wasn't worth doing. Every uphill path should not be looked at as an arduous journey, but as an adventure with an amazing reward at the top.
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