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Our Children have been in "Distance Learning" with, on aggregate, less than 2 hours of instruction per school day for nearly a year. We are fortunate in that we have the ability to have one parent "homeschool" them in order to make up for the failure of the education system. 50-70% of their classmates are not so fortunate and have fallen radically below grade-level in their skills. I don't see how those kids who are at-or-above-level can continue to be effectively taught in the same classes as those who have fallen behind. Even with distance learning we notice that the already-minimal time the teacher spends on each student being focused on "catching up" those who are behind. This is happening with a teacher who is making a herculean effort to teach all students at their individual levels, and is far superior to their first two teachers. I doubt we will see such a consistent level of effort to teach to each student's ability in the future.
The whole idea of "catching up" in education seems flawed. It is not as if any significant number of the students who have fallen behind will suddenly and brilliantly accelerate their learning. What, I expect, will actually happen is that those who are on-level will be "held back" until their classmates are at their level.
While the speed of public education under normal circumstances was acceptable, I expect that the results of Distance Learning will create a lasting disjoint between students who stayed on-level and the majority who ended up with a "lost year". I don't see any acceptable way to rectify this problem. There is not enough room in classes to accelerate 30% of students ahead a grade. Holding back such a large number of students is also a terrible solution and--for our children--I'm afraid it will result disinterest or dislike of school due to the boredom of redundantly reviewing materials.
The only solution I can see is to move my children into private schools that stayed open and kept their peers learning at grade level.
I think removing high-performers from public school is bad for society. I do not want to take on the financial burden of a dozen years of private education. I dislike the lack of transparency (and the lack of standardized testing results) from private schools that makes it difficult to compare their performance to public schools.
All that said, I am afraid that the only course of action, which will keep my children engaged in school and learning at the appropriate speed, is to remove them from public school and enroll them in private school.
I would like to hear other perspectives on this dilemma and see if there are a large number of parents who feel the same way. Please vote and give your input.
My kids are now college graduates (the younger one finishing out his senior year spring semester online) so I can't respond to the poll.
This "distance learning" debacle is one reason I'm glad we sent our kids to Catholic school and helped perpetuate its availability to others. At least with a small school where you directly pay tuition, you feel like you have a say in how your children are learning and being taught.
I have a child already in private school which this year is offering a choice between live in-class instruction and live simultaneous online connection.
From that perspective, I experience how much time is wasted in "traditional" school between walking from place to place, shuffling around papers, and getting 20-30 children to sit and pay attention. Out of the 6-7 hours they are there, actual instruction goes on for about three hours.
On that score, I do not perceive much difference between public school and private school.
I think there is a potentially valuable difference between permanent online school - meaning live online class instruction about once a week per course and the rest working at one's own pace at home - and a "traditional" school. For example, using the online school market, it is possible to tailor one's own curriculum and curriculum styles.
By the way, some of these permanent online schools, both private and public, have already been in business for some 10 years, and in some cases the teachers are retired PhDs or others with basic and advanced degrees.
To be sure, only a small minority of students and families can prosper with permanent online/homeschool, but there is an abundance of choice in terms of supply which shows that there is demand out there for personal attention, managing one's own time, and choosing one's own curriculum.
Each set of circumstances is different. There are many options out there to address particular sets of circumstances.
A carefully crafted tool for each job.
Like all endeavors in life, some will be successful in the options they pursue, some won't.
Sometimes I wonder if distance learning is causing the issues or merely exposing them for all to see. My kids are out of school now, but while in school were always self motivated to learn from before kindergarten onward. Even with in person classes, are they really getting more than 2 hours of instruction a day or are they simply getting 2 hours of instruction and another 4 hours of butts in seat time? I have a co-worker who is basically semi home schooling. That is her kids are still in public school, but on the distance learning days she takes the daily lessons from the school and does them herself. Basically her kids are done with the day's lesson plans, across all classes, homework and all, by 10 AM.
My kids are now college graduates (the younger one finishing out his senior year spring semester online) so I can't respond to the poll.
This "distance learning" debacle is one reason I'm glad we sent our kids to Catholic school and helped perpetuate its availability to others. At least with a small school where you directly pay tuition, you feel like you have a say in how your children are learning and being taught.
Like you I can't respond to the poll either as my kids are long out of college. My son is a computer and math high school teacher and he has struggled to keep the students that he does teach on line to learn at the pace they would have in the classroom. During the year his school has only shut down for a couple weeks due to Covid, but he still has students that are distance learning. Simply put, all those people claiming that it's just as good as being in the classroom are simply full of it. Keep in mind, most of his students are more computer savvy and on the higher end of the academic scale than most of the school since most of what he teaches is 3 levels of computer classes. All of these are electives.
IF I were in a district shut down like in cities like Chicago, I wouldn't hesitate for one second to pull my kids out and send them to private school provided there was one close by, with a good academic standing, & it fit in my budget.
... the issues or merely exposing them for all to see ...
Even with in person classes, are they really getting more than 2 hours of instruction a day or are they simply getting 2 hours of instruction and another 4 hours of butts in seat time? I have a co-worker who is basically semi home schooling. That is her kids are still in public school, but on the distance learning days she takes the daily lessons from the school and does them herself. Basically her kids are done with the day's lesson plans, across all classes, homework and all, by 10 AM.
That's what I'm talkin' about.
But for home/online school to be successful, it requires competent and enthusiastic parents, students and online teachers.
Most of what has happened this Covid-infested school year has been involuntary.
But, while not for all, yes, for those from a certain perspective this year has exposed the flaws of "traditional" schools.
So far everyone who has responded is a competent, typical middle class American parent with a handle on their kids' education.
The kids who really need the schools to reopen are the ones apt to have a chaotic home life, with unusual or precarious living arrangements, odd/random work hours for the parent(s) or legal guardian(s), possibly drug issues, incarceration and legal issues, and on and on. It would be great if those kids had the chance to get back in school if only to have a place of refuge for a few hours a day and a nutritious meal or two.
I would but our schools have been back in person since early November. We are very happy with the setup all things considered.
I worry how this will exacerbate income inequality down the line, but the priority for everyone is their own family first.
My understanding is that the Thousand Oaks school corporation is only having elementary schoolers doing in-person learning for just about 2 hours a day. Is this short school day working out for yours?
Other parents I've spoken to in the same school district are not happy with the quality of education and are planning to go to private school if it continues. I heard that they were not doing assessment tests this year due to the students being too far behind to comprehend the material.
I'm currently guest lecturing for a private high school whos students are in class at full capacity, while my own children in early elementary in public school haven't been to a real class in nearly a year. Essentially their zoom classes have been a barely-value-added supplement to homeschooling.
Seeing the difference in dedication to education between public and private schools is pretty eye-opening. I agree with the previous poster who worries that this will exacerbate inequality, but I think that is bound to happen in a society that generally places a low value on the care and education of children.
I do not have a child in school, but as a tutor I have been able to see how "well" the local schools are doing with the distance learning.
In one of our local districts, kids are failing. One of my students from that district almost made the jump to homeschool last month, but they are reluctant to leave the public school. It's a big step for people who never would have considered it under normal circumstances.
Another student from this district wasn't benefiting much from school. Her family took an extended vacation to visit relatives; I don't know if they've returned.
In the next district over, kids are getting inflated grades. The kids know they don't deserve the grades, but many parents probably think all is just fine. One of my students from that district just left public for homeschooling and is involved in a homeschool group. She is now feeling much better about school and about life.
The parents of another student got him enrolled in the local Catholic school as soon as it looked like school wouldn't be opening for the fall semester. He has been in school in person since Day 1.
Another family transferred from one local district to another one - a very small one that had school open for K/1 (part time) from the beginning. Their older kids are also now back at school, while their former district is still doing distance learning.
I also have two students whose educations have not been disrupted by the virus, as homeschooling already was their plan.
My other students are still in distance learning, with varying degrees of success.
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