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THREAD: Alright, day 1 of official homeschooling is complete. It’s day 24 of us all being home. I have some thoughts about virtual learning and the expectations. Note: This is my opinion, and that of a parent to a kindergartner.
1/ I am so proud of the teachers and staff who are adapting to our new reality. It is insanely unfair that these educators had less than two weeks to create a virtual learning platform for KIDS when most online learning platforms are developed for months by adults and for adults.
2/ Just think about how you’d feel slapped into this position. Yes, technology is a big part of school, but a reliance on virtual learning is an entirely different challenge.
3/ So here are my thoughts on how this all went - from the perspective of a parent to a kindergartner.
4/ It was hard. It was much harder than I anticipated. There are a few reasons for this.
5/
1. I didn’t expect as much work to be assigned.
2. My son is easily distracted (he’s 5), and some assignments took longer. Some he wanted to do longer (like Core5).
3. still needs help reading (he’s 5).
4. needed help with the video conf
5. Has a nearly 3-yr-old sister too
1. I didn’t expect as much work to be assigned.
2. My son is easily distracted (he’s 5), and some assignments took longer. Some he wanted to do longer (like Core5).
3. still needs help reading (he’s 5).
4. needed help with the video conf
5. Has a nearly 3-yr-old sister too
6/ There are more reasons than just that, but it’s a start for discussing this. Other than his kindergarten assignments, he has classwork from five other speciality classes for the week.
7/ So, quick recap. A decent amount of work (took him 4.5 hours today) from his class and 5 other classes of single assignments. Again. He’s in kindergarten.
8/ He doesn’t know how to use Google Classroom. He got glimpses of it last week, but can’t be expected to know what to do. (He’s 5).
9/ Most parents today struggled with the system, learning as they went. I had a decent grasp, but only figured out some of the features tonight after reviewing his classwork further.
10/ His teacher was doing the best that she could, but she also had tech issues that were beyond her ability to correct on the fly.
11/ We are just asking SO MUCH of everyone right now. IMO, it’s absolutely insane to ask everyone to continue to be a worker, community member, and still lives their lives at home.
12/ Then take from our perspective, we are parents. We are workers. We are now educators. We are providers. It’s a lot.
13/ Ron Swanson once said, “don’t half ass two things, whole-ass one thing.” And even that is hard to do. But here we are, in our new COVID-19 reality. And we’re being asked to do A LOT. And we’re asked to do it ourselves.
14/ I don’t really have a resolution to all of this. I just want everyone to know that it isn’t all fun and games. Yes, we are not working essential jobs that put us on the frontlines (THANK YOU TO YOU ALL), but our responsibilities have not decreased.
15/ We are doing our best to insulate a 2 and 5-yr-old from the harsh truths that our world is facing, while still letting them know that we can’t do a lot of things, or go any places because we need to be safe and keep others safe.
16/ So, to everyone out there. Let’s try and cut each other some slack. Let’s stick together online however we can. We are not alone in this. People are struggling. It’s fucking hard. We can get through this.
17/ If you’re having a hard time too, you’re not alone. Hang in there. Take a deep breath. And know that I’ll happily give you a hug when this is all over.
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