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Our 7 yr old, M, has been in virtual 2nd grade for a week already. We knew it was coming, and yet it hit us hard. 1/
Spring. M finished 1st grade online. Her school made the smart decision to go entirely asynchronous. She watched lessons, completed hw, did art projects, on her own time. HW was not turned in. We reported completion on the honor system. There was a “do no harm” grading policy 2/
June-July. Over the summer, she participated in various virtual camps. One organized by her school. One organized by the university rec center. One by our local zoo. One by a local choir. She sang and danced from her bedroom. She engineered a solar oven to make smores. 3/
She had playdates on Zoom and FT and Skype, did dress up and superhero games on Hangouts. She became new video-pen pals with friends she hadn’t met in years. It was gutting at times, ok gutting a lot of the time. But it was manageable. 4/
August. Enter virtual school. It hit hard bcuz M began to look forward. To look forward, while organizing crayons &glue sticks &wide-rules notebooks, to the school year. To the rituals she associates w “first-day.” To finding out who would be in her class. To making friends. 5/
I tried to talk her down, knowing that it wasn’t going to be like that this year. The night before school started, I couldn’t sleep, anticipating the anticlimax. The first 2 days were horrible, watching her realize what was going to pass for “school”, watching it dawn on her. 6/
M’s school is organized, proactive &communicative—more than many. But every day is a year. The day starts at 7:50am and ends at 2:45pm. M has either 4 or 5 classes, like Hum, Math/Science, PE, Music, Drama, Art & Mandarin, at the same time every day, on a synchronous schedule. 7/
I have made this schedule the lock-screen of my phone. It’s all of our schedule, now. 8/
There are 49 kids in the online class—much larger than the in-person classes would be, bcuz the school is trying to minimize the size of the eventual in-person classes & there are only so many teachers to go around. Not something we anticipated or has been discussed enough. 9/
There are two teachers on each call. They have their videos & mikes on. They try to make each session interactive. They give the kids prompts to answer. They show presentations & lead them in song. They are trying to find ways for each to speak. They are doing their best. 10/
But kids have videos &mikes off, except when asking/answering q's. M signs in fr an iPad in her room &we don’t ask her to wear headphones, bcuz she’s uncomfortable enough already, sitting in front of the screen. This means we hear the school day, all day, from the next room. 11/
We hear them take attendance. “Here,” the little disembodied voices call out from the screen. “I’m here.” “Here.” “Here.” 12/
We hear the admonishments, too. “Turn your video off, I don’t want to have to ask you again.” “Please turn your microphone off so-and-so.” “Do you have anyone at home who can help you? No?” “I’m here.” “Here.” “Are you there?” “Unmute yourself, please.” 13/
Day 6. M is often bored, tuning out, reading other books while the teacher talks. Says her eyes hurt looking at the screen. She’s cranky between classes. She hasn’t interacted w any of her classmates. She spends so much time online I hesitate to set her up on any Zoom dates. 14/
It’s all relative. We’re incredibly fortunate, she has parents home to help her, has everything she needs. But it’s Day 6 & there are—what?—10 months of the school yr to go. Her grandmother asked her today who’s in her class. “Who cares?” she said. “I don’t see them anyway.” 15/
We have the choice of remaining fully online the entire school year. What choice is this? 16/
Our county has not met minimal standards and metrics for a safe reopening. It's red. It is not possible to open schools “safely” with this level of community spread in our city, county, state, and country. 17/
As for kids and COVID: I wrote about our experience with Kawasaki Shock Syndrome here. https://twitter.com/raginits/status/1257868030199033856?s=20 18/
We have the flexibility to keep M home. We will keep her home & try to keep her safe. We will keep her home & try to keep others safe. We can do this much to not put teachers, staff, and other community members at risk, and so we will. But damn. It’s going to be a long year. 19/
