We made the decision today to withdraw our kids from their public school. We will be homeschooling. Apparently other people are doing the same because this is the automatic response I received.

I had no idea we’d be in this position when the pandemic started. At all. But after spending the summer waiting for a plan from the city I got frustrated. All of the chaos and mixed messages and the delay and the inability to plan ... for working parents it’s tough.

Our kids’ classes have 30 kids each - 30 first graders trying to navigate zoom. The teachers are trying so hard, but remote learning doesn’t work. It’s not great for them, and I can’t keep track of their schedules and the passwords and watch a one year old and, you know, work.

We are extremely lucky that my mother is a retired teacher and has stepped in to teach the kids. We’re lucky to stay with them. Family support is the only reason we can navigate the lack of childcare.

I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this, but I think we need to have a national conversation about how parents are doing right now because it’s not good. This is a societal breakdown. We’re failing kids across the country.