OT: K-12 Distance Learning
We are starting our 5th week of distance learning with a 2nd and 5th grader here. I have talked to several friends about how effective it has been and generally on a scale of 1 to 10 people are giving it a 1.5. Short answer is its not working at all. For the parents out there what is your experience?
This is nothing against the teachers. My kid’s teachers have been working very hard on this – You should see the number of midnight e-mails I get from them. In the end the teachers have been put in an impossible situation. Can distance even work for the majority of kids, particularly those in K to 8?
I am starting to think we should give up on this for the rest of the year. The stress this is putting on teachers, parents and kids does not seem worth it when its not really doing much to further our kid’s education. I have seen an increasing number of parents giving up on it and just having their kids read for an hour, do math for an hour and maybe watch some educational videos each day. Is it time to focus our efforts on how to get back to school in the fall? I have already written off the spring as a lost cause in terms of school – though we still have the kids participating.
This also raises important questions for school this fall. The evidence seems to indicate that distance learning is not a viable option for next year. This means we need to rapidly accelerate our efforts to plan for in person school in the fall. I am not seeing much clarity on that plan as of yet. Trying to put together a plan at the last minute in August will not go well.
What do you all think?
April 27th, 2020 at 10:12 AM ^
I work at the High School level at a pretty high performing school district, and I'd say at best it would be a 3 out of 10 in regards to the success rate. This is from a district where each student has a chrome book, internet access was provided to those who don't have it and I'm still not sure how well it actually is working.
Now prior to this, I was an administrator at an elementary school in the inner city for many years. I can only imagine how difficult things are going over there.
April 27th, 2020 at 12:40 PM ^
I have three kids in three different schools/situations.
Generally speaking, I think that there aren't enough lectures/lessons provided online or streamed. I would have thought that they would just have the teachers present their lessons on Google Meet or Zoom or Skype that they would have presented in class. Maybe there is something that I don't appreciate.
What is key is that they kids need to either be highly motivated and able to stay on task or they need a lot of individual attention during the entire day.
And I'd prefer that they just utilize one system for each student. my youngest is on Seesaw, Google Classroom, Epic, and a variety of other systems. My two oldest are each on a single platform and it makes it easier to manage.
details for each of my three boys -- warning tl/dr
My oldest is a freshman in a high performing public school, straight-A honor student. For him, it is way too easy. They don't assign nearly as much homework as they did before elearning. And there are few lectures online -- mostly the kids teaching themselves from their textbooks. For him, he's good at it. He's taken online math and computer sciences classes that last two years and is used to the concept. His school uses Schoology as the prime elearning system, it works pretty well but had a system failure the first week when the service wasn't ready for the load it took. But its been fine since.
My 7th grader is also a straight-A student in a small catholic school. He struggled at first putting in the appropriate level of effort and had a couple of quizzes that weren't up to his standards. After a little refocusing, he's back on track. They only have one lecture per day, a different class each day. They use Google Classroom. They have it organized very well and its clear what needs to be done. At this point, we don't need to spend much time with him. He's got it figured out.
My youngest is in 4th grade in the local public school and he is autistic. It is a nightmare. I spend all day working with him and its a real struggle. I'm supposed to be working, but I'm really doing home schooling. His school uses mostly Seesaw and some Google Classroom and a variety of other sites. I wish that they would just use one to help keep things clear on what needs to be done. The lack of aides that he has during the school day put a big load on the parents. But I honestly don't know how my son could be better supported remotely than the school is providing.
April 27th, 2020 at 12:45 PM ^
"High Performing" vs "Inner City"
Are these the two ends of the spectrum? You're an educator. An administrator apparently. Do better. Don't reenforce stereotypes.
hOW DARe tHYE USE ACCURate ADJECTIVE dESCRIPTION WORDS.
*Reinforce.
That educator enough for you? ;)
I'll take the correction. Thank you. Technically, reenforce is a variant in a bunch of dictionaries, but I admit I wasn't spelling it that way to be a rebel.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:13 AM ^
All over Europe, schools are planning for re-opening in May (including Spain).
April 27th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
What is the normal semester calendar for European schools? Similar to US with summer breaks, or year-round? If the latter, that might explain why they're going back so soon
Not sure for the rest of Europe, but U.K. typically goes into early July after a multi week break for Easter.
I live in Sevilla currently. It's basically the same as US schools, ending in late June. I'm not sure if the disruption has changed the end date or not. They do have a big easter break, but that's in lieu of a spring break.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:14 AM ^
It's not ideal but what are the alternatives.
One alternative would be to reopen the schools.
Next!
April 27th, 2020 at 10:15 AM ^
Also, what's going on with Liberty University? Is everyone dead?
April 27th, 2020 at 10:29 AM ^
Jerry Falwell is what's going on.
Can you please give a little more background here?
We've had friends use Liberty's distance learning program before, and it has worked well for some.
Oh just that Liberty opened their campus back up at the end of March/early April and we were told that it was going to become a hot spot. But there's really been no follow-up. I looked at the Lynchburg numbers, doesn't seem like anything crazy is going on. I assume that if things were going poorly, the media would have been all over it.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:18 AM ^
Can distance even work for the majority of kids, particularly those in K to 8?
Majority, yes. All, no. But, it will require a different skill set and a different strategy than the traditional school learning setting.
The stress this is putting on teachers, parents and kids does not seem worth it when its not really doing much to further our kid’s education.
I agree, but I don't think that's possible. Public schools are governed by the states. They require a certain number of school days. Teachers are also required to work a certain number of days per year. I guess it's possible that a state of emergency could warrant a waiver to those criteria, but opens the doors for conversations about lessening school budgets and teacher compensation. The powers that be will fight that. I don't think it's as simple as close shop for the year and everything else stays as is.
we need to rapidly accelerate our efforts to plan for in person school in the fall. I am not seeing much clarity on that plan as of yet. Trying to put together a plan at the last minute in August will not go well.
By and large, schools are still trying to process this year and are not ready to deal with next yet. But, next year will pose problems as well. I'd be surprised if kids don't return to school in the fall, but it will probably require some modifications for social distancing. And, it would surprise me if another distance learning period is needed if/when there is another outbreak.
There are no easy answers and this isn't going away. This will effect many things for quite some time. FYI I am a HS teacher.
I am in Virginia and have 4 kids. 1 in elementary, 2 in middle, 1 in high school. I would rate it as a 1 at most... all we have received is a big zip file of about 45 documents each that you have to print one by one. It seems to be mostly busy work and the teachers are providing no instruction. I am very concerned about the long term impacts because I have a kid missing the rest of pre-Calc and is taking AP Calc in the fall, and another kid in Algebra that goes to Geometry in the fall.
My frustration is similar to the comments around why the teachers aren't providing any recorded video instruction. I get that a live feed is not really possible but there is no reason they can't record their lessons and send them out. I am finding it very hard to justify wasting my kids time with busy worksheets.
Secondary to that is the fact the teachers are only available for a few hours a couple of days per week. They are receiving a full paycheck, they should be available all day for my kids to contact them if needed. My wife and I were out for a walk last week and my son's history teacher and wife(also a teacher) passed us in their SUV loaded with beach stuff (boogie boards, umbrellas, etc). Not sure what beach they were able to go to but they obviously weren't teaching!
We have been using Kahn Academy some to try to find virtual lessons for our kids but once again, shouldn't our teachers be doing this???
It's a terrible situation and I feel our county/school system has basically written it off and refuses to put out any effort to make it work.
It seems to be mostly busy work and the teachers are providing no instruction.
I think that's accurate for many classes. I am not providing any real instruction. Keep in mind when this started for many schools teachers had no time to prepare. We also didn't know how long it would last. At my school in ME, we expected only 2 weeks. So, two weeks with some busy work/practice was fine. That turned into 4 weeks. OK, not ideal, but still fine. If that turns into an entire quarter as it appears, it's a bit more of a problem, but that couldn't have been predicted at the onset and now we're looking at is it worth starting when there's really only a month left of school for most.
I am very concerned about the long term impacts
I would encourage you to think big picture. How much does one quarter of schooling really matter in the context of ones education? I don't think there are a ton of long term impacts of a quarter of distance learning that any family couldn't adjust to if they were motivated to do so. But, it may cause some short term discomfort and frustration and extra work. This is the hand we've been dealt.
My frustration is similar to the comments around why the teachers aren't providing any recorded video instruction.
It probably depends on the teacher. Some teachers probably have no idea how to do that. And, why should they? That was beyond the scope of their jobs prior to a month ago. I have considered doing so, but don't think it's necessary for my content (PE). My kids will certainly have holes in their knowledge of fitness principles, but I have to weigh that with how many kids will actually watch the instruction and how much can I assess their learning from that? There are many learning styles. Some prefer hands on work, some prefer to read the material, whereas others prefer to hear it audibly. No one style works for all kids. In the classroom teachers can differentiate instructional techniques, but that's harder with distance learning. I wouldn't assume a video recording would work for all kids either.
At my school we are only doing pass/fail and have been asked not to do assessments of any new knowledge because the percentage of kids completing assignments is so low. Teachers, just like parents, are weighing how many kids are actually doing work and the risk/reward of doing assessments if half of the kids fail or don't do the assessments at all. We can't exactly have half of every class have to repeat it because they didn't take part in the distance learning.
I am finding it very hard to justify wasting my kids time with busy worksheets.
I guess you have to weigh that with the how your school is assessing students. If they aren't, then by all means, stop doing it. If they are, your kids run the risk of failing. That's something you will have to decide on what's best for you and your kids.
Secondary to that is the fact the teachers are only available for a few hours a couple of days per week.
My school is expecting us to be available through email during our normal school hours of 7:30am - 2:40pm and asked to return all parent/student emails within one business day. If your kids teachers aren't doing that I'd encourage you to voice your frustration to the teacher. If it doesn't improve consider emailing an administrator at the school. I'm sure it will get fixed.
They are receiving a full paycheck, they should be available all day for my kids to contact them if needed.
Again, same deal. Maybe it's different at your kids' school, but mine are working their normal hours. Don't get me wrong, I have way less work, but I'd be happy to have more as would most of my colleagues. I respond to all emails I receive during school hours within an hour.
My wife and I were out for a walk last week and my son's history teacher and wife(also a teacher) passed us in their SUV loaded with beach stuff (boogie boards, umbrellas, etc). Not sure what beach they were able to go to but they obviously weren't teaching!
I can see how that would be frustrating. I know I will also go out of the house during the school day if nothing is going on. I think that's more a function of the fact that often times there isn't a lot for teachers to do once they've assigned work until that works starts coming in to grade and provide feedback on. I don't get a ton of email questions, but PE is much simpler than say AP calculus. But, most teachers got into this because they want to help. I'd guess that's more a function of not a lot to do rather than the desire to help your kids.
We have been using Kahn Academy some to try to find virtual lessons for our kids but once again, shouldn't our teachers be doing this???
I think this probably comes back to the issue of assessment. Certainly the teachers could and likely would be happy to do that if it meant they could actually hold students accountable to learning the content from it. But, it might not be wise to assign it to every student and assess them on it if only a small percentage would actually do the work and they'd be forced to fail the rest. Or worse yet they aren't even allowed to assess. That's a whole lot of work for very little return. A students "job" is to learn the material. A teacher's job isn't to make them learn it....it's to support them and provide an environment conducive to learning. Covid is making that harder, but a teacher should never be expected to make kids learn...that's not their job. If a student is not willing to put in the work, they should not expect a teacher to figure it out for them. They need to meet half way. I think at times today students and parents think it's the teacher's job to make them learn, which I don't believe is appropriate. If it's not working the teacher absolutely needs to be available to help them work through it, but the student needs to take ownership of their own learning and first make an honest attempt, then go back for additional help when needed.
It's a terrible situation and I feel our county/school system has basically written it off and refuses to put out any effort to make it work.
I don't get that impression, but I could see you might think that. Teachers generally are willing to do more and give up their personal time to help their students. The problem is schools weren't prepared for this. They are figuring it out as they go and trying to balance what's best for everyone. They can't assume every household is like yours. I'm sure some have poor parental supervision and are struggling financially or may not even have internet access. Schools can't exactly let all those kids fail just because they aren't able to support their kids through this process. That's not fair to them. So, they have to balance what's best for all students, which undoubtedly hurt some, particularly the students with higher aspirations. I'd just again encourage you to think long term and realize one quarter of HS won't kill your kids chances at success down the road. It's a small blimp in the education of your child. Imagine if both you and your wife were out of work and struggling financially to make ends meet and/or couldn't afford internet and computers. Be grateful you have this "problem" and consider giving back to the community at large that isn't as blessed as you are :)
Thank you for taking the time to address my concerns and the experience we are having. I agree that it is the kids job to learn the material. My problem is that they are receiving no material... just blanket worksheets of stuff they have already learned during the year. No new material or instruction.
I do believe this can have a long term impact. Math specifically tends to build of off prior year foundations. My children in pre-calc and algebra will never get this time back to ensure mastery before moving on.
I also get that people are in a lot of different positions with finances, internet access, etc and this was the exact reason our administrator said they are not offering Virtual Virginia (which is a state education platform that is now being offered for free to public schools due to COVID). He said they can't offer it puts others at a disadvantage. This is where I completely agree with the comment below about my state being ran by buffoons. Don't educate anyone because of the needs of a few.
I have been in contact with our systems at the school level and the county level since they first announced the closure for 2 weeks. I quickly realized it would be at least a month because of where our spring break week was. I began asking for their long term plan at that point. I have just been given excuses and that they are doing the best they can because no one can be disadvantaged... and by no one, they actually mean everyone CAN be and will be disadvantaged.
I even asked the county school system if I could request access to Virtual Virginia for my kids because the government is allowing free access (but the request has to come from a school administrator), they said it isn't that simple and can't be done. It's being offer free... to public education... and they won't even try to use it.
I am sorry but excuses don't get things done. They CAN record instructional videos if they wanted to, they CAN supply our kids with links to websites or free learning content if they wanted to, they CAN do a heck of a lot more that sending my kids a bunch of worksheets on material they have already learned. They choose to do nothing out of the ordinary and collect a full pay.
I get that this is all new and outside the scope of anything they thought would have to do... but a bunch of companies, including mine, have had to quickly figure out how to operate in a completely remote environment. We don't have the option to say we have been dealt a tough hand. We have been working longer hours and figuring out ways to get our jobs done.
You sound really frustrated. I could go through your post point by point, but I don't think you'll accept any of my answers nor find it useful. Your feelings of being frustrated are valid as are your concerns. I'm sure some of the very teachers and administrators you are feeling frustrated by are equally frustrated. Unfortunately there are not easy answers. Even our president doesn't agree with our governors! Instead of looking to assigning blame or winning an argument, I'd encourage you to open up discussions with your child's teachers, schools, and/or administrators from the perspective of doing what's best for kids...not necessarily getting what you want. Most educators will respect that and do their best to hear you out, provide you the resources they have, and help you feel more comfortable about this unique and challenging time. They may not be able to change school wide policy, but they may be able to do more. After that all you can do is accept where we are and do the best to help your child. Good luck :)
Correct. I am frustrated. I have gone to the school, I have gone to the administrators. I have asked for access to a state virtual educational platform that is now being offered for free to schools. I am being roadblocked at every step.
I am frustrated by the fact that they view this as being acceptable. They throw their hands in the air and say we have tried everything. It's not good enough and the majority of parents refuse to accept it.
There are some good teachers that are trying but the school system is not and the vast majority of teachers we have are now on summer vacation. I am not saying that is you, I am stating my experience with 4 kids in three different schools.
What did you ask the Pre-calc teacher and what did they recommend?
NC teacher here. It’s not lack of effort, it’s lack of guidance. Your state in particular is run by buffoons
April 27th, 2020 at 10:21 AM ^
Pick a few things that are important to that age and run with those. With young kids focus on learning another language using duolingo. Have them play with PHET simulations and report out what they observe. Because the structure is different things will feel like they aren't working well, but if you focus on letting your child explain things they will benefit.
Less is more because if they sit on the computer they won't have enough social experiences to lock their learning into memory. But if you let them explain and do some reflection at the end of lessons they'll get a lot more benefit.
If your kids are in middle school or high school have them focus on learning about memory and how the brain works. Veritasium has some great videos about this.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
It's not stressful for some. I am at about 50/50. My lessons are adaptable, most content is viable and it's now up to the kids to do the work. We took a poll last week. Found about 25% of them were responding to classes they liked and ghosting ones that were too hard...once the district sent 80 page packets home to those 'ghosting' it's amazing how many suddenly started submitting work. In their defense some were left thinking it was over already and just dialed out. Now that the district said, OK it's fourth quarter, we are teaching split content every other day, they seem to be jumping into it.
Is it perfect? No. Is it doing the best we can and learning along the way, yes, We owe the kids our best effort and expect the same from them. Coping out throwing in the towel is weak. People homeschool...we are professionals. Find a way. Even the kids with packets, some say they like it better having you know...paper in hand like we did for the first 20 years of my career. It's not easy. nothing worth while ever is.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:32 AM ^
The distance learning program enacted in the last 6 weeks is designed from scratch with zero prep for families, students, or teachers. That's an immense undertaking.
"Distance learning" depending upon what you mean, CAN work well. But it requires a curriculum designed for it and a family committed to it. Regular, in-person schools are not designed for this, so they're making this stuff up as they go along, and it's difficult.
My kids have used a remote distance program for years and it's great, but it is designed for what they are doing and has been refined over decades of work, including well-produced recorded classroom instruction. Current schools just don't have the resources to develop that from scratch.
It might be wise for schools to begin preparing for such an eventuality as a contingency next fall, but normal schools are really meant to be attended in-person.
April 27th, 2020 at 11:02 PM ^
The key to a lot of this is expectations. Are you expecting true online learning? That is not what we are doing. We are doing the best we can.
As a teacher at the Middle School level, in one week I had to come up with 6 weeks of online learning, and 6 weeks of at home learning for those who choose that route. I did my best, and continue to do so. We adapt as we go, but I am at my best in my class with 30 some 7th graders in my 5 class periods. The interactions, discussions, and learning are deeper and meaningful. This is barely skimming the surface.
As a parent of 3 elementary aged children it is also frustrating at times; but I know my boys teacher's really well and that they are also doing their best.
My main priority is checking in on my kids and making sure they are okay physically and emotionally. The learning is secondary.
Teaching is not the same as changing the product at a Ford company. I hope all your teachers are doing their best, and have all your children's needs at the forefront.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:41 AM ^
Have you had to shepherd your kids through distance learning? It's really, really tough.
April 27th, 2020 at 11:14 AM ^
The whole situation has made schools jump both feet in on this, the pandemic has made a lot of situations a trial by error type situation there is no playbook for anything we all are going through putting people on the spot isn’t the thing to do. This is no sport and Monday morning quarterbacking is easy to do, instead we all should be offering forward advice not backward.
April 27th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
I would plan on opening schools starting the 11th with a part-time schedule. Half the school on one day, the other half on the next to keep classrooms from being too crowded.
April 27th, 2020 at 11:08 AM ^
I think you are greatly underestimating certain aspects. Of course teachers are doing the planning, but in our district the school system is effectively pumping out three to four 10-minute videos per day and requiring grade school students to then complete a number of worksheets. There is only so much teaching that can be done in 10 minutes, and there is no room for questions. Students are expected to have gained an understanding of the different concepts ahead of one 30-45 minute class-wide video session that takes place in the afternoon.
Now imagine that you have two parents working full-time and grade school students that need a lot of help/have a lot of questions/are generally struggling more because they miss their friends/don't want to complete what seems to them utterly pointless worksheets when all of this is going on.
Yes, it is stressful. No, it is not as simple as "just making sure they're getting their work done." Maybe easier for some and a lot depends on the district and how your kids are able to adjust and perhaps their age.
I agree in that I do hope this experience has reminded parents just how dedicated teachers are and how difficult their job is.
Agree with all this and I’ll add... you can’t just show your kids how to do something based on your knowledge/experience. They have to complete the work according to the curriculum at their level. For example, math problems have to be solved using specific methods.
April 27th, 2020 at 11:50 AM ^
I am sure this is a lot of work for teachers and it is a big change. I don't think anyone doubts that. But honestly, "they don't tell you the thousands of other things that will be expected of you in college" is kind of weak. That is every single job. I can't think of a single job where you do the top line item that you signed up for and aren't expected to do anything else and deal with a bunch of annoying and distracting crap. I'd love it if none of us had to do this, but that isn't real life.
I would also be careful about downplaying the face to face part of kids getting their work done. If that isn't important, why can't this just be permanent? Is "making sure kids get their work done" what teachers do during the school day? I don't think anyone thinks that, so I think you should have some more respect for the people who are doing that now while trying to do and keep their own jobs.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:38 AM ^
I think remote learning for younger kids is untenable; both my kids are basically checked out by this point. And especially with really young kids, parents have to be there with them so it's not even very productive; I have to sit next to my kids while they do their classes so they pay attention.
I don't blame the teachers or the admins, but at some point you have to cut bait on the year with younger kids and let them just get prepared for opening back up.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:50 AM ^
This... I have a 3rd grader that is new to 'distance learning' and/or home school. We got him a Chromebook a couple of weeks ago just for classwork. His teacher posts several exercises daily, and he has access to Lexia Core 5 (a reading app) and Prodigy (a math based game), he likes both. Nonetheless, I am currently reorganizing my office to move him in here with me so I can keep a better eye on him while he works. Going through the motions with apps is a poor way to learn...
April 27th, 2020 at 11:14 AM ^
I have a 2nd grader and the number of different apps is a problem. If everything was integrated into a single portal and system, things would be going much more smoothly.
I have a meeting with his teacher this week. I'm going to ask her to email us the classwork he would usually be doing, math packets and the like, so I can print them out and teach it to him myself.
April 27th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
The multiple apps are driving us crazy too! I have a 1st and second grader, and I wish we could just focus on one or two things a day. I feel they would be absorbing more than they are bouncing from app to app to zoom meeting. This probably dates me a bit, but when I was a kid we were taught the acronym KISS in elementary school. Keep it simple stupid. With everyone trying so hard to cobble this together we've made this more complicated than it needs to be.
this 100% Kalkaska Wolverine...KISS. Thankfully we have been 1:1 for a few years as a means to engage learning, and for the most part, our kids have slid over very well. MOST say they miss personal experiences, and the opportunity to ask questions. This is the case with both my college freshmen as well...Our district has designated Monday and Wednesday for half their course load and Tuesday/Thursday for the other half...no more than 30 minute assignments, KEEP IT SIMPLE and relevant. Fridays is a review/zoom/check in for questions with office hours every day from noon until 2:30 but all of us are answering all day and night. I responded at 11:30 last night...it's helpful to let kids know you are here to help them.
We also focus on ONE app for delivery, hammer dropped by central administration, no exceptions. That way parents aren't swimming with app to app to app...we understood this long ago with parent complaints. I have to say...we have it pretty good.
i have a 1st grader who is not as attentive compared to other children his age.
it is an all morning and early afternoon job to have him finish just his assigned school work. he is not old enough to fully understand every instruction by himself and it requires both my spouse and i to rotate in and out so we don't burn ourselves out emotionally and mentally.
by dinner time we are both so spent that i barely have anything left in the tank to do other stuff.
but i have to admit, with all the one on one attention we are giving him, his reading and writing has gotten significantly better his teachers were very surprised...
I have a 2nd and 3rd grader in suburban NY public schools
3rd grader is doing better but his teacher is also doing a better job with Zoom sessions or Google Meeting class times. Not a lot but a few to at least let him see his teacher and classmates and have something more tangible than reading something and writing an answer to a few questions. I was hoping they'd have more of these virtual classes instead of being assigned independent work or watching some recorded videos. He's very strong in math so he's been crushing all the math work and math apps (and even finished all the assignments in one math app within the first 2 weeks - so if anyone has other recommendations that he can do on his own, i'd appreciate it). It is the writing that he loses interest or his attention span on easier being he has to do it on his own.
My 2nd grader as had zero live sessions with her teacher or classmates. I don't know if its a grade-wide decision or her teacher being non-technology savvy. She is struggling more with the e-learning and just sort of half-asses it. Basically went from never having a teacher say a negative thing about her to her teacher pointing out errors, skipped sections, etc. Some are beyond nitpicky but I think it shows sort of disinterest. We've been begging her teacher to do a zoom or google meetings but its fallen on deaf ears. Even spending 30 min reading a book to the class would help but nothing so far... just a pre-recorded video each morning
April 27th, 2020 at 10:39 AM ^
Might not be the best example since mine is in kindergarten, but we're doing just fine on the education front because I can focus most on where she's not as strong rather than balance among 15 kids with different strengths and weaknesses.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:39 AM ^
per a USA Today article last night, Purdue is looking hard at reopening ‘physically’ in the fall (note that the title is somewhat misleading as they left a couple important words out of the actual quote). Will be interesting to see how the liability and perception of risk management vs risk elimination plays out as we approach the fall. I could see it going either way. And as the OP points out and I agree, I think the value of in-person education is probably inversely proportional to age.
To underscore this point, I got a bit of a chuckle this morning as I was going for a walk and saw a guy on a bike (on a somewhat busy road) wearing what looked like an N-95 mask and he wasn’t wearing a bike helmet...
April 27th, 2020 at 10:56 AM ^
Purdue's president is Mitch Daniels, who used to be the governor of Indiana. He's a noted Republican.
April 27th, 2020 at 12:39 PM ^
Daniels' political leanings - how is that relevant?
Ok cool
April 27th, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
Very relevant article in Wall Street Journal today about studies across Europe. Also, indications it MIGHT even be that kids are not vectors as feared.....
April 27th, 2020 at 10:54 AM ^
I don't blame leaders for closing schools because it makes sense to be cautious in regards to children.
But its been wild to see people do everything they can to deny how much age factors into how serious this is for people. And that's been apparent for quite some time.