my soapbox today

We have a large group on Facebook that parents belong to and share information on the school district and the area. Our school district isn’t always on the news for good reasons, so it becomes a gripe session quite often. Which is ok. This morning I couldn’t handle it anymore. I jumped on a very large soapbox. Once I was don’t I posted a much more lighthearted post asking parents to share a funny moment of this school at home time. I want the group back to where we help each other, and not just blast teachers (some of which are in the group as well).

Me: On a zoom call for work Gracie: Doing something for school (she's way too independent - I'm lucky there) Joe: Working on a reading intervention programThe sounds from Joe's program seemed to get quiet, I turn and look and this is what I found. F…

Me: On a zoom call for work
Gracie: Doing something for school (she's way too independent - I'm lucky there)
Joe: Working on a reading intervention program

The sounds from Joe's program seemed to get quiet, I turn and look and this is what I found. For the kid who says "I don't nap, I can't" he was pretty passed out on the floor. Hand still on the Chromebook touch pad.

For your reading pleasure:

Parents FOR Parma Education - Warning I’m about to jump on a very high soapbox. If you don’t want to hear it, keep on scrolling.

Our students were off school from March 14 until April 5. During that time they were on an extended Spring Break and were given some basic assignments mostly for review so when they returned to school they wouldn’t have a huge slide. These were all voluntary and we were reminded of that fact regularly.

Also during that time, our educators were faced with two days to get those materials and plans together. Once those plans were together and they attempted, to the best of their ability to get that information to the parents, they were tasked with something they had never even had a flicker of a thought about until that moment - the possibility that the students would not return to school on April 6.

During the extended spring break, which was intended to be a week off, our educators worked on TWO sets of plans for our students. One set, for if the students returned to school on April 6 and another set for if the students would be distance educated.

Those three weeks for us parents, we all dealt with being sent home to work remotely, being laid off, being an essential worker, being deemed an unessential worker after a week or two, had their own schooling change to completely online, and thrown in to finding childcare for what we expected to be two extra weeks with the possibility of more.

Parents, students, and educators set up home offices, found space in our homes to educate our children, found new ways to keep them entertained and outside, provided as much screen time as those little minds could handle (I’m not alone on that one, am I?)

Then the announcement came. Our educators would not be returning to our schools to teach our students until at least May 1. They knew which plan to focus on. And they did.

As we have all gotten endless emails from every company who has our email address about how they are dealing with COVID-19, our educators were receiving the same emails from every education software company that ever existed. The online softwares were opened up to free memberships due to COVID-19. Our educators, most likely, felt that they OWED it to our students to look into these programs and determine if they would have any value for our students. They, most likely, spent hours and hours researching all the different ways they could get quality education out to the students.

A lot of this software is new to them, including Google Classroom. It’s new to some of our students as well. Add in the fact that our district has students who may not have full access to these tools while at home.

When this all started, we were getting information hour to hour, we have all had to learn to adjust to changes in a completely different way than ever before. We must continue to be open to changes. Sometimes the internet sucks, sometimes Zoom doesn’t work, sometimes we have the wrong code for Google or freckle or spelling city or khan academy or our students PCSD login.

Reach out to your teachers, by email. Ask the questions that confuse you. Ask if there is an alternative. Your student is struggling reading online material? Grab a book. Read it with them. Discuss it. Science project not possible. Go on a walk and discover something new in nature and identify it (fyi if you want another app iNaturalist). Social Studies? Watch a press conference, watch a recorded session of congress, get your ballot and vote with your child. Math? Cook with your child. Show them the different measurements. Have them help you make the grocery list and see how much things cost online. Count everything. Teach them time. “Mommy has to work for 30 minutes, then play for 30 minutes.” Let the teacher know what you did on your own. We are in a Pass/Fail Crisis Schooling situation. EVERYONE is.

If you aren’t able to reach a teacher, email the principal.

Encore. Please don’t ignore encore. PE is important for the students. Again, does it have to be exactly what the teacher is asking for, maybe not. Talk to your teachers!!!! Art can be coloring, drawing, learn about an artist, visit an online museum. Music listen to music, talk about music, watch a movie and find the places where the music tells you the feeling it wants you to feel.

You got an IEP? Email your students teacher. Ask them how you can help them collect data. If that method won’t work or you don’t understand, tell them that. Too much work with regular classroom work and IEP interventions? Ask the teacher what regular classroom work is best to not do.

Your child can’t make it to Zoom calls/Google meets because you are working. Let the teachers know your schedule. Maybe you can send a short video of your student to the teacher, or schedule a different time to meet.

Come on here. ASK questions. SHARE information. SUPPORT each other. COMMISERATE about this being hard. DO NOT put the teachers on blast. It’s not helping them teach your students. It’s not helping you teach your students.

If you feel the district administrators could have done a better job, tell them that. They have emails, phone numbers, they will contact you (I had one call me at 8:30pm 15 minutes after I emailed).

Jumping off my soapbox now. Thanks for reading.