My son started second grade yesterday. Actually, he started second grade two weeks ago. Our school district started with everyone online, and then slowly bringing students, by grade, to campus. He loved his teachers but hated the online environment. At seven, he was too young to maneuver from page to page, from URL to URL, from assignment to lectura (he's in a Spanish immersion program). And so either my wife or I had to be there, assisting him. He wanted to do it himself but needed our help, which only made him frustrated, anxious, and angry.
The other problem with online learning for my son, was the Spanish immersion program he is in. Yu cannot be immersed in a foreign language over the internet. When together, as a class, the non-Spanish speaking students learned in part by taking cues from the Spanish speaking students. When the teacher asked everyone to "levantate" the non-Spanish speaking kids learn that 'levantate" means to stand up because they saw their Spanish speaking classmates stand up. He needed to get back to school. But, he loved his teachers.
When we told him he was going back to school, that he would be with his friends again, and could take real music and art classes, he threw a fit because he would also be getting new teachers, and he loved his online teachers.
He survived the first day, begrudgingly. We are waiting for the other shoe to drop -and that being the first case(s) of COVID. How long until the school reports its first cases?
Every state has reported an uptick in positive cases once colleges opened for the Fall semester. Some schools quarantined the positive or suspected students, others shut the campuses down for two weeks, and other schools just called it a day and went to 100% online classes. Some schools never reopened their on campus offerings and others, such as Iowa State University, continued to hold on campus classes as the number of infected students rose and rose and rose until ISU had more COVID cases than any other school.
So what's going to happen at HISD? The largest K-12 district in the area. They will not return to classes until October, and then what's going to happen?
And what about HCC? We are slated to move those on campus classes from online to onsite. But what about those who are immune suppressed? What about those with child care problems? What about those with severe anxiety or other emotional disorders? How will the transition be for those groups?
Actually, will there be a transition? I mean, what if HCC decides to push back the start date from online to onsite, or just outright cancels all on campus classes? How will the on campus students adjust to the world of Distance Education? How will I have to change or what will I have to do to help those on campus students in their transition to 100% DE students? [That's what happened less than 24 hours after I posted this.]
There are major differences between on campus and online learning. The skill set needed to succeed in an online setting are different from the skill set needed to succeed in an on campus setting. Just the mindset alone needs an adjustment, attitudes about learning need to be tweaked, and maybe even feathers will need to be smoothed out. There could be anxiety issues with remaining as online students when they didn't sign up to be online students. Of course, that's what happened in the Spring. Remember?
BTW, most of the West coast is ablaze. Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, San Francisco, and all points in between seem to be either on fire or covered in a thick layer of pick (the color of the retardant). Sally is about to slam into Louisiana or Mississippi as a Cat-2 storm. There are four other named storms churning in the Atlantic and we've exhausted the list of hurricane names. It's only mid-September -the height of the hurricane season. Now we start using the Greek alphabet, so the next named storm will be Alpha, then Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc. Anyone wish to argue that climate change is not real? I mean, besides Donald Trump who blamed the state of California for mismanagement of the forests even though nearly 60% is owned by the federal government. Only 3% is owned by the state. The other day Trump said it's going to get cooler, "you just watch."
A true back to step one. The fear, the unknown, the what ifs, the what will tomorrow bring are all constant questions replaying daily in my head. I try not to get myself too scared and nervous because I don’t want to live in fear or have my children be afraid but the reality of not knowing what's next is very eerie. I have two kids that started online school September 8th. As a first choice I wanted to keep them On-demand(the name for online learning for Sheldon ISD) until December just to be cautious but they began to get bored and wanted the social environment and seeing a teacher in person. With me having to go back to work, my only choice now is to send them back to campus. Tomorrow will be their first day on campus and my mind is going a million miles a minute. Is the school safe? What about if a child gets COVID will they all be back home? Are the schools really making it safe enough for kids to return with washing hands and social distancing? What will the changing of classes and lunch be? All these questions are where I’m at mentally but I have to believe and trust that God has it all worked out. Another thing that has me confused is to the kids still doing online learning and in person learning will they all get the full lesson while in class with the teacher trying to teach both ways. As a parent I will send my children back with their mask, hand sanitizer and plenty of knowledge on staying distant and doing their part to keep their school safe. Honestly this has become our new reality so we have to take it one day at a time and not over think the negatives because that won’t fix anything. Live for today and worry about tomorrow when it gets here.
ReplyDeleteWell let me initially state that I am not a parent but I would have the same exact questions you have. I do have nieces and a nephew, which is where most of my worry is. They are all in elementary and I just know for a fact that my nieces and nephew aren't constantly washing their hands, covering their cough, social distancing, or even wearing their mask. I feel like children of younger age just have a harder time following these new rules. We, as in my family and I, try to imply these new rules, but are we really getting our point across. I'm confused at this point too. I have some classes right now where teachers can't figure out if they taught us something or if it was another class. I hope everything dies down if that even makes sense. Will Coronavirus ever disappear or is that the new sick?
DeleteFirstly, I sympathize for the parents who have to juggle with assisting their children with online classes and their own work as well. I, as well would have the same worries and concerns you have. In my opinion, it is very important you mentioned that you try not to get yourself too scared and nervous because a lot of the times when people do that, they block out any new important information which is not good. Everyone needs to be informed of what is going on, that way it is easier to make educated decisions for yourself and your loved ones.
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Delete3. Your questions that you ask are great. I see myself wonder the same things you do, if I were to have a child or children. COVID and the issues surrounding how it affects a person’s health is really concerning. I would ask more questions than ever before, and so should most parents. This is not a topic to take lightly but a topic that needs to be address across the nation. By setting standards and rules to follow will help but it will never be 100%. Getting children back to the state of normal, will be such a task. Can we overcome these issues and will this be the new norm forever?
I totally agree with you! I am not a parent but having that feeling of not knowing what can happen is pretty scary. I have little cousins that started face-to-face school and so far, nothing has happened but I always wondering the same things that you asked. Are schools even doing social distance, are they keeping it clean, like what can really be going on in school. As a parent or as a family member, you tend to worry for the safety of your children/loved ones, and it is crazy to think that they are not safe from the infection. On another note, if things are good in school where it is safe for kids to be, it is good to have a face-to-face class as the student learn better and not get distracted as easily as they would at home. There can be pros and cons on having kids go back to school.
DeleteI agree with you, Cassandra. We should not remain in constant fear during these pressing times in our life. Although I am not a parent, I do have parents that would be considered essential workers, and they are also affected by the pandemic, so I can only imagine what you are going through. My parents did have concerns about whether I should leave to Sam Houston or stay home and attend a Community College, they did not want to risk my health. As you can see, I stayed and attended HCC. However, you are right. We should also be aware that our world is not in a good state at the moment, and we should not ignore what is going on while also trying to remain as calm as possible and to stay informed on any new information.
DeleteBack to square one indeed. The pandemic started out as a panic inducing nightmare that was displayed on all channels, websites, and even conversations. Now that the panic has died down, society is slowly starting to open back up. Although I long to see my friends at school, travel without the fear of getting sick, or getting a loved one sick in general, I don’t agree with schools having in-person classes. Much of society is going though financial struggles, difficulty with child care (for those who have to work through the pandemic while their children stay home), and generalized anxiety about the pandemic. These factors must be considered before requiring students to attend school in person.
DeleteI am not a parent but I empathize with what any parent is going through right now. Having to juggle with going back to work or even working remotely from home is hard already plus you have the kids who are also doing an online school is already a struggle by itself. But for those who have to have their children go back to school as option because the parents have to work as well is also hard because you also fear of them getting sick and also having that being passed on around the home. I just wish that there will be a cure for this virus soon so all can be normal. But by saying normal now a days is also like a cliche. What is normal now anyway. How do we really go back to our normal lives before without fearing that we will get sick or not.
DeleteI may not be a parent nor do I have children, but I do understand the struggles that many people are going through thanks to this pandemic, socially and financially. Again, I am not a parent, but I do have a niece who is the daughter of my older sister. She just started school (this is her first year in preschool) albeit with a bit of a shock; the class takes place on the internet instead of a traditional school, so much for my niece’s confusion about seeing kids going to school when she was watching television and she had to do it in a computer. She then asked me why can’t she go to school just like the kids shown on television. I know I can’t tell her about the pandemic because I don’t want to scare her. To make things worse, her mother often goes out because she misses being outside after the lockdown that started back in March. This means that now I have to supervise my niece into her class while I am trying to deal with my online classes and my job, which I work on online. Now I ask myself: Is this the struggle that parents go through during the pandemic? This IS indeed going back to square one!
DeleteFirst let me say I am not a parent so I do not know much about the conflicts regarding the stress that comes with home schooling children, especially if both parents in the house hold work. Sadly during this time parents are under constant ridicule if they decide to keep their children home or let their children go back to school. With that being said I could understand why you would send your son back to school during this time. Children need to be a in a school setting so they can develop the specific skills and mindsets that are only gain in a school setting. Children need to socialize with their friends, wake up early, get dress, create a routine in their life so they are better able to adapt to society when they get older. With that being said I also can agree with parents who decide to keep their children home until we as a "society" learn more about COVID. If the parents who decide to keep their children home can create an environment for their children to learn and adapt to a home school environment than their child can potentially be successful in their future academic career . The only question that comes into is how long will parents keep their child home? Unfortunately we are dealing with a President that runs the country like a reality TV show. So we really dont know who to listen to. The best way to handle situations like this is to think about your child's future at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteI am not a parent either but I do have 3 little sisters who now attend school online. One of them is 18 years old and she knows how to navigate the website and she adjusted good to online classes. But my other two sisters are 7 and 5 years old and they have been struggling so much. Both of my parents work everyday and so do I. So it is up to my 18 year old sister to help both little ones out and it is really hard on her because sometimes she doesn't even focus on her zoom classes because she is too busy helping the other 2 with their zoom classes. These kids are so little that they don't even know how to turn on a computer and my parents have really been thinking about sending the little ones back to in person classes just because they have no one else to help them.
DeleteI agree that it must be challenging times for those with young children going back to school and managing all of that. To start off, I can relate to worrying about how the k-12 schools are handling online classes and integrating students back into the campus. I have two nieces that go to elementary, with a third a couple months old so the danger is very much real if any of them contracts the virus and gets everyone in their house affected. My sister has made them stay home for online school due to her having concerns about exposure to the virus in school, it doesn't help that the president forced schools to reopen to restart the economy but at the cost of putting young people in danger as well as underpaid teachers. With so happening around the world and in the us itself, students taking online class and going back to campus it has been brushed under the rug as one of those things that people can't afford to give to much attention to due to the us burning figuratively and literally. The upcoming election and couple months will dictate if the country will sink or swim.
DeleteAs a parent of children between the age of 6, 4 and 2years and also a single parent but self employed, I didn't send my kids to school this year knowing that a year out of school and not out of academics wont stop them from achieving the dreams and goal in life as those in power must have private tutors to tutor their kids at home but make laws that they are not practicing or knowing ways to safe guide their own kids. one thing I have always reminded myself is to take the best decisions as it pertains to me. I realize that the present government and the decisions that make have not always been to the advantage of the middle to lower class citizens. Decision on tax and most especially the control of Covid 19. They were more cautious of rising their stock price and that they encourage the premature reopening of the economy. However, I don't blame the parent who feels the need to send their kids to school as some of them are front line worker, some are single parent who has bills to pay and without working, they won't be able to pay their bill and keep a roof over their heads.
DeleteI totally agree with you Kalisah, I am with you on ever statement that you said. As a normal college student throughout the years of my education, I have never been homeschooled or have taken an online course upon till now in college, So I did not know what to expect I am just learning as I go. And with exception of me becoming the first person in my family along with 3 other siblings to attend college, I cannot receive any advice I can only help myself with whatever obstacle comes my way. I believe that every student should need a school setting to be social with their peers and be active in life. Because I don’t believe it’s a good idea for any parent to decide for their child and home school them, then you start thinking like “what kind of life is that for them?”. With all the political news going around, we have to decide as whole community about what is right for our family in general.
DeleteI’m not a parent but I can understand that some parents have a difficult time helping their child with school work and also working from home. Covid took a huge turn on online school. Many kids find online schooling very difficult from learning school face to face. For instance, I myself am a visual learner in a face to face class room , so I can relate to the students who are having trouble. I know many parents are really struggling wanting to keep their kids home and safe, but many have to send their kids to school so they can get the best education as possible because they aren’t able to help them as much because of their job. All they can do is hope for the best . If I was a parent I would want to keep my child home for safety reasons. I was make a schedule so that way I can get my job work done and be able to help my children with their school work.
ReplyDeleteI understand that Covid did make big changes in almost everyone’s homes as I too don’t have any kids but I can only imagine the stress that parents have to go through in seeing their child 24/7 and struggle on online work. The fact that some schools don’t see how dangerous Covid is becoming is astronomical as I know people who have had it and is now suffering from hair loss and slowly getting over the symptoms. Even so many families are having cut backs on their job and or still risk their lives to support their families even if the risk of catching it is always around the corner. My mother works in grocery shopping so the fact that many go to the store and touch everything with or without protection always has the percentage that she may bring it home any day and well, it’s a scary but a real thought that many who have to go to school risk by perhaps bringing it home as well.
DeleteCovid made a huge difference since the beginning of this year. Especially for school, I thought the transfer from going to school in person to online would be easy. A couple days in I lost it, so I could only image how hard it is to help a child with their online school work and also try to focus on your work. I recommend just taking it one day at a time. There is no point on stressing about it. Soon the COVID would pass and hopefully everything would turn back to normal. We got this guys let’s just keep our heads high. Have the mindset that we are going to pass this semester, if we do not get to overwhelmed.
DeleteI am not a parent either but I do have 3 little sisters who now attend school online. One of them is 18 years old and she knows how to navigate the website and she adjusted good to online classes. But my other two sisters are 7 and 5 years old and they have been struggling so much. Both of my parents work everyday and so do I. So it is up to my 18 year old sister to help both little ones out and it is really hard on her because sometimes she doesn't even focus on her zoom classes because she is too busy helping the other 2 with their zoom classes. These kids are so little that they don't even know how to turn on a computer and my parents have really been thinking about sending the little ones back to in person classes just because they have no one else to help them.
DeleteI can totally relate, even though I'm not a parent, I have a 6 year old brother and he doesn't know how to properly use the computer and navigate through websites to finish his assignments. My parents and i sometimes have to stay with him during his online classes to help him navigate through the website and help him with his assignments. My parents are so stressed about him because he's not learning anything. My brother and I both are visual learners but mostly all our zoom classes are lectures. So it’s much harder to focus in the lectures when we have different types of learning method.
DeleteI can relate to this because my first day of class was challenging. I was a transfer student from Blinn College with Autism. So, I am new when it comes to accessing my Canvas and how to add my classes. My professors show to the class how to navigate Canvas because that way, I have a rough understanding of where to go to turn in assignments, announcements, and extra resources. However, the complication does not end there. I am a visual learner in a face to face classroom, so understanding through a computer screen does not save the information with my stupid brain. So, I need to go to Crash Course on YouTube and clarify for my lectures. When it comes to doing assignments, I need to ask my Mother and my Sister to explain the work question. Not only that, I need to bear all the distractions that my parents make every day. It was difficult to tell my parents not to make any noise while taking a class and studying. I do understand from a student's point of view when it comes to distance education. But we need to adapt and make this situation new normality.
DeleteI agree with your thoughts as the situation really is threatening. As students we can relate to this situation, but as we all know deep down inside that self learning eventually becomes boring and stressful we as a student need a good social environment so what we have learned, we can discuss it with fellow students. Which will help us to correct our mistakes and improve our understanding towards a certain topic. There is a report about the epidemic not sure if it's true or false but it says in Italy most covid cases spread through air conditioners. So how can we be sure staying home is safe?
DeleteI'm not a parent either but I agree with your view points. My sisters have also been having trouble with their online courses. They have to wake up really early in order to log into their zooms. It takes a lot of self-discipline to not get distracted while on call. Not to mention it's easier to get distracted without parental supervision. However, for safety reasons, I don't think they should be sent back to school. I understand for some families they don’t have a choice because the parents work. Hopefully soon things can return back to normal but for now all we can really do is try to make the best of this pandemic.
DeleteTiana, everything you said is perfectly accurate. I am actually the legal guardian for my younger brother who is 12 years old now and I can relate to what your saying. The world will not be the same before Covid-19. My biggest concern right now is what if he goes to school and catches the virus or what if he catches it on his way to school or home. Many questions roam around my mind day and night. So I decided to keep him taking all classes online. Of course he did not like it at first but after we talked and I explained how we always need to adapt to the situation we're put in and how this is for his own sake he understood and followed. Online was hard at first for him because he sometimes might have trouble understanding what he is supposed to do and it was even harder for me to deal with my classes, work, and the help him with his studies, but now he is doing way better and I changed work and school schedule to be able to help him out.
DeleteIt felt like we never got out of square one. To me, we were climbing and almost getting out of this hole only to fall again. With rising cases, I prefer not to return to onsite classes. Anxiety and uneasiness fill my mind every time I go outside. At first, I had trouble with online learning but soon became accustomed to it. However, I prefer onsite classes because it helps me focus better. Fortunately, I am one of the few that has minor concerns. I wonder how parents, such as my aunt, feel about having to send their kids back to school during this time. Regardless, the best choice is still to remain alert about this situation but not let it overwhelm our life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, we never got out of square one. While I do not prefer online classes and would rather be in person, I understand the circumstances and have accept that it is the new norm. I am still adapting, and it is taking me time to discipline myself when it comes to online learning. I have bought myself a bright green desk chair as means to motivate myself. You have mentioned anxiety and uneasiness and I can relate to those feelings; I would hate to have my family infected because of wrongful decisions that I could have avoided. I do not judge those who have made the decision to send their kids to school, I understand that everyone has different things going on in their life and they are just doing what is best for them and their children. Precautions should be taken, and we should not let this pandemic overwhelm us too much. It sounds easy to say but it is hard to apply to our lives, I wish everyone a peace of mind during this hard time.
DeleteI agree that it must be testing times for those with little youngsters returning to class and dealing with the entirety of that. To begin, I can identify with stressing over how the k-12 schools are taking care of online classes and incorporating understudies once more into the grounds. I have two nieces that go to rudimentary, with a third several months old so the peril is a lot of genuine if any of them gets the infection and gets everybody in their home influenced. My sister has made them remain at home for online school because of her having worries about introduction to the infection in school, it doesn't help that the president constrained schools to resume to restart the economy however at the expense of placing youngsters in peril just as come up short on educators. With so occurring the world over and in the us itself, understudies returning on the web class and going to grounds it has been brushed under the floor covering as a unique little something that individuals can't stand to focus on because of the us consuming allegorically and in a real sense. The forthcoming political decision and couple months will direct if the nation will do or die.
DeleteShould kids be sent back to school? It’s a difficult choice. We understand that we should try to have the least amount of contact as possible, but we also know that not all parents have luxury of being able to stay home with their kids all day, and we cannot just stop living. One thing that does come to mind is the college students. They are older and more mature, and yet, they have multiple COVID related cases. So, what can we expect from children? It just proves that living in uncertainty is the new normal, and that is insane.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is facing hard times with this social problem, but I think it is not a fatal event where we cannot go through and survive, we have to try to see things in the positive as well, because it will not last long, this sickness will be part of our lives someday, and we have to face it until the day we go to normal, but patience is needed. For now, kids, young people, adults, everyone needs to be focused on going forward, not quitting, and accustomed to the environment just for now, because there will be solutions sooner than we think.
DeleteYou are right Many kids dont feel right with online school and most of the kids just want to play with there toys or do other activates that dosent involve school. I know they are struggling because many kids have immigrant parents that cant much them much with online school due to the language barrier or there older siblings are going through the same thing with high school or middle school. which is the problom with online classes is that half of the kids dont have help and are scared to ask for any.
DeleteUnderstandably everyone is having a hard time with distance learning. I recently started going to college this semester after a 5 year break while I took care of my daughter and worked full time. I registered for classes thinking I would be able to put my daughter in pre-school so that I would have time during the day to focus on school (since I work full time working night shift). But when August came around I could not bring myself to enroll her in pre-school just yet since everything was still up in the air about their safety. So now I am struggling at home doing 4 classes online, while keeping my 5 year old entertained, and working full time at night. It especially has not been easy on us, but we all have to remember to keep our heads up and know that this storm will pass.
DeleteI am not a parent either but I do have 3 little sisters who now attend school online. One of them is 18 years old and she knows how to navigate the website and she adjusted good to online classes. But my other two sisters are 7 and 5 years old and they have been struggling so much. Both of my parents work everyday and so do I. So it is up to my 18 year old sister to help both little ones out and it is really hard on her because sometimes she doesn't even focus on her zoom classes because she is too busy helping the other 2 with their zoom classes. These kids are so little that they don't even know how to turn on a computer and my parents have really been thinking about sending the little ones back to in person classes just because they have no one else to help them.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to what your family is going through. I am a single mother of 3 girls. They are 15,10 and 1. The 15 year old loves online school has had no problem learning or adjusting. My 10 year old on the other hand did not take this so lightly. She was so upset that she never got to go back to the 5th grade to say goodbye and she had major meltdowns when online school began. I knew she was not learning a thing! She is very high energy and it is just not for her. I can really relate to the fact that even with all this going on at home your parents had to still go to work. That is why I made the choice to send my kids back to school when school opened. I feel that each person needs to evaluate their living situation and make the choice that works best for their household. Everyone in my home is healthy and I do not live with and elderly people.
DeleteI 100% can understand what your family is going through right now during this mess of a school year. I feel like the school's making the decision to go back into session during the pandemic was a selfish one because I believe they didn’t even take into consideration the kids that parents have to go to work all day or don't know how to use the technology given to them. Like you, I have to take care of my sister's 7-year-old daughter during the day while she is at work because she is a single mom who cannot afford to stay home and teach her kid. It gets extremely difficult to have to balance her school work and make sure she is on task while having to do my own work and go to my job. This school year is without a doubt one filled with hardships, and the system seems to be failing us every day.
DeleteSame here only that it is only one little sister so I tend to help my mom because she does not know English so when the teacher starts explaining something in English she calls me so I can here and then tell my little sister what to do. Because somehow the teachers have not really understood that yes they are the same students is just that the students feel distant from the teacher so they either ignore them or find it hard to understand. This is the case with my little sister she is mainly quiet so when the teacher asks them a question all the loud students really stops her from answering.
DeleteI also hate the online school environment, it doesn't feel like school. Online school learning method and material is much harder than in-person learning. For example, in my physics class, I’m not learning anything and all I'm doing is submitting my assignments before the due date. But if I was doing in-person learning , I would be learning so much. Also, I have a 6 year old brother and he barely knows how to use the computer. My parents have to set beside him in all his classes and help him navigate through his computer. Also, some teachers are making at way more harder than it actually is.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally true I don’t think most professors actually understand that they should be patient with the whole online concept. Most professors I feel like rarely care about the students learning, I know there’s a lot of students that isn’t learning assignments just being submitted. The teachers aren’t breaking down the assignments like they would if we were inside on campus which causes frustration to everyone. I have a younger sister that’s in high school she in the 12th grade and I’ve watched teachers just get online take attendance, and talk about which assignments are due on what dates.
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DeleteI agree with you, the online school environment Cleary does not feel like school and most definitely harder than it already is. personally, I feel like one learns better in person because if you have any questions or concerns the professor could answer them for you. However, if you are online it can get get challenging because you are basically on your own. I am currently taking 5 classes and let me tell you... in out of all those classes I don't learn anything. if I'm being honest with you, its all about a due date. it shouldn't be like that. One needs to learn throughout the process. I feel like I'm just stressing out just to turn in a assignment but at the end of the day. one didn't learn anything. so yes, you are not alone, I know how it feels to do everything in your power and still not learn anything due to the circumstances that we are in.
DeleteI can see how difficult it would be for younger children and those with attention disorders. I have a step-brother who struggled the first few weeks with focusing on his work, and ended up falling behind about a week on work. Luckily, he had people to enforce his work upon him, so he spend even the weekends trying to catch up. He is doing good now though. Personally, I prefer the online approach, because I don't have to interact with people as often, or walk to a college building. I hope that I will still have the option to do online anytime classes next year as well.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with those who have attention disorders being in a hard position with this new way of learning. I have suffered from ADHD, although it doesn’t affect me much anymore as I have it under control but when I was in high school it was hard at times to manage as there was several times in classes were I would just day dream the class away. With the online classes it has sometimes pushed me into losing focus on the class and now that I’m at home I have so many things that I want to do and sometimes I want to start them while class is in session and I have refocus myself. Online classes do have some benefits for me and that’s the same as you that there is less in person interaction and having to drive to HCC and walking to buildings for classes.
DeletePersonally, I have felt the undeniable fear of sending my younger siblings back to school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. My younger brother, 8 years of age, has especially struggled with virtual learning. He has the tendency to get easily distracted and thinks it’s not important to participate in class just because his teacher is through a computer screen. In addition, most of the children in his classroom feel the same way but possibly dont understand the how threatening the virus is just yet. A month ago, my brother’s friend said he wanted to switch masks when they went back to school because he thought his was “cooler”; this made the option of continuing online learning for my brother seem safer. Overall, I believe the online approach can be safer in the long run, just until the virus is no longer around.
ReplyDeleteHello Alaina, I believe as well that the online approach is much safer until the virus is fully executed. As your brother’s friend wanted to switch masks with him because he thought his mask was cooler demonstrates how difficult it will be to maintain effective safety and sanitation, especially with younger children. I can’t imagine how parents and those with younger siblings feel, including yourself of sending them back to school which is not the best thing to do. As it has been predicted by researchers that there will most likely be a second wave of COVID, schools shouldn’t have reopened so fast and should return to making all classes for all grade levels online.
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ReplyDeleteTo be honest I hate that im going to online school, I've always been use to turning everything by paper since high school and even before covid doing online was al so a struggle because most of the time I wouldn't remember to do the homework and with all paper (except for turning essays online) I can remember to do it because its in my backpack I can pull it out and do it right there. That was with my first year in college but now doing all my Homework online on canvas I remember that I need to do the homework its still better to do i in all paper but its getting more to getting used to but im more comfortable in a classroom because i can move around and not stay in one room like my bedroom the whole morning. But if its to try to prevent from spreading the virus then i can be used to it until everything has calmed down.
ReplyDeleteBeing one of the students who did not plan on doing online learning, I can relate to that feeling of disliking the requirement and I would have to honestly say that it has not been an easy adjustment. After not attending school for six years, I was planning on having that more personal support from professors, advisors, and classmates but when it became obvious that that was not going to be an option, I became very worried. Regardless of the struggle, I agree with you that it is worth going through if it means helping lower the spread of COVID, which has already caused enough suffering and chaos these past months.
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ReplyDeleteI can understand your concerns with being worried about your son, I personally have two little siblings, and one of them just started school last Tuesday while the other is due to start in-person school in the not so distant future. I want them to learn properly as I can tell with how they are at home that they aren't really learning at school; they aren't immersed and are too young to understand how to teach themselves. I don't know how the school will be with covid cases, which worries my parents and me. Will they let us know the second they catch wind of someone getting covid? In general, the world is going to hell, and it's very worrying, especially with the fires going down on the west coast.
ReplyDeleteI don't have children or younger siblings so I can't say I truly understand the struggle of little kids struggling with learning online from a laptop. However, I do get your worry of being unsure if they are understanding the material. Especially at such a young age, they are expected to just understand everything off a zoom class and stay active the entire time. Even more since kids have a short focus span. Before the pandemic, I used to work with kids. Every day I would have a handful of kids that will bring their homework and projects for me to help them on. I felt like a teacher for a moment. And yes, I became frustrated when I had to beg them to focus. Usually, they asked for help because their parents did not understand the work or the language. Now I think about all the kids I used to help and how they are doing in school. Are the struggling? Do They have someone that can help them understand?
DeleteOnline school has been convenient for most people throughout the years, prior to the global pandemic outbreak. Although, ever since school for everyone (including the in-person students) has been fully online, it has been difficult to cope with, specially for younger kids since their brains are still developing and require a teacher to guide them through their developing years, not a computer screen. However, we are going through a strange time (which will definitely be discussed in future history books!), the least we can do is change our lifestyle for the sake of the safety of ourselves and the safety of other people around us. Therefore, online school is the best option when it comes to social distancing and taking a pandemic seriously, unlike our president who downplayed it's severity by neglecting the importance of wearing masks and comparing the pandemic to the common flu.
ReplyDeleteHello Mishal, I have considered the students that may learn better in a face to face environment rather than online, but during this time period we are facing online classes is the safest option. Online classes are the best approach to practice social distancing and to prevent others from contacting the virus. As schools have reopened, it has resulted in new cases that are increasing. These results should indicate that the reopening of schools should be shut down and return to online to prevent more cases from occurring. However, I believe that the government and authorities believe that returning back to school in a face to face setting for students to engage in learning is more important than one’s health and wellness.
DeleteHello Ja'mea, I agree with you that in this time of COVID it is best to stay home, but you have to agree that it is very difficult. The transition to in person learning to online learning is extremely challenging for some of us. The difficulty of online learning can lead to disruptions in students performance, which is very sad. You have to consider that many students were thriving in face to face learning and then switching over caused them to lack the willingness to pay attention to a computer screen all day. For example, I myself have been struggling a lot with paying attention to a screen for 2+ hours. That's not my preference for my learning style. I believe that us, as college students could making going back to campus safe by being the responsible adults we are.
Delete- I was honestly really hoping to go back to in person school. The online system honestly gives me lots of anxiety. I am always really scared that I have missed an assignment or a lecture. Waking up and having to be at a location a couple minutes from my house would have definitely made the difference. While as of now I can wake up a couple seconds before class and ill still manage to make it on time. As of COVID-19 cases I do believe they will definitely go up when kids go back to school. As a retail worker I have definitely experienced the amount of people going up as the weeks go by. The store gets busier and busier as time goes by. People do not seem to care about the virus as much as they did back in March. Customers do not social distance at all. And even though our policy requires customers to wear a mask upon entering the building some do not care and take it off upon entering. We as employees aren’t allowed to ask customers to put their mask back on.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree more with your response! This online learning gives me so much anxiety and I always feel like I am missing something in all of my courses. I also believe that people are not always compliant and thoughtful of the precautions as seriously anymore at all. I work at a clinic where people are constantly walking in and out and some do not even bother wearing a mask before walking into the facility anymore, which is sad to see. I also agree that children going back into the school grounds are going to increase the COVID case numbers. Fortunately, I am not a parent yet, so I can only imagine how uncomfortable it might feel to send your child back to school in these times. But hopefully this all gets better soon!
DeleteYes, I completely agree with this comment. I find that parents and children are in a difficult spot when it comes their child will receive their education. Many are debating whether the best decision is to keep them at home, meaning less risk of catching COVID 19, or allowing their children to sit in front of a teacher in a classroom. My mom was also indecisive of my little brother, who just started middle school, but ultimately decided that it was best to not put his health at risk. Although I do not have children of my own, personally, I was also looking forward to attending classes on campus, since I learn better visually.
DeleteI agree with your comment and I can relate to adjusting to online school! I'm more used to in person classes without a doubt, I would prefer in person classes! I always worry if i have an assignment this day or tomorrow or about due dates. I also agree with people not taking the virus seriously anymore. I remember in March everyone would stay in and now on social media i'm seeing full bars open and people with absolutely no masks its outrageous!! It isn’t helping that this winter will see a surge of new cases and no one seems to be aware of it!!
DeleteI agree with your comment and I can relate to adjusting to online school! I'm more used to in person classes without a doubt, I would prefer in person classes! I always worry if i have an assignment this day or tomorrow or about due dates. I also agree with people not taking the virus seriously anymore. I remember in March everyone would stay in and now on social media i'm seeing full bars open and people with absolutely no masks its outrageous!! It isn’t helping that this winter will see a surge of new cases and no one seems to be aware of it!!
DeleteI am also not a parent but can relate to the struggles of other of navigating the internet. I do believe we have not got out of phase one as others may say , it is like we try to progress but every time I step to public places now it is like we have stepped back 3 more steps. Although, I have a younger brother and he is in the teenage age and it was such a hard transition for him I would say, as for him and myself we struggle with focusing at home and being big procrastinators too so I guess with however we all see our own life we all took a big turn we weren't prepared for. As we all have begun to adapt to this new lifestyle each of us have been living in, I also wonder if things will begin to change sooner than later. The concern all parents and all students are having deep thoughts about is the return to back to face to face classes which as of now I do not see a progression leading into our next semester. As we all are overthinkers, I mean who wouldn't with just having the thought that anything can happen next? We should all keep a positive thought and keep being safe and practice social distancing so (hopefully) one day we all may return to the new "normal" in class structures.
ReplyDeleteIt is completely understandable, I agree that online schooling has been such a big turn and it feels like we are back to square one. I have 5 younger siblings who who instead of paying attention, they start getting distracted with their phones or toys, they also procrastinate, they say they hate online school. Thankfully we have WiFi but just imagine those kids who struggle with online school due to no WiFi at home? Sometimes but rarely, my siblings have internet issues, for example it logs them out of the class meeting, then the teacher marks them absent because they don’t believe them, another lack of communication problem.
DeleteI relate to this, although I do not have kids yet, I was looking forward to attending school in person this semester, as I feel I am more involved in my studies and as odd as this may sound work harder in person. It feels like I have a connection with my peers and professors. Having to take school online has been a challenge to say the least. While I hope that this pandemic ends soon, I can understand the fear of sending your child to school and having them bring the virus back. I think it's especially challenging for those who are working from home and spend 8 hours on the computer as it, too after the end of a workday log on to school and do school work. It truly has made me value in person learning and even things like talking a walk outside. While there are also the matter of logistics with online school, like internet, laptops and having someone there for assistance.
DeleteIt's a similar case for me as I have a few siblings that go to school on campus. I also have two siblings; a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old that have to go through an hour zoom class each. To me personally, that doesn't make much sense because they can't sit still for an hour as is and so they definitely can't sit and pay attention to a teacher on a phone or computer for that amount of time. The date to return is repeatedly being delayed and rescheduled, which makes sense because of COVID-19. Yet still, an online class is hard enough for someone 8-10 years of age, so I don't know what they expect from a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old.
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ReplyDeleteI am not sure whether “back to square one” or “was this ever a step at all”, is a better explanation of some of the current world events and issues mentioned in this post. I have a 10-year-old stepson who has always struggled academically and socially and adjusting him to online learning has been one of the most complex tasks that my husband and I have had to do. It has greatly affected our individual professional lives and our family dynamic. Ensuring that he received the social interaction that he needed, while trying to keep him engaged and focused throughout the virtual school day was hard. At one point we actually said, “is the risk of COVID-19 worth this?”, as it refers to allowing him to return to campus when the schools reopened. Initially, we felt like terrible parents. Eventually we realized that as a nurse, I bring the risk home every night after my 12-hour shift and frankly, this isn’t going away any time so. Sending him back to school, on campus, ended up being the best thing for our son and we are continuously taking safety measures to ensure his well-being. What a time to be a parent in 2020!
ReplyDeleteJae,
DeleteGoing to campus for school will always be better for most people. When surrounded by your classmates and teachers, you generally feel more energized as well can increase your productivity level. Having people around you can help answer any questions you have as well as make new friends. Younger children especially have a hard time focusing and tend to procrastinate a lot since there is not always someone around them to stop them. I am glad your son feels happier going back to campus and I hope we can find the solution for this virus for everyone's health, as well to continue life like before.
It becomes difficult as a parent to acknowledge the fact that a well-planned schedule of children has been widely affected due to the sudden spread of this pandemic. I may not know the hardships of parenting and what children have to go through in order to adjust to the changing environment but because of my peers Indefinitely know the struggle. These years are crucial for children to learn, develop and adapt themselves asper the requirements, but due to the shift in the teaching methods to online learning it can be problematic. Retaining of acquired knowledge can be difficult given the circumstances as learning is best when it is acquired with the help of imitation which is possible in a school setting only. There is no assurance about the easing of the situation accompanied by fear of unknown possibilities. So, without waiting for any longer, it is important to make sure that children are given such an environment where there is a scope for continuous learning as in the end it is about the future of children.
ReplyDeleteAs a current student at HCC, I have only taken one course that required a face to face setting and the rest of my courses after that have been online. As COVID-19 began, it has been troubling as I am almost finished with my two years at HCC and some of my last few courses require face to face. HCC has made arrangements with classes as some courses were online temporarily until schools reopened and some courses are fully online. As I am almost at the finish line to graduate, I have had to push back some of my classes requiring face to face because I am uncomfortable to be in a classroom setting during this pandemic. As the number of cases of people with COVID has increased as schools have reopened, it is scary to consider that I may easily catch the virus which has unfortunately killed many. Honestly, schools should continue online classes because it is much safer and will prevent lives from being lost due to the virus.
ReplyDeleteBoth me and my brother are immune suppressed, the thought of going back to online school is scary. If either one of us gets sick, then we would be in real trouble. For me, it is not too difficult. I have taken both online and in class classes before, I find it easy for me to switch between mindsets and be able to succeed in both types of classes. I do feel that I learn less with online classes. I try to never miss a class if it is in person, so I am always there for the lesson. Meanwhile in online classes it is easy to ignore the lectures and lessons and only cherry pick the information needed to submit assignments. Of course, some teachers have been able to curb this by making discussion boards with 250 words so that I must read and listen to all the lectures, but not all of them have done this. The main worry is my little brother. He is eight years old, and he is really struggling with online classes. The teacher has most of the students back in her class, in fact only three students are online, so she must put so much focus on those kids. It is easy for her to lose track of the online kids, and my brother is an energetic kid, so he goofs off all the time. The problem is I must work to earn money for school, even though I am immune suppressed, so I cannot always watch over my little brother. The only one at home is my grandma and she cannot be expected to keep up with him. I think we might have to send my brother back to in person class, he cannot do it on his own.
ReplyDeleteThe year of 2020, has not only affected just our country but also around the world. With students now engaging in online learning many are having trouble adjusting. For instance, my sister has now started second grade and she is still having a difficult time adjusting. Even though my family helps to guide her, she is still not adjusting to the new schooling. When we asked her if she would rather be in school or home her answer never changed. She loved being at school as she could connect with her teacher and even see her friends. My family and I also noticed that it was harder for my sister to concentrate through a computer screen.
ReplyDeleteCurrently it has been around 1 week since HISD has allowed students to go in person for classes and so far from what I’ve heard from the local news is that already around 16 schools have temporarily closed down due to presumed/confirmed COVID cases. And just a couple of days ago (maybe 3?) my mom had gotten a phone call from my little brother’s school (he’s an elementary school student) saying that they had a confirmed COVID case from a student going in person. Once I heard about this, I was glad that my brother was still online despite some of the difficulty’s he’s faced with being an online student such as having a hard time focusing in class and the massive amounts of school work. But then I started to freak out over the kids going in person and the possible new cases that might appear due to that one single case. I’m also a bit upset over how despite the confirmed case the school is still open but then I understand because for a lot of student’s online school is very difficult due to how different it is from in person classes. Plus, not all parents are able to have the luxury to work from home so they send their children to in person school due to both parents having to work and no one else to care for the child.
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