Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion online classes with school cancellation

DD is in private so they are set up to do online classes. They are starting Tues. Same school schedule. They have to get assignments on google classroom and log into web based lectures. I heard public are looking at public TV to deliver classroom lectures etc. How are there enough hours in the day to cover all subjects and grades? What are other districts doing?

I also find that sitting at home and just socially interacting with technology is not enough. Ennui is setting in. They have set up group chats but because everyone is sitting at home, they don't seem to have anything to say to each other after the first couple of days.....

Prescription for Ennui:

Rx: books!
To be taken at least 2x daily.

Rx: adventure!
To be taken in massive doses, served with love and joy.

If you have a backyard which is private property and therefore accessible to you during confinement, going outside is a great way to engage the senses. Kids can listen, touch, smell... then even draw, journal.

If you have an attic, basement, or garage with boxes of stuff from prior decades or even prior generations, these can be fun to explore... and often result in sharing precious family stories.

If you have digital photos, it can be meaningful to re-discover these and arrange favorites into a thematic book or two, to be printed locally.

If you can impress upon the kids that they are living though times which will be recorded as important history for future generations, they may appreciate thinking about the controversy involved in balancing pros-and-cons such as our Rights to freedom of assembly -vs- various forms of lockdown, quarantine, social distancing, shelter-in-place.

If your kids are at least 13-1/2 (but have not reached their 24th birthday), they may be interested to set, document, and achieve goals... and earn a Congressional Award. This may be a great time to begin. Setting and achieving goals can provide a great sense of purpose, for adventures undertaken.

Just in case any parents here may not already be aware, here is a bulletin from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law (September, 2019)

I’m not sure what public vs.private has to do with it....

For what it’s worth, our public school started remote instruction this week. For the most part, they are pretty tech-savvy, so it has gone pretty smoothly, as far as my DS, a senior, is concerned. He spent last night working with a group on a project for his DE public policy course, pretty much worked as it would have before. They are lucky, as most kids have the tech at home, and the school is loaning devices out for those who need them.

I feel terrible for the larger city districts in our state, as I’m sure they are not equipped to handle this, and many of those kids can not afford to lose instruction like this. Couple that with a lack of childcare and food insecurity for many, and it’s a scary prospect, for sure.

Hope everyone is staying well and finding time to check up on those around you who may need help.

Can the kids in the online chat do a show and tell? Pets, favorite book, etc? It seems like a free chat is not that interesting, but if you have a topic ready that a teacher or parent could facilitate something else. Maybe everyone could start decorating their front windows for Easter/Spring. Lots of people are taking drives or socially distanced walks around their neighborhood and it would be fun to see decorations.

I agree with the idea of projects. Have a closet that needs to be organized? Can you put school pictures in an album (or digital album). Can the kids make a movie at home with a phone?

That being said, my kids aren’t lucky enough to have school work to distract them right now. I am hoping that something will begin in the coming weeks.

So here’s something interesting for those taking AP coursework... AP exams at home, shortened to 45 minutes, with some later unites/material now not being covered.

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update

That is very disturbing. I’m not sure what is happening in lower grades/classes here, as our school website basically talks about parent-led and self-education...maybe that is why. I was definitely alarmed when they posted it, but we have received direct communication from most of DS’s teachers, classes ranging from AP, DE, music, art, PE, etc. Granted, much of DS’s instruction has involved a lot of the same tech platforms already, so I think the transition was probably not nearly as difficult or new to most teachers or kids. I do wonder about internet access, as we live in a borderline area as far as that goes, but I suspect for his courses, that has been figured out right from the start- it would be nearly impossible to participate otherwise here.

What a nightmare for you and your kids. I hope the district comes up with some solutions.

We activated our pre-existing continuity learning plan, which involves posting ungraded enrichment work to the online learning platforms which our students normally use, and have their special ed liaisons checking in with them on accommodations and modifications. Counseling services are still being delivered via chat. And we've been depositing meals at community dropoff locations.

The reason many of the online/distance lessons in various districts are not graded is to avoid violations of disability rights laws. Many state departments of ed have also suspended mandatory school day and time-on-learning requirements, which means that districts don't have to count these as school days.

If you happen to be taking indigo's suggestions regarding reading, you might also find the instructional materials currently free on the Great Books site useful for all grades:
https://www.greatbooks.org/

I got the notice but is it confirmed that AP will be taken at home? I thought it was still up in the air. Though it seems they will be shortened since some kids will not be able to finish their coursess. DD's Chinese review is next week already. It seems that she can still take the exam in May. Taking it early is optional?

I haven’t read through the stuff very thoroughly- my understanding is that this is all in flux...I read they have two different dates/choices, one in May and one quite a bit later... but honestly, it’s hard to believe they will have the technology in place, as even the release of scores necessitated a staggering of release/access based on location. I am assuming that more colleges will rely on their own assessments and placement tests, though who knows at this point? It’s hard to imagine a 45 minute assessment resulting in college credit...

Thanks for the clarification, AEH. That makes sense.

Yes, our district used a couple staff development days, and the state has waived the mandate for the number of days we have to be in session. And thankfully, the district has been delivering meals to those who need them.

If people haven’t investigated already, check out your school media center and local library offerings. It’s worth investigating their options for access to digital media; books, but also databases, movies, other audio/video, etc.