There are a lot of personal thoughts and emotions regarding back to school this year. Our district held a special school board meeting last week to decide what they were going to do. It was over 4 hours long. Our governor has decided to allow school districts to plan on what to do – open to in-person classes or do virtual classes or some hybrid version. Ultimately, our district chose to do virtual classes, with the teachers teaching remotely. I made the mistake of commenting on the district’s Facebook post about it and got sucked into a whirlwind of everyone thinking they were right and no one listening or finding compassion for anyone else. I’ve had some time to think about it and here are my thoughts (not that you asked).
The bottom line, no matter on what outcome you were personally hoping for, none of the choices were desirable choices. People asked me what I hoped would happen and I replied honestly, “I wish the virus would go away so the kids can go to school.” As with any decision made, it is impossible to please all of the people. In short, this sucks.
What I know thus far is there will be some form of orientation for the parents at the beginning of the school year. The students are expected to log in daily for attendance and their work will be graded. The school is setting up wifi hotspots around all the school buildings to help families who do not have internet access. All extracurricular activities have been cancelled. The schools will distribute lunch daily and the schedules allow time for the lunch to be picked up. One question was asked about special needs students and it was glossed over as, sure they will learn online. One question was asked about working parents and it was suggested that daycare facilities take on the roll of making sure students are logged in and learning. This plan is for the first 6 weeks of school (the first quarter) and will be evaluated pending the number of covid cases at that time.
Our district handed out Chromebooks in late May. They were allowing one per household. For us this means we have one laptop and two learners. I’m not a math wiz, but it seems if both kids needs to log on for attendance by 8:30 am, someone is going to be marked absent. We are fortunate because a friend gave us a laptop which allows both kids to be logged in at the same time, however the Chromebook has access to all of the necessary Google classroom ish whereas the laptop just gets them access to the internet.
As of right now, I am working in the office two days out of the week, which gives me three days at home. I sort of mentioned to the daycare director that the plan was for them to take on the responsibility of getting kids onto their laptops but we were only talking hypothetically. Again, we are lucky because my supervisor has assured me I can work from home all 5 days out of the week. But, and I’m not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth here, this means I am going to be back into that stressful situation of trying to two important things simultaneously and failing miserably at both. Since the beginning of July I have been translating for Spanish-speakers who are unemployed and trying to deal with the unemployment office. I do it via Skype on my laptop and it requires quiet and concentration. The kids have been in daycare since I started doing it and there has been little issue. Even if one assumes I can keep the children quiet, they will potentially be listening to a teacher talking, thus competing with my call. Ok, we can go to different rooms but we don’t have desks for each room, and if I am not sitting with the kids I do not know what they are learning and I am less likely going to be able to help. Not to mention the fact that I will have to actively, beg, bribe, cajole, and harass Love Bug to sit and listen to his teacher. So, sure I can work from home. And sure, I can homeschool/virtually school my kids. I have confidence in my abilities to do both of those things. But, not at the same time. At least not well. And this doesn’t even mention the stress and pressure of it all, so if I am lifeless and unresponsive by the end of September, this is why.
I fear for the special needs learners. I made the comment that some things can’t be learned online, like handwriting, to which I got a scathing reply “Don’t you know how to write?” Um… Yes, I can write. And I can probably teach a child to write if they are a neurotypical child, but I don’t have confidence in teaching a child to write who has challenges in doing so. Just like I can apply a Band-Aid for a cut but I would not attempt to give myself stitches; there are professionals for that sort of thing and I feel like that is what Love Bug needs. And it isn’t just handwriting, there are a of things he is missing because he is not in school. He needs school; he needs the structure that comes from school. There are some children, well people in general, who cannot learn via a virtual medium. My Love Bug falls into this category. He is more of a tactile learner and he needs to be engaged physically while learning. In the spring I was semi-ok with the idea that he would fall behind but get caught up once he was back in school. But, not knowing how long this will go on, I don’t know that I am still that patient. I know I can’t really do anything, other than teach him myself, but I don’t think I’m his best option either. A coworker suggested I homeschool him so I can choose the schedule, but to be honest, that is way above my pay-grade. I simply don't have the tools and know-how to handle special needs education.
I am disappointed it didn't seem like a lot of consideration was given to just how hard this would be, especially for working parents or single parents. From my brief foray on the Facebook crazy train, other parents suggested us working parents should simply find another job; one that allows us to stay home and school our children. Or, we should use the federal new FMLA to stay home. I work 37.5 hours per week, which my state considers full-time but not the federal government. So, I would only be eligible to a point. Regardless, it would mean taking a significant pay-cut, something we don't have the luxury of doing. Just like finding a different job is not a realistic solution, nor does it guarantee the ability to stay home with our kids. I would need to take a third shift job, which mostly around here is in manufacturing or warehouses and it would pay a fraction of what I am earning, not to mention I would need to find a (non-existent) daycare that would take my children and uproot their entire lives and for what? I want my children to have an education but I also need realistic solutions to make that happen. Our current situation is simply untenable.
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