Homeschooling in the headlines

[Garga]

1 hour ago, hippiemamato3 said:

It sounds like a kid who shouldn't be in AP classes, honestly. If you can't read the text, then you don't belong in there. 

Not sure that’s true.  Depends on the text and the student.  Some people who are smart as a whip have a terrible time learning via reading vs learning via hearing or doing.

[Forget-Me-Not]

3 hours ago, Danae said:

 

I will be surprised if this doesn’t last through the end of the school year. At least some parents are planning with that in mind.

True!  Yeah after I posted that the CA governor came out and said schools were probably out until fall 😄

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Happymomof1 said:

She probably has allergies right now.  It is yellow pollen season and that normally means extreme reaction for her: eye drops, daily zyrtec or allegra that doesn't really help but keeps it from getting horrible, etc. 

Buy a spare eye drops bottle, zyrtec/Allegra/Flonase/Claritin/Benadryl now. People here are buying spares and no one knows when stocks are replenished.

[Arcadia]

14 minutes ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

True!  Yeah after I posted that the CA governor came out and said schools were probably out until fall 😄

Tutors are going to be in demand here. They didn’t officially cancel CAASPP yet.

[ktgrok]

30 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

That’s what I’m telling my friends who are doing the at home thing right now - plan in detox time.  Transition the kids in SLOWLY, and try to give regular breaks and encouragement.  It’s going to be tough for the first week and that would be expecting or anyone in such a major change in routine and teaching format.  Lots of grace should be given all around.

Yes! I mean, when we all start we ease in, right? And we get to choose what curriculum we use, we have the teacher's guides, etc. We have control over modifying assignments even. The people thrust into it now have none of that. 

[Farrar]

Yeah, I just had a conversation with a mildly panicked parent of a super academic high schooler who was like, what do I do, what do I do. I was like, look, just wait. I'll suggest some things and you can go look at them, but do not do ANYTHING for at least a week. They don't even know if her special program at school is going to send home work or try to set up distance learning or what. I was like, in a week or two, you'll have a better sense and from there you can decide. For now, just detox and be close to your kids.

If I see one more person diving into freaking Power Homeschool on the statewide groups, Imma lose it.

[marbel]

Nm, didn't meant to offend or hurt feelings.

 

Edited March 18, 2020 by marbel

[Arcadia]

5 minutes ago, marbel said:

 

-  homeschool moms who are posting unsolicited advice on social media for the poor public school parents out there. Maybe that's not it exactly, maybe it's more the sanctimonious way they are doing it (or the way I'm reading it). I mean, if you know a school family who suddenly has kids home, offer to answer questions and to assist if they want, but don't spew all over the internet like some benevolent, wise angel swooping in to make everything better.

Not just moms but homeschooling organizations.

It’s not helpful at all when some parents still have to go to work and worry about getting infected and some are filing unemployment.

[marbel]

29 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

Wow...  I would take it as this is a crazy world and it is the only way I can help.  ( I haven't done this, but thought about it.  Guess I won't now...)  I just don't get the looking down on everyone...  I guess I will just continue to hide in my corner...   They are trying to be positive in all the bad news....  Can we just be encouraging to everyone, please.

 

9 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

I’ve totally said that to moms who were frazzled and doing way too many things but trying their best and stressing about the outcomes.  I didn’t realize it was considered offensive or annoying.  Whoops.

Well, I said it was mostly tongue-in-cheek and that it wasn't meant in a nasty way as it may sound. And certainly no one should refrain from doing something they want to do because one cranky old retired homeschooler makes a comment that she personally finds it annoying. 

Edited March 18, 2020 by marbel

[Arcadia]

35 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

Wow...  I would take it as this is a crazy world and it is the only way I can help.  ( I haven't done this, but thought about it.  Guess I won't now...)  I just don't get the looking down on everyone...  I guess I will just continue to hide in my corner...   They are trying to be positive in all the bad news....  Can we just be encouraging to everyone, please.

It’s the tone. Some organizations/businesses were touting their online classes/services the same day school closures were announced. 
I’m helping a friend with public school kids. The posts I have seen were more in the line of “I am experienced at homeschooling so here’s my blog to guide you” or “welcome to homeschooling, this is how to do it”.

[Shoeless]

19 hours ago, OKBud said:

 

See. 

Yeah of course they don't want to do the work. This is all completely new to them and if you, as an adult with access to all the information available and the experience (ideally) to synthesize it into actionable opinions and behavior changes, are having a heard time making adjustments, how do you think your kids feel!? 

Instead of framing it like, 'we have these discreet hurdles to overcome,' so many people are just complaining about how their kids are bad and how this badness effects THEM, the parent. It's not the usual benign kvetching. And it's certainly not coming from a place of sustained overwhelm. since it's been two days for crying out loud. 

They're doing it for the snaps. It's a bizarre social media phenomenon. Like this is how parents relate to one another both irl and online now. By comparing complaints against their kids and their own cutesy responses. 

Again, not everyone (or even most probably) obviously- as a rule previously calm souls aren't currently losing the plot. But the ones doing it are so.....ugh cringecringecringe.

BEST case scenario, there's a lot of unresolved anxiety around these parent-child relationships on the part of the mother playing out in real time in front of everyone. 

 

It's been this way for awhile.  Hating parenting, (especially motherhood), is the new black.  I stopped reading any kind of mothering/parenting blogs because the articles all wailed about how no one ever told them how hard it would be to raise a child, (seriously? There are about a 1000 articles all saying that parenting is hard.  How could you have not known this?)  And it's all the same low-level complaints: Kids are messy. Diapers are gross. I'm tired. Someone bring me wine. 

Today's post from perky-teacher-cousin is that she's available to offer homeschool consultations to anyone that needs help, because she's "got this" and has been teaching a long time. 

My eyes could not roll further back in my head. Day 1: full of idealism. Day 2: full of despair and frustration Day 3: homeschool expert and available for consults. 

Meanwhile, my oyoungest sister texted me to say "I had no idea homeschooling would be so hard."  No kidding. 

[Eos]

We have a funny play-within-the-play here: dd15 has had an incredible experience learning high school English from a retired private school English teacher who is an amazing Socratic teacher and mentor.  He has heart issues and so has asked if their homeschool class (of 1) can meet over hangouts.  So even our IRL homeschool has gone on-line!  

Older brother sent home from Oberlin is not pleased wtih homecolleging, having finally found his social niche in junior year.  He has found he still likes to do work in the same seat at the table as he did in high school, gets up for the same breaks, puts on the same plus some new music.  Bit of a time-warp but not unwelcome.  

I'm happy to be insulated from the social media/blogging world of ironically bashing on motherhood.  I like sarcasm and irony but the real world is unkind enough without reveling in it.  I'd like to think that those moms engaging in it are blowing off necessary steam.  I'm fully expecting the return to normal school (in the far-off future) to bring a wave of backlash articles along the lines of Thank God My Kid Has A Real Teacher Again and Now We Know Why Homeschooling Really Is Harmful.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Harpymom

[mmasc]

I think to pinpoint what is annoying me the most is that, like others have mentioned, schools might be sending home worksheets and laptops for online public school and now everyone is ‘homeschooling’. Like PP have said, it totally underestimates the HOURS of time and energy and commitment that go into what I actually do to homeschool.
 

And my other main annoyance is that everyone thinks my life hasn’t changed one single bit. “Oh, you already homeschool so nothing has really changed for you!’ 🙄If I hear that one.more.time I’m going to punch somebody! People, I’ve never homeschooled with the stress of a pandemic looming all around me and had every single one of my children’s activities canceled and...all of the other millions of things happening in life right now!

I’m staying positive and kind to those around me, but I do appreciate this place to vent my frustrations, so thank you @Farrar for the thread and conversation. 

[Arcadia]

@marbel @Æthelthryth the Texan

screenshot is what I am seeing on Facebook posted on groups not related to homeschooling unsolicited 

[importswim]

40 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

I am not sure if this is the right place for this annoyance, but it seems to be.

 

For crying out loud, please stop texting me while I am trying to teach.  I know that you are home all day now and that the your kids are "e-learning."  But I am *still* trying to actually teach my kids.   I have 3 of them, and they are all asking me questions at different times and working on different things.  

I might start shutting off phone while the kids are working.

I put my phone on silent when we start school. A lot of my friends like posting group texts and by the end of our school time it's not uncommon for me to have 30 texts to read. DH knows not to call unless it's an emergency (and to call... I do check for that every now and then). It's been really helpful.

[happi duck]

I saw someone share an *at home* scavenger hunt idea with the comment "homeschool version of a field trip".  Um.  Homeschoolers go on actual field trips!  We really do leave the house!

 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

50 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

@marbel @Æthelthryth the Texan

screenshot is what I am seeing on Facebook posted on groups not related to homeschooling unsolicited 

This was one was posted on our town Facebook page by a public schooler. I responded because I couldn’t just let it go. I pointed out that while there is some good advice here, the actual numbers can vary based on homeschooling style. All of my kids do more than this. I also mentioned that they should expect school work to take less time at home than at school due to teachers not having much time to prepare packets, one on one “teaching”, and saved time on classroom management. 
 

I also had to mention that this current version of homeschooling is foreign even to most homeschoolers. We are missing our friends, groups, activities, and libraries. So please don’t think this is an accurate picture of what homeschooling looks like. I ended with saying that I was sorry they were forced into a schooling option that they wouldn’t have chosen. How we educate our children should be a choice and I feel for families who have suddenly had that choice taken from them, or at least taking a form they wouldn’t have chosen. 
 

I had just been trying to ignore all the “we’re all homeschoolers now” posts but once it was posted to the page of our small, rural town, I felt I had to respond somehow. Hopefully my attempts at being gracious hit their mark. 

[Ellie]

On 3/16/2020 at 9:18 PM, Farrar said:

How's everyone feeling about the way that homeschooling is being covered what with so many kids suddenly home?

I feel like the coverage has all be very positive and the looking to homeschool parents for advice and wisdom has all been very kind. The companies providing free services is really nice and appropriate.

But there's something about it all that chafes me that I'm having trouble pinpointing.

The thing is that parents whose dc are enrolled in public school are not "homeschooling." Their children are still enrolled in public schools; they are not complying with any homeschool requirements, but rather they are waiting for the public schools to open again, and/or to come up with a contingency plan to keep things going until such time as the schools reopen. It's more like an early summer vacation, or a longer spring vacation than actually homeschooling.

On my Facebook page, the mod team has started referring to these children as "homebound," rather than "homeschooled." I feel very protective of the word "homeschool." Many parents fought too hard to win the right to teach their own children at home just to have it misused by parents who send their children to public (or private) school.

[May]

On 3/18/2020 at 10:18 AM, EmseB said:

Also the, "is this going to be on the test" phenomenon, which is not limited to high school, and is really how a lot of kids learn and study.

That was one of the things that frustrated my DD when she transitioned into a private HS her sophomore year. 😢

[Arcadia]

@Æthelthryth the Texan

below was posted on Facebook 

[HS Mom in NC]

Posted this on my FB page the other day.  I just wanted to throw out an alternative to parents of homebound students since it's a crowd of people least likely to question conventional educational methods.

I see people posting suggested daily schedules for schooling at home. Those will work well for some kids, and at some stages, but they won't for others. Let this 20 year homeschool veteran introduce you to Block Scheduling. This is the Deep Work principle well written about by authors like Cal Newport. It's for people who do better in an immersive situation. Some kids need the the whole morning or the whole day to sink themselves into a subject with a few breaks scattered throughout. Some homeschoolers do a week's worth of one subject each day or a subject for each half of the school day a couple of days a week. Each subject has different components. A kid can work on one component, take a short break, and get to the next component, take another short break, and repeat until it's done.

For older kids it could like this:

Monday-Science
Tuesday-History
Wednesday-Math
Thursday-Language Arts
Friday-Electives

or

Monday /Wednesdays-Science before lunch
Math after lunch
Tuesdays/Thursdays- History before lunch
Language Arts after lunch
Fridays-Enrichment Activities

The longer you homeschool, the less inclined you are to interrupt a child working diligently. When they're on a roll, sometimes you just need to get out of the way.

[Kassia]

I saw a teacher who was offended that the parents were calling it homeschooling since she created the curriculum and was still the official teacher. 

 

[Ellie]

43 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I saw a teacher who was offended that the parents were calling it homeschooling since she created the curriculum and was still the official teacher. 

 

And there you go.

The schools know that all these people are not homeschooling. They are just sheltering in place until the world figures things out. They are not homeschooling unless and until they do whatever is required in their states to homeschool.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

@Æthelthryth the Texan

below was posted on Facebook 

That is one of the many things wrong with this country. Appalling! To take joy or to snark at someone else's troubles and hardships in a pandemic is absolutely appalling.

[Momto6inIN]

I am considering posting something along the lines of, "Dear public school friends, You are not homeschooling. Your job right now is actually a lot harder than mine because you were forced into it instead of choosing it, you are attempting to implement someone else's plans that you might not completely understand, you got thrown in with no time to prepare (as did your teachers), and you probably intend for it to be temporary. I wish you well and hope it goes smoothly for you and would be happy to answer any questions you have, but most likely my strategies and procedures and curricula will not help your situation." I probably won't, but I'd like to.

The other posts that bother me are the ones that "helpfully" put together a daily schedule for moms to use to keep their kiddos occupied, complete with time slots and everything. 8am learning time, 9:45am snack, 10am crafts, 11am movement, etc etc. These usually aren't from hs'ers but from other ps mom's. For crying out loud, people, their lives are already scheduled down to the minute at school and after school activities, can't you just let them be?? Not to mention the fact that I am philosophically opposed to being an entertainment director. My kids know that if they don't want a job given to them, they need to avoid the B word (bored) at all costs and figure out their own crafts 😛

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Lang Syne Boardie said:

That is one of the many things wrong with this country. Appalling! To take joy or to snark at someone else's troubles and hardships in a pandemic is absolutely appalling.

I'm seeing it on both sides - homeschoolers and teachers (who are making fun of parents struggling).  😞

Also, apparently homeschool parents don't cook dinner for their kids. Our local public school parents page posted something about all the new homeschool parents not being able to cook dinner because of their duties so they should order from one of the local restaurants and pick up or have it delivered.  I'm sure it was meant to support local businesses, but it rubbed me the wrong way.  

[Shoeless]

8 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

"A lot of homeschool math is done in the kitchen!" 🤮 For someone who has homeschooled 12 years, she sure doesn't know much about high school math. Yes, kids will be TOTALLY prepared for college algebra and calculus by simply cooking in the kitchen and using a measuring cup!! Fractions you know! Spare me. Someone needs to block that lady. 

 

My number 1 homeschool pet peeve is "Just bake with them! That's all the math they need!" No, Karen. My middle-schooler needs more math than the cookie math you do with your preschooler. Stop squeaking at me. 

[marbel]

9 hours ago, Arcadia said:

@marbel @Æthelthryth the Texan

screenshot is what I am seeing on Facebook posted on groups not related to homeschooling unsolicited 

<snip>

Ugh.  So condescending, and just wrong for many/most people.

I think a light, brief post along the lines of "hey, if any of my mom friends have kids home from school and weren't given a laptop or packets or whatever to help you help your kids keep schooling, and you feel lost, give a shout; I'd be happy to help if I can!" 

But direct, specific advice?  No.

[Shoeless]

Teacher cousin, Day 4 of "homeschooling": She worked the kids (preschool and 1st grade), until 4 pm, then "everyone lost their $hit" and now it's "wine o'clock". She also notes that the line between "school" and "home" felt blurred and she's "exhausted". 🙄

 

 

 

[caywltz]

On 3/17/2020 at 11:20 AM, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

What is getting me, locally news wise, is they are acting like PS kids being home for 4 weeks and doing a math sheet IS homeschooling. It's not homeschooling. They're making it sound simple and trite. That's what I can pinpoint personally. Cancelling school and having teacher directed worksheets at home for a month is NOT the same thing as taking charge of your child's education and intentionally directing it, and being involved within it, which is what constitutes homeschooling in my book. (ETA- generally speaking). 

I agree with every word you wrote! Just doing homework is not even studying (just a part of it), it's just exercising in order not to forget sth or remember!