I can admit when I was wrong

[wathe]

4 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

 

And I've seen more than a few of "My neighbor/sister/friend/coworker's spouse homeschools, I wonder if they'll teach my kids too. For free. Even though they're not even close to the age/grade of their own kids, and their kids don't like my kids anyway."

I've had co-workers ask me this directly.  They are only sort of joking.

[Carrie12345]

Our school board shared some of the results from the parent survey. They got a little more than 2,000 responses from a student body of around 12,000, which isn’t too terrible I guess.

They listed that 50.9% wanted “normal” school, and 34% want a hybrid. They didn’t explicitly state that that meant 15% want to stay home (The other survey option), and that may not include the people who’ve already decided to home or cyber school. I’m guessing that percentage will increase when a hybrid plan is announced because there are a variety of ways that that could be implemented and it isn’t going to suit everyone who wants a hybrid OR everyone who wants “normal”.

[Happy2BaMom]

On 7/15/2020 at 11:17 AM, prairiewindmomma said:

......

Unfortunately, the vast majority of posters have been the “what online thing can I do that is free and will allow my kids to learn while I work full time?” kind.

 

Same here. I think the crisis homeschooling is going to be largely disastrous (but, after 11 years of hsing, I've become very cynical of how many people actually have the disciplinary chops to actually HOMESCHOOL their child/ren), and then these kids will flood back into ps when the doors open again, thus ensuring a large contingent of more children, further behind, further hampering the kids who need academic challenge.

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by Happy2BaMom

[Happy2BaMom]

14 hours ago, melmichigan said:

Our school district hasn't released their plans yet.  It'll be interesting to see which group wins out, the "no mask" or the "must mask".  It's a HUGE deal here.  I think enrollment will depend highly on which way they go with that, so much so that they sent surveys to people to figure out who will and won't send their kids based on mask requirements.

 

And stances like this are why this country is in the utter mess it is in, and why many other countries are NOT in this mess and are able to operate their schools in some sort of organized fashion this upcoming school year.

The ramifications of this pandemic for the US are going to be felt for many years, and I fear most will not be in our favor.

[katilac]

It's interesting to me that so many people (here and on social media) comment that students will be sitting and staring at a computer all day, only walking away for bell breaks, because that's pretty much what b&m school looks like also! They are just staring at a live teacher instead of one on the computer. I think the teachers who are creative and imaginative in the physical classroom will probably be the same in remote classes, and the you sit/I talk teachers will probably be the same as well. 

Now, I do acknowledge that there are many other possible advantages to actually being in school, but I'm hoping the widespread dismay at kids sitting and staring all day will lead to some new strategies when schools reopen. If sitting and staring all day is such a bad thing, then let's do less of it! 

And there are a few advantages that might help compensate for what they're losing. Instead of sitting most of the day, students can choose to stand all or part of the time. When they do sit, it won't be at a rigid desk that's too small for many students, but at their own chair and table, or maybe on a couch. They'll probably be able to wiggle more because it's less distracting than in person. They can do some quick yoga or jumping jacks on bell break instead of dashing to the next class. Alternately, they'll have plenty of time to use the restroom, and it's likely to have soap and hot water. 

I also keep seeing people saying 7 or 8 hours in front of a computer, but most American school days are 6 1/2 to 7 hours in total. Take away homeroom, lunch, and bell breaks, and the time in-class is in the 5 to 6 hour range. Still a long time, but much better than 7-8. Many students will also gain a good bit of time in their overall day from not having to ride the bus or wait in the drop-off line. An hour on the bus each day is not unusual around here, going up closer to 1 1/2 hours easily if you're at a small charter school. 

So, I certainly think virtual school can be challenging, particularly for teachers and schools who are new to it, but it does have some potential advantages. I think the greatest issue is going to be under-supervised students.

Edited July 17, 2020 by katilac

[ktgrok]

11 hours ago, Seasider too said:

Yes! This is crazy talk!

One fb acquaintance actually made a serious post asking for other families to form a home school group if the b&m announces virtual only. Half a dozen families said yes, including ideas for play dates and field trips. 

C’mon people. There’s actually a *reason* school may choose not to have students gathering. 🙄

Yes..so much of this. 

Now, I will grant, that a group of kids from say, three families, for two hours a week, especially if they do outdoor stuff, is WAY safer than 30 kids from 30 families in an indoor classroom for 30-35 hours a week. 

So depending on where one is, the case load and trend in their area, their own risk factors, etc, it may make sense. 

In  my area - it does not make sense. It just doesn't. 

That said, if people have to work, and their options are alternating care/schooling with 2 other families during the week or sending the kid to full time school to sit in a classroom, yeah, do the small "pod". Every time. 

But if you are a stay at home mom and you don't have to do that, for crying out loud, just keep everyone home for a month or two and maybe we can get past this!

[Paige]

We have the full spectrum of crazy talk: crisis homeschool people upset that many homeschool activities are shut down or virtual this year. 

Other people saying- “yay homeschool! They’re so much to do here, you won’t be bored” that aren’t acknowledging it will be different

People running homeschool open houses for a brand new group with indoor activities and classes for all ages- register now! They aren’t specifically open in response to other groups shutting down this year, but they aren’t backing off or altering programs at all.

And then veteran homeschoolers looking for groups without all these newbies! That one makes me laugh. I’m not sure anyone is going to publicly admit they have a secret group. 

 

 

[katilac]

1 minute ago, Paige said:

 

Other people saying- “yay homeschool! They’re so much to do here, you won’t be bored” that aren’t acknowledging it will be different

We're in a hot spot area in a hot spot state, and one of the local hs groups just had their delayed spring dance last week. Crowded dance floor, plenty of group pics with kids hanging all over each other 😕

[katilac]

8 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

My ds8 never, ever sits down for schoolwork. 

My dd used to sit (?) upside down on the sofa when I read to them. Torso leaning on back of sofa as usual, but with head on the cushion and legs over the back, lol. It did not look comfy to me. 

[ktgrok]

7 minutes ago, katilac said:

My dd used to sit (?) upside down on the sofa when I read to them. Torso leaning on back of sofa as usual, but with head on the cushion and legs over the back, lol. It did not look comfy to me. 

I remember doing this as a kid all the time. I even read to myself that way, although more often I sat sideways in an armchair, legs over one arm of the chair, back against the other arm. 

[teachermom2834]

The new sudden crop of homeschoolers is giving each other all kinds of crazy advice. I'm watching on FB as someone links Time4Learning and says "here is where you sign up to go to homeschool" and then someone else says "that can't be right. That is $50/mo and I know the homeschool fee is $250" and then someone else says they are "registering through Khan Academy".

I'm resisting an urge to correct them because they won't believe me and will think I am the uninformed one. BTDT.

I also imagine a steady stream of new unenrolled kids showing up at school each day. I picture their parents trying to homeschool and then the next week just sticking them on the bus or dropping them off at school having changed their mind. Such a mess.

[KatieJ]

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

My son does this!! Or stands on his head. Maybe the blood-flow helps his brain. 😂

 

My 6 year old grandson does this. My DIL told me,they encourage it as it is a calming technique when he gets upset.

Who knew,

[SereneHome]

16 hours ago, Where's Toto? said:

A bunch of us local homeschoolers actually started a group on Facebook basically to vent about the crisis schoolers.  They have taken over a bunch of the other local groups with the same posts over and over and over again or trying to sell their services as tutors.  

I am surprised that we don't have one yet, bc if I had a penny for every time someone asks "how do I submit letter of intent", my husband could retire tomorrow.

I have to say......and if I am being judgy you guys can call me on it - but if someone can not spend five minutes investigating an answer to a simple question - may be they shouldn't be considering homeschooling.

[katilac]

 

4 minutes ago, Plum said:

I just had to comment about the 'glorification of busy' and the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. There are more and more posters asking about scheduling work and school and free time; micromanaging their kids schedules to the Nth degree! I suspect they are mostly coming from working parents that used extra-curricular activities as babysitters and are worried their kids are going to spiral into some kind of debauchery if their time isn't completely filled up. It's ok to let them get bored! Really! They will figure out ways to be productive. They will make up games. They will surprise you. Let them surprise you. Let them feel a sense of accomplishment in doing something all on their own because they wanted to, not because they had to. 

I used to occasionally babysit my cousin's kid when they had a school holiday. The first time, she kept asking me, "What are we going to do now?" every time there was a transition (finished a game, lunch was over) and it drove me crazy. She was a great kid, very polite and well-behaved, but completely befuddled at the idea of not having a strict schedule that moved from one planned activity to another. Even when I explained in some detail the types of things they could do and what was allowed, she really struggled with the idea that she could fill her own time and make her own choices. 

[importswim]

4 hours ago, SereneHome said:

I am surprised that we don't have one yet, bc if I had a penny for every time someone asks "how do I submit letter of intent", my husband could retire tomorrow.

I have to say......and if I am being judgy you guys can call me on it - but if someone can not spend five minutes investigating an answer to a simple question - may be they shouldn't be considering homeschooling.

Well, it's worse than that here because I posted a link straight to our page and wrote up a post saying if you need *this* (basically spelled it out) then this is the link you go to and we still have people asking. I have decided they don't want to actually read anything but post so that others can do the work for them (which jibes with all of the free/online/no teacher involvement requests we've gotten as well).

I'm usually pretty grace filled but even I'm starting to roll my eyes and assume the worst of people! 

[Sneezyone]

4 hours ago, Plum said:

I just had to comment on FB about the 'glorification of busy' and the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. There are more and more posters asking about scheduling work and school and free time; micromanaging their kids schedules to the Nth degree! I suspect they are mostly coming from working parents that used extra-curricular activities as babysitters and are worried their kids are going to spiral into some kind of debauchery if their time isn't completely filled up. It's ok to let them get bored! Really! They will figure out ways to be productive. They will make up games. They will surprise you. Let them surprise you. Let them feel a sense of accomplishment in doing something all on their own because they wanted to, not because they had to. 

My DD informed me that she’s fed up with her school ‘friends’ complaining. She’s determined that this experience is just like every OCONUS military move we’ve ever had where the kids were holed up in tiny hotel rooms and unable to go anywhere. Boredom is highly underrated. I feel like GenX was made for this moment.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

10 hours ago, katilac said:

It's interesting to me that so many people (here and on social media) comment that students will be sitting and staring at a computer all day, only walking away for bell breaks, because that's pretty much what b&m school looks like also! They are just staring at a live teacher instead of one on the computer. I think the teachers who are creative and imaginative in the physical classroom will probably be the same in remote classes, and the you sit/I talk teachers will probably be the same as well. 

Now, I do acknowledge that there are many other possible advantages to actually being in school, but I'm hoping the widespread dismay at kids sitting and staring all day will lead to some new strategies when schools reopen. If sitting and staring all day is such a bad thing, then let's do less of it! 

And there are a few advantages that might help compensate for what they're losing. Instead of sitting most of the day, students can choose to stand all or part of the time. When they do sit, it won't be at a rigid desk that's too small for many students, but at their own chair and table, or maybe on a couch. They'll probably be able to wiggle more because it's less distracting than in person. They can do some quick yoga or jumping jacks on bell break instead of dashing to the next class. Alternately, they'll have plenty of time to use the restroom, and it's likely to have soap and hot water. 

I also keep seeing people saying 7 or 8 hours in front of a computer, but most American school days are 6 1/2 to 7 hours in total. Take away homeroom, lunch, and bell breaks, and the time in-class is in the 5 to 6 hour range. Still a long time, but much better than 7-8. Many students will also gain a good bit of time in their overall day from not having to ride the bus or wait in the drop-off line. An hour on the bus each day is not unusual around here, going up closer to 1 1/2 hours easily if you're at a small charter school. 

So, I certainly think virtual school can be challenging, particularly for teachers and schools who are new to it, but it does have some potential advantages. I think the greatest issue is going to be under-supervised students.

 

It's hard to turn a massive ship around without strong leadership and guidance. The success or failure will largely depend on whether district leaders had the foresight to start mini boot camps for online teaching MONTHS ago. A blind ferret could see this coming way back then. Those districts/states that engaged in wishful thinking will fail at this, as they have every aspect of the CV 19 response.

[kiwik]

On 7/16/2020 at 1:06 AM, Carrie12345 said:

I am a grumpy old fart who keeps trying to ignore the influx of posts.  (To be fair, I’ve been a grumpy old fart for the better part of the past 10 years, lol.)
The empath in me wants to answer everyone’s questions and hold their hands while they’re going through a very stressful time. But then I feel like I’m trying to teach someone to write an essay when they haven’t learned to read yet.  I feel so bad for these people who are looking for instructions in a simple FB comment. Especially when so many “normal” local homeschool resources are on hold during COVID. 😞 

I am not as experrienced as you though probably as old and I .getting grumpy.

I don't understand why people come and ask people on Facebook questions BEFORE they do the basic research.  It is rude to come and ask basic questions about whether you have to apply, how you have to apply and how it works without at least googling Homeschooling NZ and reading the Ministry of Education and other information that pops up.  I. Sick of saying you can't just remove your kid from school you have to.apply for the exemption, the exemption forms are on the MoE website, you get a small amount per year allowance, no the NZ  correspondence school is not free unless you need strict criteria if you don't it is $7000 a year, no you won't get sent resources or lessons you are on your own. All this info can be found in less than half an hour on line.  If you want more detailed information after that THEN come and ask on a Facebook group.  If you can't do half an hour online research how are you going to design and teach an education for your child?

[kiwik]

11 hours ago, katilac said:

It's interesting to me that so many people (here and on social media) comment that students will be sitting and staring at a computer all day, only walking away for bell breaks, because that's pretty much what b&m school looks like also! They are just staring at a live teacher instead of one on the computer. I think the teachers who are creative and imaginative in the physical classroom will probably be the same in remote classes, and the you sit/I talk teachers will probably be the same as well. 

Now, I do acknowledge that there are many other possible advantages to actually being in school, but I'm hoping the widespread dismay at kids sitting and staring all day will lead to some new strategies when schools reopen. If sitting and staring all day is such a bad thing, then let's do less of it! 

And there are a few advantages that might help compensate for what they're losing. Instead of sitting most of the day, students can choose to stand all or part of the time. When they do sit, it won't be at a rigid desk that's too small for many students, but at their own chair and table, or maybe on a couch. They'll probably be able to wiggle more because it's less distracting than in person. They can do some quick yoga or jumping jacks on bell break instead of dashing to the next class. Alternately, they'll have plenty of time to use the restroom, and it's likely to have soap and hot water. 

I also keep seeing people saying 7 or 8 hours in front of a computer, but most American school days are 6 1/2 to 7 hours in total. Take away homeroom, lunch, and bell breaks, and the time in-class is in the 5 to 6 hour range. Still a long time, but much better than 7-8. Many students will also gain a good bit of time in their overall day from not having to ride the bus or wait in the drop-off line. An hour on the bus each day is not unusual around here, going up closer to 1 1/2 hours easily if you're at a small charter school. 

So, I certainly think virtual school can be challenging, particularly for teachers and schools who are new to it, but it does have some potential advantages. I think the greatest issue is going to be under-supervised students.

I don't think at least until year 9 NZ kids spend much time sitting at desks staring at the teacher.  They only have 6 hour days of which 1.5 hours is usually spent outdoors.  They do a lot of group work and move around the class a lot.  If they did sit at desks more and work alone ASD kids might cope better.  But even when I was at school sitting at a desk it was never more than an hour or so at a time.

[ktgrok]

12 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

 

It's hard to turn a massive ship around without strong leadership and guidance. The success or failure will largely depend on whether district leaders had the foresight to start mini boot camps for online teaching MONTHS ago. A blind ferret could see this coming way back then. Those districts/states that engaged in wishful thinking will fail at this, as they have every aspect of the CV 19 response.

I'm going to be giggling about the blind ferret bit for a while now. 

12 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Ones of the things I'm baffled about reading all of the district plans coming out, is how much they care about "time". They are literally talking about adding minutes onto the days to make up the time from spring. I  can't help but think "it's a freaking pandemic, who cares if you calibrate the minutes to the exact amount you lost last spring? That's not how learning absorption works." 

Ah, yes- we measured out the exact amount of minutes to make up for last spring's deficient so. now the kids are all caught up! 🙄

Yes! 

Also, if the big push for in person school is mental health, how about y'all take I don't know, even thirty freaking seconds and actually freaking focus on mental health, instead of ONLY focusing on catching up academics!!!! We KNOW stressed kids don't learn. We KNOW this is stressful for them. Seems in the long run kids would do better academically if we spent a bit more time this year worrying about stress management, teaching self care, etc versus pushing them to catch up while they are already freaked out. 

But no. Somehow, all their mental health issues will be miraculously solved if they are on campus. 

[ktgrok]

And ANOTHER one. This one is all ready to start homschooling her oldest. Who is three. 

She can count to 20, but "doesn't have much experience cutting and pasting". Um, she's 3. She doesn't have much experience with anything yet!

And she's very worried because she thinks kindergarten curricula may be too advanced, but she's worried a PreK program for four year olds may not challenge her enough. 

She's worried about her 3 yr old not being academically challenged enough. 

And she is worried about this in a pandemic. Like, lady, if you are running out of stuff to stress out over, I've got a list, lol. And let me tell you, challenging my 3 yr old academically is not on that list. 

[SereneHome]

21 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

My ds8 never, ever sits down for schoolwork. If he has to write and be vertical he stands. He was giving me a hard time about wishing he didn’t have to do school last week (since we school during summer), and dh, who has now gotten really acquainted with our hs day, pointed out if we sent him to b&m school not only would be have to still do schoolwork, he would have to sit down all day to do so. Ds was totally aghast. Especially when I pointed out that if you stood up from your desk then you lost recess too. It’s like the darkest Dicken’s take to him at this point. 😂

My 8yr is like that. I wish I could remember which poster suggested a yoga ball for him instead of a chair, so I could keep thanking this person daily! Between trampoline and this ball the kid actually stays in one room during "school time"

[purpleowl]

9 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

And ANOTHER one. This one is all ready to start homschooling her oldest. Who is three. 

She can count to 20, but "doesn't have much experience cutting and pasting". Um, she's 3. She doesn't have much experience with anything yet!

And she's very worried because she thinks kindergarten curricula may be too advanced, but she's worried a PreK program for four year olds may not challenge her enough. 

She's worried about her 3 yr old not being academically challenged enough. 

And she is worried about this in a pandemic. Like, lady, if you are running out of stuff to stress out over, I've got a list, lol. And let me tell you, challenging my 3 yr old academically is not on that list. 

My guess? It's a thing she feels like she can have control over. There's a lot right now that we don't have control over. I don't think it's at all unusual for someone to pick a thing they feel like they CAN control and focus their mental energy there.

[katilac]

6 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

And ANOTHER one. This one is all ready to start homschooling her oldest. Who is three. 

She can count to 20, but "doesn't have much experience cutting and pasting". Um, she's 3. She doesn't have much experience with anything yet!

And she's very worried because she thinks kindergarten curricula may be too advanced, but she's worried a PreK program for four year olds may not challenge her enough. 

She's worried about her 3 yr old not being academically challenged enough. 

And she is worried about this in a pandemic. Like, lady, if you are running out of stuff to stress out over, I've got a list, lol. And let me tell you, challenging my 3 yr old academically is not on that list. 

Then I'm sorry, but we are preemptively turning down your 3-year-old for Overly Trained Kindergarten Academy.

6 hours ago, purpleowl said:

My guess? It's a thing she feels like she can have control over. There's a lot right now that we don't have control over. I don't think it's at all unusual for someone to pick a thing they feel like they CAN control and focus their mental energy there.

I've been hearing variations of this for 20 years, so it may be stress but it also might be completely genuine, lol. 

[ktgrok]

And another one just said that 3 yr olds need to be memorizing important literature and bible verses. And that they need to memorize Bible verses now, at 3, in case at some point the parent dies. 

Apparently it is important to shove bible verses into a 3 yr olds head so that if they are left an orphan they won't go to hell. 

I give up, lol. 

[itsheresomewhere]

Today’s winners of the hour-

I am homeschooling my 1 year old this year. I need a challenging curriculum yet that won’t make him too smart.  
 

I need a curriculum that will fit my 17 year old and my 6 year old twins.  I will only by one and it has to fit everyone.  I will not be sourcing everything all over the internet so needs to be complete.  ( Several asked and yes, she really means only buying one for all).
 

I am homeschooling my child this year.  He is 7 and needs a complete curriculum that is online and doesn’t need parental help. It must match the school’s virtual version as he will go back when this is over.  We work outside the home and he needs one that will work for when we are not home.  

 

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Today’s winners of the hour-

I am homeschooling my 1 year old this year. I need a challenging curriculum yet that won’t make him too smart.  
 

I need a curriculum that will fit my 17 year old and my 6 year old twins.  I will only by one and it has to fit everyone.  I will not be sourcing everything all over the internet so needs to be complete.  ( Several asked and yes, she really means only buying one for all).
 

I am homeschooling my child this year.  He is 7 and needs a complete curriculum that is online and doesn’t need parental help. It must match the school’s virtual version as he will go back when this is over.  We work outside the home and he needs one that will work for when we are not home.  

 

ugh...okay, the 1 yr old beats my 3 yr old for needing challenge, lol. 

I thought people called daycares for 1 yr olds "school" to be cute...but maybe these people really truly think their babies are at school???

[itsheresomewhere]

Just now, Ktgrok said:

ugh...okay, the 1 yr old beats my 3 yr old for needing challenge, lol. 

I thought people called daycares for 1 yr olds "school" to be cute...but maybe these people really truly think their babies are at school???

That is what we were just saying.  I guess teething and drooling is a subject by those standards.  Lol

[katilac]

18 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Today’s winners of the hour-

I am homeschooling my 1 year old this year. I need a challenging curriculum yet that won’t make him too smart.  
 

I need a curriculum that will fit my 17 year old and my 6 year old twins.  I will only by one and it has to fit everyone.  I will not be sourcing everything all over the internet so needs to be complete.  ( Several asked and yes, she really means only buying one for all).
 

I am homeschooling my child this year.  He is 7 and needs a complete curriculum that is online and doesn’t need parental help. It must match the school’s virtual version as he will go back when this is over.  We work outside the home and he needs one that will work for when we are not home.  

 

Please, please, ask her why she is worried about the baby becoming too smart 😄

Leaving the other crazy stuff in the last one aside for now, why are people so completely worried about it 'matching' the exact curriculum at the school? Do they not realize people sometimes move or even change schools for other reasons? It works out, lol. 

7 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

My personal experience is that "school" sounds better to them than "daycare".  For multiple reasons. 

I think it started with the kids just a bit too young to be preK and then crept downward to the babies. ime, the daycares do have worksheets for the below 3 set (let's hope not the babies) and other stuff and do call it schoolwork. It's really weird to me. 

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

ugh...okay, the 1 yr old beats my 3 yr old for needing challenge, lol. 

I thought people called daycares for 1 yr olds "school" to be cute...but maybe these people really truly think their babies are at school???

They do! My cousin has her kid in a $25k year "pre-preschool". She just turned 2. When she turned 18 months they began phonemic awareness, cutting, shapes, and alphabet activities at her school. She carries a school backpack and everything. Beyond ridiculous....and she doesn't even live on the east coast.

[prairiewindmomma]

10 minutes ago, Plum said:

I don’t know if my post will even make it past the mods but I had to point out to all of these people that forming co-ops, groups, pods, tutoring groups, play dates...whatever they want to call it with random stranger on the internet in the midst of a pandemic is not the wisest move.
What little contact tracing that has been done has proven that backyard family gatherings and celebrations are where most transmission is happening. And kids can transmit too. As seen in the day care and summer camp cases.  
Have they thought about if they can contact everyone if they turn up positive one day? Do they know where everyone has been? Do they know how these people feel about masks? Have they put any kind of thought into how to keep track of everyone? 
 

yeah I 💩 all over their day

 

ETA: Wow they already approved it. I don’t think it will last. I bet it will get shut down. 

This. I just want to respond, "You do realize there's a pandemic, right?!!"

[prairiewindmomma]

I just got off of another Zoom call to talk about homeschooling with someone. I'm showing them samples through my laptop camera and through online links because no, you can't come over to my house to look at stuff.

[SereneHome]

OMG, someone on FB just asked about setting learning goals for her 2.5 yr old. I need to stay away or I will get banned!!!!!!

[ktgrok]

58 minutes ago, SereneHome said:

OMG, someone on FB just asked about setting learning goals for her 2.5 yr old. I need to stay away or I will get banned!!!!!!

Mine would be "not biting her sibling when angry" and  "doesn't spill milk on the table EVERY meal..just most meals". 

Wonder how I'd write that up on a transcript. 

[ktgrok]

14 minutes ago, Plum said:

Well it didn’t last long. I was accused of mom-shaming and keeping my kids in a bubble.

I was merely pointing out some valid concerns people should maybe bring up before they gather with random strangers. I mean if the usual religious or homeschool philosophical differences can dissolve a homeschool co-op, imagine what bringing covid into it will do. 

I told mine that we'd be sitting out given that the Georgia Tech predictor says there is a greater than 80% chance that someone is positive in a group of 25 people. 

then a bunch more people commented about how they can't wait to get together next week. 

Sigh. 

[Ausmumof3]

50 minutes ago, Seasider too said:

These are.... I am tempted to accuse you of making this up. Not because I disbelieve you, but because it makes me sad to think anyone anywhere would take these views of home education. And maybe think that’s the kind of thing I spent 20 years doing to my kids. 😢

 

Those who are worried that this might have a negative impact on homeschoolers May be right.

[importswim]

1 hour ago, Seasider too said:

These are.... I am tempted to accuse you of making this up. Not because I disbelieve you, but because it makes me sad to think anyone anywhere would take these views of home education. And maybe think that’s the kind of thing I spent 20 years doing to my kids. 😢

 

Unfortunately, I've seen similar during this time so I know she's not making it up. I know you said you don't really believe she was, just reiterating that this sort of thing is out there in multiple places. I'm definitely scared of greater regulations coming down the pike.

Edited July 19, 2020 by importswim

[prairiewindmomma]

In the last few years, I have become more blunt. I straight up tell people they shouldn’t homeschool. If you can’t spend time with your kids to work with them, homeschooling is not for you. I also remind people that in my current state that leaving a child home alone below the age of x is  called neglect by DHS who will have no problems removing the child from the home and turning their file over for investigation. 

[prairiewindmomma]

If we don’t want regulations, we need to police our own.

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Seasider too said:

Honestly, something that’s way different than twenty years ago is that sample pages and sample lessons for almost anything out there is only a few clicks away. No need to go look at someone else’s stuff in person. 

Right, what some are really wanting is for me to lend it to them for free for a year. 

[prairiewindmomma]

The other point that I have become blunt about is that parenting children prior to kindergarten is specifically that, parenting. When we legally start schooling at the compulsive age/formal registration then we are homeschooling. We shouldn’t conflate the two because it muddles the legal right we are exercising.

[prairiewindmomma]

I am becoming old and crotchety now that I have schooled someone K-12 and he is in university. 😂

[itsheresomewhere]

3 hours ago, Seasider too said:

These are.... I am tempted to accuse you of making this up. Not because I disbelieve you, but because it makes me sad to think anyone anywhere would take these views of home education. And maybe think that’s the kind of thing I spent 20 years doing to my kids. 😢

 

You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff posted here.  

2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Those who are worried that this might have a negative impact on homeschoolers May be right.

I do think this could really have a negative impact on homeschoolers.  This is only going to drive regulations here.  

[Sneezyone]

5 hours ago, katilac said:

Leaving the other crazy stuff in the last one aside for now, why are people so completely worried about it 'matching' the exact curriculum at the school? Do they not realize people sometimes move or even change schools for other reasons? It works out, lol. 

Gaps. Big ones. It’s not a big deal to some people but having moved my peeps a lot, avoiding them is very important to me. This isn’t really an issue for littles tho. Also, end of course exams. If you use unaligned content your kids may not be able to pass  the exams.

[Carrie12345]

19 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

Also, if the big push for in person school is mental health, how about y'all take I don't know, even thirty freaking seconds and actually freaking focus on mental health, instead of ONLY focusing on catching up academics!!!! We KNOW stressed kids don't learn. We KNOW this is stressful for them. Seems in the long run kids would do better academically if we spent a bit more time this year worrying about stress management, teaching self care, etc versus pushing them to catch up while they are already freaked out. 

But no. Somehow, all their mental health issues will be miraculously solved if they are on campus. 

I (a 13 year homeschooler, lol) appreciate this being said.
I’ve been feeling some guilt for being not-so-academically-focused since Feb/Mar., and there are multiple reasons in my household, but the giant major one is, you know, my kids are living through a pandemic.  Most of their favorite things In life are gone for now. Many of my favorite things about homeschooling are gone right now. There’s still stuff that does have to be done, but my main priorities have to be health and overall well-being.

19 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

And ANOTHER one. This one is all ready to start homschooling her oldest. Who is three. 

She can count to 20, but "doesn't have much experience cutting and pasting". Um, she's 3. She doesn't have much experience with anything yet!

And she's very worried because she thinks kindergarten curricula may be too advanced, but she's worried a PreK program for four year olds may not challenge her enough. 

She's worried about her 3 yr old not being academically challenged enough. 

And she is worried about this in a pandemic. Like, lady, if you are running out of stuff to stress out over, I've got a list, lol. And let me tell you, challenging my 3 yr old academically is not on that list. 

This made me sad-chuckle. I vividly remember meeting to register my oldest for pre-k in 2002, and I was explicitly asked about his cutting skills. Which he did not have. Nearly 20 years later, the absurdity of the question does make me laugh but, at the time, I felt like a real crappy parent.

[Violet Crown]

17 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

And another one just said that 3 yr olds need to be memorizing important literature and bible verses. And that they need to memorize Bible verses now, at 3, in case at some point the parent dies. 

Dunno ... I've been whispering Proverbs 3:24 into Wee Girl's ear since at least that age. 🙂 Maybe someday it'll take!

On the topic: our NextDoor features lately a for-profit company encouraging parents to sign up for their "learning pods" (for a fee of course). In reality, under state law what they're putting together are unaccredited private schools, which will be subject to the same shutdown orders as any other school. But they insist that these aren't "private schools," no, they're just groups of families coming together to form "something like a nanny pool," except they'll be hiring an educational professional to, um, tutor. You might think that there were possibly some legal issues to pay attention to, but apparently the plan is to get a membership with the Texas Homeschool Coalition. It's homeschooling, no it's a co-op, no it's a pod, no it's something they don't have a name for but it's really exciting and innovative.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Violet Crown

[Violet Crown]

3 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I had read they exempted the private schools form shut down orders here? 

Last I heard, only religious schools were exempted; not so much because "hey let's let the virus spread amongst the religious" but because the recent Supreme Court case seems to require exemption, and I'm guessing the AG advised the governor accordingly. 

ETA: I actually emailed THSC to ask if they were affiliated in any way, and sending them a link to the FAQ page.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Violet Crown

[Violet Crown]

6 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

 

It sounds like an online....cottage school?!

To clarify: not online. In person. 

[Violet Crown]

12 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

A friend of mine brought this us- apparently the nanny pool is the popular topic in their neighborhood. I have to wonder how liability works on something like that. You aren’t a daycare, but you are. 

The law tends to be more interested in the fact of the situation rather than the wonderful new name they come up with.

There's no way the Gov is going to exempt private schools. It would be a massive transfer of funds to private schools, in the red state where public education is most broadly supported, and it would be generally (and rightly) seen as putting the whole burden of education during Coronatide on the backs of the poor, while the wealthy and middle-class opted out. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Violet Crown

[Violet Crown]

 

23 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I don't think I'm following what you are saying correctly- so are you saying if the state shuts the schools back down, the the non-religious privates will have to shut down too, but religious private schools can stay open? 

Where my confusion is , is right now it's by district. So if a district says "no in person school" does that mean a private in that district couldn't open either? 

Sorry, I am just not following 100%. 

Okay, I'm looking back at the announcement, and I see where the confusion is coming from. The AG said, in a letter addressed specifically to religious schools:

"The Governor of Texas rightfully identified access to 'religious services' as essential services, which must remain open even when other aspects of our communities must close to mitigate the spread of the virus. The Governor also exempted religious services from the state-wide masking order, but strongly encouraged houses of worship to require masks. Additionally, when the Governor issued orders applicable to public schools, he expressly acknowledged that private schools and institutions have the freedom to make their own decisions."

So the headlines ran this as "religious schools may stay open even if schools are closed down." Taken verbatim, the AG looks like he's saying that private schools in general can't be shut down. But the media (correctly I think) assumed that in the context -- addressing religious schools, and his other comments being about specifically religious institutions -- he meant private religious schools. Surely this is the only thing he could have meant, because otherwise he'd also be saying that "private ... institutions have the freedom to make their own decisions" -- and he can't possibly mean that, or bars, restaurants, etc. wouldn't be subject to shutdown orders.

What's your take?

ETA: I think it's certainly true that, as you say, under the current "let the ISD decide" regime, all private schools are immune from shutdown. But the state (and I presume cities?) could at any time say "all schools closed, public or private". And in that case, the AG's statement seems to say that private religious schools would be exempt.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Violet Crown