kiwik Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 I am not saying it impossible but I don't think I could work full time during the day and homeschool. I work mostly during the late evening when the kids are in bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 5 hours ago, kiwik said: I am not saying it impossible but I don't think I could work full time during the day and homeschool. I work mostly during the late evening when the kids are in bed If I had another choice I’d take it. But I am a teacher, which isn’t a career with flexible hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 On 12/6/2020 at 3:41 AM, BaseballandHockey said: If I had another choice I’d take it. But I am a teacher, which isn’t a career with flexible hours. It does make it much more difficult. school really starts at 7.45 where you are? it is good they can go to grandparents. I am guessing you will middle through but unless you kids are really self disciplined I would accept science and history might be DVDs and things might not be up to the standard you were like. What time do you have morning tea and lunch? I am assuming you do (my high school kid starts at 8.45, has 20 mind for morning tea, 50 mind for lunch and finishes at 3.15. If you have similar breaks maybe you do writing then? I think I would force myself to do it in the evenings or at 6 am though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 2 hours ago, kiwik said: It does make it much more difficult. school really starts at 7.45 where you are? it is good they can go to grandparents. I am guessing you will middle through but unless you kids are really self disciplined I would accept science and history might be DVDs and things might not be up to the standard you were like. What time do you have morning tea and lunch? I am assuming you do (my high school kid starts at 8.45, has 20 mind for morning tea, 50 mind for lunch and finishes at 3.15. If you have similar breaks maybe you do writing then? I think I would force myself to do it in the evenings or at 6 am though. Well, my school starts at 8:00, but there's stuff I need to do before the bell. We don't have an "morning tea". When we're having in person school, lunch is 30 minutes, but I end up using every minute. With virtual, it's longer so that kids can go to the the nearest school to pick up school lunch, but I'm still usually in a meeting. A lot of my work is done through a coaching model, and so I need to be able to access teachers when they aren't teaching. In the district where I live (different from the one where I teach), though high school starts at 7:45. There was a big movement a few years ago to push it later, but 7:45 is the later time they pushed it too. Part of the issues is that every school bus needs to make 4 runs, so they need to drop off group # 1 to get the elementary school kids out by 3:50, and home by 4:50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 How's school going? I'm guessing you're mostly back into a routine by now? Our public school has been virtual all year so far, and most likely will continue to be so. The schedule Baseball mentions is a very typical schedule. We're a bit barbaric here in the US--no morning tea or break at all once they leave elementary, and usually only 20-25 minutes for lunch. Some high schools work on a A/B schedule (8 total courses, 4 each day), other works on a same schedule 7-8 classes per day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: How's school going? I'm guessing you're mostly back into a routine by now? No, it's taking us a while. We've got math up and running, and some read alouds, and the kids are back to online tae kwon do (both), Spanish (younger) and music (older). But we still don't have any content instruction or English going on. I did negotiate a gradual return to work. I went back to work 1/4 time last week, and now I'm 1/2 time for the next two weeks. That way after Christmas I can do 3/4 time for the first month. 2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: Our public school has been virtual all year so far, and most likely will continue to be so. The schedule Baseball mentions is a very typical schedule. We're a bit barbaric here in the US--no morning tea or break at all once they leave elementary, and usually only 20-25 minutes for lunch. Some high schools work on a A/B schedule (8 total courses, 4 each day), other works on a same schedule 7-8 classes per day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) On 12/6/2020 at 3:41 AM, BaseballandHockey said: They put it back to 7.45? We're they starting in the middle of the night? Here they keep talking about making it 10 but it probably won't happen. I think the only reason schools are 9 to 3 here is to fit in with morning and afternoon milking. Just be kind to you all and try and cover maths, writing and reading. And documentaries, audio books and outside exercise. I imagine teachers offer have meetings are during breaks but I figured with online teaching playground supervision and sports not happening would free up at least an hour a day. Edited December 8, 2020 by kiwik 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 13 hours ago, kiwik said: They put it back to 7.45? We're they starting in the middle of the night? Here they keep talking about making it 10 but it probably won't happen. I think the only reason schools are 9 to 3 here is to fit in with morning and afternoon milking. I think they were starting around 7:00? Except, I see to remember that it was actually some odd time like 6:58. It's a combination of bus schedules, and the fact that many American high school kids either have after school jobs, or are seriously involved in sports or other extracurriculars with something every day after school. 13 hours ago, kiwik said: Just be kind to you all and try and cover maths, writing and reading. And documentaries, audio books and outside exercise. I imagine teachers offer have meetings are during breaks but I figured with online teaching playground supervision and sports not happening would free up at least an hour a day. There are some things that take up less time in virtual. I teach kids from about 15 to 21, so I didn't have playground duty, but there were some supervision things that I don't have. However, there are so many more things that take way more time virtually, at least in high school special ed. Pretty much every assignment or lesson plan needs to be recreated to make it work in virtual. Teacher communication that used to happen in passing, now needs to be more formal. Grading, when I need to open each document, as opposed to just looking through a stack of paper. I'm a special ed teacher, and so a lot of the work I do is supporting gen ed teachers, and that has totally changed. When I teach in person, I have about a 40 minute commute each way, about half walking and half on the train. If I'm lucky, the extra work won't add up to more than 80 minutes a day, and I'll come out about even. That's assuming my brain fog is gone by the time I'm up to full time on 2/1/2021. Sorry to be so negative. There's a narrative that teachers aren't really working during the pandemic, at least around here, so I'm a little touchy on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 hugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 17 hours ago, kiwik said: They put it back to 7.45? We're they starting in the middle of the night? Here they keep talking about making it 10 but it probably won't happen. I think the only reason schools are 9 to 3 here is to fit in with morning and afternoon milking. Yeah, US schools really are barbaric. Our local high school runs from 7:30 to 3 with 6 minutes of passing/bathroom time between classes and half an hour for lunch. No other breaks. Our local elementary runs from 8:30 to 4 with 35 minutes total mid-day to eat lunch and play outside + 15 more minutes of recess in the afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 23 minutes ago, wendyroo said: Yeah, US schools really are barbaric. Ouch. I like to think we do a lot of things right by our kids too. 23 minutes ago, wendyroo said: Our local high school runs from 7:30 to 3 with 6 minutes of passing/bathroom time between classes and half an hour for lunch. No other breaks. Our local elementary runs from 8:30 to 4 with 35 minutes total mid-day to eat lunch and play outside + 15 more minutes of recess in the afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 On 12/9/2020 at 8:51 AM, BaseballandHockey said: I think they were starting around 7:00? Except, I see to remember that it was actually some odd time like 6:58. It's a combination of bus schedules, and the fact that many American high school kids either have after school jobs, or are seriously involved in sports or other extracurriculars with something every day after school. There are some things that take up less time in virtual. I teach kids from about 15 to 21, so I didn't have playground duty, but there were some supervision things that I don't have. However, there are so many more things that take way more time virtually, at least in high school special ed. Pretty much every assignment or lesson plan needs to be recreated to make it work in virtual. Teacher communication that used to happen in passing, now needs to be more formal. Grading, when I need to open each document, as opposed to just looking through a stack of paper. I'm a special ed teacher, and so a lot of the work I do is supporting gen ed teachers, and that has totally changed. When I teach in person, I have about a 40 minute commute each way, about half walking and half on the train. If I'm lucky, the extra work won't add up to more than 80 minutes a day, and I'll come out about even. That's assuming my brain fog is gone by the time I'm up to full time on 2/1/2021. Sorry to be so negative. There's a narrative that teachers aren't really working during the pandemic, at least around here, so I'm a little touchy on the subject. Our teachers only taught on line for about 5 weeks total. They seemed to be pretty busy but they tried to keep to the normal timetable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 4 hours ago, kiwik said: Our teachers only taught on line for about 5 weeks total. They seemed to be pretty busy but they tried to keep to the normal timetable. Our schedule for the students hasn’t changed that much, it’s all the other pieces of the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 On 12/16/2020 at 1:44 AM, BaseballandHockey said: Our schedule for the students hasn’t changed that much, it’s all the other pieces of the job. Yes online teaching is quite different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 On 12/9/2020 at 1:19 PM, wendyroo said: Yeah, US schools really are barbaric. Our local high school runs from 7:30 to 3 with 6 minutes of passing/bathroom time between classes and half an hour for lunch. No other breaks. Our local elementary runs from 8:30 to 4 with 35 minutes total mid-day to eat lunch and play outside + 15 more minutes of recess in the afternoon. Why do parents not make a huge fuss and get things changed? Do most of them think it is a good thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 8 hours ago, kiwik said: Why do parents not make a huge fuss and get things changed? Do most of them think it is a good thing? In my area it's because it is very deeply ingrained. Groups of parents bring it up from time to time and get pushback. The counter arguments I hear are: 1. This is the only way to make the school bus situation work since the same buses are used for elementary, middle, and high school. 2. An early start allows teens time in the afternoon to work and/or play sports. 3. Letting kids sleep in will do them a disservice as they need to develop the habit of waking and getting to work on time. Our country has a high school starting around 8:15. We have a lot of buses, and the schools are located fairly close to where kids live, so we don't stagger times so much. The next county over built all their schools on main roads/highways and has neighborhood that are huge and set back from the roads, so they have extreme differences. High school goes from about 7-2, elementary 8-3, and middle 9-4. I think high school might be slightly earlier and middle slightly later, but it strikes me as odd and horrible for family life. The high schools in that county are known as football (and other sport to a lesser extent) power houses, and generally suggesting anything that might affect sports negatively is a touchy subject at best. Interestingly, as the schools have been closed for Covid, our county has the high schoolers' live classes starting around 10:30, and this seems very popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 (edited) On 1/2/2021 at 4:38 AM, Xahm said: In my area it's because it is very deeply ingrained. Groups of parents bring it up from time to time and get pushback. The counter arguments I hear are: 1. This is the only way to make the school bus situation work since the same buses are used for elementary, middle, and high school. 2. An early start allows teens time in the afternoon to work and/or play sports. 3. Letting kids sleep in will do them a disservice as they need to develop the habit of waking and getting to work on time. Our country has a high school starting around 8:15. We have a lot of buses, and the schools are located fairly close to where kids live, so we don't stagger times so much. The next county over built all their schools on main roads/highways and has neighborhood that are huge and set back from the roads, so they have extreme differences. High school goes from about 7-2, elementary 8-3, and middle 9-4. I think high school might be slightly earlier and middle slightly later, but it strikes me as odd and horrible for family life. The high schools in that county are known as football (and other sport to a lesser extent) power houses, and generally suggesting anything that might affect sports negatively is a touchy subject at best. Interestingly, as the schools have been closed for Covid, our county has the high schoolers' live classes starting around 10:30, and this seems very popular. I guess there is just more to organise. That would be a nightmare with one at each school though. Your would be spending 3 hours a day getting kids ready for school. Ours are 9 to 3, 8.45 to 2.45 and 8.45 to 3.15. Edited January 17, 2021 by kiwik I put 8.15 as the start time for high school but it should have been 8.45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 21 hours ago, kiwik said: Why do parents not make a huge fuss and get things changed? Do most of them think it is a good thing? Parent work schedules come into play, too. You have parents that HAVE to work, because they need the health insurance, which means the kids HAVE to be supervised by someone during the parent's workday. You end up with little kids arriving at school before 8am, in an afterschool enrichment program until 5pm, and then getting off the bus back at home by 5:30-6pm as mom and dad roll in with take-out for dinner, (because everyone is too tired and short for time to cook). I feel like if we got healthcare sorted out in this country, a lot of other pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. I know of quite a few parents that take a "Oh well, it is what it is" attitude on it. There's an undercurrent of fear there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 On 1/2/2021 at 5:16 PM, MissLemon said: Parent work schedules come into play, too. You have parents that HAVE to work, because they need the health insurance, which means the kids HAVE to be supervised by someone during the parent's workday. You end up with little kids arriving at school before 8am, in an afterschool enrichment program until 5pm, and then getting off the bus back at home by 5:30-6pm as mom and dad roll in with take-out for dinner, (because everyone is too tired and short for time to cook). I feel like if we got healthcare sorted out in this country, a lot of other pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. I know of quite a few parents that take a "Oh well, it is what it is" attitude on it. There's an undercurrent of fear there, too. We have the same problems with work. Kids aren't supposed to be in the school playground before 8.30 I think but many schools accept that they will be there earlier. Mostly the just play until school starts but if course if something goes wrong the school will have to deal with it. many kids go to after school programmes after school (they are rarely run by the schools though and though the programmes much the kids up the parents collect them), some schools have breakfast clubs or before school care. People have to work to pay the bills even without the health insurance issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyPrince Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Lots of great insights here.! Jotted down a handful and plan to share them with a few moms in our co-op. Thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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