Teachers and Parents, how is distance learning going?

I am taking a break from contacting parents of students who have not done any work or haven't done any work since the first week of distance learning (we are starting week 4). It's exhausting. The kids have figured out we aren't putting in zeroes for missing assignments - to the parents it looks like they have an "A" but that's because 3 of the 4 assignments are missing. As of this week, we are using zeroes for missing assignments and progress reports for the last 3 weeks are going to show "Incompletes" for those with 2 or more missing assignments. 

We are using an online platform (like Google classroom but not as good), that they are familiar with - I use normally in class to post articles, videos, etc and we used it as a means to turn things in. Yet, now that we are home, they act like they've never seen it before. Plus my classes are normally very hands-on (literally, we build sets, hang lights, program sound) and I'm having to convert all of that to distance assignments which equates to videos and computer"y" projects so no one is excited by that change. I am doing tutorials - because I am teaching new content but I don't video myself - just makes me uncomfortable, so screen share and audio it is. I'm not getting feedback exactly, but the assignments tell me the kids who are doing them are watching. 

I am responding to every assignment and every message/email, plus reaching out weekly regarding missing assignments...it's alot. I'm definitely working my normal "school" hours. I would normally be at rehearsal 12+ hours a week, so I'm working less overall, but rehearsals and my "program kids" are my favorite part of the job. We held a virtual drama club meeting yesterday - we have to get moving on officer elections and stuff for next year, but I was almost in tears seeing their faces and hearing their voices.  

For my own children - (10 & 12) - we are experiencing a lot of technical issues - multiple programs, assignments not opening, etc. Both of them are in charge of emailing/messaging the teachers when something isn't working and they get almost immediate responses. The work is as engaging as it can be - their teachers' are certainly trying. My kids are getting their work done - my son is easily spending 4-5 hours a day on school (but he is in a Middle School GT program) and he also has some challenges that distract him normally. My 5th grader gets maybe 2-3 hours a week if we stretch it, but she is good at finding projects to do herself. We are adding some music and reading assignments to her school "stuff" to keep her a bit more engaged. She also tends to stay focused and work through her assignments more quickly than others. 

So there is my long answer, basically .... I'm spending 4-6 hours a day on all my least favorite parts of my job and my favorite parts are on hold until we can get back to normal. I'm also trying to do all of the planning for next year with big questions about "normal" still looming. My house is looking better than ever though, my kids are delighted with the extra time at home and we are really trying to focus on using our extra family time to do those things we end up putting aside this time of year when our theatre schedule is crazy. 

I hope to read some other teachers' perspectives - this is such a switch and it's easy to get overwhelmed, but it's nice to know we aren't alone in this. 

My friend told me this today regarding the distance learning in her home.

2 students are expelled for fighting
Teacher is fired for being intoxicated while working 

Our students just finished 2 weeks of packets and they took pictures of work to submit. We are using a platform we've used for behavior and messages home, so they had nothing new to learn. Next week I'll upload work and they'll put answers on paper and take a photo to submit. I have introduce Zoom and haven't done anything regularly yet. I wanted to get through at least 3 weeks since the new routine starts then. Small changes help.

I have added a lot of optional assignments on websites for parents to use if they want to. I think it was overwhelming at first, but I reassured them it was optional. One program was one we had been using all year. I think less is more and simple is more.

As a parent of a middle schooler, I appreciate the email updates. They use our grade book program to post assignments, and I'm not as familiar with it since we don't use it for my level. My son seems to know more about it. LOL

I miss teaching. This isn't the same. I have 100% participating in completing work. I have a good group though that turned in homework etc.

We just have to be flexible, but I find as a parent it's easy to worry about what we've missed if something has changed.

My kids have been out of school since March 11th. Distance Learning doesn't start until 4/20 and this week is "spring break".

My oldest is in his last year of preschool. His particular teacher has not adjusted well to distance learning and is losing what little participation she had from parents fast. Like in the OP, only a couple of parents are sharing work, but even that is fizzling out fast. I have shared constructive feedback with the preschool director and was met with opposition. I basically was told that even after doing this for the past 3 weeks, the teachers are still not comfortable with doing any kind of live learning (on zoom), so it will be introduced gradually and is not currently required. If I hadn’t prepaid for the second part of the preschool year already, I would have stopped payments and unenrolled. I am basically homeschooling and doing my own lesson plans. My son is doing great, though, since I am giving him challenging Curriculum. He has started reading, since being at home.

*I truly thank all of the teachers for their hard work through this adjustment period. The parents can tell which ones really care. Keep up the good work!*

wow.

My kids school went virtual on a Tuesday.. and announced it on Sunday. Teachers had one day to organize.


They did three weeks. and are now on Spring break.  She meets with her AP class live everyday. Her Theater class has meet once or maybe twice. Everything else is on line and on demand... so no time commitments.

She said all of her teachers but her AP teachers are just giving participation grades and not actually grading the work.

We did several weeks of "practice learning" here because e-learning is not normal in Illinois and they needed to figure it out. My teens did all of the assignments and interactions, but apparently were some of the few who did. This week they will start grading, but it is such a loose grading system that it doesn't matter what the kids do or what effort is put in. Mine will do everything like it really does matter because that has been ingrained in them, but it seems kind of silly. Their workload so far is super lite so they have a lot of down time. My son (Junior) found out today that his dual credit classes won't count for more than regular high school credit. He is bummed because he really wanted these classes and they are missing so much - the teachers just can't do the class activities at home, so they are skipping most of the classwork. He is looking at retaking a class or two next year because he REALLY wanted these classes but figuring out what to drop his Senior year is hard. HE is just bummed right now.

3 high schoolers here. We've been out of school since March 16th. That week was a week off. We started online learning there following week. So we're on week 3. It's going well from a parent perspective. They're given 2-3 hours worth of work Mon-Thurs. Plus several teachers hold zoom meetings throughout the week.

We told the kids that they need to be up by 8am during the weeks with school. Most days they're done with work by 12 or 1.

Originally, the work wasn't being graded - but we got an email last week saying that since it'll probably be online for there remainder of the year, assignments would now be graded. I'm sure that's going to cause a ruckus. My kids do their assignments so I don't worry about them.

2 out of the 3 have been great. They've been flexible and while they don't like not being able to go out, they realize it's the way it is right now. The other one is being a PITA. She makes us feel like trash... like it's my & DH's rules and we're punishing her. She mentally drains me some days. We can't win, despite the fact that we've ordered a couple of outdoor games for when the weather's nice and we've bought some fun and challenging jigsaw puzzles, she still complains and acts like we're the worst. She frequently says she hates everything.

It's going very well here. I am afraid she won't want to go back! (8th grader)

My 5th grader doesn't seem to have very much at all assigned. On the bright side, he is actually doing it, even science - and he generally hates schoolwork, especially science.

My 7th grader is spending hours every day. One challenge she is having is that a lot of her teachers created really busy slides for them to get the assignments and background info, and it's hard to find everything she's supposed to do on them.

We did our own "homeschooling" the last couple weeks - this is the first week we have assignments from the school - and I think, frankly, my kids were learning more. However, that's somewhat to be expected since I could tailor it more to them as individuals, and I made sure we kept it mostly fun (or at least did fun stuff after the hard stuff). Our district has a wide range of socioeconomic groups, so the teachers are having to create activities that require virtually no supplies and require virtually no parental input. I really give them credit, they've done well in a crisis and while I may prefer things to be done a different way, I understand why they are the way they are and don't want to be anything but supportive.

I'm a teacher and I am not having fun. There is so much new special ed paperwork to do and it seems to change from day to day. We spend one day creating plans for our caseload and we learn the next day that we need to add x. Okay, I add x. Then 2 days later we learn that we need to add y & z. It's such a PIA. I have spent so much time doing paper work that I don't even know what kind of shape some of the kids on my caseload are doing. I'm in high school and I have a few kids that are turning in work but not answering the phone or responding to emails, same with their parents. I have one kid who ran away, one who can't use the computer anymore because they were naughty, and one who one teacher thinks needs a para online with them every day. If it's not paperwork, it's putting out fire. I'm lucky if I get an hour a day to actually do services with kids.

I'm so ready for this year to be done. I have a staff meeting happening on another screen and they are talking about having kids finish when their work is done. Good God! Imagine have 5 classes done on May 1st, 3 done the following week, etc. As a special educator, all I can see is IEP revisions for services that wouldn't be happening anymore.

Thank you! I appreciate that.  It is so hard, and I am not good with being on shaky ground with teaching itself.  Distance teaching is so much harder than I expected.  However, I never expected the backlash from normally supportive parents.  So, so mean.  I shut things down today at 4pm.  I am normally emailing or on Zoom all evening.  Working 7 am until 9 pm.  I use the bathroom and eat less than at school     We are in week 2, so I hope it gets better, I first have to start with boundaries.

I have heard a LOT of this from colleagues who teach at private schools. It's kind of a double whammy because it's so unexpected. Because I'm a special-subject teacher, I don't take the same heat from parents. The classroom teachers are really stressed right now.

My family is adjusting okay. My college kid is suffering from lack of access to libraries (in his field, much of what he needs for research is NOT digitized). One of my kids is unhappy at the amount of homework being assigned - it's no fun sitting at a desk all day for school and then at the SAME desk all evening for homework (my suggestion of moving to the kitchen for "homework" was not well received - "Don't you see that it's ALL homework at this point, Mommy?!").

It's been a real trial for me. I've been posting videos and activities, but man-oh-man we have been getting SO many contradictory rules from admin - "Don't require too many live classes!" "The parents want more live classes!" "Give them work they can do AWAY from the computer!" "Don't give them anything they have to print out!" That has died down a little this week, thank God.

I just wish I had some idea of whether we'll be going back this year. I'm afraid of the danger of lifting restrictions too early. I'm also afraid that if we do go back, we'll be expected to put on all the concerts and shows as if we had actually been having rehearsals all spring - plus, gathering all those people in a theatre together? Noooo thanks.