Sorry guys, but I've got to rant about school opening.

[WinstonSmith4740]

OK, I work for Clark County School District in Vegas. Grades 1-3 started back in classrooms this week. They're "phasing" in the rest of the kids. Some start back 3/22, others 4/6, so we should all be back in the classroom by the 1st week in April. Here's what's working my last nerve.

This is voluntary for students, but not teachers. About 20% of our students have said they're coming back on campus, which means we will have to teach a majority of our students remotely, but they're not sure how we're supposed to do that. At the very least, they'll have to put cameras in all classrooms, because most of our students will be at home. We can't afford textbooks for all students, but we'll be putting in cameras for the last 7 weeks of school.

But my biggest issue is that this district seems to have absolutely NO plans for this re-opening. Almost every question that was asked in our faculty meeting today was answered with, "We're working on that". Will the bell schedule stay the same? Working on it. Will the kid's schedules stay the same? Working on it. Will there be an orientation for freshman, so they can find their way around campus? Working on it. Will the school day be the same length? Working on it. How do we combine the kids at home with the kids in the classroom? Working on it.

What the hell have these people been doing since August? They had to know we'd be getting back at some point. They're all concerned about the "lack of learning" this year? As someone in the trenches, the learning hasn't really changed. The kids that were on top of stuff are still on top of stuff and thriving. The screw-ups are still screw-ups and doing nothing, just like when their butts are in a classroom. They think they're going to be helping these kids? I've got news for them. I'm willing to guarantee that learning will stop when we do this hybrid bullshit. There's no way I can take care of the kids in the classroom and at home at the same time. You can't teach in a classroom from a behind a desk, but since 80% of my students will be at home, I'll be stuck behind a computer. This is insane, and completely unnecessary. We're reopening with 7 weeks left in the school year. Those 7 weeks are going to "save" them? And nobody's been able to explain to me yet why teachers are 100% responsible for the mental health of their students.

Remote teaching is by no means ideal, but the kids have adapted over time. Throwing this kind of sudden change at people who are not particularly good at change is going to hurt these kids.

Thanks for listening guys...I do feel better now.

[roamer65]

1. All teachers should be vaccinated.

Period.

Also vaccinated assistants to help them teach with online and in person.

[Claire Oh Nette]

2. Hire more teachers

"There's no way I can take care of the kids in the classroom and at home at the same time. You can't teach in a classroom from a behind a desk, but since 80% of my students will be at home, "



Even six or seven kids need proximity. Anyone who's been in a classroom knows the minute the teacher sits down, the kids fool around.

Teaching an alternate in class/remote schedule is one thing, but asking teachers to do both at the same time means it's all review without much moving forward and neither group is served well.

Some parents and students will want remote learning. There needs to be dedicated emote learning instructors so that the in class teachers can teach the students who are there, not the ones who are not.

[pinkstarburst]

5. It's a mess either way

Some parents and students will want remote learning. There needs to be dedicated emote learning instructors so that the in class teachers can teach the students who are there, not the ones who are not.

I think the rationale for not doing that is that when you divide it up that way, you get some classrooms with 30 kids and one teacher learning in person, and some classrooms with 30 kids and one teacher learning remotely. Much more dangerous for the teachers who have to teach in person in terms of covid risk.

When you do it the hybrid way (which also sucks--I'm a former teacher), you at least keep in person class size evened out across the board for all teachers so their covid exposure is as minimal as possible. The way it's being done in secondary schools here is that everyone is doing the same lesson staring at their school-issued computer--whether or not you happen to be on campus or at home. I have a friend's child in kindergarten and he's receiving a LOT of self-paced instruction on the tablet even when he's in in-person school because his teacher is also having to teach hybrid classes of in person and at home learners. But she's making it work.

[woodsprite]

7. My son's GF (she's a para for special ed) and the teacher she works with have found

that they teach from the board, so while they're doing any board work, presentation, etc., they turn the camera so they are presenting it to both the kids in the classroom and the kids at home at the same time (the laptop w/ camera sits at a desk just like a student). They're dealing with autistic K-2 kids and because of that, board work is limited to 10 min. blocks. I would think it could be adapted to work for older students. They have 2 cohorts - one group attends in person Mon-Tue, the other group attends in person Th-Fri. Wednesdays are all remote.

In Delaware we do have teaching staff that are fully vaccinated, but I don't know the percentage. I know the GF and her teaching partners have received both doses. They started out doing a lottery for the shots. Not sure how that worked out.

[intrepidity]

3. I feel you

It's a massive clusterf*ck all the way around.

It will be very interesting to see how this young generation turns out.

[GPV]

4. Another primary grades educator here. We've got more in class than remote. Remotes join inperson

over zoom, but most of their day they are working with their adult on home assignments.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. I saw some video of a classroom setting. Big tables, one or two kids per table,

and the kids are all focused on their computers, where the teacher is teaching to those in attendance as well as those at home.

So, I suppose there's some value in opening the classrooms, but it isn't anything like two years ago. And hopefully nothing like a year from now, when things may approach "normal" schoolrooms.

I just wonder how long it will take students at all grades to catch up to where they should be, academically and socially.

Best of luck with teaching this year.

[cyclonefence]

8. I taught third grade

and there was more snotting and slobbering throughout the day than in many kindergartens. There is no way of knowing what kind of precautions kids' families are taking even if the kids themselves are compliant during the school day.

If I were still teaching, I would refuse to return to campus until I was vaccinated.

[Raastan]

9. This is the exact situation Indiana was in last fall

Hybrid most of the year, people sick, splitting up classes to cover teacher absences, no vaccine.

It sucks. Students still don't do work... Very stressful.

Decisions made based upon politics and the economy, not people's health.

[CRK7376]

10. I feel you pain my friend

I teach high school history in NC and we have slowly integrated our classrooms over the past 5-6 weeks. We brought in the Freshmen, those that wanted in school versus remote learning first, Feb 22 we brought in the first of 4 cohorts . My classroom is layed out for a total of 12 kids basically 6ft apart. I normally have 28-33 kids in my classroom. The first day I had students physically enter my room I had a grand total of 2 kids show up for 2nd period and 1 kid for 3rd period and none for 4th period,next day was the same. We have each cohort for 2 days a week. Monday& Tuesday then the next Cohort on Thrusday& Friday. Wednesday is our Wash Down day and students, teachers, faculty & staff are all remote learning. I have a video camera on a tripod that plugs into to docking station and I guess we are supposed to broadcast/record our lesson vs using the camera on the laptop (school issued). All the kids have personal laptops or have been loaned a school laptop for the duration. My 2nd cohort showed up for the Thur-Friday session and again 2 kids in one class and one kid by himself in the other class. Two days ago I had a total of 5 kids between 2 classes.... The kids are not roaring to come back, they are saying why come to school, teacher asks me all the questions instead of the kids online..... That's not happening.

I hate remote learning, I am working 3-4 times harder with online learning. I am a dinosaur and horrible with computer/tech stuff etc....And they threw us into the Canvas Learning Platform back in August with about 3 weeks to learn the system and create our lessons, tests, homework before we started classes. It was/is a nightmare. At least I finally got my first Moderna vaccine last Friday and having even 1-3 kids in a classroom is better than being online....So I have 1-3 kids in my room and the rest are meeting me on our MSTeam page for 45 minutes of me lecturing/slides etc....then they spend the next 45 minutes on homework/classwork goofing off.....But so far the kids have been pretty good about keeping masks on, staying social distanced, using hand sanitizer in the halls, bathrooms and classrooms.....We do have to escort our kids to lunchroom to pick up a go bag lunch and return to classroom to eat , same with restroom breaks and during class change I am supposed to wipe down their desks door knob etc....So yes it has been a very very frustrating year for me. Our last normal classroom day was March 13th, 2020...here we are a year later and miserable. Don't get me started on grades and pass/fail issues! That's a whole other discussion. Good luck with your kids and classroom!

[dsc]

12. we have been hybrid here since Sept

I teach high school math in NC. I am mostly similar except we escort to lunch and they eat there. The lack of effective staff development on Canvas was border line criminal.

[WinstonSmith4740]

13. Amazing...

I can literally say "ditto" to every last point in your post. It is exactly what we're dealing with here, including getting thrown onto Canvas with 2 weeks of training before classes started. I was fortunate enough to have had the curriculum pre-loaded, so I didn't have to create anything, but most of my colleagues did. And it looks like the cohorts you're doing is what CCSD is planning.

The school board can talk all they want about being concerned about kids not learning and everything else, but I still think this is all about optics...they want to be able to get in front of the cameras and say "Look, we opened up". But this is VEGAS. Our economy depends on tourism. People come in from all over the world, and bring their germs with them. The kid's parents work in the casinos, bring it home to the kids, who bring it to school. I really can't figure out why they feel it's so important to get the kids back in when we are literally 11 weeks from the end of the school year...and 2 of those weeks are eaten up by Spring Break and final exams. And I guarantee these changes will result in at least 2 weeks of chaos before the kids settle in.

The kiddos have adapted to distance learning. We shouldn't be going back until the new school year.

[dsc]

11. I have been teaching hybrid since Sept

but I have the advantage of my virtual students being asynchronous. So I can concentrate on my face to face students when they are there. I have videos of my lesson on Canvas (our virtual platform) and teach a substantially similar lesson to my face to face. We have one remote day per week, which is when I give tests and quizzes out of convenience.

[AwakeAtLast]

14. I have been teaching in person since August

600 kids per week, two different buildings daily. Luckily I have received both doses of the vaccine!

Most of my colleagues are teaching live on Google Meet. The remote learners join the class at the appropriate time.

Because I'm a Music Teacher, my lessons are uploaded and remote learners do those lessons once a week whenever they want to.

Not ideal, but it is working. Good luck!

[Ms. Toad]

15. I've been teaching synchronous hybrid since August

There are two prerequisites to doing it as effectively as an in person class:

A classroom wired for hybrid teaching - which includes desk mics wired to the central (teacher's station).

A heck of a lot of flexibility and fast learning by the teacher.

I had the latter, but not the former, in the fall. It was a disaster. Without the classroom being wired for hybrid learning, the students at home cannot hear the students in the classroom. That leaves the teacher repeating everything the students in the classroom say - cutting the class period by up to 50% of the time - and losing the critical learning that comes from hearing students respond in their own words. I constantly battled with myself against rephrasing rather than repeating the in-classroom comments because I was losing so much time.

I'm back in the (properly wired) classroom I was in in August - and my class is back now to a fully integrated hybrid class. I will not teach a hybrid class again without proper technology. Teaching fully remotely is far preferable than a hybrid class that is not supported by proper technology.