Check-in: Day 1 of Altered Reality

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/16/2020 at 07:47 • Filed to: None

I go in today for what it sounds like will be closing up my classroom for what could be the duration of the school year. I will be required to submit a plan for distance learning I will provide. I have been working all weekend on making contact with the students. A number of them have no cell phone.

Here’s a truck I made for Zoidberg a few years ago.

DISCUSSION (47)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:17

Nothing so drastic here yet...our kids just went on March Break, so there is a week of that and they just announced yesterday they are tacking 2 weeks onto the end of that where no kids at school (though teachers still come back after the one week).

Sucks as a sub because I don’t get paid unless I am somewhere, which means no work for me teaching for 3 weeks....at least I have my computer side business if people still want me to come by....

InFierority Complex > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:19

Ye ah, I’d tell my teacher I didn't have a cell phone too.

Long_Voyager94 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:20

They just announced our schools will be closed from today until April 6th at the earliest.

In the mean time our Daycares have to make provisions to take on the school children.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:36

The teachers at our kids’ schools are getting distance-learning training today, will have tomorrow to put together lesson plans, and are expected to start teaching online come Wednesday. Whether that means online lectures, videos, or just assignments, we don’t know. The kids are supposed to return to campus on April 14th. With spring break thrown into the mix, it looks like at least three weeks of “distance learning.” For my daughter, this isn’t an issue. For my son, this means three weeks of constant reminders to get his schoolwork done. I feel bad for kids who don’t have at least one parent who can stay at home with them. This will be a big setback for them.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:39

NH’s governor decided this week that all schools are closed until the beginning of April and they will do som kind of electronic learning starting the end of this week. My kid couldn’t be happier.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:41

Here in Alberta, they closed all schools and daycares last night. Also no gatherings over 50 people or something like that. And now my parents are stuck in Madagascar for the foreseeable future.

phenotyp > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 08:41

Best of luck. My daughter’s school district hasn’t cancelled classes yet, but they say that it’s “highly likely” that they will soon. They do a 2-week spring break, starting the second week today. Thankfully neither of us works at an office, so nothing’s changed too much except that the grocery stores are all emptily-aisled.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/16/2020 at 09:07

I have been working diligently all weekend at making contact with my students and so far, I have about half of them on group texts. I can sense their eagerness, some of them. I want to be available for those, at least.

In spite of any impressions I give here, I am no tech Luddite. You don’t go from zero to distance learning in one workday. Some dinosaur teachers won’t get there at all.

The efforts I am making are more about lending the kids a measure of stability. I care about them and I am worried about them and I am sad for them because most are in families that are going to be whacked financially by this disaster.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/16/2020 at 09:08

I’m sure your child is not alone in feeling that way.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/16/2020 at 09:08

Dang. When did they go there?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > phenotyp
03/16/2020 at 09:09

I am hopeful that the grocers will begin catching up this week.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > InFierority Complex
03/16/2020 at 09:11

Student: *texting* “Mr. Rusty Vandura, I just wanted to make sure you know that I don’t have a cell phone. Thanks.”

Rusty Vandura:

Kinja'd!!!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/16/2020 at 09:11

Didn’t you get the email telling you that the email system was down?

66P1800inpieces > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/16/2020 at 09:12

Tell us more. My inlaws are stuck in Thailand. They just retired and my wife and brother in law set up a neat plan for them to explore Asia before they settle down more. They just got started. Not sure what do do next so they extended there visa for 30 days. Anywhere they go would require a 14 day self quarantine . So for now they are staying in Thailand. They don’t have many cases, and the ones they do have are mostly foreigners bringing it in.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 09:23

I actively campaigned against distance learning when I was teaching. I don’t think most people are well equipped for it and I’m not talking about the availability of technology. Perhaps the latest generation will be better at it, but it really depends on the person. My daughter, no worries. My son is a different story. He needs the guidance of an instructor. He’s too easily distracted. Smart, but somewhat flighty.

I am thoroughly impressed that you will be teaching remotely. I wish you the best of luck.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 09:25

My state just shut the fuck down yesterday. No school of any sort, including preschool, through the first week of April. No gatherings of over 25 people. Restaurants can't seat people, take out and delivery only.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/16/2020 at 09:31

I wonder how many kids are out there who have no access to any sort of tech for this. I have one trumpet student who I know doesn’t have a computer in his house.

ttyymmnn > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/16/2020 at 09:32

My boys are really thrilled with the idea of an extended SB, though the district has made no official announcement. But with the CDC recommending no gatherings above 50, and the schools pledged to follow CDC guidelines, I don’t see how they can bring them in next week. I guess we’ll just wait and see.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 09:33

Yes, that. But even in a perfect world, in my classroom, only about a third of my students are actually engaged and trying to be successful. At a minimum, I want to be there for those kids.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/16/2020 at 09:36

Thank you, Buck. More than anything, I want to do what I can to be available to them emotionally. Educators are very important to children, all the more so in my school’s demographic, where the kids’ adults are working multiple jobs and all hours. I can sense the hunger already from some of them. This is my service to them.

I think Plato and Socrates and those ancient didacts would all have eschewed distance learning. There is a social aspect to learning, even when it’s one on one, even the journeyman hazing the apprentice, that a screen does not capture.

But at the end of the day, more than anything, I want to do what little I can to help my kiddos transit this disaster. And it hasn’t even started getting bad yet. The end of the beginning is nowhere in sight.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 09:41

When I was preparing for college job interviews, I worked closely with an older doctoral student who was already a faculty member at a small college in San Antonio. He talked about how, as an applied instructor, you are probably the only adult/professor that student will have a weekly one-on-one with, and your role will often be as much psychologist as music teacher.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 09:41

I don’t think that means what people think it means, this is directly from the CDC, in the te xt of that recommendation.

Kinja'd!!!

But we'll see. Things are changing rapidly.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
03/16/2020 at 09:43

Ah, I hadn’t seen that. I only saw the news alert that popped up on my phone, since I’m not really following the news on a regular basis right now. Though I did read that the markets just took another 8% shit this morning, despite the Fed’s intervention.

shop-teacher > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
03/16/2020 at 09:43

Same here.

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 09:47

I assume your school is not 1:1 with technology? We made all the kids take their Chromebooks home on Friday, and the district is distributing WiFi hot spots to those without internet access, and delivering those that need it food as well.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 09:47

Being a friggin’ grownup in their lives. But I relish that aspect. And I enjoy teaching some math while I’m at it, too. I feel a keen sense of urgency to pick these kids up. As soon as I can get my classroom closed up, I’m going to start calling individual families of students I haven’t reached yet.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > shop-teacher
03/16/2020 at 09:49

I have to say, it sounds like your school/district is on top of things. Most of what I’ve been hearing from parents hear sounds like none of the schools here are even remotely prepared.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 09:50

I legit do not follow the news. I honestly found out about that recommendation from you last night. The real shame of this politically charged shit-show of an era we’re in, is I don’t trust any news outlets anymore. That’s why I went straight to the source, as I don’t want my news filtered through any editorial process anymore.

Here is the link.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 09:53

Being a friggin’ grownup in their lives.

This. The new band director at our middle school (where I teach lessons) is a youngish woman from a poorer family in San Antonio, and this is her first head director gig. She immediately began changing the culture of the band, making the band hall a landing spot for kids looking for a place to hang out, and encouraging kids to work together and support each other. Kids get off the bus in the morning and go straight to the band hall before school, and she routinely keeps the band hall open until 6 pm so kids can practice, get extra coaching, or just hang out in a safe place and play Smash Bros together. My boys enjoy staying after with their friends, and though it’s a drag to have to pick them up, I’d rather they be there than home with their heads plugged into a computer. Educators have the power to make a profound difference in the lives of their students.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
03/16/2020 at 09:55

I have turned to the BBC and Reuters. They seem to be the most level-headed of the lot. American media can GTFAC.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 10:12

I could see some of the basics being taught over Skype, but there’s a lot of hands-on that is required for learning an instrument. The sound quality over Skype can’t be good enough to catc h the nuances you need to teach. I can’t imagine how you would convey the subtleties.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 10:14

...and Montana schools are closed as of today. There are some subjects that will be easier than others. I guess we will have a three man band since Orchestra and Band is not really an online course. I’ll pick up the 4th leg with the family accordion .

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 10:15

I never thought about that before. My day started in the band hall, sometimes ended in the band hall, and was the place we gathered every friday night and most saturdays during the marching season.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/16/2020 at 10:15

I would say that I spend 60% of each lesson on sound alone. For me, it’s simply the most important thing at this point to give kids a concept of what a good trumpet sound is. The technique will follow.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
03/16/2020 at 10:28

No on 1:1. How large is your district? For who they are, and where they’ve been historically, I think they’re doing a passable job so far.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
03/16/2020 at 10:28

Same here, too. We picked up some carry-out hot-and-sour soup from the local Chinese place and they were very grateful for our patronage.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 10:30

Educators have the power to make a profound difference in the lives of their students.

And not even anything dramatic. Just being there with them, not being sarcastic to them. Old man helping boys wanna become young men.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
03/16/2020 at 10:32

Did you see Ttyymmnn’s post about Dad’s birthday?

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 10:58

We're a unit district with one high school, three middle schools, and (I think) seven elementary schools. We've only been 1:1 for a few years now, but it's definitely going to pay dividends with the E-learning.

shop-teacher > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/16/2020 at 11:00

I would not have said we were remotely prepared even a week ago, but district adm in really pulled their crap together last week and kicked things into gear. We're straight up off this week, next week is our spring break, and then we start a week of E-learning.

functionoverfashion > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/16/2020 at 11:07

Our school sent out a survey asking parents to fill it out if they needed help with internet access during a potential closure... via a link in an email over the weekend.

DipodomysDeserti > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/16/2020 at 11:13

Yeesh. Madagascar has been having outbreaks of shit a lot worse than coronavirus over the last few years.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
03/16/2020 at 11:55

I’m more likely to listen to those sources, if one comes across my desk , so to speak, but I don’t seek out any news anymore. I vote when it’s time to vote, but other than that I just live my life.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 11:55

Oh just saw that, so cool. My parents are in their early 70's very much isolated right now.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/16/2020 at 13:54

A year and a half ago.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > DipodomysDeserti
03/16/2020 at 13:54

The area they are in has been pretty tame, except for Malaria. They take medication daily to prevent it though.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > 66P1800inpieces
03/16/2020 at 16:51

They've been in Madagascar for a year and a half. Their original travel plans were to come home early April - fly from Madagascar to Paris, Paris to Edmonton. They had also planned (and paid for) a little excursion, just before they were to leave. And to make matters worse, my dad seems to be coming down with a bad cold or flu. We're pretty sure it isn't COVID-19, as there haven't been any reported cases in the country, but no airline in their right mind is going to let them fly now. They will likely be stuck there another month, which isn't the end of the world.