Frustration Levels are High

"WRXforScience" (WRXforScience) 08/13/2020 at 11:46 • Filed to: None

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Since mid-May, I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few autocrosses and a number of socially distanced track days. In car instruction (I’m an instructor with all the groups I run with) has been all but abolished and even classroom instruction has been highly curtailed. Most events had strict caps on the number of entrants and spectators have been banned. The requirements and rules changed almost weekly, but we managed to have a number of safe, successful events. Everyone worked together to make things work and when we had to cancel or reschedule things we did so based on the information we had from the local authorities and health professionals with the goals to be #1 safe and #2 have as many events with as many participants as possible. All our board and planning meetings were done over zoom and our drivers’ meetings were done outdoors with masks and as spread out as possible.

The summer was different, but I felt that everyone coped well and did their best.

Now, I’m a public High School Physics teacher in the DFW Metroplex in North Texas. Throughout the summer, the plan was for us to start school with remote learning since the county said it wasn’t safe to reopen schools. The Governor declared that counties couldn’t just tell the school districts what to do and the districts could make their own decisions about how and when to reopen.

My district caved to the demands of an organized and vocal group of parents who wanted the schools to reopen for in person instruction; however, since the district didn’t want to alienate or deal with the consequences of their decision they decided on a “hybrid” model where each student could decide to opt for in person or virtual learning. The teachers were not consulted and not given an option to stay home. All the school board meetings have been virtual even while teachers are doing in person training.

The district is requiring masks at all campuses, and about half the student opted for virtual learning. That’s the good news, and that’s all of the good news. The restaurants in town are delivery and drive-thru only and we have both teachers and students with lab confirmed cases being reported almost daily already (the summer athletic camps all had cases, multiple coaches had cases, and teachers have already reported cases and we don’t get students for another week).

None of the ideas (they aren’t plans) have been vetted or tested by teachers and none of the realities were expressed to the parents when they voted on what they wanted. The district bungled the remote learning in the Spring and there was no accountability or consequences for the students, so the vast majority just didn’t bother. The district didn’t have a plan for what to do and seemed to just hope that things would go back to normal quickly or at least eventually (they seemed to treat it like a snow day type deal where if they just waited a week or two we could just go back). Parents noticed that their kids didn’t do anything, not that they intervened or took any ownership of the issues.

I had parents complain that I gave too much and too little work at the same time and had students claim ignorance of systems we used throughout the year (our homework was already online). The district also started by telling all the students that the last semester would be Pass/Fail and that we’d give them tons of leeway (our school also proudly touts its 100% pass rate for the last couple of years), so the students knew from the start that the spring online semester was optional. The district has committed to having one plan for all the schools since there is no difference from 1st to 12th grade.

There was only a single 20min session about safety that told us we should have the students sit in every other seat, wear masks, and we have washable rags and disinfectant to spray between classes (the rags will be collected and washed each day). I think the kids are going to eat in classrooms instead of the cafeteria, but I’m not sure about that. Bus capacity has been cut and I’m not sure they’ve made sure that they can do one kid per seat like they want with the number of kids who want to come to school with the available buses. There are 20 subs who can do the online stuff (every class is both in person and online) and we’ve got 11 schools serving more than 8,500 students and 1,100 employees (my campus, the Senior High, has over 70 teachers alone and only serves 11-12th grades). There are no plans what to do when 10% or more of the teachers have to self-isolate or are absent at the same time (the official plan is that we’ll have to use ‘normal subs’ and have teachers cover each other’s class).

Our official plan is that we’ll “have to figure it out”. There is no concern for the health of the teachers, once the parents decided that the kids won’t get too sick they decided school would be safe for their kids without any concern for the staff or realization that their asymptomatic kid can infect them at home.

I’m hoping that the admin realizes how terrible things are going to be before students actually come to school on the 24th, because as it stands now, this isn’t going to work. Best case scenario we have a week or two of chaos before we get shutdown and go online (probably until Winter break). Worst case scenario, teachers get seriously sick and one or more of us dies and we still get shutdown, it’d be unlikely that we’d come back during the 2020-2021 school year if teachers died.

If you’re a parent, plan for your kids being home until Christmas and be prepared for more people getting sick from their and your kids.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:10

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It’s a shitty situation, all around, and honestl y, no clear right answer for how to move forward. Will your buses be running? How many of your teachers are over 50?

WRXforScience > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/13/2020 at 12:16

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At our campus, we have about 10 under 35, about 15-20 at 35-45, and more than half above 45. The elementary schools skew a little younger, but we have at least a third of our teachers over 50.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:18

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This is frustrating yet not surprising. We have a leader who literally encourages citizens to dismiss subject matter experts in favour of politicians like himself.

Most people do not exercise basic analytical skills—they form their opinions based on sound bytes from whoever talks the loudest. In normal times, leaders would act upon the advice of those experts. Obviously, ‘Murica has trouble doing that these days.

And we are now the only world power that can’t control an epidemic. I’d say “stay safe” but you also need a ton of good luck.  Avoid the stupid whenever you can.

WRXforScience > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 08/13/2020 at 12:26

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I’m sure the impetus can be partially blamed on POTUS and/or the Texas GOP; however, the final push came from parents and the school board didn’t have the resolve to make any decisions that could upset any parents.

The parents aren’t coming from a place of knowledge, they have no idea what the options really meant and have unrealistic expectations about what we can do.

Some are just unable or unwilling to deal with their kids at home (that’s why I don’t have kids in the first place), some are concerned that the quality of virtual education is lacking (it totally is), and some are worried about their kids missing out on the social aspects of school (prom, football, and friends). What no one explained to them was that even with their kids in school, school won’t be the same.

Everyone would like to just wish away the pandemic and go back to how things were a year ago, but that’s not going to happen and isn’t an option or reality.

It was telling that the AP and advanced students were twice as likely to stay home than the ‘regular’ students.

Sovande > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:33

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

This would tell me all I need to know about whether or not I would teach in a classroom. If the 12 members of the school board don’t think it safe to meet, why in the world would it be assumed it is safe for you?  This is what I find amazing. The assholes putting people in harms way know they are putting people in harm’s way.  It’s appalling.

I’d claim a medical exemption along the lines of “no immunity to current deadly pandemic. ”

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:42

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Are teachers required to teach both in-class and online, or one or the other?

WRXforScience > Sovande 08/13/2020 at 12:42

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Well, we’re supposed to do a self-diagnostic before coming in (no training or supplies provided) and if we have any symptoms or a temperature over 100F we are supposed to stay home. I have a feeling that my throat will be soar and/or my temp will be slightly over 100F quite a few days the first couple of weeks (until they shut down the school).

There are also no provisions for testing, it’s up to us entirely, and the district is leaving any contact tracing to the County.

ttyymmnn > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:43

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I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve got three high schoolers in the Round Rock ISD, and it sounds like our district has gotten ahead of things, but we won’t really know until things get cranked up next week. The first three weeks are all virtual, then, if conditions allow, kids will be allowed back into the schools, but they can choose to stay home if they like (70% of RRISD has opted to stay home after the first three weeks). The kids at school will be separated into rooms where they will stay all day and do the same online stuff the at-home kids are doing. So really, there is no incentive whatsoever to go in, unless you really need your kid out of the house. They are using a platform called “Schoology, ” but the parents have seen nothing about how the platform will look or how it will be implemented. I think that will come on Monday.

It’s really all one giant experiment, with a noble purpose—keeping people healthy. Spring school for us was a shitshow, but I do give the district some leeway on that because it was really just crisis management. Nobody saw it coming (though, with proper leadership, we should have). I’m fervently hoping that with the summer to prepare, things will be better this fall. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Good luck, my friend. 

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:43

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As a fellow Physics teacher if there is anything I can do to help you out content or activity wise let me know.

fintail > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:46

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Probably going to be a rough fall and winter for susceptible people, also amusing that the most stubborn people often come from states that aren’t the most healthy.   As the US has handled this worse than any other world power, expect a spike.

A lot of it might come from that worthless POS Lt. Governor of Texas, who is no doubt brainwashed by the cult in DC.

WRXforScience > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/13/2020 at 12:49

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Both at the same time. It’s a “hybrid model” so I’ll have 10- 20 kids in class and 10-15 online each period that I will “teach” at the same time. The most kids I have in class at once, currently, is 22 with the median being 20 and my online numbers are about half that. My classes are typically around 30 total students. I have 159 students this year with 61 online and 98 in person as of yesterday (kids don’t show up until August 24th and can change their mind pretty much until then).  

Sovande > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 12:52

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If you wrote this up as a plan for an eventual pandemic, it would be tossed as ridi culous and callous. But now, in the midst of this shitshow, people seem to have forgotten that people, and especially our educators, are our most valuable commodity. Pretending that schools need to open so corporations can resume screwing over the American public is criminal.

WRXforScience > ttyymmnn 08/13/2020 at 12:54

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Thanks, that’s the model we were supposed to have until we switched the first week of August. We’re basically doing your return plan 3 weeks early.

WRXforScience > Phyrxes once again has a wagon! 08/13/2020 at 12:57

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Thanks! At this point, I’m expecting to take 4-6 weeks to cover what usually is our first two weeks of class, so I don’t see us chewing through content very quickly.

The district just changed our grading weights and testing policy this morning, so I’m sure more will change over the next week of ‘training’.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 13:01

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I go back next week, its been surreal to watch all the public schools around here waffle on plans involving hybrid models and due to various reasons , mostly staffing, shift to online only.

I’m at a small private school so our concerns are different, but it will be “interesting” to see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

WRXforScience > Sovande 08/13/2020 at 13:02

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One of the teachers leading a training session broke down in tears this morning due to the stress and frustration while trying to demonstrate how we’re supposed to teach a week from now. She’s a department head, a 20+ year veteran teacher and multiple “Teacher of the Year” award winner (basically the epitome of the profession and a normally very composed and professional individual). Those who are dedicated and committed will be among the most impacted.

We’re in the trenches and it’s feeling like the Somme all over again.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > fintail 08/13/2020 at 13:26

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This fall/winter is going to be absolutely brutal. Cases will spike, crap like football season will get pushed out even more, we will see more restrictions , so people will bitch even more about not having their entertainment and not being able to take care of their kids while putting food on the table (the latter I get - and they should be demanding solutions, just not from teachers as babysitters).

And then let’s say Biden/Kamala win - they’ll get handed an absolute disaster mid-winter, and suddenly the same people who would have led to the worst nightmare imaginable will suddenly turn around and start pointing fingers, asking why they haven’t fixed it in like 2 weeks. And the lemmings will start blaming them as well. And get livid over any actual increased restrictions they try to push.

Trump as president is bad enough. Him as an unemployed ex-president, while he won’t be able to directly DO anything, will be a royal pain in the butt and drive plenty of pain from the “culture wars” aspect.

We are so doomed. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 13:38

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Our district just released the schedule for the first three weeks of school. It’s 9 pages long and leaves a lot of room for more questions. They are splitting the students in half and having 2 days of in class instruction per week and 2 days of home instruction per week with Fridays being every other. My kids really want to go back to school and had great difficulty with doing their homework online on time.

There was also a problem with us not realizing how much you have to watch the kids and ensure they are actually working. I hope it goes well for you, this is going to be very stressful for all involved.

WRXforScience > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 08/13/2020 at 13:53

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Kids rarely take care of themselves, if you aren’t getting on them to do their work, they don’t do it. In the past, the teachers were doing a ton of that and now you see just how much work it is to get them to do anything.

Imagine having a dozen kids online and another two dozen in person to keep on top of, that’s my reality.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 14:02

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I can’t imagine trying to do both at once...

WRXforScience > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/13/2020 at 14:10

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We’re not sure how it’ll work either. No one’s been able to effectively model it for us and my concerns have been met with platitudes and shoulder shrugs.

TheRealBicycleBuck > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 14:17

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Good luck to you. Now, more than ever, I am thankful I left academia. Kudos to you for sticking with it.

My son’s school gave us the option - in-class or virtual. It is turning out as I expected. They have set up cameras in each of the classrooms and the virtual class is really just a live-stream of the classroom as the class is being taught. All assignments are online.

So far, my son is the only one attending virtually in most of his classes. The one exception is his math class. Nearly everyone is attending that one virtually.

We expect a large number of both kids and teachers to fall ill in the coming weeks.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 14:17

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Sorry to hear it, man. Best of luck.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 14:27

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That’s what it’s going to be like here too.

fintail > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/13/2020 at 14:46

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I wonder how many lives brave patriotic freedom-loving vicarious-livers would sacrifice to still have football. I guess we’ll see. I don’t fault the teachers at all in this, it’s not their doing. My sister is a special ed teacher - in a relatively progressive state, and things are still up in the air here. She wants to go back, only because her students are the ones who gain most from a daily routine and some non-parental contact. Maybe that segment should have priority.

Obama inherited a mess, too - the key, should we be lucky enough for 45 to not win, will be to pin blame on those who failed to mitigate risk, and hold them accountable civilly and criminally. The Ds are very lame when it comes to being tough and fighting back.   If there’s any justice in the world, that ex-pres will eventually be pointing fingers from a cell.

Only in this darkest dumbest timeline could a pandemic become political. Of course, in a society where lack of knowledge and experience is seen as a job qualification for leadership positions, maybe it makes sense. It’s going to be long, deadly, and frustratingly stupid winter no matter who wins.

WRXforScience > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/13/2020 at 15:10

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Our webcams haven’t been installed yet, but we found out that it was easier to just share our screen so the kids could better see and read what was on the board (they only miss out on seeing the teacher but they hear them and can actually read the board).

The biggest issue we have is that we still need mics for the teachers for the online stuff. The district ordered lapel mics a couple of months ago but they haven’t arrived. Luckily our campus’s IT guy quit and we haven’t hired a new one yet (it’s literally one person, a couple of years ago we had to share them with the high school but they got there own like 2 years ago).

TheRealBicycleBuck > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 15:21

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I’ve attended several online courses which were a package of videos. They combined some video of the instructor with screen capture of the software and some capture from either an elmo or a smartboard. These worked pretty well, but I’m concerned that most students (my son included) just don’t learn well in that environment. I think that the ACT/SAT scores over the next three or four years are going to reflect this.

WRXforScience > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/13/2020 at 15:32

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A boring in person lecture can be ineffective too. In education, you get out of it what you put into it. If you’re a passive student skated by on the minimum (or worse actively avoiding work) you’ll get very little out of the process. If you are an active participant and work with purpose, you’ll be successful even in adverse learning environments.

The environment and circumstances do matter, but they can be overcome, and simply having an “in person” education is no guarantee of the quality.

jminer > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 16:09

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I genuinely feel for you, the situation we’re putting our teachers and kids in seems untenable.  There isn’t a good answer but letting a vocal minority put everyone at risk seems like the wrong way to do it.

If there’s anything that we can do for you let us know here on Oppo  as we have a bunch of tech folks and kind folks that will do what they can to help.

TheRealBicycleBuck > WRXforScience 08/13/2020 at 16:39

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You have valid points, but I think there are a number of factors that make an in-class experience superior and most of those have to do with the instructor being able to see and respond to the students. An interesting teacher can still lose students along the way. Without being able to see and interact with the students, the instructor cannot gauge their comprehension. Online meetings aren’t amenable to that interaction and with video-on-demand instruction, it’s impossible.

Students who have the mental capacity and maturity to be an active participant and work with a purpose are not the norm. This reminds me of conversations with my wife. She firmly believed that everyone, if given the opportunity, could learn whatever they wanted. I contend that it’s not just a matter of opportunity. A person has to be smart enough to comprehend what they’re being taught, no matter the medium. It wasn’t until she was exposed to a large number of average people that she finally realized that most people just don’t have the capacity even when given the opportunity.

I’m not the only one who holds this position . Susanna Loeb of EdWeek wrote, “In comparisons of online and in-person classes, however, online classes aren’t as effective as in-person classes for most students.” She also wrote, “ Most of the research on online courses for K-12 students has used large-scale administrative data, looking at otherwise similar students in the two settings. One of these studies, by June Ahn of New York University and Andrew McEachin of the RAND Corp., examined Ohio charter schools; I did another with colleagues looking at Florida public school coursework. Both studies found evidence that online coursetaking was less effective.”

You can read more about the research at the link above.