AISD's (and other districts) Plans for Schools Starting August 18

[Kringelbert Fishtybuns 943]

First week of garage schools pod is in the books.  Pour a tall one and light ‘em if you got ‘em.

One week closer to in person

We're gonna have a good day
And all my homies gonna ride today
And all these mommies look fly today
And all we wanna do is get by today
Heyyy
We're gonna have a good day
And ain't nobody gotta cry today
'Cause ain't nobody gonna die today
You save that drama for another day
Heyyy we're gonna have a good day

[atomheartbevo 89629]

8 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Our principal had to send out an email telling parents that teachers would not coordinate with their hired gun pod teachers on their kids' school work and that it was the parents' responsibility to deal with teachers. Talk about lazy fucking entitled people.

Yeah, we've had a few pod parents trying to horn in on things, or rather having their pod teachers get involved, and the principal has had to say "they aren't the parents or legal guardians of the kids, they aren't AISD employees, so no, we are not going to tie up our teachers' time dealing with them - if you want to talk to the teachers, you talk to the teachers personally."

In one of the other classes, there was a Karen who was under the impression that as long as her kid showed up for the official zoom meetings/classes, the nanny/pod teacher that she and two of her neighbors are sharing could do "alternative" lessons for the kids to turn in and be graded, instead of the actual work being put out by the teachers through Blend/Canvas/Seesaw.

That one blew my mind.  That was a helluva sense of entitlement.  And the crazy thing is, the fucking pod teacher wouldn't have to do much work - just make sure all 5 kids made it to their Zoom meetings/classes (which can be a bitch even with just two, no lie), and then every morning, print out the classwork the teachers are providing, have the kids watch the videos/read the instructions, do the classwork, take a photo of said completed classwork, and upload it, and the kid's done with that lesson.  The pod teachers with a group that small, that's still going through AISD's stuff, should have it really easy, since they are not doing any grading, they are not developing lessons, they are not dealing with a bunch of Karens, they are a glorified babysitter manager of 5 kids.  Having them come up with "alternative" lessons for the kids and expecting it to be accepted by AISD sounds like somebody wants easy grades for their kid(s).

[Deej 76755]

10 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Grandson whois a senior at Austin High said it went ok.

Oldest high school senior ever. 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

9 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Our principal had to send out an email telling parents that teachers would not coordinate with their hired gun pod teachers on their kids' school work and that it was the parents' responsibility to deal with teachers. Talk about lazy fucking entitled people.

 

Huge FERPA issue with that.  

[atomheartbevo 89629]

Heads up - our kid's teacher asked us not to let him turn in work ahead of when it's due - to turn it in on that day.  It's okay if he works ahead, just can't turn it in until the day of, otherwise it doesn't count as "engagement" or whatever, and he gets dinged, even if he's on zoom.   Sounds like he would be counted absent almost, even if he made it onto Zoom.

@Larry T. Spider is this normal?

 

[HornOnTheBayou 8919]

9 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Heads up - our kid's teacher asked us not to let him turn in work ahead of when it's due - to turn it in on that day.  It's okay if he works ahead, just can't turn it in until the day of, otherwise it doesn't count as "engagement" or whatever, and he gets dinged, even if he's on zoom.   Sounds like he would be counted absent almost, even if he made it onto Zoom.

@Larry T. Spider is this normal?

 

That doesn't seem right. According to TEA, a student is counted virtually present as long as they attend a zoom meeting, turn in an assignment, or even just e-mail the teacher. Basically, as long as a student does something on a computer that a teacher can see, they're present for the day. But I'll defer to @Larry T. Spider on that.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

51 minutes ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

That doesn't seem right. According to TEA, a student is counted virtually present as long as they attend a zoom meeting, turn in an assignment, or even just e-mail the teacher. Basically, as long as a student does something on a computer that a teacher can see, they're present for the day. But I'll defer to @Larry T. Spider on that.

It sounds like they want some kind of work turned in that day (one teacher said by 2pm), not just making an appearance on Zoom.

It's not much of a problem with either of my kid's teachers - they both had stuff scheduled to be completed every day, along with extra assignments.  But my oldest will work ahead a bit, and she just wanted us to only turn in certain things on certain days.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

Even though we are doing zoom meetings, we are on an asynchronous model because it gives us much more flexibility. This means that zoom meetings can’t be required for attendance or grades and those aspects are all done through blend. If a kid turns in all of their stuff on Monday, it’s hard to count attendance the rest of the week if there isn’t any more engagement.

We are being way more flexible than that but I can see why schools would want to do it that way. I have straight up told a family to go into blend and click some things each day because the district is able to track that. The state created a bullshit game so I’m fine with playing along. District attendance was down about 5,000 during the first week so it’s going to be rough.

[chikin23 384]

We are asynchronous as well but there is an actual online attendance button for each class period that needs to be checked before 11:59pm that day. Teachers then have to go back the next day and do attendance.

All zoom or hangouts meetings are done at a certain time each day but they are also recorded and posted in the Google classroom. We have been doing as much homework is posted each evening and it's generally cleared up our Thursday and Fridays.

The frustrating part comes from my 3rd graders teachers. They post assignments randomly (two were posted Saturday with a Sunday due date) and they seem to be the only ones doing that.

[South Austin 52456]

McCallum is highly synchronous, at least the first week. My daughter is on Zoom calls pretty much from 9:00 am to 4:40 pm, with a decent lunch break and other smaller breaks to do some asynchronous work. Fridays she has synchronous learning the first half of the day, and then asynchronous the remainder, but the students’ weekly assignments need to be turned in by 4:40 pm.

Highland Park is lighter on synchronous, mostly because long and frequent Zoom calls can be a lot for a fourth-grader. They start every day with a homeroom Zoom, and a Zoom each day for math or language arts and another for a “special” (P.E., music, art, technology, and library).

It’a only been one week, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well it’s going. Check back with me in a month when we’re all losing our minds.

[Guest Lobo]

There are so many words having a moment in 2020 because of the dumpster fire it turned out to be.  I would have to add "asynchronous" to that list.  If I had a dollar for each time my wife and kindergartner use it in a given week, I could send her to private school.  

[dcbc 14465]

1 hour ago, chikin23 said:

We are asynchronous as well but there is an actual online attendance button for each class period that needs to be checked before 11:59pm that day. Teachers then have to go back the next day and do attendance.

All zoom or hangouts meetings are done at a certain time each day but they are also recorded and posted in the Google classroom. We have been doing as much homework is posted each evening and it's generally cleared up our Thursday and Fridays.

The frustrating part comes from my 3rd graders teachers. They post assignments randomly (two were posted Saturday with a Sunday due date) and they seem to be the only ones doing that.

With asynchronous, so much depends on the teachers.  We did remote for the first three weeks to see how the schools would handle it.  They seemed like they were handling in person fine and remote was such a clusterfuck that our kids went back today. 

[CooterBrown 18004]

I think a big part of how well it's going is that this a generation of kids that have grown up on too much screen time. Sitting on a Zoom call is nothing for them.

Pat yourself on the back fellow detached parents. We've done good.

 

[gsoda3 3248]

we have 3 in virtual school right now, 4th, 2nd, 1st.  this zoom parenting thing is a full time endeavor.  

[hookemATL 11705]

9 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

we have 3 in virtual school right now, 4th, 2nd, 1st.  this zoom parenting thing is a full time endeavor.  

This. I’ve told my employer to fuck off with some assignments recently as we settle into a “routine”. Not sure it will get any better, as mine is a kindergartner and she needs supervision to help get her through the day (zoom calls, seesaw, other activities). 

Edited September 14, 2020 by hookemATL

[hayden_horn 11362]

i do not understand why their third class starts with asynchronous 30 minutes before lunch with synchronous 60 minutes after lunch? what the hell. and why is lunch at 10:48?

[gsoda3 3248]

1 minute ago, hayden_horn said:

i do not understand why their third class starts with asynchronous 30 minutes before lunch with synchronous 60 minutes after lunch? what the hell. and why is lunch at 10:48?

the teachers still have regular schedules since there are kids physically in the building.

[hayden_horn 11362]

4 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

the teachers still have regular schedules since there are kids physically in the building.

in aisd, there are not yet kids in buildings, is my understanding. but i kind of understand the need for contiguous scheduling, assuming kids will be in buildings. 

i guess i reckon that the lunches are all weird because they would be trying to social distance kids in cafeterias when they come back. but why is my 7th and 8th grade kids' schedules the exact same for lunch? that makes no sense. unless all the schedules are the same. in which case, why not move synchronous to before lunch, push lunch back a half hour, and do the asynchronous stuff after lunch at 11:18?

i understand the teachers and admin are working hard (my wife is a teacher), i'm just trying to understand why lunch basically effectively starts at 10:18 with an asynchronous 30 minutes, but no real assignment to do.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

31 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

we have 3 in virtual school right now, 4th, 2nd, 1st.  this zoom parenting thing is a full time endeavor.  

So this is you between 7:45 and 3pm

[atomheartbevo 89629]

7 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

in aisd, there are not yet kids in buildings, is my understanding. but i kind of understand the need for contiguous scheduling, assuming kids will be in buildings. 

There are limited numbers - parents who cannot watch their kids, who may have technical limitations, kids of teachers, but I don't know that the teachers we are dealing with on Zoom are working with those kids - my guess is no, since I haven't seen our kids' teachers (who have been in the classrooms) with kids.

[gsoda3 3248]

3 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

in aisd, there are not yet kids in buildings, is my understanding. but i kind of understand the need for contiguous scheduling, assuming kids will be in buildings. 

i guess i reckon that the lunches are all weird because they would be trying to social distance kids in cafeterias when they come back. but why is my 7th and 8th grade kids' schedules the exact same for lunch? that makes no sense. unless all the schedules are the same. in which case, why not move synchronous to before lunch, push lunch back a half hour, and do the asynchronous stuff after lunch at 11:18?

i understand the teachers and admin are working hard (my wife is a teacher), i'm just trying to understand why lunch basically effectively starts at 10:18 with an asynchronous 30 minutes, but no real assignment to do.

ah right, AISD just started their 4 weeks.  we're in PfISD, today was the first day back for those opting for in-person.  

 

i'm sure there's a reason for that quirk in the schedule.  might not be a very inspiring reason (i watched my wife make her school's schedule and there are lots of moving parts...) but it'd be a reason nonetheless.

[hayden_horn 11362]

16 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

ah right, AISD just started their 4 weeks.  we're in PfISD, today was the first day back for those opting for in-person.  

 

i'm sure there's a reason for that quirk in the schedule.  might not be a very inspiring reason (i watched my wife make her school's schedule and there are lots of moving parts...) but it'd be a reason nonetheless.

i get it, i once made schedules for a staff. things get weird. it's just a bit frustrating trying to make my work day function around a weird schedule. i can mostly get work done when they are in synchronous class. but i'm not even thinking about lunch when their lunch break effectively starts. and my company is based in the uk, so my mornings are usually pivoted around their afternoons. 

anyways.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

How many of y'alls elementary kids get assignment or zoom meetings for art and music and shit?  And how many of you have your kids actually do it?

In my kids online platform they have classes for art, pe, music, counselors, library, and probably something else.  This is for kids that can barely read.  Im tempted to just ignore all the extra bullshit and just have my kids focus on core classes.  Don't really care if they get a "U" or whatever for music in 1st grade.  She'll still at least be able to get into Aggy.  

Edited September 14, 2020 by dingleberryswitzer

[South Austin 52456]

6 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

She'll still at least be able to get into Aggy.  

What kind of a dad are you?

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

Lazy one obviously.

[CooterBrown 18004]

What kind of a dad are you?

[SquishMitten 10403]

So far, we're basically only doing zoom (AISD) and I've let the kids skip all the asynchronous stuff. 20 minutes zoom, then 45 asynch, then 15 minutes zoom, then 45 asynch, then 35 minutes zoom, then 55 minutes asynch...and so on. It's absurd for kindergarten and 1st grade where the kids can't read a calendar or their asynch assignment on seesaw or whatever. I don't understand why the teachers aren't staying online for the asynch stuff. I can teach them how to get to their assignments, but at least stay on to explain it or answer questions. This ~20 minutes on, ~45 minutes off seems like a pretty sweet deal for the teachers. From 7:40 to 3:05, my kinder is on zoom with her teacher for a total of 2 hours and 10 minutes. The rest is asynch, recess, lunch, music/art/PE, and office hours. Even if the teachers are staying on for the 55 minute office hour period, they are only working with the kids for 3 hours and 5 minutes. The rest is on the parents. My 1st graders schedule is even worse. She only has a total of 90 minutes on zoom with her teacher. This is insane. It's like they don't actually want it to work.

Sucks for the special area teachers though. From what I can tell, they seem like they're online for almost the entire day.

[SquishMitten 10403]

1 hour ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

How many of y'alls elementary kids get assignment or zoom meetings for art and music and shit?  And how many of you have your kids actually do it?

In my kids online platform they have classes for art, pe, music, counselors, library, and probably something else.  This is for kids that can barely read.  Im tempted to just ignore all the extra bullshit and just have my kids focus on core classes.  Don't really care if they get a "U" or whatever for music in 1st grade.  She'll still at least be able to get into Aggy.  

We have art, music, and "wellness" which I guess is the new term for PE. The kids actually enjoy those, and they're the longest period of zoom class all day. Damn right they attend them.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

2 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

. but i'm not even thinking about lunch when their lunch break effectively starts.

You can thank small school cafeterias for the weird lunch times, like lunch at 10:45, etc.  They have to move a lot of kids through their fast.  My now-second grader always had lunch before 11, and then a snack around 1-ish.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

6 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

So far, we're basically only doing zoom (AISD) and I've let the kids skip all the asynchronous stuff. 20 minutes zoom, then 45 asynch, then 15 minutes zoom, then 45 asynch, then 35 minutes zoom, then 55 minutes asynch...and so on. It's absurd for kindergarten and 1st grade where the kids can't read a calendar or their asynch assignment on seesaw or whatever.

They should be turning in some work, otherwise they will get dinged on attendance - showing up for Zoom is not enough, according to the Texas Board of Education/TEA.  If they don't have work turned in by 2pm, when attendance is turned in, they can get an absence of some kind (I still don't understand the varying degrees of absences they can get), but they have until midnight to get work turned in, and if work is turned in, the teachers can go back later and mark them present/engaged or whatever the terminology is.  That is based on what we were told by one of our son's teachers, based on district/state guidelines.

A whole lot of people are waking up to the fact that our state board of education is run by fucking morons that are not dealing with little kids in school.

Quote

I don't understand why the teachers aren't staying online for the asynch stuff. I can teach them how to get to their assignments, but at least stay on to explain it or answer questions. This ~20 minutes on, ~45 minutes off seems like a pretty sweet deal for the teachers.

When do you think they are grading everything?  When do you think they are turning in all of the documentation stating that this or that kid is not only showing up for Zoom, but is also doing their school work?  When do you think they are answering a shitload of email from parents, their team, their bosses, etc.   I'm actually surprised that my kids teachers are keeping up with grading - my 2nd grader is getting 4-5 assignments a day, our pre-k kid is getting 3-4 a day, and so far they are getting graded and commented upon during the day.

Quote

 My 1st graders schedule is even worse. She only has a total of 90 minutes on zoom with her teacher.

My second grader has almost 3 hours in the morning, and then another 90 minutes in the afternoon, on Zoom.  We are having to cram all of their asynch work into a fairly small window.  Pre-k is not bad, like an hour in the morning, and 30-45 minutes in the afternoon.

Quote

Sucks for the special area teachers though. From what I can tell, they seem like they're online for almost the entire day.

They are online all day, from what we've seen.

[SquishMitten 10403]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

They should be turning in some work, otherwise they will get dinged on attendance - showing up for Zoom is not enough, according to the Texas Board of Education/TEA.  If they don't have work turned in by 2pm, when attendance is turned in, they can get an absence of some kind (I still don't understand the varying degrees of absences they can get), but they have until midnight to get work turned in, and if work is turned in, the teachers can go back later and mark them present/engaged or whatever the terminology is.  That is based on what we were told by one of our son's teachers, based on district/state guidelines.

I still haven't gotten a good answer from our teachers. They have asked us to submit the assignments, but told us we didn't need to worry about going back and doing everything from last week. It'd be kinda bullshit if they on all the zoom meetings and then get marked absent.

3 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

When do you think they are grading everything?  When do you think they are turning in all of the documentation stating that this or that kid is not only showing up for Zoom, but is also doing their school work?  When do you think they are answering a shitload of email from parents, their team, their bosses, etc.   I'm actually surprised that my kids teachers are keeping up with grading - my 2nd grader is getting 4-5 assignments a day, our pre-k kid is getting 3-4 a day, and so far they are getting graded and commented upon during the day.

Well considering "grading" is looking at a traced letters, basic math, and a little writing, I don't think it takes 5 hours. Older kids, sure, but not K and 1st. Emails to parents is probably a bigger time commitment than I'm giving it credit for though. The other stuff (emails from team/boss) would presumably be about the same as any other year, so that wouldn't justify much additional down time. In any case, an additional 5 minutes at the beginning of every asynch session, then keeping the zoom link up for questions would be a HUGE improvement, and it wouldn't get in the way of grading/emails since they presumably wouldn't have to be answering questions the entire time.

In any case, I'm not shitting on the teachers themselves. This seems to be about the same schedule as everybody else so I know it comes from higher up. This is new to the teachers as well, and I'm sure it's very frustrating for them. Maybe I'm being harsh in not realizing what a teacher's day looks like in normal times though. How much of their day is sans kids? Obviously they're alone during "special areas", do they stay with the kids during recess, lunch, library time, etc? If they're typically only with the kids for 1.5 - 3 hours a day, then I guess I shouldn't be bitching, but that seems low

 

 

 

[CooterBrown 18004]

My AISD 2nd grader's Zoom schedule is:

8:15-9:30 Morning Meeting & Math

11:30-12:00 Music/Art

12:15-1:00 ELA

1:45-2:15 End of Day meeting

There's like 10-15 minutes of work outside of those Zoom meetings.  We fill the gaps with read-to-self, BrainPop/DreamBox, and outside play.

I don't know if my kid's just self reliant but I don't have to babysit her much for her to get through the school day.  It's mostly just reminding her to log on to Zoom when it's time. She handles the rest herself.

 

 

 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

6 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

A whole lot of people are waking up to the fact that our state board of education is run by fucking morons that are not dealing with little kids in school

It's not just the sboe.  Many administrators are so far removed from the classroom they have no idea what's going on. 

[Bottlecap 1523]

My wife is a 4th grade teacher and she is online or on the phone with a parent ALL DAY until 4ish minus a 30 minute lunch. We have three kids, one in 3rd gd and two under 4, so it's been hectic trying to cover all bases, especially when I have to zoom. I can get about 15, maybe 20 mins of uninterrupted time to work in spurts throughout the day. No one wants to go back more than teachers,  I promise you. But not at the expense of poisoning their families. 

[atomheartbevo 89629]

20 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

I still haven't gotten a good answer from our teachers. They have asked us to submit the assignments, but told us we didn't need to worry about going back and doing everything from last week. It'd be kinda bullshit if they on all the zoom meetings and then get marked absent.

I'm guessing some schools are cutting slack the first week or two, but from what I've seen/been told, the kids are having to make the morning and end-of-day sessions, and they also have to turn in assignments outside of Zoom (our 2nd grader has 4-5 must-do assignments a day).  

It was going to be much worse as far as Zoom time, but a lot of districts pushed back against TEA.

20 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

Well considering "grading" is looking at a traced letters, basic math, and a little writing, I don't think it takes 5 hours. Older kids, sure, but not K and 1st. Emails to parents is probably a bigger time commitment than I'm giving it credit for though. The other stuff (emails from team/boss) would presumably be about the same as any other year, so that wouldn't justify much additional down time. In any case, an additional 5 minutes at the beginning of every asynch session, then keeping the zoom link up for questions would be a HUGE improvement, and it wouldn't get in the way of grading/emails since they presumably wouldn't have to be answering questions the entire time.

Honestly, if you're not happy with the amount of time on Zoom, I would ask them for more time, or for what you are talking about.  A lot of teachers have had to scale back, because parents were bitching that it was too much time on Zoom.

My wife taught for many years and is still in education, so we have a shitload of teacher friends, and we are friends with one of our kid's teacher, and they are getting hammered.  It's stunning how many parents are either not technologically up-to-speed (I never noticed, because I hang around mostly technically-adept folks), or who want to contest every little thing.

Assuming that all kids in my 2nd grader's class are doing their must-do/graded homework, his teacher is dealing with 80 pages/photos a day, including listening to audio recordings and watching videos.  There is also additional, but not mandatory, work for those kids who are breezing through everything.

20 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

Maybe I'm being harsh in not realizing what a teacher's day looks like in normal times though. How much of their day is sans kids? Obviously they're alone during "special areas", do they stay with the kids during recess, lunch, library time, etc? If they're typically only with the kids for 1.5 - 3 hours a day, then I guess I shouldn't be bitching, but that seems low

Depends on the grade, but the younger kids usually have their teachers with them the whole day, minus special areas (PE, art, etc.) and library.

I know you weren't shitting on the teachers, it's just fucking nuts how this has played out, and the teachers we know are going crazy.  And for most families, it will continue on past October 5 - as of now, it's going to be a limited number of kids (unless we change stages, I think it's 25% capacity) , and even then, just the younger kids to start with.

I have his Canvas/Seesaw setup on my ipad as a backup, and I see the teachers updating stuff and adding lessons over the weekend, and late at night.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

23 hours ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

How many of y'alls elementary kids get assignment or zoom meetings for art and music and shit?  And how many of you have your kids actually do it?

Our kid has actual assignments that are required through art.  Music and PE seem more participatory.

I would totally do it if I were you, my second grader loves those more than the other classes.  His art teacher is a huge Star Wars fan though, so she's the "cool" teacher at his school.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

21 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

My AISD 2nd grader's Zoom schedule is:

8:15-9:30 Morning Meeting & Math

11:30-12:00 Music/Art

12:15-1:00 ELA

1:45-2:15 End of Day meeting

There's like 10-15 minutes of work outside of those Zoom meetings.  We fill the gaps with read-to-self, BrainPop/DreamBox, and outside play.

I don't know if my kid's just self reliant but I don't have to babysit her much for her to get through the school day.  It's mostly just reminding her to log on to Zoom when it's time. She handles the rest herself.

Mine is roughly that, just starting earlier (7:50), and ending later (3pm), with a 30 minute small group session with the teacher (math/science/etc.) in the morning.  They are getting more breaks during the long Zoom meeting in the morning, and he has around 2-3 hours during the day to finish his assignments (which are easy for him, but I could see some kids struggling).

[gsoda3 3248]

30 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Assuming that all kids in my 2nd grader's class are doing their must-do/graded homework, his teacher is dealing with 80 pages/photos a day, including listening to audio recordings and watching videos.  There is also additional, but not mandatory, work for those kids who are breezing through everything.

probably different from school to school and demographic to demographic, but about 25% of the kids at my wife's school aren't completing their online work and teachers are having to spend an inordinate amount of time on those kids sometimes even having to physically go to their homes.  

[atomheartbevo 89629]

51 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

probably different from school to school and demographic to demographic, but about 25% of the kids at my wife's school aren't completing their online work and teachers are having to spend an inordinate amount of time on those kids sometimes even having to physically go to their homes.  

Yeah, some of our friends have mentioned that either parents still don't realize it's not like the spring, or they can't help their kids complete the work, and the kids could get dinged big time.

1 hour ago, Dr. Beeper said:

I’m surprised AISD hasn’t gone physically back yet. 

There are a small number kids physically in the buildings, at least on some campuses, but they are basically doing the online work, with the assistance of whatever group normally does the after-school stuff.  Kids of people who can't afford sitter or who have other issues making it hard, etc.

Oct. 5 we start back up, but limited to 25% (unless our covid numbers improve enough)

Quote

For elementary students, Elizalde said the district is hoping to welcome Pre-K and kindergarten students on campus first, since younger kids benefit the most from in-person learning.

For secondary school students, Elizalde said they will likely report to a homeroom with a teacher, but stay online for the second four weeks of school. Meals will also be delivered to classes.

For high school students, Elizalde said they’ll likely have the option for a hybrid model where students learn remotely and in-person on alternating days.

And they are moving forward on athletics.

Quote

Among other announcements, she said the district will be moving forward with scrimmages and games for athletics.

 

[Samson's Wig 3191]

I've no longer got a dog in this hunt, as we're among the assholes who pulled our kids from AISD, but moving forward with athletics while forcing the majority of kids to sit at home and waste their time with this nonsense is insanely inconsistent.  It highlights that the biggest problem with Texas public schools was present long before Covid, and it will be here long after.  I can't remember how many parents I've talked to, or listened to complain at a board meeting, who go on and on about how important sports are as if the loss of sports is the biggest fucking disaster of this entire mess.  Sure, sports are important (for a small handful of kids at each school), but no more so than any other extracurricular activity that keeps kids engaged.

[atomheartbevo 89629]

They aren't moving forward on sports until kids are back in school.

But totally agree, we place way too much of an emphasis on it.  We build these big-ass high school football stadiums, etc. and....yeah, it's ridiculous.  But comfortable.  I suppose they use it to engage some of the alumni, but it's been a long time since I went to one of my high school's games, and even that was because they were in the playoffs and playing nearby.

[BrazilHorn 6586]

21 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Yeah, some of our friends have mentioned that either parents still don't realize it's not like the spring, or they can't help their kids complete the work, and the kids could get dinged big time.

There are a small number kids physically in the buildings, at least on some campuses, but they are basically doing the online work, with the assistance of whatever group normally does the after-school stuff.  Kids of people who can't afford sitter or who have other issues making it hard, etc.

Oct. 5 we start back up, but limited to 25% (unless our covid numbers improve enough)

And they are moving forward on athletics.

 

There is ZERO reason to send your kids in person for the next 4 week period as all it will be is Wifi and babysitting. (except for Pre-K/K). They will be doing exact same thing they are doing at home today (Zoom/Laptop etc) just sitting on campus. If you don't need to have your kid go to school then don't.

I am all for sports happening as for many kids this is a great grounding/focus area. There are plenty of kids who stay focused on school/GPA etc as a means to stay eligible to play sports. I am biased as my 8th grader plays multiple sports and I want to see him play.

[Guest Lobo]

Some of these parents need to remember...you think your kids chances of catching Covid-19 is low?  Wait until I show you the odds of them getting to play college sports.  It makes Coronavirus look like a lock.  The disruption of sports is being so fucking overblown at the high school level (and even lower).  Unless your child is female and really good at soccer, it's not fucking happening for your kid.  Get the fuck over it.  

You know how kids do get scholarships to college?  By being smart.  Let's focus on that as a country for awhile.  As well states all over this thread, a lot of the shortcomings of our education system have been wildly exposed.  Let's fix those as communities and give our kids an intellectual leg up in the meantime.  

Seriously though, look at the maths.  Your 10-18 YO child is more likely to get Covid-19 than they are an NCAA athletic scholarship.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Lobo

[InkaUtexas 25871]

37 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Some of these parents need to remember...you think your kids chances of catching Covid-19 is low?  Wait until I show you the odds of them getting to play college sports.  It makes Coronavirus look like a lock.  The disruption of sports is being so fucking overblown at the high school level (and even lower).  Unless your child is female and really good at soccer, it's not fucking happening for your kid.  Get the fuck over it.  

You know how kids do get scholarships to college?  By being smart.  Let's focus on that as a country for awhile.  As well states all over this thread, a lot of the shortcomings of our education system have been wildly exposed.  Let's fix those as communities and give our kids an intellectual leg up in the meantime.  

Seriously though, look at the maths.  Your 10-18 YO child is more likely to get Covid-19 than they are an NCAA athletic scholarship.

My son got a partial one for baseball. Got hurt during fall practice. Adios scholarship. Daughter went full, free ride to a good East Coast private school. All academics. Could not agree with you more. And while on the subject. Do we need to give everyone 2-3 practice jerseys? Special crap just cuz we have the money in the athletic budget? 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Alright, you have good genes....you don't have to rub it in!   Sorry to hear about your son, is he still enrolled in that college I Hope?  

[InkaUtexas 25871]

8 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Alright, you have good genes....you don't have to rub it in!   Sorry to hear about your son, is he still enrolled in that college I Hope?  

Yep, working and 5th semester on Deans list. He finally realized there was life after baseball. So many coaches filled his brain full of crap. 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Well, to be fair to your son and his coaches.  There is life after baseball, and it can be filled with wonderful things but it can feel a bit empty.  There is always that moment as a young man when he's told he can no longer play organized ball.  Comes much earlier for most than it did for your son.  I got it after one Fall Ball semester at a D-I program (academic scholarship, nowhere near good enough for an athletic one, just a walk-on opportunity).  It's the end of the world at the time, then you almost forget about it within a year.  Next thing you know...you're 20 years older.  And then, for some reason as you look back at middle age...you feel the pain all over again and wonder what coulda been.  But you carry it with you to remind you that life went on, it didn't matter in the end, and you draw the lessons from the game as God intended for you to pass along to your children/grandchildren.  It's a cruel game, but it also loves us and calls us back to a time we long forgot.  

Anywhoodles, have him watch 'Brockmire' and share a whiskey with him.  Sounds like he's on a better track anyway.  The game was never supposed to sustain us for life, it wasn't the fish we ate that day.  It was supposed to teach us to fish for ourselves for life.  Or something, I dunno...damn Koufax with his confounded Judaic tales.  

Fucking-A Cheers on the Dean's List shit though! 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Lobo

[InkaUtexas 25871]

18 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Well, to be fair to your son and his coaches.  There is life after baseball, and it can be filled with wonderful things but it can feel a bit empty.  There is always that moment as a young man when he's told he can no longer play organized ball.  Comes much earlier for most than it did for your son.  I got it after one Fall Ball semester at a D-I program (academic scholarship, nowhere near good enough for an athletic one, just a walk-on opportunity).  It's the end of the world at the time, then you almost forget about it within a year.  Next thing you know...you're 20 years older.  And then, for some reason as you look back at middle age...you feel the pain all over again and wonder what coulda been.  But you carry it with you to remind you that life went on, it didn't matter in the end, and you draw the lessons from the game as God intended for you to pass along to your children/grandchildren.  It's a cruel game, but it also loves us and calls us back to a time we long forgot.  

Anywhoodles, have him watch 'Brockmire' and share a whiskey with him.  Sounds like he's on a better track anyway.  The game was never supposed to sustain us for life, it wasn't the fish we ate that day.  It was supposed to teach us to fish for ourselves for life.  Or something, I dunno...damn Koufax with his confounded Judaic tales.  

Fucking-A Cheers on the Dean's List shit though! 

Thanks man, and I know. I played a few sports, but was overseas so no where like it is in the US. And we have done just that. Did Cooperstown last summer and was a great moment. Got him to see there can be life within baseball even if you are not a player and he was going to intern with a AA team this summer. Oh well that shit did not happen. 

 

Back to openings though. Yes, sports are important, but they should not be the driving force especially when you look at the overall performance of so many schools. Know a Karen who is screaming about school needs to be reopened. She is severely immune compromised. But her daughter misses dance team. Um....... 

[atomheartbevo 89629]

1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

Know a Karen who is screaming about school needs to be reopened. She is severely immune compromised. But her daughter misses dance team. Um....... 

Karen misses being a dance team mom.

[InkaUtexas 25871]

11 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Karen misses being a dance team mom.

Karen is too fucking sick to participate.