Running thread of the disaster that is the new school year

[Trey3216 15345]

17 hours ago, Lobo said:

Wood.  The desks, not Troph.  Though I am willing to learn.  So long as it was at a desk like that. 

You put the learning pod my wife and I built out in our garage to shame.  I was gonna post photos but now I'm embarrassed and ours is really fucking good.  and you just had to fucking rub it in that each kid gets their own printer, too?  And fuck you with the restoration hardware chairs.  I can't wait to hear, "and the desks are fair trade, that I sanded down from one contiguous birchwood grove."    Damn you...but much respect! 

[Post Oak 20209]

We took our kids to "meet the teacher" event last night.  Its a small school.  Everyone had to wear masks and take a temp when they walked in.  I have no doubt that they have done everything possible to make sure everyone is a safe as possible.  They even installed some sort of UV HVAC.  

Only half the classes were able to "meet the teacher" last night and the other half will be tonight.  

After leaving, my wife and I are even more sure that we made the correct decision to learn from home.    There's only so much corralling the teachers and staff can do.  As much as they tried there was zero social distancing.  Everyone had masks but not everyone was wearing them correctly.  

I give it two weeks at the most before they have to close down.  

They're fighting a losing battle very courageously and smartly, but a losing battle all the same. 

[troph 24781]

1 hour ago, Liquor and Poker said:

Because of nice desks?

yeah that was a fucked up conclusion to draw.  those who know me know I'm not a helicopter parent.  I have non-negotiable requirements, but that's not the same thing.  

Edited August 18, 2020 by troph

[Guest Lobo]

We're all gonna be some measure of helicopter parents this semester.  I'm all ears for best practices and spectacular fails.  It nothing else, this really be an interesting exercise in human anthropology.  My daughter will be with three other kids in our garage learning pod and we are all (dads included) gonna learn as we go.  and we've all committed that this semester (and possibly beyond) is off-limits down the road for judgements...., we only celebrate the good things and laugh at the mistakes.  We are not gonna chalk it up as "a lost year".  It's only lost if you give up before you start (and no judgements on day drinking).  And we gotta keep up a sense of humor.  As corny as it sounds, it's really gonna take a village to get through this (virtual teachers, in-person pods, hands-on parents, and even collaboration for "recess" with neighbors of all ages). 

Tonight I put the finishing touches on the classroom...an old school analog school clock hung above the two chalkboards we hung, individual manual pencil sharpeners mounted to each desk, mounting the American flag for morning pledge, and little cubby areas for each kid to hang their backpack and probably a jacket come October/November.  We're all just trying to feel our way through this.  Not the kindergarten my daughter envisioned, but could be close if we try.  

My parents were helicopter parents in the sense that they used to let us get into helicopters with strangers while they went out for cigarettes.  

[mchookem 16325]

do you have a/c in your garage?otherwise...yikes 😳😓

you all have my sympathy and admiration ❤ i'd be an absolute nutcase.

[troph 24781]

you don't have to be a helicopter parent here really.   I demand excellence from my kids, last spring the system was atrocious and was not excellent.  this fall I think excellence isn't the goal, I'm not sure what is.  so we chose a different route and felt it appropriate to build proper work stations and to outfit them with equipment.  for the record, I wouldn't buy those monitors for my kids, I happen to have them in my office (long story former assistant loved to spend money, he's no longer with me and I had surplus equipment so I brought it home).  I didn't want to spend $5000 on tables so we made them.  I ain't got time to be a helicopter parent.

[Guest Lobo]

mchookem----It faces North.  I open the all the doors at 6am plus the back door with two tower fans situated so that they circulate the air between all the doors  but don't blow air from one desk to another.  by 9am when the other 3 kids are scheduled to get here, it's down to 80 degrees and no direct sunlight.  Not great, but not awful...basically class outside at those temps and them in comfortable clothes.  It'll be downright pleasant about a month from now.  We just don't want extra people in our house touching shit and spraying droplets.  The other 3 families are of like mind, but nobody is perfect and we all get that.  If they have to use the bathroom, they can walk out the garage, come in the front door and use the hall-bathroom which will be blocked off for our family usage from now on. 

Again, something could always go wrong but you have to try to be proactive.  We're not letting this pandemic cripple our daughter's kindergarten, we'll screw up along the way, but we're trying our asses off and that's all anyone can do IMO.  We got her teacher zoom schedule this morning for both the whole class and her 1:1 times.  I'll be supplementing her Spanish immersion by speaking Spanish with her for set times each day.  Socialized learning and specials in a 4-kid pod three days a week for 3 hours.  But enough from me...I'm hear to learn what y'all are doing in terms of logistics.  We've discussed what the districts are doing ad nauseam, what are y'all doing in terms of physical setups and schedules?  

Edited August 18, 2020 by Lobo

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Just learned we’re going hybrid k-12 even tho our county falls under the “all in” category. I guess this is our version of “putting our toe in the water” haha

[Guest]

so this?

[Sandman 3403]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

We just don't want extra people in our house touching shit and spraying droplets.

Your wife loves it when I spray droplets. 

 

[Post Oak 20209]

16 minutes ago, Sandman said:

Your wife loves it when I spray droplets. 

 

Don't I know

[Guest Lobo]

Well you do cry a lot and drool with your stutter.  She’s a speech therapist so you’ve been a great case study.  
 

but seriously; hats off to all the parents with special needs kids  this semester.  A dozen school districts have called my wife to help do virtual therapy with their caseload.  She was happy to help but a virtual kindergartner and one year old of her own basically prohibits it.  She’s gonna try and squeeze some in on the weekends when I can watch the kids because she’s a saint.  
fucking blows me away how much so many Americans are stepping up in small but impactful ways. And how spectacularly selfish others are being.  

Kudos to all on here though, onward through the fog...

Edited August 18, 2020 by Lobo

[hayden_horn 11362]

19 hours ago, Superhero said:

 

One of the moms asked the temp teacher about when the regular teacher is coming back, and got a non-answer. My wife called the school, and they also gave a non-answer, saying an email would go out. But sounds like they're going to split the class up among the remaining teachers. That sucks because even though it was only 1 day, my son really liked the original teacher.

that teacher probably tested positive for covid, and they can't tell you for osha based reasons. guess you'll find out in three weeks or so.

[Superhero 8828]

21 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

that teacher probably tested positive for covid, and they can't tell you for osha based reasons. guess you'll find out in three weeks or so.

School emailed last night said the teacher was transferred to another school because kinder enrollment was low in our school.

Which would be fine if they were in person - lower teacher/student ratio. Plus there's usually an assistant for the lower grads.

 

But now because of Covid, they've reduced the number of classes, so he'll be taking classes with 15-16 other kids rather than 12 .  It's not the end of the world but wish it wasn't so. I just hope the dumbasses in my county come to their senses, and realize the longer they onto their freedumb, the longer restaurants, businesses and schools will be closed.

[mulletpelini 5210]

4 hours ago, troph said:

you don't have to be a helicopter parent here really.   I demand excellence from my kids, last spring the system was atrocious and was not excellent.  this fall I think excellence isn't the goal, I'm not sure what is.  so we chose a different route and felt it appropriate to build proper work stations and to outfit them with equipment.  for the record, I wouldn't buy those monitors for my kids, I happen to have them in my office (long story former assistant loved to spend money, he's no longer with me and I had surplus equipment so I brought it home).  I didn't want to spend $5000 on tables so we made them.  I ain't got time to be a helicopter parent.

Those desks look awesome.  If you have any butcherblock left let me know, I need a fairly small piece about 2' x 3' for a counter in the kitchen.  

[Guest Lobo]

I have a really nice piece precisely that size.  Restaurant-grade leftover (but finished) from a property we owned. needs staining, but if you're Austin...you can have it if you bring me a mediocre bottle of bourbon..  

[The Royal We 3070]

On 8/14/2020 at 2:32 PM, The Royal We said:

We started back on Wednesday and took the option of remote learning for the first three weeks to see how things went.  My 5th grader was one of 4 in his class that started remotely, but his teacher was not in school this morning and they sent his whole class home at lunch today.  There hasn't been any communication about what happened yet, but they've been really good on communication so far and I bet we'll find out what is going on this evening.  Maybe she had a family emergency and couldn't come in this morning or something, but sending the kids home mid-day too seems a little odd.

Communication has been pretty sparse from the school on this, but it sounds like the teacher already had plans to be out last Friday.  A student in the class started having symptoms on Friday morning and that's why they sent the entire class home until 8/24.  They have not confirmed that the student tested positive, but they did say they will adjust and call the kids back to in person classes if new information (a negative test?) becomes available.  So they made it 2.5 days before everyone having to go remote.

I'm not aware of any other classes having issues yet, but I'm not sure we would ever been informed in that situation anyway. 

[Guest]

nm.  Go schools!!!

Edited August 18, 2020 by slorch

[The Royal We 3070]

Believe me, we really want this to work and for our kids to go back to in-person learning.  We've got a kindergartner, 2nd grader and a 5th grader, so my wife is working her ass off trying to make sure they all get what they need.  I try to help as much as possible while also working from home.  It's no picnic and my wife is pretty frazzled at the end of every day. 

[troph 24781]

55 minutes ago, mulletpelini said:

Those desks look awesome.  If you have any butcherblock left let me know, I need a fairly small piece about 2' x 3' for a counter in the kitchen.  

habitat resource center on south first and ben white might have some left that's where we got 8 feet for $100.  we did not cut them at all we just made 8 foot desks.

[Anastasis 23464]

4 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Believe me, we really want this to work and for our kids to go back to in-person learning.  We've got a kindergartner, 2nd grader and a 5th grader, so my wife is working her ass off trying to make sure they all get what they need.  I try to help as much as possible while also working from home.  It's no picnic and my wife is pretty frazzled at the end of every day. 

Pretty similar age distribution and set up.  I was telling one of my co workers today during a call that we need to get our ass back in school cause I am not sure how long we can last. If shit starts popping off and we have to do virtual the whole semester my liver might just give up on me.  

[The Royal We 3070]

Same.  And we have a much better set up than most people - wife doesn't work and we have plenty of space for each child to have their own workspace that it somewhat private and quiet.  I'd go absolutely insane if we were trying to do this in an apartment.  I feel terrible for people in that situation.

[Moby Ric 2058]

Successful opening school day for my kids.  They are all very happy to be back.  So am I.  

[mulletpelini 5210]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

I have a really nice piece precisely that size.  Restaurant-grade leftover (but finished) from a property we owned. needs staining, but if you're Austin...you can have it if you bring me a mediocre bottle of bourbon..  

 

31 minutes ago, troph said:

habitat resource center on south first and ben white might have some left that's where we got 8 feet for $100.  we did not cut them at all we just made 8 foot desks.

hell I wish I'm about 8 hours north of ya straight up 35.  I've never seen anything like that at the HRC here.

[tbone_ 14113]

I'm about 8 hours north of ya straight up 35.

Norman?

[fattyflattie 4639]

19 hours ago, troph said:

habitat for humanity had 8 foot butcher block for $100.  etsy for the legs.  the rest home depot and hardly fair labor, my back hurts bad.  we estimated even with a new router and some wasted supplies that the total cost was about $320 per table.  not bad for 8 feet of solid wood and thick metal legs.

I tried to rep this but it flipped you off. Anyhow, well done. 

[mulletpelini 5210]

31 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

 

Norman?

 

who would live in Norman given a choice?

[RDCanecutter 26404]

On 8/16/2020 at 8:56 AM, troph said:

And this weekend we are building work stations for them to keep new laptops, head phones with microphones and new key boards, nice and big ass monitors. Will show the final but here’s some WIP:

 

 

Finished !!

 

 

 

Set up (2 out of 3 shown):

 

(Disregard the Greek revival/Corinthian light fixture /vomit emoji)

 

Hell, just yank the kids out of school and put them straight into carpentry. You'll beat the We-pulled-our-kids-out-of-school-so-they-could-learn-carpentry fad by a good 9 months, and yours will have a leg-up and move straight into child carpenter supervisory positions.

[Deej 76756]

4 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Hell, just yank the kids out of school and put them straight into carpentry. You'll beat the We-pulled-our-kids-out-of-school-so-they-could-learn-carpentry fad by a good 9 months, and yours will have a leg-up and move straight into child carpenter supervisory positions.

[tbone_ 14113]

Jesus was a carpenter.

[Samson's Wig 3191]

7 minutes ago, Deej said:

Swanson would say, "Carpentry?  What are they, peasants?  Teach them woodworking."

[Guest Lobo]

I'm now being told, that he was also...Jewish.  Lot of people did not know that.  

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

6 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I'm now being told, that he was also...Jewish.  Lot of people did not know that.  

Jewish carpenter?  That doesn't checkout. 

[RDCanecutter 26404]

He was German-Jewish. I've seen his picture.

[Guest Lobo]

Yes, he put the 'nazi' in 'Ashkenazi' 

Others say he was Dutch-Irish, his father was from Wales.  

[Superhero 8828]

My wife applying for private for my boy (5 years old) as I'm typing this. 

I don't really want to pay $15K/year for tuition when the elementary school literally 5 minutes walk away from our house is rated 10/10. But the private school is open now, and they appear to have their shit together. My nephew, niece and a few of our friends' kids go there, and the parents seem okay with their reopening plan.

Any other thought on how to educate kids when both my wife and I work?

[JohnLocke 115]

You could get an out of work stripper to watch him while he does virtual school. I'll bet he would learn a lot.

Edited August 18, 2020 by JohnLocke

[Deej 76756]

10 minutes ago, Superhero said:

My wife applying for private for my boy (5 years old) as I'm typing this. 

I don't really want to pay $15K/year for tuition when the elementary school literally 5 minutes walk away from our house is rated 10/10. But the private school is open now, and they appear to have their shit together. My nephew, niece and a few of our friends' kids go there, and the parents seem okay with their reopening plan.

Any other thought on how to educate kids when both my wife and I work?

"Son, we spent your college tuition on grade school. Sorry about that."

[JohnLocke 115]

1 hour ago, Superhero said:

My wife applying for private for my boy (5 years old) as I'm typing this. 

I don't really want to pay $15K/year for tuition when the elementary school literally 5 minutes walk away from our house is rated 10/10. But the private school is open now, and they appear to have their shit together. My nephew, niece and a few of our friends' kids go there, and the parents seem okay with their reopening plan.

Any other thought on how to educate kids when both my wife and I work?

Well, insensitive remarks aside, I'd give AISD a chance if you can.  You may be pleasantly surprised. And if after a few months, you aren't happy, you can put him in private school then.  And if you put him in this year, he'll want to stay next year 'cause that's where all his friends will be.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

 

hell I wish I'm about 8 hours north of ya straight up 35.  I've never seen anything like that at the HRC here.

Could just be Salado, depending upon time of day...

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Well, insensitive remarks aside, I'd give AISD a chance if you can.  You may be pleasantly surprised. And if after a few months, you aren't happy, you can put him in private school then.  And if you put him in this year, he'll want to stay next year 'cause that's where all his friends will be.

It’d be cheaper to fly him to Austin from Los Angeles every morning for than it would to pay $15k a yr for pre school

[fuggled 576]

Just started virtual school in Richardson this morning. Made it ten minutes before a first grader asked to use the bathroom.

[Anastasis 23464]

First day of school a little surreal. 

[troph 24781]

14 hours ago, tbone_ said:

Jesus was a carpenter.

That it, we’re out. 

[troph 24781]

14 hours ago, Superhero said:

My wife applying for private for my boy (5 years old) as I'm typing this. 

I don't really want to pay $15K/year for tuition when the elementary school literally 5 minutes walk away from our house is rated 10/10. But the private school is open now, and they appear to have their shit together. My nephew, niece and a few of our friends' kids go there, and the parents seem okay with their reopening plan.

Any other thought on how to educate kids when both my wife and I work?

Online self paced high schools provided by major universities - UT is $3500 per year.  We chose not too for this year because we wanted live instruction and an easier schedule.  We may do that though and hire a tutor.  $6000 or so is still a lot but it isn’t $15,000 plus all the charitable crap you have to give. 

[crash_davis 23103]

[Superhero 8828]

Update Tuesday:

The intergoogles went down. At least it wasn't during class time, but my 8 year old couldn't do her homework.

 

Update Wednesday:

My 5 year old's class got disbanded and  he got absorbed into another kinder classes. The principle sent out email on Monday telling parents to use a new meeting ID.  Of course the new meeting ID didn't work, so I called the school to get the correct ID.

We logged onto the meeting 7 minutes late, after they had already taken roll. And now there are 30 kindergarteners in the class...

FML

 

 

 

[Hate 20107]

Fuck. I feel like I am going back to 7th grade. I hope our school can prove to stay healthy because that little fucker is going back as soon as possible. I already did 7th grade once and it sucked.

[Rougarou 594]

30 minutes ago, Hate said:

Fuck. I feel like I am going back to 7th grade. I hope our school can prove to stay healthy because that little fucker is going back as soon as possible. I already did 7th grade once and it sucked.

Homework has been a whipping again because the Spring was such a throwaway time and getting out of the habit and discipline.

1 hour ago, Superhero said:

Update Tuesday:

The intergoogles went down. At least it wasn't during class time, but my 8 year old couldn't do her homework.

 

Update Wednesday:

My 5 year old's class got disbanded and  he got absorbed into another kinder classes. The principle sent out email on Monday telling parents to use a new meeting ID.  Of course the new meeting ID didn't work, so I called the school to get the correct ID.

We logged onto the meeting 7 minutes late, after they had already taken roll. And now there are 30 kindergarteners in the class...

FML

 

 

 

Dude, just got to private school. You'll be glad you did. Our experience thus far (only 3 days in) has been amazing and nothing like what I feared and, honestly, expected.

Small classes; real learning with regimented safety/protocols that don't care about catering to the lowest common denominator. Either you come to school prepared to be safe and learn or you can go somewhere else and they aren't foolin' with you.

[jkates 316]

My kids went in person today. Nothing disastrous to report. They threw their horns up on their own for this pic this morning.