Sheltering in Place: Children, Parents and Teachers Coping With (What Could Be) the New Normal
My phone “pinged,” time to confirm my reservation for the April Board of Regents meeting: not this month. Governor Cuomo just extended the state-wide school closing until April 15th, and probably for a lot longer.
Online, or remote learning, has completed its first week in New York City. The enormous undertaking is incredibly complex. I spoke with a supervisor, Zoom meetings with teachers, with the school leadership team, with the superintendent, checking on teacher lessons, contacting parents; the city is using Google Classroom. I asked a teacher: who are the kids who are participating? S/he said, “About half the kids, others are having trouble getting online, and the kids were a cross section, the high achievers and others.” A start: hopefully it will improve over the weeks or months ahead. Not surprisingly, in addition to an opportunity gap there is a technology gap, the NY Times has a scathing article. (“Locked Out of the Virtual Classroom”)
In one online fifth grade class the teacher began with a yoga session and moved on to research assignments, “What is an endangered species?” “How do species become endangered?” “How can we protect endangered species?” How many students are fully engaged? How long should the kids be online? How much homework? We’re all exploring a new world.
The questions from teachers and parents keep rolling in, CONTINUE READING: Sheltering in Place: Children, Parents and Teachers Coping With (What Could Be) the New Normal | Ed In The Apple