I hear/read about the negative social/emotional effect on kids from remote learning, but very little about the negative social/emotional effects of in-person learning in school under the current plans.
So here is my laypersons view on the social/emotional health concerns over fall in-person learning.
Young kids sitting 6 ft apart and wearing masks all day in a class with a teacher wearing a mask seems anxiety provoking to start with. Then, you add in a teacher who is enforcing required distance and mask rules and is not able to come close to kids to comfort them. What happens when different teachers feel differently about the extent the rules should be enforced. I imagine lots of tension between teachers over these issues. Eating will be alone at a desk ā¦ not very good for social development. No touching or sharing with other kids during the school day. There will be plenty of staying home from school too (all kids with any symptoms like a runny nose, time to time quarantines after exposure in school or family) so moving back and forth between home for days and then school.
To me, this does not seem like a good learning environment.
The consistency of a relaxed, remote learning environment (without a mask) could be the better emotional option for many kids.
Very important caveat - the calculus changes in homes where there is not a parent home full time, but there many homes where one parent is home full time and I read very little about these issues.
Obviously we are facing 2 bad choices, but I think many of the negatives to in-person learning in the current situation are being overlooked.
@PrincipalTinker - would love to hear your thoughts on this since you are involved in school planning. Of course, Iām interested in othersā views too.
Our parks department (I work for a city) is preparing to offer day camp during the school year for parents who need to go to work since schools here are starting the year 100% remote learning. They are planning for groups of 8-10 kids that will stay with the same leader(s) in cohort groups. The mornings will be spent helping the kids with their school work and the afternoons doing recreation activities. This will be a challenge for sure, but there is no glimmer of light for normal parks and recreation activities to resume any time soon. This will at least bring in some revenue and use facilities that would otherwise be standing empty, as well as provide a service for families who really need it.
I agree that it happens (Mullersā Ratchet, right?), but I have not read evidence that it has happened yet with this virus. It might be happening and scientists havenāt discovered the mutation yet.
So , the fatality rate for children with a diagnosed case is about 2.5 deaths per 10,000 cases; if you include the estimated number of children who have been infected it is 4 deaths per 100,000 cases.
For perspective, measles kills 1-2 per 1000 infected people. It is many times more dangerous for children than COVID.
It found that the virus spread most readily in microscopic droplets that were light enough to float in the air, for several minutes or much longer rather than from surfaces.
I donāt pay for a subscription but I signed up for an account and can read quite a bit.
Hehe! Wiping everything (how do you wipe a pineapple?) was so much work and zapped all the energy out of me the first month of the pandemic and I only shopped on 2 days during that time. After that, we quarantined more stuff, especially stuff that didnāt need refrigeration. I have backed off and this article just puts me at ease.
To be clear, this is more what I had in mind when I said the āvirus is less deadlyā (meaning due to treatments, not the inherent characteristics of the virus, though I think both are true to a degree).
I thought about this, but according to the Maricopa dashboard, the deaths have really slowed down in the last couple of weeks, so Iām hopeful the deaths wonāt increase significantly during this wave. There could be some delayed reporting going on, but in the other metrics (cases & hospitalizations) they say when data is incomplete.
This isnāt directed at you, but I read the article. As a homeschooler Iām wondering why these parents are going to go to so much trouble to hired out and group up, etc., but still follow the schoolās curriculum. Theyād likely be better off building from the ground up vs. modifying an already sloppy system.
this is interesting.
I wonder what my stance should be. I normally have my 11th graders do daily SAT prep as a one credit class - spending at least 108 hours of prep on them. Not knowing where they will go makes it hard for me to stop that practice.
Granted - they will likely do community college then Christian college as a transfer and should have good GPA from the former.
One great granddaughter starts kindergarten in a month. Sheās very much a private kid. Sheās all about keeping herself occupied. I wonder and wonder about her kindergarten experience.
Another kid I know is starting high school in a month. Several key friends have moved out of that school district since covid started. I really wonder about her freshman experience, especially already missing a core group of friends. Talk about anxiety.
Different school districts tho both are doing some days in person and more days at home.
What about the experience if thereās a new spike as is possible, and schools bail to all at home.
Two key occupations going forward: therapy and epidemiology.
There could be some delayed reporting going on, but in the other metrics (cases & hospitalizations) they say when data is incomplete.