In August, our school district decided we would have 2 options to begin this school year:
- A hybrid, in-person model, where students would go to school with half of their class 2 days a week; have virtual learning 2 days a week, where they’d see their teacher in the classroom while s/he teaches the other half of the class, too; then Wednesday is an asynchronous day with only online lessons, no live instruction. Students with last names A-L would be in person on Monday/Tuesday, virtual Thursday/Friday. Students with last names La-Z would be in person on Thursday/Friday, virtual Monday/Tuesday.
- Fully virtual, where students would get real-time live instruction from their teacher, not prerecorded online lessons like last spring. Asynchronous Wednesdays just like the hybrid model.
- And you only had to commit to whichever modality you chose for 1 quarter at a time.
We chose the real-time virtual learning for the first quarter, mainly because we had absolutely no idea what was going to happen and 1 quarter seemd like nothing. As soon as I heard you didn’t have to choose for the entire school year, my mind was made up. We knew there was better infrastructure in place than last spring when everything shut down, but I was convinced that schools would close within weeks because of spreading COVID-19 cases and everyone would be home anyway. We were wrong, and our district actually stayed open the entire first quarter. At the beginning of the school year I had said that if that happened we would send them back to the in-person option the following quarter, but we’ve decided to keep them home again for second quarter. I know, liar, liar.
Here’s the thing. Although the schools never closed, there have also never been zero active cases AND zero quarantine cases in all the schools. I’ve watched the COVID dashboard that’s released weekly, and there are either some active cases in some of the schools or some quarantine cases in some of the schools, but it has never been zeros across the board. The high school actually went fully virtual for the shortened school week this week because enough teachers/staff are out with it, but that’s the first time for any of the schools this quarter.
Here’s the other thing. We’re going into the usual annual flu season. Put the regular flu germs being passed around on top of the COVID germs? No thanks. I’ve been elated we haven’t had to worry about lice for months – I don’t want to have to start worrying about a nasty viral double decker now. I like having that tiny free space in my brain for other stuff. Like… I forget.
Here’s another thing. The kids are doing great. We had no problems last spring, so I honestly wasn’t worried going into this school year staying virtual. And man, have the teachers stepped up their game! Each grade level had enough students choose the fully virtual option so that there is a dedicated fully virtual teacher (no splitting attention between virtual students and those physically present in the classroom), and it makes ALL the difference. They log onto a live meeting every morning, stay live pretty much all morning, some have a break for lunch then back to a couple smaller live meetings in the afternoon, some are finished after the lunch break, and Morrison has a live closing meeting every day. Personally, I love it. The teachers have done an absolutely amazing job with this setup, whether the platform is Seesaw or Google Classroom, and they have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they deserve about 100,000x their current salaries forever and ever and ever. What they’ve done to make sure OUR kids are getting the education they need in this time of insanity is nothing short of incredible. Especially since we all know so many of them have their own children trying to navigate these systems, too. And it’s funny – when the school year started, almost every teacher I spoke to who has kids in elementary school was sending them back fully virtually as well.
And to continue on the another thing, to be perfectly honest, I’m being a little selfish, too. Not having the morning onslaught of getting 5 kids up, dressed, and fed; then making sure 3 of said kids are ready for school – lunches packed, snacks packed, water bottles packed, heads sprayed with the lice spray that actually works, runners/rain boots/snow boots/coats/snow pants/hats/mittens/none of the above on depending on the weather, teeth brushed, gone pee and/or poop; then out the door by either 7:20 or 7:35 depending on if we are walking or driving… You have no idea how much that saves my sanity. We get into that routine easily once a school year begins, but just knowing I don’t have to do all of it when I wake up every morning makes it that much easier. And I employ the easy button whenever I can in life. Try it, you’ll like it. I don’t even have to set an alarm clock! The big kids all get up, get dressed, make their beds, get their own breakfasts, brush teeth, and get their school stations set up for the day on their own. The twins? Oh, I’ll be changing their diapers and pouring their milk and raising them forever.
And some more about the another thing. They all love their teachers. Lana’s grade actually had enough students choose fully virtual that her class is half Cumberland and half Richards, her teacher is at Richards, and we pick all her supplies up at Richards on pickup days, so she thinks it’s great that she’s kind of going to another school. 😀 When I asked if they wanted to switch to in-person classes or stay virtual, as soon as they heard that they’d all have different teachers and classmates if they switched to in person, they all wanted to stay virtual. (Yay!) They haven’t missed out on any fun, either, all having had pajama parties, reward parties for good behavior, show and tell, our own fun lunch, costume day and parties for Halloween, etc.
And the last part about the another thing? I love having them here. I get to see and/or hear what they do in class all day, I get to help them if they need it (although I do constantly tell Morrison to sound out his own words when he asks how to spell everything because I wouldn’t be there in his classroom), I get to hear what questions they ask their teachers and how they ask them, I get to hear the silly things they say to their friends and classmates whether on their microphones or in the chats, and I LOVE that they always want to have their own Zoom meeting and chat with each other when the school day is over and all assignments are finished. After their school years they’re going to be gone from this house pretty much forever, so I will soak up these extra days with them for as long as I can. And I remind myself of that over and over again on those days when I want to send them all back to school RIGHT NOW. Trust me, I know how fortunate we are that I’m home with the kids full time and we are able to roll with fully virtual. It’s what works best for us, not everyone.
So. I totally lied about going back to in-person school after everything stayed open and healthy for a full quarter. I truly didn’t think it would happen. On one hand, I’m really happy that all the precautions and rules that are in place are working. But on the other hand, I don’t really trust the upcoming season. Milwaukee just reversed its coronavirus orders and put more restrictions on gatherings, bars, restaurants, sports, etc., since Wisconsin is apparently incapable of getting this shit in check, so I don’t need to have added worry with trying to send our children back to school buildings when virtual is working perfectly for us right now. Plus they’re happy and thriving and their teachers all had nothing but good things to say at their virtual confereces last night, which is the main goal of all this.
2020, you’ve really fucked things up. But I have to thank you, too. I’ve gotten almost an extra year of time at home with these little pieces of my heart, and for that I will be eternally grateful.
