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Friday we were introduced to the world of e-learning. Of course as everyone started their e-learning, they also started posting their thoughts on social media. As the day progressed, I noticed there were some pretty distinct groups that emerged:
The "I don't want to go to school in July" group. This group holds those visions of carefree summer days in a tight grip and publically expresses how grateful they are for those dear people that sit in the administration building, saving them and their children from going one day past the already specified date on the calendar. I do not fit in this group. I would much rather have my children go to school in the warmth and sunshine (even If that means the first week of June) than to be trapped with them in -30 weather in a house that shrinks with each passing day all the while trying to supervise THEIR LEARNING.
This group will be in for a rude awakening if/when our district decides to adopt a balanced calendar-( reducing the long summer break with more frequent breaks balancing the frequency of in session days with days on break) because if/when the district decides to do that, they will remember all those who grasped those blizzard folders so tightly as to not lose one precious moment of summer. We will then be getting rainy day folders, wind gust folders, bright sunshine folders and wet streets folders because the administration knows how much you hold tightly to scheduled breaks.
The next category is the "I don't really mind e-learning because my life is perfect, my kids are perfect and well-everything is perfect"
I actually DO know people who are genuinely this way- who never , ever offer their opinion on Facebook OR in real life. Who don't question policies and generally go with the flow. This group did not post pictures with the intention of saying I'm perfect, but they did so to document the moment with their kids. This is the category of parents that will be cherry picked to evaluate the program. This is also the group whose pictures you see on our district's website.
Somewhat similar, but yet very different, the 3rd group emerged. It was the most complex. It was the "I hate e learning so much I could spit but I'm going to continue pretending life is perfect" group.
The " I will judge everyone else who posts about their struggles." Is a sub-group.
While posting how this has been a beautiful, family growing experience they simultaneously sent private messages to their friends and told them how much they hate school, hate homework, hate their dog, their life,
their shoes, etc.
We all know that this group does not live lives of roses and sunshine but we are entertained by their determination to make us think they do. This group is the I hate homework in real life and the I'm so thankful for my child's teachers and this gift and opportunity to work with my children at home Facebook life. It's called social media double-life syndrome-
Which brings me to the last group I encountered and the one to which I am a proud member of. It is the "This is real life" group. The transparent , the raw, the real.
These are the people that you can count on to post about everyday struggles- even the ones people normally tiptoe around. These are the people who posted pictures of the dog sitting on the e learning, a nerf dart stuck to the work, or in some instances- a sleeping mom. This group didn't post because they like to complain all of the time. They posted real life, as they do every other day- they shared openly and honestly about the struggles they faced.
Life is hard, e learning included. Sometimes our online community is where we find support. Being authentic does not mean you are not grateful. It does not mean you like to complain. It means you are honest. I am glad to be able to share my frustrations without sugar coating my realities or picking out the perfect parts.
And so-
WITH ALL OF THAT SAID
Here is the way I see e learning ( my very own personal opinion for which I do not need to be burned at the stake for.)
Regardless of which category you fall into there are some simple truths behind e-learning -decisions and actions that don't involve social media or even the parents. These actions are not necessarily looking out for our kids best interest but the interest of test scores and money.
When we choose to enroll our children in public education we are expecting certain things -safety, quality of education and equal opportunities for all. We do not expect or require our schools to have perfect i step scores, blue ribbons or even to mold our children into great test takers.
So it is perplexing to me why we are allowing quality and equal opportunity to be forgotten for the sake of a calendar.
When you move guided learning and certified teachers out the doors of your district's buildings and replace them with parents you will lose equality and you will sacrifice quality instruction.
Our district is making a clear choice to do this -not in a way in which we support our child's learning but in a way that makes us their school teacher for the day. We do not get paid. We do not get reimbursed for time off of our regular jobs. We get more work and unhappy kids. And a lot of people are doing it without questioning it. I can't figure out why.
There is truly nothing equal about e-learning. Not.one.thing. We all live very different lives. Our homes and situations are different. There are so many different learning environments across our district : we have parents working outside the home, some working from the home, computer access and no computer access , hunger ,stress ,disabilities, single parents, Phd's, GED's, only children- multiple kids. We have students that are watching Tom and Jerry alone on the couch while trying to complete their math before mom and dad get home from work and we have the children whose parents wake them with a cute little song , a special breakfast, and one or both hold degrees in education. They sit with them -cheering them on all day.
This is not equal education.
When you combine this with the real reasons our district has bamboozled us into adopting e learning (not the one where you think the administration is distraught over the fact that your child won't be able to frolic in the grass soon enough), but the real reasons:
TEST SCORES and
MONEY
One can't help but to wonder how did this happen?
The following are quotes from leaders of schools in Indiana:
*East Allen community school superintendent Ken Folks . "When we add days at the end of the year, that's past the time our students have taken their assessments by which we are measured." He also stated that "to be able to capture instructional time prior to those assessments is key to us"-
"The main thing that we noticed last year is that those days we had to miss due to the weather were really important to us," said Bobby Thompson, principal at Triton Middle School, the first school in the district to try the program. "Those were the crucial time to prepare students for standardized assessments.".
Last year Dr. Thacker had a message for skeptics of e learning. In a interview with WSBT he said, "Our vision of excellence. This is truly an opportunity for innovation we're going to take advantage of this opportunity and do something that will put our students on the leading edge of technology for learning. "
Last time I checked, opening a PDF file and printing off a document was neither innovative or on the leading edge.
As a parent- whether we love it or hate it, we should be raising some serious questions when it comes to e-learning starting with the question about how to avoid it all together by asking Why. Why, when we live in Northern Indiana, do we only have one calamity day built in our district's calendar? Districts five miles away have five. How can a district in Portland, Oregon have more calamity days built in than we do?
Has our district looked at studies that have proven it is more or less stressful to take learning home? What research have they done other than test scores and money saving charts that says this is the BEST option for the STUDENTS-not what benefits the district.
As a teacher I would be asking what will happen long-term if this e-learning should happen more frequently? In Muskegon , Michigan teachers found out what happens- they will not get paid for snow days.
As a former teacher, I knew my degree mattered. It confirmed I had trained and studied. It was important.
Now, our district is sending the message to its teachers that anyone can do it -you just need a printer and some snow. I would be concerned as a paid professional, a valuable asset in the children's lives I teach that I would be able to retain my credibility. When the district is encouraging at home learning they are replacing teachers with degrees. Doing this even for a short time sends a bad message about how much our district values teacher /student interaction. It sends the message that these teachers are easily replaced.
It's just snow days now but Dr. Thacker told WSBT in an interview that" a recent report estimates 50% of high school classes will be offered online by 2019". That is definitely not a statement that would give me job security.
As for our district's students and the reason why we are having this discussion- my concern would be for the slow and steady loss of quality instructional time and lack of consistency that being at home and e learning would show. This concern is not to be grouped with those who choose to teach their children at home full time.
Families that choose to homeschool have chosen to do it because it is the best fit for their family. It works because it is productive and consistent- short bursts of at home e learning can not and should not be compared to the proven benefits of homeschooling.
Everyone is entitled to have an opinion about e learning. This us just mine but If you feel inclined, research it, talk about it, complain about it- cry, kick and scream- but know- e learning exists because no one has chosen to speak honestly and openly about it and the people who decided it was the best option- never really gave us any other options.
