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My off week from the girls this week. My oldest enjoyed her birthday party and the highlight gift was the Air pods her mom got her. She definitely thinks she is styling now combined with her iPhone. She is so sweet and innocent, still believes in Santa, the tooth fairy, etc. but I know next year when she hits 6th grade her world is going to change. She called my "brah" the other day, I had to quickly course correct her smile

The Doc made her is the really great cake and her son did a good job at the party not trying to steal her thunder. The XW and the Doc chatted a little more than they did the first meeting so they seemed to get along fine. The kids have hung out some more during the day, 3 or 4 hours at a time and that seems to have gotten a little better as well. We all had a sleepover at the Doc's house Saturday night and that was fine as well. Her son is good in small doses. I guess the point is that things are progressing gradually. My oldest seems comfortable but she has adjusted more quickly than my youngest. When we did have the a sleep over at the Doc's on Saturday I asked both of my girls if they wanted to go and they said they did. I flat out asked them while also telling me to please be honest. They wanted to go over so maybe they are making some progress. Her son has gotten better as well but is still a work in progress also.

Not much else to report. Still working at home, got my new car last week so that has been fun. Hanging out at the Doc's house this week in the mornings so I can watch her son until the nanny arrives at noon. For the most part he just keeps to himself, watching TV and I get a request from him about once an hour for something to eat. He interacts on his terms. Which is fine.

I am not sure what else to report. I get the sense that the Doc wants to discuss our timeline. She made a comment the other day about staying in her house through the end of this year. She doesn't come out and directly ask though. I get it but a lot of it for me hinges on my girls. My oldest is fine, honestly she is almost to the stage to where she won't give a crap about the littles. My youngest is who I worry about. The Doc and I spoke a little about it and she commented about how well my youngest did at the party seeing both the Doc and her mom together. Honestly she did do well. I just need them to have continued positive experiences and interactions. Those experiences have nothing to do with the Doc it is all about her son. The kids need to get along. They are all within 2 years of each other so they are too close in age to just avoid each other completely or not be able to care.


Married 14, Together 17
M: 44, W: 43, D: 8, D: 6
M: 46, W: 45. D: 10. D: 8 (CUR)
Bomb Dropped: 5/28/2017
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Originally Posted by TBSakaJ9
Hanging out at the Doc's house this week in the mornings so I can watch her son until the nanny arrives at noon. For the most part he just keeps to himself, watching TV and I get a request from him about once an hour for something to eat. He interacts on his terms.

Isn’t he supposed to be doing school work? And maybe he is, or maybe when the nanny arrives? I know you’ve said he’s smart and a good student. But pre panic Demic he’d be in class all these mornings. I guess this is not pointed at your situation but just in general as I constantly hear of stories like this. How on earth can we claim that kids are not falling behind or at least not getting the same education, or even close to, that children did last year. How are they not losing out? I guess just another unspoken casualty of what’s going on. Or again maybe he starts school at noon. Which... well ive said enough. My question is, when does he do school? I’m honestly curious as it sounds like he’s on summer vacation. Not your fault, it just is what it is.


DonH
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WAW-EXW 55
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Bomb 6/20/05 / She Filed on 6/2/06 / Divorced on 10/9/06
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The kids have about 1.5 hours per day and he does it with his nanny.

My 5th grader is self-managed my 3rd grader not so much.

It is certainly not the same and yes, they are loosing out. Not only the education portion but the socialization as well.

The school districts are in a tough spot and are doing what they can but even though I am lucky to be working from home I don't have the band with due to my own job to dedicate all day long to their studies.

The kids do feel like they are on vacation, my youngest wants nothing to do with her school work.


Married 14, Together 17
M: 44, W: 43, D: 8, D: 6
M: 46, W: 45. D: 10. D: 8 (CUR)
Bomb Dropped: 5/28/2017
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Thanks for the insight. I am not at all casting blame your way, which I’m sure you know. I just don’t have a lot of friends with young kids so I’ve not heard near as many school stories as I have healthcare stories. 90 minutes of school a day. Wow. Yet I do have a teacher friended who insists they are learning very well. Yeah, sure they are. I have a niece in dental school at home. She’s incredibly smart but wow how can she be getting the same education as wanna be dentists of previous years? Hopefully they will all return to the classroom in Fall.

Oh and yes, the social aspects... no prom, no graduation. My other niece graduates this or next week after 4 years of college. No ceremony and at this point no large family gathering planned like her sister had. Sad. Okay back to the regularly scheduled R issues. smile


DonH
Midwest
Me 56
WAW-EXW 55
Met 11/95 / Married 5/00
Bomb 6/20/05 / She Filed on 6/2/06 / Divorced on 10/9/06
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The teachers are very available for assistance but it is all left up to the parents and kids to make it happen.

Learning from home is certainly not the same. There is no comparison.

I am sure the school Districts are under pressure to stay relevant and do their part to provide something. The kids however are checked out and are just doing the bare minimum.

They have video conferences through Webex and get their weekly assignments emailed to them/parents each week on Sundays. Everything is turned in through Google classroom.

Only a few more weeks left though and I guess the good thing is that all students are in the same boat so no one is really advancing that much ahead of each other.


Married 14, Together 17
M: 44, W: 43, D: 8, D: 6
M: 46, W: 45. D: 10. D: 8 (CUR)
Bomb Dropped: 5/28/2017
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Don - the truth is the educational piece of this all is scary. My son is attending one of the best public high schools nationally, is a junior and all his classes are now pass/fail! It is the same for my 8th grader. His honors math and Spanish even are now pass/fail.

Many kids and families are up in arms over this as how is GPA to be calculated? My son is taking AP courses that are now pass/fail?!?!

The issue is that in many areas kids have no access to laptops and or WiFi. (Our school district said we would provide laptops if needed, granted we have very few low income students in our district.) So it’s not a level playing field. For some kids in this country, they need their school subsidized lunch and districts are required to still provide these meals even during this time. It is another case of the haves and have nots and legally states have to provide equal access. Some 13 year old kids have Mac laptops while others need a lunch.

My sense is the teachers are phoning it in. (And painting rosy pictures as they do so.) The kids are phoning it in. My sense is we are paying teachers to do very little work. If things are pass/fail, I think kids quickly learn to do just enough to pass.

Very little has been communicated on a national level regarding this. And state-wise I am not sure of what is left to districts to decide.


Me 41, H 47, M 15 yrs, S11, S13
BD 1: 11/4/14 we work on it; really I pretzel myself
BD 2: 3/31/15 H goes down to "dorm room"
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As a teacher, I feel like I have to weigh in so sorry for the hijack, J9. Don, I’m not arguing with you or even saying you are wrong but I would be curious to know what teachers you know who are saying the at home instruction is the same. As an educator, I can assure you that my colleagues and I fully realize that our students are NOT getting the same education they would in our classroom, but we are all doing the best we can to get the material out with the same level of academic integrity we did in class. Now, clearly my situation is different from J9 because his girls are young and my students are college students but I can assure you, the teachers I know are under no illusion that this semester is going to be anywhere on par with previous ones, despite our best efforts. We’ve been told all transcripts will be flagged with a special notation indicating remote instruction due to Covid-19 for this semester. Not sure what that will mean in the future but it is something. I can also assure you I am working harder at my job right now than I ever have on campus because teaching a hands-on lab class ALL online is super challenging. It is a very stressful, time consuming effort on both the part of the teachers and the students (not to mention parents who are trying to work their own full-time jobs from home while monitoring and assisting with school work).


Me 52, H53
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Just to clarify, in my district the teachers have never said the education is equal to what it was. On the contrary, they have said this is unprecedented and they are in (completely) unchartered waters. They have crash landed into this terrain.

They are talented and fully capable of providing a higher level education but are bound to provide equal access due to state and national education laws. If some kids are moving forward with AP Physics while others do not even have lunch never mind a device in which to log in, what kind of legal issues would that create?

We have tremendous disparities in this country.


Me 41, H 47, M 15 yrs, S11, S13
BD 1: 11/4/14 we work on it; really I pretzel myself
BD 2: 3/31/15 H goes down to "dorm room"
8/15: H back to MBR
10/15: H back in dorm room
1/18: H files, now divorced
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The educational system certainly developed this learn at home model on the fly and kudos to them for attempting to do so. Certainly no easy feat considering all the different dynamics at play, including funding for test scores or lack there of.

The teachers initially in our District where very hard core and if a kid missed an assignment would send the parent an email making them feel less than. One of my oldest's teachers even indicated "she was concerned". Mind you this all C or NC and has no bearing on her going to 6th grade. Since then they have gradually eased up on the expectations and while the send out progress reports I think they realize parents and their kids will only complete what they can.

I think the Districts made a big assumption that every parent is going to be home working and spending all day long with their kid engaging in home school family time. That is not the case! I work more hours now that I ever did at the office.


Married 14, Together 17
M: 44, W: 43, D: 8, D: 6
M: 46, W: 45. D: 10. D: 8 (CUR)
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Originally Posted by TBSakaJ9


I think the Districts made a big assumption that every parent is going to be home working and spending all day long with their kid engaging in home school family time. That is not the case! I work more hours now that I ever did at the office.

While I'm not working more hours, my hours have definitely shifted. I'm sometimes working past 8pm.


M 20+ T25+
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D 12/23/16

"Someone I loved once gave me
A box full of darkness.
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That this too, was a gift."
~ Mary Oliver
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