I have a much better idea of my schedule this school year and it’s… not great.
It’s going to be really hard to work this out. I have a 1st grader who will need a lot of support to participate in distance learning. I have a 5th grader with ADHD that will need a lot of check-ins, reminders, and redirections. They will get, MAX, two hours of live instruction a day, but it could be less than that if teachers work with small groups or one-on-one.
Meanwhile I have to deliver 4.5 hours of instruction a day – 1.5 hours in the mornings and three hours in the afternoons.
I know we’ll make it work. We’ll have to. But right now I can’t quite fathom how. I don’t think I can participate in the set up my friends are putting together because I have less flexibility than I thought I would. They say we can make it work, but I’m not so sure. We still don’t have ONE SINGLE DETAIL from our school about what our kids’ days might look like so we can’t try to plan anything yet. It’s exhausting and frustrating to be stuck in this limbo, especially when their first day is Monday, the 17th.
My first day is Wednesday, the 19th.
Right now I am in actively suppressing panic mode. I just keep telling myself IT WILL BE OKAY, in a very firm voice, like maybe if I can muster up enough false authority I’ll get myself to believe it.
I’ve noticed that the little throw away line, “possibly for the entire school year” in articles about distance learning, is morphing into “probably for the entire school year.” That’s how they get us conditioned so we don’t lose our minds when we realize it’s happening. It’s little throw away lines that build a foundation so that the unfathomable will become something we can wrap our heads around.
I think higher ups know we aren’t going back this year. That is the vague, quiet messaging in my district anyway. They are saying it a little louder at my kids’ district, at least as far as my kids are concerned (they will bring back urgent learners first, if at all, and my kids are not urgent learners).
I try not to think about the fact that whatever we figure out will have to do for the entirety of the school year. I try just to focus on the first six weeks. But I’m tired and kind of terrified and even six weeks feels like too long.
My kindergartener started virtual classes today. It took us twenty minutes past class start time to be able to log on because the county’s system was overloaded (I guess that’s an improvement from the tech check on Monday which completely crashed their system). After two hours I was EXHAUSTED. We will get through this but, dang, this is tough.
Very upsetting. And the lack of information makes planning impossible. It is all quite irresponsible. And saying that does not help.
I have no idea how you or anyone will manage this whole thing … except one minute at a time and under total stress.
The most churning part was seeing you recognize the tiny print indicating it may not be just the fall as on-line but the whole school year. Because I have thought for quite a while that was probable. That any other outcome would have required very different actions by SO many people in June… and that did not happen. For the last two months I have wondered why people think it will be different in fall 2021. Which is totally depressing to write.
Because at some level I assume anyone who is not wearing a mask (and/or is going to big group gatherings, or believes their need to open carry guns to church and grocery store means voting for this administration, or that their religion will protect them from the virus or take them to their spiritual heaven) will actually go to vote and will vote to continue the same administration.
I think LOTS of people who oppose continuing the current administration are going to think a change is a ‘done deal’ like they thought 4 years ago and will not vote, or will toss their vote as a protest against not having a perfect opposition candidate and the outcome will be….. Well. We saw the outcome in November 2016 and are living with it now. The current administration expects, based on lots of research, that they will win again.
Know when to expect your vote by mail ballot and when and where your local in person polling place is; consider volunteering to staff in person polling places in your area ~ one ‘reason’ for long lines is not enough volunteer staff to open more polling locations. If you vote by mail and you need postage on your ballot be certain to use enough and mail within 3 days of getting ballot…. at least 3 weeks prior to election date so the USPS slowdowns do not impact your ballot being counted. If your state lets you track your ballot’s processing ~ opt in.
VOTE. And, be certain your vote arrives and is counted.
It did not have to be this way in this country.
Have you considered enrolling your kids in your district so they get more live instruction? Or is that not a possibility at this point?
Keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will get through this. Twelve says will pass and then you will be on to something else. Think less. Take care of yourself.