4 ms·

I can't read the article since I don't have a subscription, but I wanted to share my experiences anyways. I have 3 boys, one each in elementary, junior high an

I can't read the article since I don't have a subscription, but I wanted to share my experiences anyways. I have 3 boys, one each in elementary, junior high and senior high. The remote learning experience has been dramatically different for each. Our school district has every student on Office 365, so we're in good shape technology-wise. The senior high student has been able to just go through his texts, work on the assignments, do the tests and continue on mostly as normal. He gets through an 8 hour school day and seems to be better for it at the end. The junior high-school student is having much more trouble. There is less material to study, and what there is is filler-heavy. He _maybe_ has 3 hours a day of actual work and is then at loose ends. I have been pulling more advanced material for him to work to keep up his education during allotted school hours, but he also doesn't have the more developed focus and discipline of his older brother. The elementary (grade 6, so almost junior high) student has the least amount of actual work. Maybe an hour a day from his teacher. He's lucky that his teacher is accommodating and allows him to e.g. document his progress to the mun through Kerbal in career mode for the space module they're doing instead of reading a few NASA pamphlets and being bored. The big takeaway I've had from this whole thing is that each student will only get as much out as they are willing (or forced) to put in. The opportunity to explore avenues of learning beyond and outside the established system is immense, and will probably grow some already latent educational gaps between kids. I have a feeling a lot of parents are throwing their kids at video games and youtube, or just ignoring them altogether, whether through lack of time and resources, or lack of interest.

vezycash 6y ago
What I draw from your experience is this: Without the proper foundations, self directed study and distance learning won't work. On the other hand, I feel it's too early to judge remote learning a failure because: The delivery method doesn't match the medium. A round peg in a square hole. Take my state for example where are classes being broadcast over the radio. It's horrible. * The teachers talk as if the students can see the board. * It's broadcasted live (big mistake). End up with lots of ems and uhms. * Science teachers quote formulas verbally - Formulas students would have trouble with even in person. Heck, the learning experience could be much better by just pointing students to khan academy.
- ghaff 6y ago
  >It's broadcasted live (big mistake). End up with lots of ems and uhms. On the other hand, expecting heavily edited presentations is probably not realistic. Heck, most presentations at company virtual events are pretty lightly edited. I record podcasts with people who are fairly senior and have a lot of experience speaking (and are considered good at it). I can still spend a couple hours cutting back on the the umms and you knows. And dealing with just audio is a lot harder than video.
Wowfunhappy 6y ago
This is more-or-less exactly what I would expect: the younger you are, the more in-person learning matters. At the extreme end of the spectrum, imagine attempting remote preschool for a toddler (or maybe you don't have to imagine it these days). It clearly wouldn't work! Adults are able to learn from mostly independent study. Teenagers are able to learn somewhat from independent study. Elementary school kids can maybe do some independent study, but not much. Unavailable parents are part of the problem—but another way to phrase that is, the parent isn't available to act as a teacher (albeit one heavily aided by online resources).
- poulsbohemian 6y ago
  >This is more-or-less exactly what I would expect: the younger you are, the more in-person learning matters. Yes, but I think there's something else more subtle happening - younger kids have a lot less to do. I originally wrote a long diatribe with lots of facts, but it comes down to this: programs like No Child Left Behind et al. have actually lowered standards, especially by decreasing the subjects encountered at younger ages. Things that might have been taught at that age in the past have been pushed up or out. On the other hand, re: in-person learning... watching my ten year old lap her class because she's on Khan Academy told me what I had long suspected: All of the academic things we are teaching at the early grades can be automated away. In fact, I'm fairly convinced she picked up the material better that way than the classroom approach because she had fewer distractions. So, yes - my high schooler is even more nominally self-sufficient than my younger kids, but I think it has more to do with the amount of material she has to cover rather than age or aptitude related.
known 6y ago
https://archive.vn/peiyp https://archive.vn/peiyp

vezycash 6y ago

What I draw from your experience is this: Without the proper foundations, self directed study and distance learning won't work. On the other hand, I feel it's too early to judge remote learning a failure because: The delivery method doesn't match the medium. A round peg in a square hole. Take my state for example where are classes being broadcast over the radio. It's horrible. * The teachers talk as if the students can see the board. * It's broadcasted live (big mistake). End up with lots of ems and uhms. * Science teachers quote formulas verbally - Formulas students would have trouble with even in person. Heck, the learning experience could be much better by just pointing students to khan academy.

ghaff 6y ago
>It's broadcasted live (big mistake). End up with lots of ems and uhms. On the other hand, expecting heavily edited presentations is probably not realistic. Heck, most presentations at company virtual events are pretty lightly edited. I record podcasts with people who are fairly senior and have a lot of experience speaking (and are considered good at it). I can still spend a couple hours cutting back on the the umms and you knows. And dealing with just audio is a lot harder than video.

Wowfunhappy 6y ago

This is more-or-less exactly what I would expect: the younger you are, the more in-person learning matters. At the extreme end of the spectrum, imagine attempting remote preschool for a toddler (or maybe you don't have to imagine it these days). It clearly wouldn't work! Adults are able to learn from mostly independent study. Teenagers are able to learn somewhat from independent study. Elementary school kids can maybe do some independent study, but not much. Unavailable parents are part of the problem—but another way to phrase that is, the parent isn't available to act as a teacher (albeit one heavily aided by online resources).

poulsbohemian 6y ago
>This is more-or-less exactly what I would expect: the younger you are, the more in-person learning matters. Yes, but I think there's something else more subtle happening - younger kids have a lot less to do. I originally wrote a long diatribe with lots of facts, but it comes down to this: programs like No Child Left Behind et al. have actually lowered standards, especially by decreasing the subjects encountered at younger ages. Things that might have been taught at that age in the past have been pushed up or out. On the other hand, re: in-person learning... watching my ten year old lap her class because she's on Khan Academy told me what I had long suspected: All of the academic things we are teaching at the early grades can be automated away. In fact, I'm fairly convinced she picked up the material better that way than the classroom approach because she had fewer distractions. So, yes - my high schooler is even more nominally self-sufficient than my younger kids, but I think it has more to do with the amount of material she has to cover rather than age or aptitude related.

known 6y ago

https://archive.vn/peiyp https://archive.vn/peiyp