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So we're optimizing for parents and their childcare needs. It always seemed to me that childcare was a separate but intersectional problem and we do a disservic

So we're optimizing for parents and their childcare needs. It always seemed to me that childcare was a separate but intersectional problem and we do a disservice to our students by confusing it as the same problem. Also China feels like a very poor comparison target as a westerner

a20201220 6y ago
Childcare and education are not the same, but for working parents the intersection is massive and unavoidable. My question, phrased differently: given a scenario where both parents are away at work for 9 hours per day, and school is 6 hours per day, are the remaining 3 hours not in school more enriching for children than time in school?
- tangjurine 6y ago
  Maybe it's better for students to have 2 hours of instruction and then 6 hours of studying with peers/clubs/etc than 8 hours of traditional schooling.
watwut 6y ago
School where my kids are is doing lessons before lunch and then kids play for hours till parents come. It is absolutely awesome that mothers are able to work. Not just on terms of having money and independence, but also in terms of not having own ego completely dependent on kids. And especially when dad is death or absent, it makes super massive difference.
Viliam1234 6y ago
> we do a disservice to our students by confusing it as the same problem Absolutely. The simplest approach is to specify some hours for learning, starting at 9 AM, ending somewhere between 2PM and 5 PM depending on age. However, the school provides optional childcare starting at 6 AM and ending at 6 PM, where the parents can bring/take their child at any moment. So parents bring their kids to the playground whenever is most convenient for them; at 9 AM all kids are sent to classes; after classes kids are sent to playground again; and then parents pick them up whenever is most convenient for them. When I see schools that try to implement this, the greatest mistake is when they insist that the morning and evening childcare needs to be provided by the same teachers who provide the education. And the teachers of course object, not only because this reduces their status from providers of knowledge to mere babysitters, but also because they want to be with their families. (Then the school says "dear parents, we honestly tried, but the teachers are uncooperative".) Instead, the school should hire extra babysitters for those morning and evening hours. For example, retired teachers would probably welcome the possibility to make little extra money in the mornings or evenings, in a familiar environment. The babysitters can be fewer than teachers, because there is no need to separate kids by grades. For example, you could start with one babysitter at 6 AM, joined by another one or two at 7 AM, perhaps joined by a volunteer teacher at 8 AM; and then at 9 AM the babysitting is over. Similarly in the afternoon.

a20201220 6y ago

Childcare and education are not the same, but for working parents the intersection is massive and unavoidable. My question, phrased differently: given a scenario where both parents are away at work for 9 hours per day, and school is 6 hours per day, are the remaining 3 hours not in school more enriching for children than time in school?

tangjurine 6y ago
Maybe it's better for students to have 2 hours of instruction and then 6 hours of studying with peers/clubs/etc than 8 hours of traditional schooling.

watwut 6y ago

School where my kids are is doing lessons before lunch and then kids play for hours till parents come. It is absolutely awesome that mothers are able to work. Not just on terms of having money and independence, but also in terms of not having own ego completely dependent on kids. And especially when dad is death or absent, it makes super massive difference.

Viliam1234 6y ago

> we do a disservice to our students by confusing it as the same problem Absolutely. The simplest approach is to specify some hours for learning, starting at 9 AM, ending somewhere between 2PM and 5 PM depending on age. However, the school provides optional childcare starting at 6 AM and ending at 6 PM, where the parents can bring/take their child at any moment. So parents bring their kids to the playground whenever is most convenient for them; at 9 AM all kids are sent to classes; after classes kids are sent to playground again; and then parents pick them up whenever is most convenient for them. When I see schools that try to implement this, the greatest mistake is when they insist that the morning and evening childcare needs to be provided by the same teachers who provide the education. And the teachers of course object, not only because this reduces their status from providers of knowledge to mere babysitters, but also because they want to be with their families. (Then the school says "dear parents, we honestly tried, but the teachers are uncooperative".) Instead, the school should hire extra babysitters for those morning and evening hours. For example, retired teachers would probably welcome the possibility to make little extra money in the mornings or evenings, in a familiar environment. The babysitters can be fewer than teachers, because there is no need to separate kids by grades. For example, you could start with one babysitter at 6 AM, joined by another one or two at 7 AM, perhaps joined by a volunteer teacher at 8 AM; and then at 9 AM the babysitting is over. Similarly in the afternoon.