These are responses to our callout for sharing experiences with virtual learning at home, from parents, students and teachers.
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“Virtual school is a nightmare. I have three kids who feel like they are failing after one week of school. Chrome books are crashing, websites won’t load, Zoom meetings freeze. Navigating all of that with them while trying to get any sort of work done on my part is impossible.”
-- Anonymous
“This is a nightmare. I don’t know if I can mentally hold up. I am juggling a full-time job and three kids in online school. Two are elementary age and need a lot of assistance throughout the day. Both my husband and I have to work in order to live. I’m not sure how long I can I take this before I break down. This is not okay! People are struggling! Does anyone care?”
-- Rhiannon
“I am a single mom working full time on the midnight shift and my two children (10th grade and 7th grade) are doing 100% virtual learning per the district’s choice. It is so hard to juggle helping both children at the same time. My children both have learning disabilities and do much better with in-class, face-to-face instruction rather than being stuck in front of a computer for their whole school day. One of my children also has type 1 diabetes and sometimes his blood sugars run low, requiring him to step away from his computer which in turn causes him to miss instruction. Also, now I am not getting adequate sleep because I am having to stay awake during the day to help the children and make sure they are staying on task and logging on to each class on time, it’s running me down and not making me a very good mother because I am exhausted the rest of the day. There has got to be a better solution.”
-- Dana
“My 2nd grader and kindergarten student would get more out of a grade appropriate workbook. Learning to take a selfie and ‘draw’ your family using a mouse are not life skills a 5 and 7-year-old need. We are failing our children.”
-- Holly
“This is really hard. I had to end up taking a leave at work because I was working 12 hours a day, six days a week. I cannot possibly be a support system for my child’s needs when working those kinds of hours. Now, only getting 66% of my pay is going to suck. It’s a catch 22, but my kid needs me the most. It is also difficult for us parents to assist our children with the work when we are not the teachers. Some kids are really struggling and need the extra help that they would get in a traditional classroom setting. You still have the P.O.S. parents that don’t care and their kids are going to be lost, and not succeed.”
-- Anonymous
How is virtual learning going? Let us know
Virtual learning is now well underway in many Michigan school districts.
We want to hear from parents and students about their experiences with this unprecedented situation. We’ve also received many comments from teachers who are double-timing as parents at home.
Please tell us how it’s going: