Mom Explains Why Her Son Won’t Be Participating In Virtual Classrooms And Is Done With The 1st Grade, Goes Viral
A renowned archaeologist recently went viral with a rant about remote education. Sarah Parcak, professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, addressed Twitter to tell all about her frustrations with the increasing demands on her and her husband after her son’s school closed and implemented virtual learning to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Parcak said the family is ditching traditional schooling, acknowledging that the pandemic has been putting huge stress on both the parents and their son. Continue scrolling to read about all the reasons why the little boy is done with the 1st grade and will be taking a break from homework.
More info: Twitter
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Education experts say Parcak might be on to something. According to Jon E. Pedersen, dean of the University of South Carolina College of Education, parents’ number one concern should now be the stress and anxiety that their kids are facing in a situation we haven’t experienced yet.
“Could this mean that there is a lag in their learning? Of course. But they will not be alone and most schools in the coming year will need to deal with the issue of what was ‘missed’ during this crisis,” Pedersen told TODAY Parents. “The academic aspects of learning can be made up. We can recover from this.”
However, the U.S. Department of Education warns there is some risk in opting out of distance learning, mainly, the possibility of a student having to repeat a grade.
“State and local authorities ultimately make the decision about student promotion, and in the meantime, we are extending all kinds of flexibilities and resources so that learning can continue,” a spokesperson for the department said. “We know that this is a challenging time for everyone.”
Some parents were taking the same route
Image credits: AlexinBos
Image credits: AlexinBos
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Describing the ways they will stimulate their kids’ curiosity
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But others disagreed
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Share on FacebookMe too. I may agree with her on some points (the importance of happiness and f*****g presidents to hell), but it basically reads like "My activities are way more important than taking care of my child".
Load More Replies...Um... you chose to have a child and the responsibilities that come with it. Also, sounds like the child is not the one unable to emotionally cope with the situation, but rather you are? Virtual school will not be detrimental to the child’s future Emotional well-being but The parent that is having a freakin meltdown over math problems most certainly will!
None of the screeds in the article express any kind of appreciation for TEACHERS and what they go through. Teachers have no template for this situation and are doing what they can.
Load More Replies...Maybe cut down on your workload instead? She's clearly choosing to work over educating her child.
And her garden. And 'managing' the cleaning which I infer to mean she has a housekeeper. Her kiddo's education shouldn't be secondary to all of her side projects.
Load More Replies...Such an American response. "We are better than ya'll" and "this is too hard, but at the same time too basic". I mean, not going to get through online school because you need to cook? If your child is so smart, it should not be such a problem to do it. I was once in first grade and did all my homework alone with no help from mom. At the same time, it's your child and school is anyway going to end sometime in May/June, so it's not a big deal to let them start summer vacation earlier, but to blame it on the teachers, schools, president? Kinda pretentios
The last comment(picture)says it all, just a virtue signaling self-absorbed mom. Yes it's hard, and no you don't have to do it, but as adults we kind of know already we are not obliged to do pretty much anything right?! You make your decisions and live with the consequences.
"I can't manage my kids and housework, so I'll blame for it anyone but myself".
What she also might not realize is that her child's teacher may be being told she has to do all of this to justify her continued paycheck. My friend teaches kindergarten and she's been sent a surplus of materials from the government that she's supposed to be sending to her students every day - even though most of it is exactly the kind of stuff she hates assigning students (worksheets, etc.) She's pushed back to her principal and is going to continue doing her own thing but she said she knows a lot of younger teachers who don't feel comfortable so are assigning the mandated work and are now getting a lot of grief from parents as a result.
This - I don't think people outside of education understand that teacher's curriculums and lesson plans and virtually everything they do in the classroom is now highly monitored and reported on and everything is converted to numbers all tied to complex funding formulas. And every bit of it comes from a three decade long pile on about "accountability". Mostly by people who want to do everything they can to not pay taxes.
Load More Replies...And you have a meltdown because your childs school actually goes to the effort to continue their education in "unusual times" - I am so tired of people a) thinking they homeschool because they are in lock down and they do class work at home, and b) people who find it so hard. YOU had the child, now is time to invest in them nd to show them that you do what you have to do to make a situation work. "I give up, F**k You" - great response, sure little Johnny will learn a lot, and who knows in 50 years time he might be president.
Okay, but you're asking all of these parents who have zero experience with teaching a 5-14 year old child to suddenly teach on a level comparable to their structured schooling. Teaching is hard, and is a vastly underappreciated profession, and a lot of these people are also trying to juggle suddenly working from home, having to deal with suddenly having however many family members at home ALL the time when they aren't usually... it's a lot for most people to cope with and adjust to, and no, not everyone's doing it right, but this woman certainly isn't doing it wrong.
Load More Replies...I don't understand why. Keeping yourself educated is extremely important and, for a first-grader, is not very hard at all. If she can't put any work into making sure her child doesn't fall behind, what kind of parent is she?! I think she can't bother to make sure her child is taken care of. Besides, if her first grader is up to par, they should be able to complete their schoolwork with little to no assistance (unless of course, there are other factors). I just, can't even deal with this idiot.
Sure, history is important and a good thing to know, but history doesn’t change. Math, on the other hand, which I hate doing, is still incredibly important. First grade is where you learn to add numbers together. I feel like those math worksheets adding 4+5 together are an acceptable workload. And she’s an archeologist, that’s great, that’s cool, but those artifacts have been buried there for 4000+ years, so they can wait another few months. Drop the dig and help your kid.
Load More Replies...I get it. You're an adult dealing with the stress of managing your work from home, and you're trying to keep it together. BUT... I'm an educator. Did you at all try to reach out and get home-schooling tools. No, you explicitly turned them down AND DENIGRATED THE PEOPLE OFFERING THEM!!! Get off your high horse, and parent up because you are not helping your child by pissing on their education or the educational system. If you had done this *ANY* other way than whining about how being a working parent is during a crisis and then ... nevermind. I'll fix your kid when they get to college.
I was homeschooled from 4th grade to junior year of high school. Honestly the best years of my life. It's ridiculous to say that kids can't learn without supervision. My mom worked from home, full time. She'd set up my work, and I'd do it. If I had questions, I could go to her. But everything was online, I had teachers I could ask, too, for help, and it was fantastic. It's not for everyone, but don't say it's impossible. You just have to reorganize a little and prioritize the child
Same! And my pretty unstructured homeschooling still let me get my GED at 15 and go into community college classes that same year. That was back in the early 00s, I imagine it's SO much better now, there are so many resources online for however people want to learn and whatever they want to learn about. People need to chill out.
Load More Replies...It's hard to school without Wi-Fi a printer etc. All those places to go for that are closed. My kids and I are homeless and living in our car. Staying healthy, fed, and alive to me is a much more higher priority.
Okay, but the second and third pics really come off wrong to me. The 2nd one is literally "me me me HIS HAPPINESS" The 3rd one... "We play with him a lot. We talk to him a lot." Does she want points for interacting with her kid like normal people do?
Who knows what she want? She's not responsible, sensible person and her son will suffer for it.
Load More Replies...I dgaf how much is on the parents's plate. Kid comes first as does their education. My daughter is definitely having a more challenging time with her online classes vs in school, but she's also maintaining her 4.8 because she is absolutely hell bent on an elite college for the fall of 2021. I will support her every step of the way. If she needs printer ink, I will order it. If she needs any particular supplies, I will get them. It's my job right now to give her the tools she needs to succeed.
I agree! I was struck by one of the responses within the article that "It won't work because we don't have a printer." Well, then buy a f***ing printer! They don't cost much any more, and your kid's education is a key part of your job as a parent.
Load More Replies...Just goes to prove how to many parents that school is just a baby sitter. Yet, I can imagine people like this saying many times, "I should just homeschool because I KNOW I can do it better than the state can". Yeah, right.
Thanks to all the educators who are trying to provide guidance and education -- they have no previous template for this.
Sounds like they just don't have time for their child normally and are unwilling to give up their projects to make time now...sounds like they are putting their own activities first. Maybe you can't take time of work but is the world gonna fall apart if you find someone else to manage your nonprofit, the gardening and have a sandwich for dinner and at least spend an hour or two a day on education?
The final argument is good, a child needs emotional support,but as other have mentioned too,there was no plan for this,teachers are also having a hard time with this too. On the other hand, I can't feel sorry for someone who choses to help many others, and in the mean time keep a ..virus tracking platform..? What the actual F*CK? This lady is having a serious breakdown,because of her own freakin' fault. She has a kid, does lot of voluntary work,to keep her mind off focus(from important-family,educational) things, keeps exact track of the virus and offers the numbers to others as well,to keep up the stress and fear. She should put the f*uck down the damn laptop and look into her child's eyes and BE THERE,not in a virtual world,not with some 'voluntary' communities. This is called victimising. She finds all the good reasons why she's miserable,when she produces the misery for herself.
.....and is harming her child in the process.
Load More Replies...As a teacher, this makes me absolutely crazy. I can't even tell you how hard my colleagues and I work to continue the education of our students. As Josiah Hawthorne mentions, some districts just keep piling it on. Teachers are between a rock and a hard spot....what are we supposed to do? But I have to say: Alexinbos's tweet is utter s**t. That "impossible" schedule has plenty of play time. It is also completely doable online only, a printer for everything my a**. The handwriting can be done on paper at home and uploaded as a photo to Google Classroom or Class Dojo. I have parents with no printer who do it, what's her problem? As for Sara Parcak, who started all this, I'd bet my bottom dollar that if her son is behind next year (and all kids will have a learning gap from this), it won't be her fault. It will be the fault of the educators, who didn't do enough. Where do I go to throw up?
Two parents can't give their son a little time to help him manage his education? And if school is so terrible why place him in such terrible system in the first place? And why is the kid so stressed? It's only a reflection of what they talk to him.
I would be surprised if their son wasn't stressed.
Load More Replies...This is so stupid. Don't put your child's learning on pause because his "happiness comes first." You're basically telling your child that it's okay not to go to school if he doesn't feel like it.
she acts like him knowing history is all that matters. we've actually talked about it in school that most people won't pursue a career that has something to do with history. also, she acts like math isn't important, and even though math is my favourite subject I still do it because I know it is one of the most important things even though I plan on going to veterinary school it's still very important. I'm currently doing online schooling and so is my brother who is in the first grade and he has literally no stress issues whatsoever and my parents almost never even have to get involved for what we're doing. this lady acts like her "cooking" and whatnot is way more important than her own child's education.
Math is the language of the universe. Everything is math. But let that entitled person keep on managing her non profit and the rest of her Very Important Life. Poor kid.
Load More Replies...It's help for your child to learn.. Normally most kids would be held back a year but instead got a free pass for a 5-6 month summer vacation. Excuses... No reason for them not to learn & educate them. It's sad otherwise 😢 ... Least have them "read" daily!!!
Trust me too, the teacher was well aware of this parent and her feelings of her child's education long before this melt down
After reading this list of screeds, I have one question: WHY SO COMBATIVE?
1st grade is not preschool. 1st grade is school, and it’s a lot more academic than the mom probably remembers it. It’s very possible for a child to get behind.
So in the greatest nation in the world schools don't offer children tablets and laptops to do their assignments? They don't have online courses where children answer the questions online without having to print loads of worksheets? Did they never implement IT? How sad.
When I think back on all the c**p I learned in my school, It's a wonder I can think at all, And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall
I am soooo happy to see so many comments here supporting what I immediately thought when I read her tirade. Her child obviously comes second in her life, and it seems that she just can't be bothered. My wife and I are both working long hours from home, and making sure that our kindergartener is attending his classes, reading books, and attending his on-line dance classes when scheduled. Parenting is hard, and doing a good job of it right now is even more challenging....I'm glad that we haven't thrown in the towel because something was difficult.
Sarah Percak wants a happy son, but she sounds miserable, and combative.
I am over 50 and I have very strong memories of my father spending time every night (after he worked a 10 hour day) helping me learn how to read. I did not learn to read in the class room. I learned through the one-on-one time that he gave me every night. I was in 1st grade and started on the lower end of the reading spectrum (due mostly to my shyness) and ended 1st grade at the most advanced reading level in my grade (and an avid reader to this day) The main thing I am pointing out is that not only do I remember those reading sessions with my father, I am grateful for the gift and the time that he shared with me (I did not appreciate it at the time...I wanted to watch T.V.)
As a teacher, this makes me absolutely crazy. I cannot even tell you how hard my colleagues and are working to make sure we are continuing to educate our classes. Along with really trying not to overwhelm kids or parents. But some districts mandate this or that, and teachers may not have a recourse to do anything different. AlexinBos can bite me, BTW. EVERY SINGLE item on that "impossible" schedule can be done. A printer is required, my a**. The handwriting can be done on paper at home if the kid knows what they are supposed to practice, and uploaded as a picture file to Class Dojo or Google Classroom. The parents of my Transitional Kindergarteners without printers have figured that out, what is his problem? As for the wench who started all this, sure she's okay with the attitude of "f**k school". I guarantee that she will be the first in to complain if her son is "behind" next year. And of course, it won't be her fault, either. It will be that kind, caring teacher's.
On the other hand, the schools are trying to work something out after being hit with an unexpected, deadly pandemic with little notice. You, on the other hand, seem to be saying that teaching your child--he is your child, not the school's--is just too much for you. That's an interesting lesson that you're teaching him: don't cooperate--just whine about how it's too much for poor, little you.
Hoping the kids don't realize what a horrible burden they are to their parents -- and hoping these parents grow some appreciation for teachers.
But it's just the 1st grade, don't know if children nowadays learn chinese, but at this age I learned how to cut out a tree, how to sing, basic math and basic writing lessons. It wasn't rocket science, it was fun!
Well don't blame teachers. This is the result of three decades of increasing demands for "accountability". Teachers have no choice but to deliver these detailed and comprehensive plans to their local and state administrators and do their best to teach them to. Otherwise they'll get fired. Teachers in the US have exhausting lists of subjects they must cover and endless paperwork to report on the progress. Literally everything they do is reduced to numbers all tied to funding and compensation formulas.
Gregg Long, do you realize that even children from poor third world countries score higher than American kids?
Load More Replies...Ok. Don’t do it. If you don’t want. Those learning opportunities provided are great. They’re valuable and essential. However, the learning opportunities teachers are providing -with NO materials- because they can’t back into school buildings- are still valuable. It sounds like there is frustration all around.but there is no need to insult teachers who are doing their very best in impossible circumstance. It’s not F word worthy in my opinion.
For this to have functioned properly, we need to ditch the idea of a classroom. It is not conducive to remote learning and puts too much pressure on parents who are not prepared to take on teaching duties. Most of my kids courses are online and available on their own schedule. I either get notification of completion or they can provide me with proof of completion. I'm here to answer questions and provide guidance just as any parent can be for homework. The major difference is we chose to homeschool and we choose how we homeschool. The idea of a strict schedule and a classroom setting doesn't work for us and it's not going to work for a lot of people in a home setting. School systems need to focus on task completion rather than a classroom structure and making instructors available to students who need additional assistance. For most students, reading or watching material and doing are enough. There is no need for lectures or classrooms on strict schedules.
My siblings and I were "homeschooled" until highschool. By that, I mean that my parents told the government that we were doing well in all subjects and were in the correct grades. In actuality, we were unschooled and learned things in our own way. I am now in high school with straight A's and 4.4 GPA. My two elder brothers got similar grades and I am sure my sister will when she starts high school this year. I don't have anything to say about homeschooling because I have never experienced that but unschooling works perfectly for the right families. I am not saying that it works for everyone, just that I loved my experience and I know my family is closer because of it.
Well, I was actually homeschooled for 6th-10th grade at which point I graduated high school and went onto to community college where I graduated with honors before transferring to a university. Homeschooling isn't actually that hard for the student to adapt to, it's harder on the parent.
Load More Replies...My mom has been helping my little brother with his homework ever since this whole thing started and she hasn't complained once. This is after coming home from work, so this can do the schoolwork with her kid. She is putting herself before the kid.
This woman is the renowned professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama? Why does she expresses herself like a "trash"? What is wrong with people?
The internets now know that Sarah Parcak's son gets in the way of her "important work."
I agree with Seal2. Kind of just a rant founded in frustration and fear. Her kid will probably be fine, but she? LOL She is going to end up day drinking in an American Flag bikini in her driveway yelling at all that pass "f**k trump!" I cannot imagine going "viral" in the days of a real virus where all you are doing is quitting on your kid.
I agree with her. Her kid is lucky AF, and I feel like the people who disagree need the perspective of someone actually in school to understand. I'm being sent work from school to do at home, and have a tutor who emails work, and it's very different from the work I did in school. I'm struggling a lot with the work, especially english and maths, and spent a whole day doing maths because I kept getting 0%, and I had an argument with my parents because I was struggling to get paragraphs from what could be written as just "yes". You might think I'm just dumb, but I'm in the high-level classes and got the highest score in the class for my science exam. Homeschool work is hard, and there's already enough stress as it is without needing to add more to it. I'm probably going to get downvoted for this, but I need to make my point.
I agree with this woman, which it looks like a lot of people don't. I was homeschooled after a disastrous 3rd grade year, and while I did do a lot of work from handmedown textbooks, I also just played a lot of educational or even semi-educational computer games, learned how to cook and bake and rewire a lamp and install a new toilet, and all sorts of other things. If we went to the zoo, that was my "school" for the day, because I learned something, my brain was active, and I had fun. Once I was older and we'd moved, we hooked up with an amazing group of other homeschoolers who had a writing group, did field trips to various cool places, and got me into D&D. So much in life can be a learning experience, and knowledge is more than worksheets and tests. I've learned more since I finished school than I did the entire time I was in school, whether it was organized or at home or at community college, just from reading about things that interest me online. Everyone needs to chill out.
Thanks, whoever downvoted me. Glad to know you disagree!
Load More Replies...Holy $&^! The kindergartner's curriculum?! Holy carpfish! If you think that's a reasonable curriculum for a kindergartner, you probably don't have young kids!
I agree. One of our teachers, we ( the whole 6th grade), think that she is a sadist. We believe that she adds more and more work because she gets pleasure from watching us fail. Here is an example: We had a big unit test and we weren't told about it until the day before. Guess what the class average was? 69%. I had an 80% because I stayed up until 11:00 at night studying for the test. I can handle the work well, but my younger brothers, ages 9 and 7, cannot. It appears to be really stressful for them, and my parents too. My mom rants at us,"THEY CANNOT KEEP ASSIGNING MORE AND MORE WORK! WE ACTUALLY HAVE LIVES OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL WORK."
Lol these comments crack me up... her idea, awesome, her execution? Crappy. Listen... To the ones that said "her job as an archaeologist isn't important" Yes the artifacts have been there for eons and will continue to be... but funding won't THAT is why it's important, there's expiration dates on all that stuff. Second, To those stating "You had a kid, deal with it and the responsibilities...." The law (Where I live) states I HAVE to provide BASIC needs, (Clothing, Shelter, Food) No where does it say we have to home school. I NEVER signed up for home schooling either. If I WANTED to home school my kids would've been FRIGGIN home schooled! That simple. Wanna know why I didn't choose that? Because I don't have the patience, hence why I am not a school teacher. So guess what? If juggling home schooling and a job is too much on their plates I totally agree! Luckily all of mine are of high school age so they can do this on their own and prefer it. But littles, the struggle is real
wtf is wrong with you? You're trying to kill people?
Load More Replies...Me too. I may agree with her on some points (the importance of happiness and f*****g presidents to hell), but it basically reads like "My activities are way more important than taking care of my child".
Load More Replies...Um... you chose to have a child and the responsibilities that come with it. Also, sounds like the child is not the one unable to emotionally cope with the situation, but rather you are? Virtual school will not be detrimental to the child’s future Emotional well-being but The parent that is having a freakin meltdown over math problems most certainly will!
None of the screeds in the article express any kind of appreciation for TEACHERS and what they go through. Teachers have no template for this situation and are doing what they can.
Load More Replies...Maybe cut down on your workload instead? She's clearly choosing to work over educating her child.
And her garden. And 'managing' the cleaning which I infer to mean she has a housekeeper. Her kiddo's education shouldn't be secondary to all of her side projects.
Load More Replies...Such an American response. "We are better than ya'll" and "this is too hard, but at the same time too basic". I mean, not going to get through online school because you need to cook? If your child is so smart, it should not be such a problem to do it. I was once in first grade and did all my homework alone with no help from mom. At the same time, it's your child and school is anyway going to end sometime in May/June, so it's not a big deal to let them start summer vacation earlier, but to blame it on the teachers, schools, president? Kinda pretentios
The last comment(picture)says it all, just a virtue signaling self-absorbed mom. Yes it's hard, and no you don't have to do it, but as adults we kind of know already we are not obliged to do pretty much anything right?! You make your decisions and live with the consequences.
"I can't manage my kids and housework, so I'll blame for it anyone but myself".
What she also might not realize is that her child's teacher may be being told she has to do all of this to justify her continued paycheck. My friend teaches kindergarten and she's been sent a surplus of materials from the government that she's supposed to be sending to her students every day - even though most of it is exactly the kind of stuff she hates assigning students (worksheets, etc.) She's pushed back to her principal and is going to continue doing her own thing but she said she knows a lot of younger teachers who don't feel comfortable so are assigning the mandated work and are now getting a lot of grief from parents as a result.
This - I don't think people outside of education understand that teacher's curriculums and lesson plans and virtually everything they do in the classroom is now highly monitored and reported on and everything is converted to numbers all tied to complex funding formulas. And every bit of it comes from a three decade long pile on about "accountability". Mostly by people who want to do everything they can to not pay taxes.
Load More Replies...And you have a meltdown because your childs school actually goes to the effort to continue their education in "unusual times" - I am so tired of people a) thinking they homeschool because they are in lock down and they do class work at home, and b) people who find it so hard. YOU had the child, now is time to invest in them nd to show them that you do what you have to do to make a situation work. "I give up, F**k You" - great response, sure little Johnny will learn a lot, and who knows in 50 years time he might be president.
Okay, but you're asking all of these parents who have zero experience with teaching a 5-14 year old child to suddenly teach on a level comparable to their structured schooling. Teaching is hard, and is a vastly underappreciated profession, and a lot of these people are also trying to juggle suddenly working from home, having to deal with suddenly having however many family members at home ALL the time when they aren't usually... it's a lot for most people to cope with and adjust to, and no, not everyone's doing it right, but this woman certainly isn't doing it wrong.
Load More Replies...I don't understand why. Keeping yourself educated is extremely important and, for a first-grader, is not very hard at all. If she can't put any work into making sure her child doesn't fall behind, what kind of parent is she?! I think she can't bother to make sure her child is taken care of. Besides, if her first grader is up to par, they should be able to complete their schoolwork with little to no assistance (unless of course, there are other factors). I just, can't even deal with this idiot.
Sure, history is important and a good thing to know, but history doesn’t change. Math, on the other hand, which I hate doing, is still incredibly important. First grade is where you learn to add numbers together. I feel like those math worksheets adding 4+5 together are an acceptable workload. And she’s an archeologist, that’s great, that’s cool, but those artifacts have been buried there for 4000+ years, so they can wait another few months. Drop the dig and help your kid.
Load More Replies...I get it. You're an adult dealing with the stress of managing your work from home, and you're trying to keep it together. BUT... I'm an educator. Did you at all try to reach out and get home-schooling tools. No, you explicitly turned them down AND DENIGRATED THE PEOPLE OFFERING THEM!!! Get off your high horse, and parent up because you are not helping your child by pissing on their education or the educational system. If you had done this *ANY* other way than whining about how being a working parent is during a crisis and then ... nevermind. I'll fix your kid when they get to college.
I was homeschooled from 4th grade to junior year of high school. Honestly the best years of my life. It's ridiculous to say that kids can't learn without supervision. My mom worked from home, full time. She'd set up my work, and I'd do it. If I had questions, I could go to her. But everything was online, I had teachers I could ask, too, for help, and it was fantastic. It's not for everyone, but don't say it's impossible. You just have to reorganize a little and prioritize the child
Same! And my pretty unstructured homeschooling still let me get my GED at 15 and go into community college classes that same year. That was back in the early 00s, I imagine it's SO much better now, there are so many resources online for however people want to learn and whatever they want to learn about. People need to chill out.
Load More Replies...It's hard to school without Wi-Fi a printer etc. All those places to go for that are closed. My kids and I are homeless and living in our car. Staying healthy, fed, and alive to me is a much more higher priority.
Okay, but the second and third pics really come off wrong to me. The 2nd one is literally "me me me HIS HAPPINESS" The 3rd one... "We play with him a lot. We talk to him a lot." Does she want points for interacting with her kid like normal people do?
Who knows what she want? She's not responsible, sensible person and her son will suffer for it.
Load More Replies...I dgaf how much is on the parents's plate. Kid comes first as does their education. My daughter is definitely having a more challenging time with her online classes vs in school, but she's also maintaining her 4.8 because she is absolutely hell bent on an elite college for the fall of 2021. I will support her every step of the way. If she needs printer ink, I will order it. If she needs any particular supplies, I will get them. It's my job right now to give her the tools she needs to succeed.
I agree! I was struck by one of the responses within the article that "It won't work because we don't have a printer." Well, then buy a f***ing printer! They don't cost much any more, and your kid's education is a key part of your job as a parent.
Load More Replies...Just goes to prove how to many parents that school is just a baby sitter. Yet, I can imagine people like this saying many times, "I should just homeschool because I KNOW I can do it better than the state can". Yeah, right.
Thanks to all the educators who are trying to provide guidance and education -- they have no previous template for this.
Sounds like they just don't have time for their child normally and are unwilling to give up their projects to make time now...sounds like they are putting their own activities first. Maybe you can't take time of work but is the world gonna fall apart if you find someone else to manage your nonprofit, the gardening and have a sandwich for dinner and at least spend an hour or two a day on education?
The final argument is good, a child needs emotional support,but as other have mentioned too,there was no plan for this,teachers are also having a hard time with this too. On the other hand, I can't feel sorry for someone who choses to help many others, and in the mean time keep a ..virus tracking platform..? What the actual F*CK? This lady is having a serious breakdown,because of her own freakin' fault. She has a kid, does lot of voluntary work,to keep her mind off focus(from important-family,educational) things, keeps exact track of the virus and offers the numbers to others as well,to keep up the stress and fear. She should put the f*uck down the damn laptop and look into her child's eyes and BE THERE,not in a virtual world,not with some 'voluntary' communities. This is called victimising. She finds all the good reasons why she's miserable,when she produces the misery for herself.
.....and is harming her child in the process.
Load More Replies...As a teacher, this makes me absolutely crazy. I can't even tell you how hard my colleagues and I work to continue the education of our students. As Josiah Hawthorne mentions, some districts just keep piling it on. Teachers are between a rock and a hard spot....what are we supposed to do? But I have to say: Alexinbos's tweet is utter s**t. That "impossible" schedule has plenty of play time. It is also completely doable online only, a printer for everything my a**. The handwriting can be done on paper at home and uploaded as a photo to Google Classroom or Class Dojo. I have parents with no printer who do it, what's her problem? As for Sara Parcak, who started all this, I'd bet my bottom dollar that if her son is behind next year (and all kids will have a learning gap from this), it won't be her fault. It will be the fault of the educators, who didn't do enough. Where do I go to throw up?
Two parents can't give their son a little time to help him manage his education? And if school is so terrible why place him in such terrible system in the first place? And why is the kid so stressed? It's only a reflection of what they talk to him.
I would be surprised if their son wasn't stressed.
Load More Replies...This is so stupid. Don't put your child's learning on pause because his "happiness comes first." You're basically telling your child that it's okay not to go to school if he doesn't feel like it.
she acts like him knowing history is all that matters. we've actually talked about it in school that most people won't pursue a career that has something to do with history. also, she acts like math isn't important, and even though math is my favourite subject I still do it because I know it is one of the most important things even though I plan on going to veterinary school it's still very important. I'm currently doing online schooling and so is my brother who is in the first grade and he has literally no stress issues whatsoever and my parents almost never even have to get involved for what we're doing. this lady acts like her "cooking" and whatnot is way more important than her own child's education.
Math is the language of the universe. Everything is math. But let that entitled person keep on managing her non profit and the rest of her Very Important Life. Poor kid.
Load More Replies...It's help for your child to learn.. Normally most kids would be held back a year but instead got a free pass for a 5-6 month summer vacation. Excuses... No reason for them not to learn & educate them. It's sad otherwise 😢 ... Least have them "read" daily!!!
Trust me too, the teacher was well aware of this parent and her feelings of her child's education long before this melt down
After reading this list of screeds, I have one question: WHY SO COMBATIVE?
1st grade is not preschool. 1st grade is school, and it’s a lot more academic than the mom probably remembers it. It’s very possible for a child to get behind.
So in the greatest nation in the world schools don't offer children tablets and laptops to do their assignments? They don't have online courses where children answer the questions online without having to print loads of worksheets? Did they never implement IT? How sad.
When I think back on all the c**p I learned in my school, It's a wonder I can think at all, And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall
I am soooo happy to see so many comments here supporting what I immediately thought when I read her tirade. Her child obviously comes second in her life, and it seems that she just can't be bothered. My wife and I are both working long hours from home, and making sure that our kindergartener is attending his classes, reading books, and attending his on-line dance classes when scheduled. Parenting is hard, and doing a good job of it right now is even more challenging....I'm glad that we haven't thrown in the towel because something was difficult.
Sarah Percak wants a happy son, but she sounds miserable, and combative.
I am over 50 and I have very strong memories of my father spending time every night (after he worked a 10 hour day) helping me learn how to read. I did not learn to read in the class room. I learned through the one-on-one time that he gave me every night. I was in 1st grade and started on the lower end of the reading spectrum (due mostly to my shyness) and ended 1st grade at the most advanced reading level in my grade (and an avid reader to this day) The main thing I am pointing out is that not only do I remember those reading sessions with my father, I am grateful for the gift and the time that he shared with me (I did not appreciate it at the time...I wanted to watch T.V.)
As a teacher, this makes me absolutely crazy. I cannot even tell you how hard my colleagues and are working to make sure we are continuing to educate our classes. Along with really trying not to overwhelm kids or parents. But some districts mandate this or that, and teachers may not have a recourse to do anything different. AlexinBos can bite me, BTW. EVERY SINGLE item on that "impossible" schedule can be done. A printer is required, my a**. The handwriting can be done on paper at home if the kid knows what they are supposed to practice, and uploaded as a picture file to Class Dojo or Google Classroom. The parents of my Transitional Kindergarteners without printers have figured that out, what is his problem? As for the wench who started all this, sure she's okay with the attitude of "f**k school". I guarantee that she will be the first in to complain if her son is "behind" next year. And of course, it won't be her fault, either. It will be that kind, caring teacher's.
On the other hand, the schools are trying to work something out after being hit with an unexpected, deadly pandemic with little notice. You, on the other hand, seem to be saying that teaching your child--he is your child, not the school's--is just too much for you. That's an interesting lesson that you're teaching him: don't cooperate--just whine about how it's too much for poor, little you.
Hoping the kids don't realize what a horrible burden they are to their parents -- and hoping these parents grow some appreciation for teachers.
But it's just the 1st grade, don't know if children nowadays learn chinese, but at this age I learned how to cut out a tree, how to sing, basic math and basic writing lessons. It wasn't rocket science, it was fun!
Well don't blame teachers. This is the result of three decades of increasing demands for "accountability". Teachers have no choice but to deliver these detailed and comprehensive plans to their local and state administrators and do their best to teach them to. Otherwise they'll get fired. Teachers in the US have exhausting lists of subjects they must cover and endless paperwork to report on the progress. Literally everything they do is reduced to numbers all tied to funding and compensation formulas.
Gregg Long, do you realize that even children from poor third world countries score higher than American kids?
Load More Replies...Ok. Don’t do it. If you don’t want. Those learning opportunities provided are great. They’re valuable and essential. However, the learning opportunities teachers are providing -with NO materials- because they can’t back into school buildings- are still valuable. It sounds like there is frustration all around.but there is no need to insult teachers who are doing their very best in impossible circumstance. It’s not F word worthy in my opinion.
For this to have functioned properly, we need to ditch the idea of a classroom. It is not conducive to remote learning and puts too much pressure on parents who are not prepared to take on teaching duties. Most of my kids courses are online and available on their own schedule. I either get notification of completion or they can provide me with proof of completion. I'm here to answer questions and provide guidance just as any parent can be for homework. The major difference is we chose to homeschool and we choose how we homeschool. The idea of a strict schedule and a classroom setting doesn't work for us and it's not going to work for a lot of people in a home setting. School systems need to focus on task completion rather than a classroom structure and making instructors available to students who need additional assistance. For most students, reading or watching material and doing are enough. There is no need for lectures or classrooms on strict schedules.
My siblings and I were "homeschooled" until highschool. By that, I mean that my parents told the government that we were doing well in all subjects and were in the correct grades. In actuality, we were unschooled and learned things in our own way. I am now in high school with straight A's and 4.4 GPA. My two elder brothers got similar grades and I am sure my sister will when she starts high school this year. I don't have anything to say about homeschooling because I have never experienced that but unschooling works perfectly for the right families. I am not saying that it works for everyone, just that I loved my experience and I know my family is closer because of it.
Well, I was actually homeschooled for 6th-10th grade at which point I graduated high school and went onto to community college where I graduated with honors before transferring to a university. Homeschooling isn't actually that hard for the student to adapt to, it's harder on the parent.
Load More Replies...My mom has been helping my little brother with his homework ever since this whole thing started and she hasn't complained once. This is after coming home from work, so this can do the schoolwork with her kid. She is putting herself before the kid.
This woman is the renowned professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama? Why does she expresses herself like a "trash"? What is wrong with people?
The internets now know that Sarah Parcak's son gets in the way of her "important work."
I agree with Seal2. Kind of just a rant founded in frustration and fear. Her kid will probably be fine, but she? LOL She is going to end up day drinking in an American Flag bikini in her driveway yelling at all that pass "f**k trump!" I cannot imagine going "viral" in the days of a real virus where all you are doing is quitting on your kid.
I agree with her. Her kid is lucky AF, and I feel like the people who disagree need the perspective of someone actually in school to understand. I'm being sent work from school to do at home, and have a tutor who emails work, and it's very different from the work I did in school. I'm struggling a lot with the work, especially english and maths, and spent a whole day doing maths because I kept getting 0%, and I had an argument with my parents because I was struggling to get paragraphs from what could be written as just "yes". You might think I'm just dumb, but I'm in the high-level classes and got the highest score in the class for my science exam. Homeschool work is hard, and there's already enough stress as it is without needing to add more to it. I'm probably going to get downvoted for this, but I need to make my point.
I agree with this woman, which it looks like a lot of people don't. I was homeschooled after a disastrous 3rd grade year, and while I did do a lot of work from handmedown textbooks, I also just played a lot of educational or even semi-educational computer games, learned how to cook and bake and rewire a lamp and install a new toilet, and all sorts of other things. If we went to the zoo, that was my "school" for the day, because I learned something, my brain was active, and I had fun. Once I was older and we'd moved, we hooked up with an amazing group of other homeschoolers who had a writing group, did field trips to various cool places, and got me into D&D. So much in life can be a learning experience, and knowledge is more than worksheets and tests. I've learned more since I finished school than I did the entire time I was in school, whether it was organized or at home or at community college, just from reading about things that interest me online. Everyone needs to chill out.
Thanks, whoever downvoted me. Glad to know you disagree!
Load More Replies...Holy $&^! The kindergartner's curriculum?! Holy carpfish! If you think that's a reasonable curriculum for a kindergartner, you probably don't have young kids!
I agree. One of our teachers, we ( the whole 6th grade), think that she is a sadist. We believe that she adds more and more work because she gets pleasure from watching us fail. Here is an example: We had a big unit test and we weren't told about it until the day before. Guess what the class average was? 69%. I had an 80% because I stayed up until 11:00 at night studying for the test. I can handle the work well, but my younger brothers, ages 9 and 7, cannot. It appears to be really stressful for them, and my parents too. My mom rants at us,"THEY CANNOT KEEP ASSIGNING MORE AND MORE WORK! WE ACTUALLY HAVE LIVES OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL WORK."
Lol these comments crack me up... her idea, awesome, her execution? Crappy. Listen... To the ones that said "her job as an archaeologist isn't important" Yes the artifacts have been there for eons and will continue to be... but funding won't THAT is why it's important, there's expiration dates on all that stuff. Second, To those stating "You had a kid, deal with it and the responsibilities...." The law (Where I live) states I HAVE to provide BASIC needs, (Clothing, Shelter, Food) No where does it say we have to home school. I NEVER signed up for home schooling either. If I WANTED to home school my kids would've been FRIGGIN home schooled! That simple. Wanna know why I didn't choose that? Because I don't have the patience, hence why I am not a school teacher. So guess what? If juggling home schooling and a job is too much on their plates I totally agree! Luckily all of mine are of high school age so they can do this on their own and prefer it. But littles, the struggle is real
wtf is wrong with you? You're trying to kill people?
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