how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Homeschooling started Monday and i'm already over it!

Last week our teachers posted the social studies and science assignments for the week. This was great because we slowly did it over the weekend. I emailed them this week to ask if same thing would be happening this week because it worked really well and with all the work the kids were doing daily it gave us a chance to get ahead. I got a rather aggressive email back telling me it was an accident and it will not happen again. They also explained they expect them to do the regular six hours of instruction daily as if they were in school! (not willing to compromise, not understanding remote learning is VERY different than regular school, not caring about the mental strain on the kids and parents with the amount of work they are giving)

today, we get another email basically telling us that even though they have an ELA assignment daily, only 2 out of the 5 will actually be graded. (after the first email, this basically says to me we don't have time to grade all your assignments so we're not going to bother but we're still going to make you do them so enjoy the busy work)

it's day 3. my son is stressed out, hates the technology, gets frustrated because it doesn't loge his work and he has to re-do it, is anxious every time he sees his to-do list.
I am starting to burn out. i basically have to spend all day sitting next to him and keeping him on track to get the work done. Even then it takes us from 9 to 3 to complete everything with no breaks. Next week, with an extra class added daily, we'll be working until 4 pm at least.
this is not sustainable. we can't handle another 3 months of this.
Do i try talking to the teacher's again? (that first email basically said we're doing it this way there's no discussion or compromise)
Do I send an email to the parent coordinator?
Do i go straight to the principal?

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

What grade is he in and how many assignments each day? My Dd’s teachers post new work every day (M-F) and need to be completed that day.

Message edited 3/25/2020 2:16:50 PM.

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

That sounds crazy. My two oldest are doing remote learning, we just finished day 8. They are in 3rd & 1st. Each night, the teacher posts the assignments for the next day, complete with videos of the teachers giving lessons, and then some sheets to print out. They also have all of their books- we had to pick everything up the Monday after school closed. (the 15th)
Even with all of that, it is not the length of a normal school day. We start at 9, and break from 12-1 for lunch & recess. Yesterday we finished at 3, but today we finished at 1:15. It really depends on the day. But what you are describing sounds insane!

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

That is insane!! There is no way I would be able to keep on top of my DD for a 6 hour school day with me working from home FT through all this. What do these teachers expect?

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

that is definitely crazy!!! we're finishing up week 2 of "distance learning"- i have a kindergartener and 3rd grader. our district said that they are treating it like half days basically. kindergarten "day" is from 8:30-11:30 (thats when teachers are online and available to answer questions right away) and for other grades is 8:30-12:30. They stressed that the work DOESN"T need to be done in that time- do it whenever it works for your families schedule in all this craziness. but those are the hours that the teachers are expected to be right at their computers to interact/ answer questions, etc.
My kindergartener has had maybe about 90 minutes of work everyday- but thats with him being TOTALLY distractible and taking FOREVER to write a 5 word sentence with a period HAHAHA
My 3rd grader has been ROCKING Google Classroom- his teacher puts a lot of stuff up there everyday- but its not too overwhelming. hes usually done by lunchtime. so he works on it from 9-12:30 or so. For the most part, hes independent with it. but like you i definitely have to be sitting there the whole time just to make sure he stays on track. otherwise, i come back to find him playing or he starts arguing with his little brother or whatever LOL
The whole thing is tough enough-- i don't think schools should be expecting a full school days worth of work from the kids everyday!!! i mean, parents need to work, too!!! its not humanly possibly to do a full day of work, AND a full day of school with your kid!! I would definitely email the principal or whoever you can and talk to them. And also talk to any other parents you know, too. IF they are having the same issues, there will be strength in numbers if you all "voice your concerns". Good luck!!!!!

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

We have been doing distance learning for two weeks. At first it was about two to three hours, which was not bad, but now it is from nine am to three pm daily. They are slowly adding in zoom classes, and google hangout classes. I have to sit next to our daughter and my husband sits next to our son. Work is now starting at quarter to 8 am and can go until midnight every day because my husband is essential on both business continuity and covid responses for the HR of an essential service provider in the US. It is just insane and my husband is so stressed.

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

I would email the principal and voice your concerns. I think having kids do work from 8 am-3 pm is excessive.

I teach HS science. I see my kids anywhere from 160-240 minutes per week. I am assigning them 40-60 minutes of work per week on Monday and it is not due until Sunday evening. Many of my students probably finish it in 30 minutes or less. I am also accepting things late with no penalty. I have no idea what any of their home lives are like currently. Some students have parents who have lost jobs. A lot of my students have parents who are essential so they are watching their younger siblings probably trying to help them do work. Others might be sick or have family member who are sick. Also an assignment that might take us 40 minutes total in class is probably taking way longer at home.

My son is in K and we are not really getting any formal work for him. Everyday, we do 15 minutes of sight words, 15 minutes of tapping it out, 15 minutes of writing, and 15 minutes of math. We also read to him daily. At this point, i am just trying to make it so he doesn't regress too much.

ETA: My district is not letting us count any of this work towards their grade. It is only for formative assessment and to continue them thinking about the material. Most districts are going to run into the problem that this instruction is NOT equitable and therefore whatever they are grading doesn't count. There is no way to ensure that all accommodations are met or that all students have reliable access to a computer and/or internet.

Message edited 3/26/2020 7:59:34 AM.

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Found the letter from our Superintendent
(We don't start any distance learning until Monday)

Secondary classes (Grades 6-12), may require the submission of up to two student assignments per week. We will be mindful of the amount of work being assigned to our students as we all adjust to distance learning.

Due to the nature of elementary assignments, elementary work will not be graded at this time. Our focus is the acquisition of skills and content at this level.


Elementary (K-5) – Students can expect 1 lesson per day for reading and math
Elementary (K-5) for Specials (gym art, etc) – Students can expect 1 lesson per week

There will not be a set time for students to logon and complete the work. This will provide an opportunity for families with more than one child and only one or two computers to create a schedule to allow all children to complete the activities each day.


Sounds a lot more reasonable in these circumstances.

Message edited 3/27/2020 4:41:08 AM.

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

Our district is going to pass fail for the last trimester at the elementary level. I don't think they've decided for 7-12 yet though.

Honestly, it's 4th grade. They're all going to go in next year and have catching up to do. I would just do your best and not worry about what grade they get. It's not going on their college transcript.

how would you address this? (homeschooling related)

That's crazy! Elementary level students shouldn't be getting more than an hour or 2 worth of work per day. Even during a regular school day students aren't doing actual school work the entire 6 hours. There's lunch, recess, special classes (art, music, gym), assemblies, time spent transitioning between each lesson, snack time, time spent unpacking and getting settled in the morning and time spent packing up and getting ready to go home at the end of the day, and numerous random interruptions all throughout the day. Theres no way his teacher spends the full 6 hours instructing during the school day, so she really shouldn't expect her students to spend 6 hours a day on busy work. My daughter is 2 years younger, in 2nd grade, but her teachers have been giving about an hour to an hour and a half of work each day, and sometimes it comes out to less than an hour. No need to stress the kids out and make them start to hate school when they aren't even at school! I hope your son's teacher relaxes and realizes she needs to send less work.

Re: how would you address this? (homeschooling related)