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Original poster

Chicago have had schools closed for 18months due to covid.

98 replies

Iwanttobeapaperbackwriter · 30/08/2021 15:06

Watching American news on YouTube as wanted to hear about Ida when this came on.

Closed to all children, for 18 months. Yet America is always shown by the UK media to be getting back to normal.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Driftingblue · 30/08/2021 17:42

For peer contact our family paired with another family that shared similar safety protocols and set up regular scheduled get togethers in our homes. This required a lot of transparency and sharing of medical information, but it got kids peer time and that is what mattered.

Moonface123 · 30/08/2021 17:44

But is it really the disaster people are trying to make it into ?
Most secondary aged kids are able to succesfully home school themselves,
which teaches them self disciplines and self reliance skills. and the younger ones will no doubt catch up. A school classroom in not the only place a student can learn, some of these posts have proved that.
Yes it is obviousmy difficult for parents of younger children, but l don't see the problem regarding the older ones.

Dghgcotcitc · 30/08/2021 17:51

I think if older children can effectively teach themselves worldwide we waste a lot of money on teachers to be honest! It may be different in the us due to live online teaching but obviously in the U.K. if the “watch some educational tv programs” really was as effective as being taught by an actual teacher it would raise some questions- it doesn’t seem to have been of course given the wide spread acceptance of needing to modify the gcse syllabus for next years year eleven

HerRoyalNotness · 30/08/2021 17:52

Our school district in TX has offered virtual school for the elementary grades up to first year of middle school (age11/12). Some schools in the state have had to close. One of mine did fall behind and didn’t meet the standards expected, he was home for 18mths and just gone back. There is a house bill that as passed to offer children in his position extra tuition of 30hrs minimum to catch up. They have a 30min class called advisory for doing homework or getting help, they’ll use this class for focused learning for those who need it.

MattyGroves · 30/08/2021 17:53

@Moonface123

But is it really the disaster people are trying to make it into ? Most secondary aged kids are able to succesfully home school themselves, which teaches them self disciplines and self reliance skills. and the younger ones will no doubt catch up. A school classroom in not the only place a student can learn, some of these posts have proved that. Yes it is obviousmy difficult for parents of younger children, but l don't see the problem regarding the older ones.
I can see a few reasons:

Spending time with their peers
Some kids don't have a good home environment - noisy, crowded, bad internet connection, etc
Some children have bigger issues at home - abuse, or parents with a disability
Some kids have learning difficulties or physical impairments (e.g. hearing problems) that make distance learning harder

But mostly the peer thing. There's a reason why home schooling isn't the norm. Most kids want to be with other kids

Makhiaman · 30/08/2021 17:53

School isn’t just about academics. The emotional, mental and social aspect is vital and kids who have missed out for this long are bound to suffer long and short term.
Not to mention the parents (mainly mothers) who will have been tasked with becoming teacher as well as mum as well as their usual job.
It’s unbelievable that anyone would see schools closing down as anything but an absolute last resort.

cabingirl · 30/08/2021 17:57

@Makhiaman

School isn’t just about academics. The emotional, mental and social aspect is vital and kids who have missed out for this long are bound to suffer long and short term. Not to mention the parents (mainly mothers) who will have been tasked with becoming teacher as well as mum as well as their usual job. It’s unbelievable that anyone would see schools closing down as anything but an absolute last resort.
Well - unfortunately, a lot of people here saw closing bars and hair salons as the absolute last resort so schools did what they could to protect their staff and students.
MattyGroves · 30/08/2021 17:58

@Makhiaman

School isn’t just about academics. The emotional, mental and social aspect is vital and kids who have missed out for this long are bound to suffer long and short term. Not to mention the parents (mainly mothers) who will have been tasked with becoming teacher as well as mum as well as their usual job. It’s unbelievable that anyone would see schools closing down as anything but an absolute last resort.
The cultural differences are interesting. My cousin who has two sets of very involved and available grandparents is actually pretty unbothered about her girls having missed over a year at school. Basically she takes the view that they're still testing ok so what's the problem
TheKeatingFive · 30/08/2021 18:02

It’s unbelievable that anyone would see schools closing down as anything but an absolute last resort.

Yes I find this really shocking

PicsInRed · 30/08/2021 18:02

It would have been an economic disaster for single mother households - and therefore a long term disaster for the kids too.

Gilmorehill · 30/08/2021 18:02

@Moonface123

But is it really the disaster people are trying to make it into ? Most secondary aged kids are able to succesfully home school themselves, which teaches them self disciplines and self reliance skills. and the younger ones will no doubt catch up. A school classroom in not the only place a student can learn, some of these posts have proved that. Yes it is obviousmy difficult for parents of younger children, but l don't see the problem regarding the older ones.
Do you have older children? My dd (13) is very disciplined and self sufficient but she really struggled with home learning.
PicsInRed · 30/08/2021 18:03

Enjoyment or even content tolerance of covid lockdowns is an economic privilege.

BungleandGeorge · 30/08/2021 18:09

The US have hugely long summer vacations though. So they missed one full school year and a couple of months? Whereas ours missed 2 terms (plus isolations but that’s unquantifiable), it’s not as hugely different as you say... The pandemic has affected kids a lot in general

Gilmorehill · 30/08/2021 18:12

@PicsInRed

Enjoyment or even content tolerance of covid lockdowns is an economic privilege.
Exactly.
BungleandGeorge · 30/08/2021 18:14

@Driftingblue

For peer contact our family paired with another family that shared similar safety protocols and set up regular scheduled get togethers in our homes. This required a lot of transparency and sharing of medical information, but it got kids peer time and that is what mattered.
This wasn’t allowed in England though (or other UK nations I don’t think)? Unless you’re a single parent in a bubble?
itsgettingwierd · 30/08/2021 18:18

@PicsInRed

Enjoyment or even content tolerance of covid lockdowns is an economic privilege.
Spot on
longerevenings · 30/08/2021 18:25

The two key issues identified with teen academic failures during lockdown in Chicago are teens having to start work to support the family and having to look after younger children.

It is the poorer teens from BAME communities who are most impacted by this.

RuleWithAWoodenFoot · 30/08/2021 18:27

My friend works in California. She had the choice as to whether she was going to teach online for the whole of the last academic year, or go in to school. They only had around half of each class in. She chose to work from home and spent the year travelling around the States because travel wasn't restricted as it was here. She did online lessons all morning, but then had the afternoons off. She's now back in school as normal, having not been in a classroom since last March. She's finding it really hard going.

I guess that the children who chose to stay home (who were given laptops by the school board), were able to be supported by adults at home. I know as well that some of them shared it out if they were working. 5 families get together and have one day a week with children in their home during the morning doing their remote learning.

ANameChangeAgain · 30/08/2021 18:29

And we thought our children were screwed. :-(

MattyGroves · 30/08/2021 18:34

@BungleandGeorge

The US have hugely long summer vacations though. So they missed one full school year and a couple of months? Whereas ours missed 2 terms (plus isolations but that’s unquantifiable), it’s not as hugely different as you say... The pandemic has affected kids a lot in general
The difference is it's still going on - Many (most?) school districts are still online or hybrid
Frazzled2207 · 30/08/2021 19:00

@Makhiaman

School isn’t just about academics. The emotional, mental and social aspect is vital and kids who have missed out for this long are bound to suffer long and short term. Not to mention the parents (mainly mothers) who will have been tasked with becoming teacher as well as mum as well as their usual job. It’s unbelievable that anyone would see schools closing down as anything but an absolute last resort.
Agree entirely and am really surprised that areas where schools have remained closed the whole time, have not massively kicked off about the impact. Perhaps in the UK we’re more “bothered”? Though I have to say my concern has definitely been around the social element not academic (primary age kids)
Mummyoflittledragon · 30/08/2021 19:01

So lemmie get this straight, Disney World is open right now. But some kids have been off school for 18 months. I get we have got a lot of stuff wrong. But this is horrendous! School isn’t just about academic learning.

BroccoliFloret · 30/08/2021 19:03

@TheKeatingFive

There’s a lot of variation state by state. I think most are aware of this.

18 months with no F2F school is very extreme though. They’ll have a hell of a job dealing with the long term implications.

This is true. We have friends in North Carolina, their schools were closed all of last academic year and their kids have only just gone back this week after last being in school in March 2020.
longerevenings · 30/08/2021 19:17

some kids have been off school for 18 months.

To be fair school has been open virtually. Kids are expected to log on for virtual live lessons.
They have homework and assignments.

It isn't the same as face to face but it hasn't been an 18 month holiday.

Gilmorehill · 30/08/2021 19:17

@longerevenings

The two key issues identified with teen academic failures during lockdown in Chicago are teens having to start work to support the family and having to look after younger children.

It is the poorer teens from BAME communities who are most impacted by this.

Really really sad.
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