What's your best guess at what next season will look like?

[SMH]

These are the new guidelines for ‘phase 4’ which our state will enter soon and stay in until a vaccination/treatment or no Covid19 cases.

I feel like gymnastics meets would be possible under this criteria, but venues would have to be very carefully chosen and I’m guessing a ‘x amount of guests per gymnast’ rule will have to come into play. In the new parents meeting for our gym (I had a friend who has a new level 3 and she passed on this info) they were told there was a strong possibility of meets being ‘gymnast only’-
no in person spectators, with the possibility of there being a video stream to watch.
I’m not particularly sure how much I’d love to drive several hours to a meet and then have to wait ( in the car?) watching a video of my gymnast compete.

 

[skschlag]

With an L10 seventh-grader, the cost-benefit calculation is totally different!

I have a L10 senior who has been doing this for 3 years. He has a block schedule as well. He has 4 classes on Monday, then 2 the other 4 days. He takes one online. It has been tough but he has managed this schedule for 3 years now, and I anticipate it being the same this year.

 

[skschlag]

These are the new guidelines for ‘phase 4’ which our state will enter soon and stay in until a vaccination/treatment or no Covid19 cases.

I feel like gymnastics meets would be possible under this criteria, but venues would have to be very carefully chosen and I’m guessing a ‘x amount of guests per gymnast’ rule will have to come into play. In the new parents meeting for our gym (I had a friend who has a new level 3 and she passed on this info) they were told there was a strong possibility of meets being ‘gymnast only’-
no in person spectators, with the possibility of there being a video stream to watch.
I’m not particularly sure how much I’d love to drive several hours to a meet and then have to wait ( in the car?) watching a video of my gymnast compete.

That woudl be very difficult for those of us with seniors, but I will do whatever I have to do to allow him to compete this year!

 

[raenndrops]

My observation during the pandemic distance learning was that my seventh grader was asked to cover a lot less material than he would have had he been at school. I wouldn't assume that just because your child spent less time at home that there is wasted time at school. It seemed clear to me that my son was spending less time because less was being asked of him and he was clearly learning less.

In some cases, teachers were expecting less. In others, not so much. YG had MORE assignments in 2 of her classes (so the teachers could check their understanding). But it still took less time because in class, the teachers have to take class time to answer questions, deal with distractions, take attendance (which, depending on how the teacher did it could be just a minute to 5 minutes, especially if they have to report an absence on the computer), there is time between classes, study hall (our local school does limit it to one study hall a day, but some schools allow more), and time at the end of class when everyone is getting ready to move to the next class.
When I did my student teaching (in Math), I was told that I should limit my instructional time to a MAX of 15 minutes ... which should include activating their prior knowledge (either super quick review of the day before or relating what we are learning to what they have learned in the past)and teaching the lesson with examples of each type of problem they will encounter in the homework. This allows for attendance, previous homework review and collection, and time at the end of the period for them to start the homework in case they have questions.
During the pandemic distance learning, if a student understood, they could get the work done and move on. Doesn't take nearly as much time in a class of 1 as it does in a class of 20-25.
I would have absolutely LOVED to have been able to work at my own pace. In 2nd grade, I have enough downtime DURING class that I was able to complete the entire 3rd grade math book (an extra thing my teacher gave me ... with a desk by the door so I was separated from everyone else) in a little over 8 weeks. And that was back when 2nd graders had 3 recesses a day!

 

[TumbleTimes4]

I was on block scheduling when I was in high school years ago (4 classes a semester). Based on my experience, a lot of time is wasted. Instructional time was rarely the entire 1 hour and 40 minutes. I could have easily finished all instructional time and work by lunch. Often the last forty minutes of class was used to work on assigned homework or homework from other classes.

 

[Cheryl]

For us, school became more like college. There were rotating days with 4 classes, some mandatory zoom sessions and then teacher office hours when you could zoom in and discuss things with the teachers. There were more projects and less busy work, but the same number of tests and quizzes. The weirdest was the science teacher who would perform the lab and then the kids had to do their lab work. Some days, he was done by noon, other days son was still working at dinner time.

 

[Flicfliclay]

My observation during the pandemic distance learning was that my seventh grader was asked to cover a lot less material than he would have had he been at school. I wouldn't assume that just because your child spent less time at home that there is wasted time at school. It seemed clear to me that my son was spending less time because less was being asked of him and he was clearly learning less.

Well any way you look at it, kids that homeschool or online school have more time because you aren't wasting time passing through halls, lunch, etc.. but my son had the same amount of work ( freshman ) and all AP (3) and honors courses and he hands down had way more extra time than he would having gone to school. Either way that isn't the real take away from my post.. It is that I personally don't mind my daughter missing a few days here and there for competitions.

 

[LJL07]

Well any way you look at it, kids that homeschool or online school have more time because you aren't wasting time passing through halls, lunch, etc.. but my son had the same amount of work ( freshman ) and all AP (3) and honors courses and he hands down had way more extra time than he would having gone to school. Either way that isn't the real take away from my post.. It is that I personally don't mind my daughter missing a few days here and there for competitions.

I agree with you. I hope if anything comes of this pandemic and the school issue, it will be a more flexible mindset towards schooling and work. My youngest daughter was given permission to leave school early several days per week for TOPs when she was in first grade several years ago. Her teacher was pretty traditional and commented mid-year that the experience made her realize that a lot of time is "filler" during the school day. All of this totally depends on the child, and what works well for one child might not work for another. I also realize there is a huge difference between high school and elementary school. I personally did not do well with a block schedule when I had one in high school. I just don't have the attention span for that, but other students loved it. I just think it is nice to have options and finding a fit that works best for the family. I wouldn't mind my girls missing a couple of days for a competition. If we were talking 8-10 meets, that might give me a pause, but not 2 or 3.