Oh shit, I’m quoting Bill Maher again.

"It used to be the school would be afraid of what the parent thought. Now the parent is afraid of going against what they're teaching in school -- even when they don't agree with it." — Bill Maher

I've found that online learning is far more difficult for my older students, at least as far as pure academics and motivation go. It's been more damaging socially-emotionally for younger students, and less so academically. I teach mostly juniors and seniors this year, so I see this on the daily.

Your story is not at all unusual, unfortunately.

I can say nothing of your kids' school and teachers, so perhaps there is an issue there, but that is largely beyond your control.

What I will say is that online learning for those kids who have fallen off the grid can often be improved by increased parental intervention. I'm not casting any aspersions here, just saying that the negative trends I've seen with my older students are all exacerbated by parents who don't crack the whip. Parents of younger kids are more likely to keep closer track.

Setting clear schedules and benchmarks is necessary as is checking up on whether kids have actually done their work. Does the school use a learning management platform like Google Classroom or Canvas or Blackboard? If so, keep a close eye on that.

The pandemic has really shown which young adults are self-managers and which are not, especially those who may have thrived on the routine of school.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Oh shit, I’m quoting Bill Maher again.

"It used to be the school would be afraid of what the parent thought. Now the parent is afraid of going against what they're teaching in school -- even when they don't agree with it." — Bill Maher

Uh oh!

I completely agree with what he said. He has addressed this issue more than once. Luckily for me, my first grader is back in 5day/week school. It is AWESOME. We will be seeing the effects of the last year or so on our youth for years to come.