Re: Back-to-school backfires in Alberta

In article <[email protected]>,
 <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Let's hope BC has done it better.
>_______________________________________
>The Globe and Mail - Sept 10, 2020
>
>
>Alberta=E2=80=99s return to school disrupted as coronavirus infections send=
> hundreds of students home
>
>Logan Orgill lasted four days at his new school.
>
>The Grade 10 student started classes at Bowness High School in Calgary on S=
>ept. 1, the first Tuesday of the month.  Crowded hallways and other violati=
>ons of coronavirus protocol stressed him out.  By Saturday, his mom got the=
> call: Logan may have been exposed to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 =
>while at school and the entire family must self-isolate for 14 days.  That =
>means Logan=E2=80=99s brother and sister are missing school, too.
>
>=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m here, at my house, bored out of my mind, doing nothing=
>,=E2=80=9D Logan said last week.  The school did not assign homework or sch=
>edule classes online, he said. =E2=80=9CThey=E2=80=99re just going on teach=
>ing people.  But what about the kids at home, not learning anything?  Like,=
> how are we supposed to catch up on that stuff?=E2=80=9D
>
>Most schools in Alberta have been open about two weeks and Logan=E2=80=99s =
>turbulent start provides a glimpse of what pupils, parents and educators ac=
>ross the country will grapple with this year.  Students and teachers who op=
>ted to spend the year in physical schools will be expected to toggle betwee=
>n learning in classrooms and studying at home for extended stretches.  Inst=
>itutions will have to manage teacher shortages caused by potential exposure=
> to COVID-19.  Parents will have to figure out how to educate their childre=
>n at home with little warning.
>
>Logan=E2=80=99s mom, a single parent worried about her family=E2=80=99s hea=
>lth and future disruptions in her children=E2=80=99s schools, yanked him fr=
>om Bowness and enrolled him in the Calgary Board of Education=E2=80=99s Out=
>reach program, where students study independently, and occasionally pop int=
>o bricks-and-mortar facilities for help.  But first, Logan said he has to f=
>inish self-isolating.
>
>=E2=80=9CIt is definitely messing up my education because we need to learn =
>and missing high school is kind of different,=E2=80=9D Logan, 15, said.
>
>Alberta Health Services had identified 32 people who attended schools while=
> infectious with COVID-19 in 29 schools as of Friday, according to Deena Hi=
>nshaw, the province=E2=80=99s Chief Medical Officer.   Students and staff m=
>embers who may have been exposed to positive cases were ordered to self-iso=
>late for two weeks, even if they received a negative test for COVID-19.  Al=
>berta would not reveal how many students were ordered to isolate.
>
>Jennifer Fane, a professor in the school of education and childhood studies=
> at B.C.'s Capilano University, said students and parents should not get ov=
>erly anxious about how pupils are progressing as they switch between studyi=
>ng at school and home.  Teachers, she said, will retrace their lessons when=
> they detect educational gaps.
>
>=E2=80=9CPrepare for back and forth and remember every child in Canada, rea=
>lly, is in the same place.  All schools, all school districts, all grades, =
>are dealing with this,=E2=80=9D Prof. Fane said.
>
>=E2=80=9CAnd teachers aren=E2=80=99t going to forget that next year when th=
>ey get a group of children=E2=80=9D who are behind in some areas.  =E2=80=
>=9CThey=E2=80=99ll go back and cover those essentials before they move on t=
>o the next.=E2=80=9D
>
>Alberta expects every school division to have remote learning plans ready f=
>or when children have to miss school. Generally, students enrolled in tradi=
>tional schools should have access to tools that serve as online bulletin bo=
>ards, where teachers post lessons and assignments and students submit homew=
>ork and receive feedback.
>
>The result, however, is a patchwork system, depending on the district, scho=
>ol and teacher. Some divisions are more experienced with remote learning; s=
>ome students and areas of the province are short on access to technology an=
>d the internet. Some school authorities are still working out the details a=
>nd were not ready for hundreds of students to be ordered home within days o=
>f resuming classes.
>
>This type of remote learning is different than online schooling. Remote lea=
>rning is meant to fill in the gaps when children miss class; online instruc=
>tion is a separate program that replaces in-person teaching entirely.
>
>About 536,600 students signed up for in-class learning in Alberta=E2=80=99s=
> public, separate, francophone and charter schools this year, according to =
>Colin Aitchison, a spokesman for the Minister of Education.  About 136,100 =
>students in those same systems enrolled in distance learning programs, he s=
>aid.  (The province does not have comparable enrolment numbers for in-class=
> and distance learning programs from previous years because, until COVID-19=
> hit, it only tracked the number of students registered with each school au=
>thority, he said.)
>
>Schools, like students and parents, are making decisions on the fly.  Rough=
>ly 100 students in Edmonton=E2=80=99s Ross Sheppard School were ordered to =
>isolate early last week. Megan Normandeau, a spokeswoman for Edmonton Publi=
>c Schools, said the pupils are =E2=80=9Cbeing supported online through asyn=
>chronous learning," where teachers assign activities that are completed by =
>students throughout the day.  It may include watching videos, posting infor=
>mation on message boards or exchanging e-mails, she explained.
>
>Ross Sheppard temporarily hired five teachers who are working online, in co=
>llaboration with school staff, to help isolating students, Ms. Normandeau s=
>aid in a statement.
>
>Public-health guidelines, coupled with parental nerves, have increased the =
>number students staying away from schools well beyond those who may have sh=
>ared a classroom with someone who was infectious.
>
>Stacey Ferguson has three daughters =E2=80=93 one in preschool, one in Grad=
>e 1 and another in Grade 3.  Last Monday, the oldest woke up with a barking=
> cough and raspy voice. That meant she needed a COVID-19 test and could not=
> attend school. And because that daughter was under investigation for the d=
>isease, her other children had to stay home, according to the school=E2=80=
>=99s daily screening protocol.
>
>Their dad, a heavy-duty mechanic, also had to stay home, although his emplo=
>yer has a sick-leave program.
>
>=E2=80=9CIt feels like we=E2=80=99re back to lockdown,=E2=80=9D Ms. Ferguso=
>n said.  Her children attend Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School, wh=
>ich is part of the Calgary Catholic School District.  She was not given any=
> homework instructions when she called last week to notify the school her c=
>hildren would be absent.
>
>Ms. Ferguson does not blame the school for being ill-prepared so early in t=
>he year. She is, however, contemplating homeschooling her children so she c=
>an establish a predictable routine, which would allow her to resume her ins=
>urance business while still teaching her children.
>
>Tara Orgill, Logan Orgill=E2=80=99s mother, is not considering this option.=
> She concedes she does not have the skills necessary to educate her childre=
>n.
>
>=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m not a teacher,=E2=80=9D Ms. Orgill said.  =E2=80=9CI d=
>on=E2=80=99t know how teachers do it, but they do it.=E2=80=9D

Stupid Lagrange for you!
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