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Mom Explains Why Her Son Won’t Be Participating In Virtual Classrooms And Is Done With The 1st Grade, Goes Viral
A renowned archaeologist recently went viral with a rant about remote education. Sarah Parcak, professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, addressed Twitter to tell all about her frustrations with the increasing demands on her and her husband after her son’s school closed and implemented virtual learning to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Parcak said the family is ditching traditional schooling, acknowledging that the pandemic has been putting huge stress on both the parents and their son. Continue scrolling to read about all the reasons why the little boy is done with the 1st grade and will be taking a break from homework.
More info: Twitter
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Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Image credits: indyfromspace
Education experts say Parcak might be on to something. According to Jon E. Pedersen, dean of the University of South Carolina College of Education, parents’ number one concern should now be the stress and anxiety that their kids are facing in a situation we haven’t experienced yet.
“Could this mean that there is a lag in their learning? Of course. But they will not be alone and most schools in the coming year will need to deal with the issue of what was ‘missed’ during this crisis,” Pedersen told TODAY Parents. “The academic aspects of learning can be made up. We can recover from this.”
However, the U.S. Department of Education warns there is some risk in opting out of distance learning, mainly, the possibility of a student having to repeat a grade.
“State and local authorities ultimately make the decision about student promotion, and in the meantime, we are extending all kinds of flexibilities and resources so that learning can continue,” a spokesperson for the department said. “We know that this is a challenging time for everyone.”
Some parents were taking the same route
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Describing the ways they will stimulate their kids’ curiosity
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But others disagreed
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Miguel Ángel 5 years ago
Me too. I may agree with her on some points (the importance of happiness and f*****g presidents to hell), but it basically reads like "My activities are way more important than taking care of my child".
Load More Replies...
Rob Cornell 5 years ago
Um... you chose to have a child and the responsibilities that come with it. Also, sounds like the child is not the one unable to emotionally cope with the situation, but rather you are? Virtual school will not be detrimental to the child’s future Emotional well-being but The parent that is having a freakin meltdown over math problems most certainly will!
Steve Cruz 5 years ago
None of the screeds in the article express any kind of appreciation for TEACHERS and what they go through. Teachers have no template for this situation and are doing what they can.
Load More Replies...
YoyoSthlm 5 years ago
Maybe cut down on your workload instead? She's clearly choosing to work over educating her child.
Pretty Pangolin 5 years ago
And her garden. And 'managing' the cleaning which I infer to mean she has a housekeeper. Her kiddo's education shouldn't be secondary to all of her side projects.
Load More Replies...
Ozzy Mopsbourne 5 years ago
Such an American response. "We are better than ya'll" and "this is too hard, but at the same time too basic". I mean, not going to get through online school because you need to cook? If your child is so smart, it should not be such a problem to do it. I was once in first grade and did all my homework alone with no help from mom. At the same time, it's your child and school is anyway going to end sometime in May/June, so it's not a big deal to let them start summer vacation earlier, but to blame it on the teachers, schools, president? Kinda pretentios
BiEL Sampaio 5 years ago
The last comment(picture)says it all, just a virtue signaling self-absorbed mom. Yes it's hard, and no you don't have to do it, but as adults we kind of know already we are not obliged to do pretty much anything right?! You make your decisions and live with the consequences.
Yana Makarevitch 5 years ago
"I can't manage my kids and housework, so I'll blame for it anyone but myself".
Kate 5 years ago
What she also might not realize is that her child's teacher may be being told she has to do all of this to justify her continued paycheck. My friend teaches kindergarten and she's been sent a surplus of materials from the government that she's supposed to be sending to her students every day - even though most of it is exactly the kind of stuff she hates assigning students (worksheets, etc.) She's pushed back to her principal and is going to continue doing her own thing but she said she knows a lot of younger teachers who don't feel comfortable so are assigning the mandated work and are now getting a lot of grief from parents as a result.
Gregg Long 5 years ago
This - I don't think people outside of education understand that teacher's curriculums and lesson plans and virtually everything they do in the classroom is now highly monitored and reported on and everything is converted to numbers all tied to complex funding formulas. And every bit of it comes from a three decade long pile on about "accountability". Mostly by people who want to do everything they can to not pay taxes.
Load More Replies...
Branden Hart 5 years ago
And you have a meltdown because your childs school actually goes to the effort to continue their education in "unusual times" - I am so tired of people a) thinking they homeschool because they are in lock down and they do class work at home, and b) people who find it so hard. YOU had the child, now is time to invest in them nd to show them that you do what you have to do to make a situation work. "I give up, F**k You" - great response, sure little Johnny will learn a lot, and who knows in 50 years time he might be president.
somnomania 5 years ago
Okay, but you're asking all of these parents who have zero experience with teaching a 5-14 year old child to suddenly teach on a level comparable to their structured schooling. Teaching is hard, and is a vastly underappreciated profession, and a lot of these people are also trying to juggle suddenly working from home, having to deal with suddenly having however many family members at home ALL the time when they aren't usually... it's a lot for most people to cope with and adjust to, and no, not everyone's doing it right, but this woman certainly isn't doing it wrong.
Load More Replies...
Carrot dude 5 years ago
I don't understand why. Keeping yourself educated is extremely important and, for a first-grader, is not very hard at all. If she can't put any work into making sure her child doesn't fall behind, what kind of parent is she?! I think she can't bother to make sure her child is taken care of. Besides, if her first grader is up to par, they should be able to complete their schoolwork with little to no assistance (unless of course, there are other factors). I just, can't even deal with this idiot.
Miguel Ángel 5 years ago
Me too. I may agree with her on some points (the importance of happiness and f*****g presidents to hell), but it basically reads like "My activities are way more important than taking care of my child".
Load More Replies... Rob Cornell 5 years ago
Um... you chose to have a child and the responsibilities that come with it. Also, sounds like the child is not the one unable to emotionally cope with the situation, but rather you are? Virtual school will not be detrimental to the child’s future Emotional well-being but The parent that is having a freakin meltdown over math problems most certainly will!
Steve Cruz 5 years ago
None of the screeds in the article express any kind of appreciation for TEACHERS and what they go through. Teachers have no template for this situation and are doing what they can.
Load More Replies... YoyoSthlm 5 years ago
Maybe cut down on your workload instead? She's clearly choosing to work over educating her child.
Pretty Pangolin 5 years ago
And her garden. And 'managing' the cleaning which I infer to mean she has a housekeeper. Her kiddo's education shouldn't be secondary to all of her side projects.
Load More Replies... Ozzy Mopsbourne 5 years ago
Such an American response. "We are better than ya'll" and "this is too hard, but at the same time too basic". I mean, not going to get through online school because you need to cook? If your child is so smart, it should not be such a problem to do it. I was once in first grade and did all my homework alone with no help from mom. At the same time, it's your child and school is anyway going to end sometime in May/June, so it's not a big deal to let them start summer vacation earlier, but to blame it on the teachers, schools, president? Kinda pretentios
BiEL Sampaio 5 years ago
The last comment(picture)says it all, just a virtue signaling self-absorbed mom. Yes it's hard, and no you don't have to do it, but as adults we kind of know already we are not obliged to do pretty much anything right?! You make your decisions and live with the consequences.
Yana Makarevitch 5 years ago
"I can't manage my kids and housework, so I'll blame for it anyone but myself".
Kate 5 years ago
What she also might not realize is that her child's teacher may be being told she has to do all of this to justify her continued paycheck. My friend teaches kindergarten and she's been sent a surplus of materials from the government that she's supposed to be sending to her students every day - even though most of it is exactly the kind of stuff she hates assigning students (worksheets, etc.) She's pushed back to her principal and is going to continue doing her own thing but she said she knows a lot of younger teachers who don't feel comfortable so are assigning the mandated work and are now getting a lot of grief from parents as a result.
Gregg Long 5 years ago
This - I don't think people outside of education understand that teacher's curriculums and lesson plans and virtually everything they do in the classroom is now highly monitored and reported on and everything is converted to numbers all tied to complex funding formulas. And every bit of it comes from a three decade long pile on about "accountability". Mostly by people who want to do everything they can to not pay taxes.
Load More Replies... Branden Hart 5 years ago
And you have a meltdown because your childs school actually goes to the effort to continue their education in "unusual times" - I am so tired of people a) thinking they homeschool because they are in lock down and they do class work at home, and b) people who find it so hard. YOU had the child, now is time to invest in them nd to show them that you do what you have to do to make a situation work. "I give up, F**k You" - great response, sure little Johnny will learn a lot, and who knows in 50 years time he might be president.
somnomania 5 years ago
Okay, but you're asking all of these parents who have zero experience with teaching a 5-14 year old child to suddenly teach on a level comparable to their structured schooling. Teaching is hard, and is a vastly underappreciated profession, and a lot of these people are also trying to juggle suddenly working from home, having to deal with suddenly having however many family members at home ALL the time when they aren't usually... it's a lot for most people to cope with and adjust to, and no, not everyone's doing it right, but this woman certainly isn't doing it wrong.
Load More Replies... Carrot dude 5 years ago
I don't understand why. Keeping yourself educated is extremely important and, for a first-grader, is not very hard at all. If she can't put any work into making sure her child doesn't fall behind, what kind of parent is she?! I think she can't bother to make sure her child is taken care of. Besides, if her first grader is up to par, they should be able to complete their schoolwork with little to no assistance (unless of course, there are other factors). I just, can't even deal with this idiot.
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