The Latest in School Segregation: Private Pandemic ‘Pods’. If they become the norm, less privileged kids will suffer. (NYT alert)

New York Times ^ | July 23, 2020 | Clara Totenberg Green

[karpov]

As school districts across the nation announce that their buildings will remain closed in the fall, parents are quickly organizing “learning pods” or “pandemic pods” — small groupings of children who gather every day and learn in a shared space, often participating in the online instruction provided by their schools. Pods are supervised either by a hired private teacher or other adult, or with parents taking turns.

At face value, learning pods seem a necessary solution to the current crisis. But in practice, they will exacerbate inequities, racial segregation and the opportunity gap within schools. Children whose parents have the means to participate in learning pods will most likely return to school academically ahead, while many low-income children will struggle at home without computers or reliable internet for online learning.

As a social emotional learning specialist, I know how important connection, community and socialization are for children and adults. I also know that parents are being crushed under the weight of having to simultaneously parent, work, and teach their children. Nowhere is the anxiety, fear and devastation that is gripping our country more evident than in our education system. The appeal of learning pods is immense. For parents who need to work and can’t supervise their children’s learning, joining a pod may feel like the only way they can educate their kids and keep their jobs.

Based on what I’ve seen online, the learning pod movement appears to be led by families with means, a large portion of whom are white. Paradoxically, at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement has prompted a national reckoning with white supremacy, white parents are again ignoring racial and class inequality when it comes to educating their children.

[TigersEye]

Anyone who is upset by this should talk to the DemonRat in their district/town/state who is keeping the publik skools closed.

Here is something to get the official's attention with ...

[olivia3boys]

About feeding the kids the free lunches—this is the LA plan: The K-12 set will sit in front of their computers all day doing “distance learning,” and then a full 60 minutes is “granted” in the middle of the day for the parents to drive down to the school to pick up the lunches.

The assumption is I think that parents are just home. . .not too realistic. You’d think they could just throw together a PB and J rather than driving to an empty school just for lunches.

[olivia3boys]

You would think. . .parents in my area just don’t care. They are “relieved” their children won’t be “exposed to the virus.”

[TigersEye]

Ah, well, the children of parents that stupid aren’t going to be helped much by an education anyway. Education informs it doesn’t raise IQs. lol

[Drew68]

Many will read this article and ask what they’re supposed to do instead. I don’t have the answer.

So what's the point of your article? You offer no solutions, only complain of the workarounds that parents are forced to use.

[Drew68]

My prediction is that many of these that are supervised by gifted tutors will far outperform the conventional public school norm, due to fewer distractions, far less wasted time, fewer disciplinary problems, and more individualized instruction. A lot of parents may never go back.

Precicely what liberal educators are terrified of.

Imagine the learning that could occur when 90% of resources aren't spent on the two or three incorrigable kids in class who just can't get right.

[Nailbiter]

“Parents should demand that 75% of the teachers and 90% of school administrators be laid off if schools remain closed.”

Then demand rebate on property taxes!!!

[Svartalfiar]

How long can the schools stay closed, and still provide the free meals that disadvantaged kids are used to getting? Is this the new normal, where kids don't get taught, we just feed them like livestock? We are learning to be dependent at ever earlier ages...

All last year, schools were still passing out meals to the kids on the free lunch/breakfast programs. My wife is a school nurse (not ghetto but poor-ish area), and we stopped by to grab some stuff from her office/clinic when the school first extended spring break by a week. They had some lady there from 1100-1400 giving away the meals. Kids from nearby would walk over and get them, while many had parents that drove them over and let the kids out to grab 'em. 1/3 of what I saw was some pretty nice cars/pickups for kids to be getting free lunches...

[metmom]

Children whose parents have the means to participate in learning pods will most likely return to school academically ahead, while many low-income children will struggle at home without computers or reliable internet for online learning.

How did the human race ever manage to survive without computers to educate their kids.

Seriously, what'd they use? Books??

Slates with slate pencils??

Just spending time reading?

[metmom]

The assumption is I think that parents are just home. . .not too realistic. You’d think they could just throw together a PB and J rather than driving to an empty school just for lunches.

Honestly, they have to be wasting more on gfas than making the lunch at home would cost.

Another atrocity I've seen is school buses making the rounds on the back roads of CNY dropping off meals to homes so the kids don't miss their free school breakfast and lunch.

[Balding_Eagle]

A lot of parents may never go back.

A lot of Children parents may never refuse to go back.

[jersey117]

They wont suffer if they get their allotted voucher money and take it to a private or charter school or private pod.

[11th_VA]

The Indian kids in my neighborhood have been doing this for decades.