Post New Article

Alarmingly high number of Spokane students
aren’t engaged in online learning

Original Article

Posted By: Ron_lfp, 5/12/2020 11:34:52 AM

Education is continuing, more or less, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic – more for families with resources, less for those without. And for an alarmingly high number of students in Spokane and the rest of the nation, genuine learning isn’t happening at all. Despite the efforts of Spokane Public Schools and other districts, many families have simply given up. The reasons include a lack of internet connections and online expertise as well as poverty, pandemic-related unemployment and homelessness. (snip) Several teachers said last week they suspect as few as 10% of their students are fully engaged in distance learning.

Comments:

The education establishment of Washington did nothing to prepare for distance learning, Despite huge financial resources and the needs of remote rural schools.

Post Reply

Reply 1 - Posted by: john56 5/12/2020 11:43:44 AM (No. 408832)
Where I live, the school district where my son goes (and my wife teaches) got prepared quickly. By about March 23 they were live online. Of the 550 or so high school students, they only lost contact with about 20 of them. A nearby school district, much larger but very affluent, did next to nothing until the state came down on them like a load of bricks. A friend of mine whose kids attend those schools tells me that the school started calling like a telephone solicitor to get them back into the groove. In the larger metro areas, I hear as many as 20-25% of the kids were "lost."
5 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: DVC 5/12/2020 11:45:44 AM (No. 408836)
It is a failed experiment. OTOH, they weren't learning to hate the USA and that 2+2 = 5 some of the time, so maybe it's a breakthrough.
10 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: hurricanegirl 5/12/2020 11:53:56 AM (No. 408853)
I bet it's not just in Spokane. While out driving around, I consistently saw the same bunch of kids out playing in the yard. Those with parents who take the education of their kids seriously made their kids do the work; those who don't give a flip, let the kids off the hook.
9 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: seamusm 5/12/2020 11:55:48 AM (No. 408854)
Parents are forgetting that uneducated children will NEVER be able to leave home. More to the point, at-home schooling is just one more failed educational 'experiment' whose guinea pigs are our children.
5 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Urgent Fury 5/12/2020 12:13:53 PM (No. 408874)
Yeah the writer kept spelling "United States" wrong.
2 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: MuncsSister 5/12/2020 12:14:30 PM (No. 408876)
This is happening all of the country. You can hate the government school agenda pushers and social engineering all day long while still recognize the tragedy here. Some kids have horrible parents and school is a necessary escape from that. My husband was a teacher briefly and witnessed the ugly reality of child neglect. Not everyone is cut out for homeschool either. My family isn’t, but we’re doing the best we can. Some children can’t learn on an iPad, they need a classroom of peers and a teacher who is not mom. I cannot imagine being forced to learn with my face glued to screen in my parents dining room as a child. It is not good. There may be a minority of parents and kids who are excelling with forced homeschool— that’s great. But for a majority this is a failure, no matter what side of the political aisle you fall on.
6 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: ramona 5/12/2020 12:39:46 PM (No. 408902)
Thanks, Poster #6 for recognizing the multiple realities of schooling at home. Thank God my mentally ill, abusive mother wasn't convinced to keep us home. And orchids to parents who do homeschooling well - I know quite a few and admire them tremendously. Ramona (the Pest)
9 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: msjena 5/12/2020 12:42:55 PM (No. 408909)
Not just Spokane. I would bet the majority of students are treating this like early summer vacation.
4 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: JHHolliday 5/12/2020 1:03:55 PM (No. 408929)
Anybody with half a brain could see this coming. The permanent home-schoolers do well but parents who are suddenly forced to do it can easily be lost. I think we will look back and see that we totally overreacted to this Chinese flu in most areas of the country. NYC, maybe not but Warren Wilhelm duh Blahzio didn't shut the subways down and Fredo's brother filled the nursing homes with infected patients.
8 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: stablemoney 5/12/2020 1:22:32 PM (No. 408961)
Many "students" are not interested in learning, no matter how many books are placed in front of them, teachers, public schools constructed, or computers purchased. I do not believe in compulsory education, or much of anything else that is compulsory. My own view is that we would improve our education outcomes many times by simply making it voluntary.
5 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: bad-hair 5/12/2020 1:26:55 PM (No. 408967)
They don't need to learn. They're EXPERTS at TicTok or whatever enters their small brains. The ones who really want to learn will learn. The rest can buy food somehow.
3 people like this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: Luandir 5/12/2020 1:29:55 PM (No. 408972)
Government in any form is ill-equipped to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. In this case, as their hasty and unplanned approach grinds to a halt, the administrators are not even able to tell how far short the system is falling. Give 'em all a participation trophy and send 'em on to the next grade! Perversely, it may be the teachers unions, striving to get their members back to work, who pull the kids back into the schools.
4 people like this.

Reply 13 - Posted by: dbdiva 5/12/2020 1:32:45 PM (No. 408978)
In PA our Education Secretary stated that he intends to open our schools in the fall. But "intends" is a fuzzy word and does not mean it will actually happen. I'm sure that goalposts will be moved several times before schools are set to reopen so I'm not convinced it will happen. Thankfully I have no children in school. I expect if schools don't open there will be hordes of POed parents who will finally be working and so unable to stay home and monitor kids schoolwork. We shall see, I guess.
4 people like this.

Reply 14 - Posted by: or gate 5/12/2020 1:34:27 PM (No. 408984)
Hey kids, your education is the most important event in your life. Everyone can not work for minimum wage selling pot. No minimum wage is not designed to allow raising a family. Your job/education is the most important part of your life. Think family will stick around and watch you fail?
3 people like this.

Reply 15 - Posted by: Lala 5/12/2020 2:08:22 PM (No. 409025)
Not much incentive for some students. I heard in my state that school districts can just do pass/fail, and for students concerned about their GPA, a pass is equal to a 4.0.
1 person likes this.

Reply 16 - Posted by: Highlander 5/12/2020 2:08:59 PM (No. 409026)
In addition to what #10 wrote: 49% of students engaged in on-line learning reflects closely with the actual percentage in schools before the lockdown. Until March 13, I worked as a substitute teacher after having retired in 2015. I observed many classes, all grade levels, and there was always a large percentage of “goof-offs” in most classrooms. It seemed to me that genuine students were small in numbers compared to the rest. For example, the teacher I help, was absolutely clear about her objectives for the day, and the class knew them, only a handful would be engaged in complying with their teacher’s instructions, no matter what consequences she threatened. I have sat in classrooms as a co-teacher. The kids didn’t do much better with their teacher as with me, which surprised me. In conclusion, 49% is realistic and logically reflects actual classroom dynamics.
2 people like this.

Reply 17 - Posted by: GO3 5/12/2020 2:44:11 PM (No. 409052)
Agree with #10. Making it voluntary would make the state and the education establishment have a heart attack. Nevertheless, this summer is a perfect opportunity to revoke truancy laws and refund property taxes. Federal funding is based on headcount so that will go down or go away too. People can publish all the articles they want as far as reforming education, but without doing away with coercive laws and fixing the oppressive tax scheme, reform efforts fall in the category of waiting for the DoJ to punish the traitors in the deep state.
1 person likes this.

Reply 18 - Posted by: kono 5/12/2020 3:00:28 PM (No. 409058)
Of the two grade schools with which I work, the one that seemed to underperform during normal times is suddenly the one ahead, because they spent resources and time the past two years installing and integrating remote-learning equipment and techniques (learning zoom for instance) for times of extended absence. (That turns out to be part of why they were trailing the other school.) The other school, which had seemed superior in many ways, got caught unprepared for this and basically ended their school year 3 months early with no way to get back on track remotely. They don't even have the tablets or laptops for their students to bring home, let alone the lesson plans and experience using the remote setup.
1 person likes this.

Reply 19 - Posted by: kono 5/12/2020 3:03:29 PM (No. 409062)
(PS: Both schools I mentioned are in a part of town made up mostly of poor, first-generation immigrant families, for whatever it's worth.)
0 people like this.

Reply 20 - Posted by: Strike3 5/12/2020 7:18:03 PM (No. 409263)
Guess what, Jim. They weren't doing any better before the virus hit and they were warming their chairs every day in the classroom. School officials at all levels are beginning to sound like democrats. We are failing because (reach into the jar and choose an excuse).
0 people like this.

Reply 21 - Posted by: ColonialAmerican1623 5/13/2020 12:57:33 AM (No. 409436)
The school superintendent here is still looking for kids that disappeared.
1 person likes this.

Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Ron_lfp"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Most Recent Articles posted by Ron_lfp"
Racial disparities prompt calls to repeal
King County’s bicycle helmet law
10 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 2/24/2021 9:09:32 PM Post Reply
In the fall of 2019, a white man spat on Edwin Lindo while he was riding his bicycle with a friend around Mercer Island. “It gets on my jersey and I’m like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now,’” he recalled. Lindo, who identifies as Central American Indigenous from Nicaragua and El Salvador, and his friend, Aaron Bossett, who is Black, viewed the encounter as a racist attempt to exclude them from the biking community. (snip) Lindo has joined a chorus of individuals and organizations calling for the repeal of the King County law that requires bicyclists to wear helmets because of disproportionate enforcement, especially among Black, Native and homeless riders
Amid protests and unrest, demand for
security jobs in Washington has jumped
5 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 2/17/2021 11:13:49 AM Post Reply
Amid mounting layoffs in Washington state that have been linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for security guards has jumped, a silver lining following a year of virus-related closures and street protests that have roiled the country and the state. Security guards are now one of the most in-demand occupations in the state, landing in the top 25 roles being sought by employers, despite the nature of the job in which guards could be confronted with life-or-death decisions. "The summer hit and that is when we had a surge in demand," said Steve Jones, CEO of Allied Universal,
Power outages caused by winter storm
force rolling blackouts across Texas
25 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 2/15/2021 11:58:20 AM Post Reply
Rolling power blackouts were ordered across Texas early Monday morning as a winter storm gripped the state. The rotating outages will likely last throughout Monday morning and could continue until the state's weather emergency ends, (snip) Rotating blackouts occur when power companies cut off electricity to residential neighborhoods (snip) "At the same time, we are dealing with higher-than-normal generation outages due to frozen wind turbines
More businesses flee Seattle because of
crime and violence
17 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 2/12/2021 10:42:49 PM Post Reply
TR International, a global chemical distributor, is moving from its home of more than two decades in downtown Seattle, crossing the county line to neighboring Edmonds. The company is one of at least 160 businesses that have left Seattle since last March. While some of the companies that have left Seattle is due to the coronavirus pandemic, business leaders have said that much of it could be traced back to a sense that no one is minding the store in Seattle anymore, and a lack of accountability from city leaders. TR International CEO Megan Gluth-Bohan said the decision to leave was easy. She cited ongoing violence, along with rampant homelessness and drug use.
Seattle cruise season again a victim of
COVID-19 after Canada extends ban
through early 2022
12 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 2/7/2021 11:25:01 AM Post Reply
Much of Seattle’s 2021 cruise season could be canceled after Canadian authorities on Thursday extended a pandemic-related ban on large cruise ships in Canadian waters through February 2022. Passage through Canadian waters and to Canadian ports is key for the Seattle-based cruise business, which has been largely on hold since last spring due to U.S. and Canadian restrictions. (snip) Cancellation of the 2020 cruise season cost around 5,000 local jobs and at least $900 million in economic activity. In 2019, the Seattle cruise industry had its biggest year: Seven cruise lines carried 1.2 million passengers on 11 vessels over more than 220 voyages, a port spokesperson said.
It’s time for Washington Legislature to
check Gov. Inslee’s pandemic superpower
2 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 2/2/2021 11:57:33 PM Post Reply
Much of Western Washington had reason to rejoice Thursday when Gov. Jay Inslee modified his COVID-19 restrictions and allowed seven counties, including Pierce, to move to Phase 2 in his revised reopening plan. (snip) Washingtonians shouldn’t lose sight of the extraordinary power that remains entrenched in the executive branch. The Legislature now has a chance to balance the scales, at least somewhat. For the next three months, Washington’s 49 senators and 98 representatives can reassert their status as a co-equal branch of government, no longer sidelined by a governor who wouldn’t call a special session as the public-health crisis dragged on last year.
Union head says opening schools is ‘white
supremacy,’ suicide concern ‘white
privilege’
25 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 1/14/2021 11:02:33 AM Post Reply
The president of the Pasco Association of Educators (PAE) claims reopening schools for in-person learning is an example of “white supremacy,” and compares listening to concerned parents to following rioters breaking into the U.S. Capitol. He even says concern over student suicide is an example of “white privilege.” Scott Wilson, PAE president, made a series of unhinged, controversial remarks during a Pasco School Board meeting this week. The statements come as the union pushes for total remote learning for elementary schools, even with near-consensus from the medical community that it is safe to reopen schools with mitigation policies in place.
Police clear radicals occupying motel, chief
announces zero tolerance policy
7 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 12/30/2020 10:13:54 PM Post Reply
Update 12/30/2020 at 11:16am: Radicals with Tacoma Housing Now say police have arrived and are “breaking doors open” to remove the occupiers from the motel. (snip) Original story. Radical activists with Tacoma Housing Now (THN) are holding a Travelodge motel hostage in Fife while activists are assembling their version of an army to defend the takeover. (snip) Law enforcement and local politicians are not doing much to stop it.
Alaska Airlines orders more Boeing 737
MAXs to replace most of its Airbus jets
7 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 12/23/2020 12:29:19 PM Post Reply
Alaska Airlines said Tuesday it has ordered 23 more Boeing 737 MAXs, bringing its total order to 68 MAXs that over the next three years will replace most of the Airbus aircraft in its fleet. (snip) The cheap Boeing MAXs will replace all of Alaska’s 51 Airbus A320s and 10 smaller A319s (snip) And since the MAX planes are 20% more fuel efficient and new jets should require less maintenance, Alaska expects to reap big operational cost savings. “With each delivery, our ownership costs go down, our maintenance costs go down, our fuel costs go down
24 arrested during sweep at Seattle’s Cal
Anderson Park
3 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 12/19/2020 11:17:51 AM Post Reply
Police say 24 people in all were arrested during a sweep of Cal Anderson Park in Seattle’s Capitol neighborhood on Friday. Charges range from “misdemeanor trespass, failure to disperse, resisting arrest, obstructing arrest, and property destruction. The sweep, originally planned for Wednesday, began Friday morning. Parks Department employees arrived early to find protesters. Seattle police arrived to warn campers to clear out of the park. By 1 p.m., Seattle police said there had been 21 arrests and parks department employees were continuing to clean out the park. By 5 p.m. there were three additional arrests and police said the park cleanup effort had concluded
With so many schools online, child maltreatment
reports in Washington plummet
4 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 12/11/2020 11:06:26 AM Post Reply
New data offers a sobering look at how school closures during the pandemic have affected child welfare reporting. After school buildings closed last school year, the Washington state agency that investigates child abuse and neglect received 87% fewer calls from concerned teachers, counselors and other mandatory school reporters on average per week through June. This school year, reports are down 59%. The new data from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) confirms what many educators, families and officials feared: Fewer eyes on children during the pandemic has resulted in fewer reported instances of neglect and abuse.
Is anyone asking us students for input about
reopening schools?
15 replies
Posted by Ron_lfp 12/7/2020 11:54:29 AM Post Reply
I’ll admit it: I’m lonely. I miss high school, I miss competing in track and cross country events, and I miss seeing my friends and teachers. Five days a week, I spend the better part of the day at home completely alone staring at my computer. (snip) But as the months passed by, we’ve learned that when schools follow masking and distancing rules, they are not a significant source of spread. What’s bewildering to me is that our state leaders haven’t yet used this information to revise the guidelines for reopening schools and athletics.
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Biden's Incoherence Just Hit Critical Mass,
This Is Scary Awful
48 replies
Posted by Dreadnought 3/8/2021 11:45:49 PM Post Reply
As we reported two days ago, Joe Biden completely made no sense when he was trying to explain the Wuhan coronavirus relief bill. It was really bad and it explains why they’re afraid to have him deliver an address to Congress or do any kind of a real solo press conference, because at this point they have to be afraid this is all going to fall apart if he does anything live and this all becomes too obvious to the American people. But there’s only so long that they can hold this off. And it’s getting worse, as video today revealed. Biden was holding an event to announce the nomination
‘Huge Development’: Democrat Sen. Joe
Manchin Starts To Crack On Filibuster,
Signals Openness To Change
41 replies
Posted by Imright 3/8/2021 12:32:41 AM Post Reply
Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (WV) appears to have started to shift his views on the filibuster with remarks that he made on two news shows on Sunday morning.The shift from Manchin comes after he has repeatedly stated that he would not vote to end the filibuster, despite pressure from the far-Left. During the interviews on Sunday, Manchin repeatedly claimed that he was not open to ending the filibuster because he did not want to strip the minority party of their power in the Senate, but signaled that he was open to changing it.Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Manchin if he would consider “reforming the filibuster” if “Republicans
Evangelicals For Biden ‘Feel Used And Betrayed’
By Biden Fulfilling His Radical Abortion Promises
37 replies
Posted by Calvinesq 3/8/2021 10:37:51 AM Post Reply
In an open letter released Sunday, Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden urged him to “honor his commitment” and include the Hyde Amendment in Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 spending package, writing “we feel used and betrayed.” The letter states: We are very disappointed about the COVID-19 relief package’s exclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding bipartisan policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortion. [snip] As pro-life leaders in the evangelical community, we publicly supported President Biden’s candidacy with the understanding that there would be engagement [with] us on the issue of abortion and particularly the Hyde Amendment
Meghan Markle reveals her true
self in Oprah interview
32 replies
Posted by Imright 3/8/2021 9:11:10 AM Post Reply
If you had any doubts that Meghan Markle is a manipulative piece of work, her bombshell Oprah interview Sunday night dumping on the British monarchy would set you straight. Prince Harry’s American wife accused his family of hateful racism against her baby, claimed they refused to protect her and drove her to the point of suicide.She made the incendiary and implausible charge that when she was pregnant with Archie, the royal family decreed that her unborn son would be denied the title of “prince” because her mixed race meant he might have dark skin.
Biden’s German Shepherds Shipped Back
to Delaware After ‘Biting Incident’
Involving White House Security
31 replies
Posted by Imright 3/8/2021 11:38:50 PM Post Reply
Joe and Jill Biden’s German Shepherds were shipped back to Delaware after a “biting incident” involving White House security, CNN reported.Major was adopted by Joe Biden and his handler wife Jill in 2018 from an animal shelter.Major and Champ moved into the White House in January and they’re already gone. The condition of the victim was not disclosed but it was serious enough to remove both dogs from the White House.CNN reported: The two German Shepherds belonging to President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were returned to the Biden family home in Delaware last week
Pelosi’s HR1 bill a blatant power grab for Democrats 30 replies
Posted by FlyRight 3/8/2021 5:28:52 AM Post Reply
Nancy Pelosi’s top priority is to turn America into a one-party nation ruled by Democrats. Her bill HR 1 trashes the U.S. Constitution in an attempt to rig the system and make it virtually impossible to elect a Republican president or Congress again. It’s a power grab. The bill eviscerates state voting laws and forces all the states to conform to a set of rules that includes automatic voter registration. Anyone who goes to a DMV or applies for food stamps, Medicaid or other social services, or attends a public college will be automatically enrolled to vote. Noncitizens are obligated to identify themselves and opt out,
Biden seems to forget defense
secretary’s name, calls him
'the guy who runs that outfit'
29 replies
Posted by Ribicon 3/8/2021 8:37:17 PM Post Reply
President Biden on Monday seemed to forget Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name at a White House event—calling the Pentagon chief “the guy who runs that outfit over there.” Biden was announcing the nomination of two female generals to lead US military combatant commands. “And I want to thank the sec—the, the, ah former general. I keep calling him general, but my, my—the guy who runs that outfit over there,” Biden said.(Snip) Earlier at the event, Biden mentioned the Defense Department leader by his name, “Secretary Austin,” while appearing to read from a teleprompter.
Oprah interview bombshells: Meghan claims
she was suicidal when she was five months
pregnant, Kate made HER cry and Royals
refused to make Archie a prince because
they were worried how 'dark' he would be
27 replies
Posted by Imright 3/8/2021 8:21:02 AM Post Reply
The Royal Family was left reeling this morning after Meghan Markle tearfully revealed that the stress of royal life made her suicidal when she was five months pregnant, claimed Archie was denied the title of prince because he is mixed-race and said Kate Middleton made her cry before she married Harry in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.The couple also chose to reveal that they are having a baby girl to the tens of millions of people watching the CBS show broadcast in the US before accusing the Royal Family of racism and revealing the deep rift 'Megxit' has caused with Prince Charles and Prince William.
Meghan Markle openly
accuses the Royals
of racism
26 replies
Posted by Magnante 3/8/2021 5:26:07 AM Post Reply
I’m probably second to none in my dislike for Meghan Markle. There’s something unattractive about a mature woman marrying into the British Royal family with one of the world’s most expensive weddings, hanging out with the Queen, living in insane luxury…and then whining non-stop about the horror of her life. There’s something even less appealing when that woman accuses the Royal family of race hatred. And the problem is that, when it comes to that left-wing diva, Meghan Markle, it’s hard to believe most of what she says. After weeks of hype, CBS finally televised Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah.
Watch: John Solomon Gives Stunning Update
in Durham’s ‘Russiagate’ Investigation
24 replies
Posted by Imright 3/8/2021 4:56:55 PM Post Reply
Without question, the vast majority of Americans who support former President Donald Trump were angry and frustrated throughout 2020 passed with barely a mention of then-U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal investigation into the FBI’s fraudulent “Russiagate” counterterrorism operation directed at his 2016 campaign.In the weeks before the November election, word got out that then-Attorney General William Barr wasn’t going to announce any indictments or even a report on Durham’s investigation because he did not want to influence the outcome.So far, in fact, the only indictment to come out of the Durham probe is that of former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who essentially got a slap on the wrist
Democrats renew calls to remove
J. Edgar Hoover's name from FBI building
24 replies
Posted by Ribicon 3/8/2021 2:56:29 PM Post Reply
Rep. Steve Cohen vowed to renew the push to remove former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s name from the bureau’s downtown Washington headquarters, according to an interview released Monday. Appearing on Yahoo! News’ Skullduggery podcast, the Tennessee Democrat said the effort is getting a fresh look after the release of a new movie highlighting the FBI’s secret program to discredit civil rights activists. The Washington Times in 2019 first reported Democrats’ bid to strip the longtime FBI director’s name from the bureau’s headquarters. Mr. Cohen said the impetus to revive the bid is the new movie, “Judas and the Black Messiah.” The movie details
Jill Biden, the Meghan Markle
in the WH, is egregiously
guilty of elder abuse
23 replies
Posted by Magnante 3/9/2021 4:40:38 AM Post Reply
“There must have been a moment, at the beginning, when we could have said –-no. But somehow we missed it.” Tom Stoppard The millions of Americans who were paying attention throughout the 2020 election campaign all became painfully aware of the fact that Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities were slipping and slipping fast. His wife, as the person closest to him, should have been the one to call the campaign quits in order to reduce stress on the man. Instead, apparently so anxious to become the First Lady by any means necessary, Mrs. Biden continued to push her failing husband’s campaign forward as if he were mentally qualified.
Post New Article