Posts by hiddendriver34

nimblelynx7 said:Since you work in education, I take it you're illiterate too. Please tell me you don't teach English?

You just wrote an independent complex sentence without even using a comma to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause. 🙂

This is gold! 🤣

coastalorca43 said:By standing their ground, the Gaćina family is bravely exposing just how many mediocre people have been handed decision-making power during this whole pandemic crisis.
The name Gaćina will forever be etched into the history of the truth surrounding the pandemic in America.

coastalorca43 said:Appalachia has once again proven that it produces the bravest sons of this beautiful nation, men who selflessly lead their people into battle against hateful occupiers and oppressors.
Following in the footsteps of figures like Gubec, Josip Broz Marshall, and Franjo Harmon, we now have Gaćina.

😂

And Captain Gaga is a hero too; maybe there's a bit of a family resemblance there?

Chris Grant3 said:Honestly, it might even suit some of them since they don't have to deal with parents anymore—but let's be real, both the kids and the parents are traumatized too.

That just doesn't hold water. We spent the entire last year without any parent-teacher social stuff, and classes were mostly remote anyway.

Susan James said:Think about it—you’d have a teacher or a homeroom instructor who’d essentially have to take the heat for naming "Student A" and "Student B" just because they sat closest to someone testing positive. Without having to dig through every single lesson plan or grading sheet, how many teachers do you honestly think would step up and pick two specific kids? Instead, they’ll likely just invite a parent into the mix—one parent who refuses to let their child go into remote learning, versus five others who are desperate for it because their kid didn't make the cut for some selective program.

On the flip side, we spent the entire last school year hearing about constant infections, yet high schools saw a massive wave of positive cases.
There must be a significant number of people who have been vaccinated; otherwise, the local health officials would have been panicking on these forums all year long. Remember, the vaccinated group includes those with probable infections who haven't even taken a test yet, plus those using rapid tests. I’ve heard about plenty of vaccinated high schoolers, not just the 16+ crowd.

So, picture this: out of 25 students, 15 are vaccinated and 5 are not. Most don't even need to switch to remote learning. Are we really going to hold online classes just because of those 5? They might not have even been near the infected student, and they're probably wearing masks anyway.
In my opinion, that's only an issue if a teacher personally prefers teaching online and is pushing for it.

If the majority of the class is moving to remote learning, then sure, everyone goes online.
Though, if you ask me, kids could actually use the exposure right now. It’s still sunny and warm outside, so they can spend plenty of time outdoors. Plus, they’ve built up their Vitamin D levels over the summer, and vaccines are still doing their job for the elderly. It feels a bit silly to force them into isolation and keep them cooped up at home—who are we actually protecting? Is it just the ones who are hesitant about the vaccine?
Maybe just give them two days of isolation, run a quick test, and send them back to school.

From where I’m standing, I’m pretty convinced those types don't even exist—and if they do, they’re definitely some kind of weirdo.

Every single professor I personally know seems to be dealing with some sort of digital-age burnout from all that remote learning.

I’m pretty sure that entire class finished their schoolwork for the whole week by Tuesday, because I saw the whole group hanging out together at the coffee shop right next to the high school.

Susan James said:It’s actually surprising how many people living in apartment complexes in Washington, D.C. struggle with decent internet, especially when everyone tries to log on at once.
I know of at least three different companies—and there were probably more—where employees were practically begging to head back into the office. When schools went fully online, the bandwidth hit such a breaking point that their connections went from being mediocre to absolutely disastrous, making it impossible to get any real work done from home.

Teachers aren't the only ones dealing with this.

And yeah, there are plenty of students out there who just don't have high-speed internet at home either.

It’s not just about the buildings, either. I could only host my video calls without everything lagging if I switched over to my mobile data. Honestly, what a dummy I was—if I had just used my data plan right at the start of remote learning, I would've saved a fortune.

Susan James said:There’s a huge difference between a young adult wandering the globe or meditating after twelve years of schooling and a child playing in preschool until they're eight.

The whole point of delaying school shouldn't be about giving a kid more playtime or letting them dodge the system. It should be about using that extra year to actually master or sharpen the skills they need from their early education.
That's when a delay actually makes sense—for both the child and the educational system.

If a kid is ready for school by almost all metrics, keeping them in preschool for another year can actually backfire. It might be boring and unstimulating for them now, but it can cause issues later on. They might breeze through first grade because everything is so easy, but once things get tougher in second grade or later, they often lack the study habits or the drive to tackle more complex material independently. Since they're used to everything being effortless, they struggle when the workload naturally increases as they grow.

I hear you, I really do. But I feel like for a lot of parents pushing for this delay, that's exactly what they're after, which is why I brought it up.

Michelle Nelson4 said:My daughter was born right at the end of January. For us, delaying her enrollment wasn't even an option because she had simply outgrown daycare. Honestly, it doesn't really matter how many years of schooling lie ahead or how long her career will eventually last; sometimes, you just have an intuitive sense that forcing a child to stay in preschool for another year would be nothing short of torture. I actually saw a heartbreaking example of this in a parenting group recently—a little one who was crying every single day because they just didn't want to go back to daycare anymore.

It’s just that for her, the transition was a total nightmare, and let’s face it, even first grade isn't exactly a walk in the park. Not to mention the actual school system or the curriculum itself... we won't even go there. But none of that changes the fundamental truth: she needed to move on from the daycare world and step into a new phase where the responsibilities and tasks are more substantial and better aligned with her developmental stage.

My son was also born in late January, so I never gave a second thought to holding him back. Like I mentioned in another thread, if a kid needs a break, let them take it! Instead of forcing them into a grade they aren't ready for, let them take a gap year after high school to wash dishes at a fancy restaurant in Paris. Or better yet, let them go meditate in Tibet. 😁

Sure, but it’s not just an issue here in the States. From everything I’ve read, watched, and studied, I haven't seen any other country where high schoolers are forced to juggle as many mandatory subjects as we do. Usually, the total number of classes a student takes hovers right around ten, with a set number of electives mixed in.

I’m starting a new thread here after catching a few of the recent posts about COVID and the school system (didn't want to derail that specific discussion!), so I'm hoping a few more of you will jump in on this one.

Basically, I really feel like remedial classes and extra support shouldn't be lumped into the same bucket as electives.

In a truly reformed American school system, we should be stripping mandatory subjects down to the bare essentials and maxing out the number of elective options available.

An elective can be anything that actually sparks a student's interest and gives them a leg up—we're talking everything from "financial literacy" and "film art" to "creative writing" or even "meteorology and climatology." (Those are all actual elective titles you'll find in some schools today.)

The way I see it, high schoolers should choose their schools based on the sheer variety and depth of the electives offered that match their passions. To me, the future of education lies entirely in that kind of specialized, elective-driven learning.

Donna Taylor68 said:here we go again with the half-baked info that drives me insane ; what kids are we even talking about? all of them? or just middle schoolers and the older elementary kids? i don't get how you can't just give a straight answer in one single announcement 🙂

Alex Roberts4 said:Yeah, I get it, we don't need to go down the rabbit hole of online schooling right now... but seriously... weren't they supposed to announce this sooner? Is it everyone, or just the little ones heading back to class? I need to figure out my schedule at work if the kid is staying home. A seven-year-old can't just be left alone to rot in front of the TV all day. Not everyone has grandparents living next door to help out, and even if I did, let's be real, it’s a massive ask. Are we actually getting the full details this Sunday at 10:00 PM?? I can't exactly just ghost my boss because Fox dropped some vague hint.🙄

The decision to switch over to Model C instruction applies to students in grades 5 through 8, plus all high schoolers except for those graduating seniors. This policy will stay in effect for one week, after which they'll run an analysis to see how the measure actually worked.

The folks over in California have basically geared up their entire lives just for the peak season. For them, it’s all about catering to the tourists and nothing else.
We'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the states decide to play it.

Robin Anderson44 said:So why don't we just lock ourselves away completely for a few months and call it a day?

Look, if the entire world just hunkered down at home for about 20 days, this whole virus thing would be history. So, why aren't we doing that? 😉

nimbleranger17 said:What on earth are you even talking about? Honestly, I sometimes wonder if anyone actually follows the threads here or if we're all just shouting into a void, waiting for an echo that never comes. It feels like I spend half my time typing out these long-winded observations—just trying to make sense of the chaos—only to be met with questions that leave me staring at my screen in total bewilderment. It’s exhausting, really. One minute I’m deep in a thought, perhaps a bit too detailed for some, and the next, I’m being asked what I’m even doing. It’s enough to make a person want to close the laptop and go for a very long walk in Central Park just to clear the head.

Are you actually trying to mess with my head on purpose, or is there some kind of twisted psychological game going on here that I’m just too exhausted to grasp?

Look, I am telling you, I LITERALLY copied exactly what you wrote, word for word.

hiddendriver34 As if I haven't heard this all before...
Honestly, looking at the state of things, I have to wonder which one of us is actually struggling to read between the lines here? I didn't even actually ask.

Are you actually messing with me on purpose, or is it just some kid playing games?

I just saw this. 🙄 That was a really nasty and rude thing to say.

Honestly, you're acting like a total fifth grader here:

Here is what I actually said: "What about all those people who were sick during all these years leading up to the pandemic? Why weren't they allowed to take their exams at home?"


I did NOT ask "why online classes weren't an option for other illnesses before." My question was why students who were sick previously weren't allowed to take their tests at home with professors coming to them (like one user mentioned happened last year, and Amanda Hughes37 noted that according to the regulations, it was always an option).

So, bottom line: my question had absolutely nothing to do with online learning.

Katarina, we’ve actually had students miss one or more of their SAT exams because they were sick. In those cases, we never actually went to someone's house or visited them in a hospital. Maybe that was just how things were handled back in the day for students dealing with much more severe illnesses, like cancer. 🤷

I remember once, way back before the SAT was even a thing, I went to a student's home to administer an exam and finalize their grade. It was a heavy situation—honestly heartbreaking—because the kid didn't have much time left after that. 😢

Amanda Hughes37 said:So, you're saying they weren't even doing site visits—homes, hospitals, actual locations—until last year...?
Why would anyone suggest that COVID-19 is the reason a child ends up in the hospital or being treated at home—when it’s blindingly obvious they aren't there because of the virus, but because of a primary underlying condition...
So, just when COVID-19 hits... suddenly there's a sudden urge to go door-to-door visiting kids at home? Really...

There are so many accommodations made for specific cases during the SAT that a kid just wanting to go home is the least of anyone's concerns—really... Entire manuals exist just to figure out how to tweak materials, timing, and testing locations based on whatever individual struggle a student is facing.

The Department of Education is making some moves regarding the upcoming SATs—specifically looking at how they handle psychological testing and student assessment methodologies. It’s a complex web of data and standardized metrics that supposedly measures "readiness," though we all know how much nuance gets lost in those spreadsheets. There’s a lot of talk about how the National Center for Educational Assessment will oversee the process to ensure everything stays uniform across the country. They're digging deep into the psychometrics behind the tests—trying to make sure the results aren't just statistical noise. It’s an expensive, bureaucratic dance... always more layers of oversight for the sake of "accuracy." The goal, according to the Department, is to refine these tools so they actually reflect what students know. But in practice, it often feels like more paperwork and more high-stakes pressure for everyone involved. We'll see if these adjustments actually change anything or if it's just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic...

Over nine years of following the guidelines set by the National Center for Educational Assessment, more than 3,000 students have utilized adaptive testing technology for their SAT...

The summer session for this year's SAT kicked off a few days ago—over 35,000 students signed up... A significant number of those applicants are students with disabilities, who have benefited from much more accessible testing protocols since the National Center for Educational Assessment (NCVVO) rolled out specific guidelines back in 2008. Under these regulations, students with disabilities take their exams using adapted testing technology, all following the NCVVO standards approved by the Department...

The model is designed so that any adjustments won't have any negative impact on a student's college applications—or their rights... none at all. Neither the transcripts nor the official exam records show any indication that the student received accommodations. Sanja Horvatić, an advisor in the Office of the Secretary at the Department of Education, points out that throughout the nine years since the SAT was implemented, the rights of students with disabilities have never been diminished...

Accommodations cover both the exam materials and the actual testing process—it’s about leveling the playing field. This could mean anything from switching to Braille or using large-print A3 sheets with high-contrast ink and tactile diagrams for math, to specific print adjustments for students with dyslexia. It also includes letting students with dysgraphia or motor impairments type their essays on a computer, providing printed instructions read aloud by a proctor for those with hearing impairments, assigning a dedicated aide for specialized support, or simply granting extra time... it's all part of it. To accommodate students facing health challenges—and because we need to ensure they actually have a shot at passing—arrangements have been made to allow exams to be taken at home or in a hospital. This applies to any student where testing won't jeopardize their recovery or ongoing treatment... provided they submit a doctor's note to verify the situation..

Take a look at the dates and the specific timeframes mentioned in the text—you might also want to dig into the official SAT regulations regarding what accommodations can actually be provided for students...

How on earth is it possible that you're only hearing about this for the first time today?

Look, I’m not the testing coordinator, so I don't have to memorize every single line of the SAT handbook. My job is pretty straightforward: follow the directions handed down by the coordinator. And honestly? That specific instruction you're highlighting in red? It’s one I haven't seen once in all my years doing this. In fact, nobody else at my school has ever heard of it either.

Just to throw my two cents in—personally, I wouldn't blink if I had to pull an extra shift proctoring another SAT after someone finished their quarantine. It’s really not a big deal to me.

But we have to look at the math here. Running these makeup exams costs a fortune—we're talking millions when you factor in everything from drafting new test versions to shipping them out and paying security firms. Where is that money supposed to come from? And honestly, 🐔—why isn't that cash being funneled toward helping all the other patients in need? How is that even fair?

nimbleranger17 said:Honestly, it feels like you can’t even process the very words coming out of your own mouth.

evo tvoj post:

That’s exactly what I was getting at. It makes you wonder where everyone went—all those folks who were still reeling from the effects of COVID-19 and were stuck without any way to even sit for their SATs from the comfort of their own homes. You see them disappear from the conversation entirely, and it really makes you think about how many people just fell through the cracks because the system wasn't built to accommodate anyone dealing with health issues during such a chaotic time.

😕

Yeah, that’s exactly what I asked. Not whatever version of it you just invented.

nimbleranger17 said:I honestly don't think you're grasping the core of what I'm saying here... you asked earlier why online schooling wasn't an option for kids during previous illnesses, and I already laid out my reasoning for that. It’s quite simple, really: it’s only now that they've finally bothered to modernize things even a little bit, though frankly, it shouldn't require some grand technological overhaul or specialized training to make it work in the first place.

Seriously, who among us doesn't know how to read? That’s not even what I was asking.

nimbleranger17 said:It's for the exact same reason they weren't granted access to remote learning classes.

We have made progress, we have modernized 🤷

Of course it isn't. I personally know a mountain of professors and even more teachers who go out of their way to accommodate their sick students. Thankfully, most educators aren't quite like urbantinker8.

Look, here's the thing—that just isn't true at all. Remote learning was strictly reserved for students who were stuck in actual quarantine or isolation. For any other sick student, online classes weren't even an option.