School closures/delays?

Karen Richardson3 said:But honestly, I feel like I’m constantly hearing all this whining about how "intense" the curriculum is or how "heavy" the workload feels, yet it’s coming from parents whose kids are basically supposed to be the brightest stars of their generation.
I mean, how do you even square those two things? 😵 😁

To be totally blunt, I wasn't in school for very long, but it never felt overwhelming to me at all. And looking back, every single classroom followed Gauss's curve perfectly—you had a few high achievers, a few kids who struggled or caused trouble, and then the bulk of the class right in the middle.
It seems to me that the real issue isn't the difficulty level; it's that parents in that middle group can't handle being "average." They demand their kids be recognized as geniuses because, in their eyes, they absolutely are (okay, I don't really buy it, but hey, let me be politically correct here😁).

(As a side note, I have this colleague who is... let's say, mediocre at best, but he's convinced he's the smartest, most talented, and best-looking guy in the room simply because his parents fed him that ego. Throughout his schooling, his teachers were always the scapegoats for his failures. It’s wild how much confidence he has, even if it’s completely unearned😁. My mom was the total opposite; whenever anyone tried to praise us, she’d immediately find some little flaw or reason to bring us back down to earth😁).

That’s exactly why I asked if it was actually true. My sister went to school eleven years after me, and back then, people were also claiming the workload was massive and the material was overwhelming.
Her 7th-grade history textbook was literally an inch thinner than mine was when I was in 7th grade. I actually measured them. With a ruler.
Hers was mostly pictures and little text boxes with important facts... which somehow made it harder, I guess? I have no idea.
The only thing that's probably actually harder now is that kids are different—their attention spans jump around more, and it's tougher for them to focus because they live in such a hyper-connected world.

rowdypanther12 said:That’s exactly why I asked if it was actually true. My sister went to school eleven years after me, and back then, people were also claiming the workload was massive and the material was overwhelming.
Her 7th-grade history textbook was literally an inch thinner than mine was when I was in 7th grade. I actually measured them. With a ruler.
Hers was mostly pictures and little text boxes with important facts... which somehow made it harder, I guess? I have no idea.
The only thing that's probably actually harder now is that kids are different—their attention spans jump around more, and it's tougher for them to focus because they live in such a hyper-connected world.

I'm not even sure if textbooks are a reliable way to measure how much stuff there is to learn anymore.

back when I was doing student teaching for history, we didn't really read from the book; instead, we'd go over bullet points that the students would then scribble down in their notebooks during class (in 5th grade, maybe 4 or 5 points per lesson).
my teacher was only two or three years older than me, so it wasn't like I was being mentored by someone still using methods from thirty years ago.

and back when I was in school, textbooks for most subjects were kind of like that—you had to buy them and lug them around, but you mostly learned from your own notes (whereas today, you can just get slides or some PDF sent to you).

college was actually the first time I really sat down and studied directly from books (and even then, I was one of the few; everyone else just used study guides.😁 ))

I don't know what to tell you. It’s all just noise. Everything is loud, everything is cluttered, and frankly, most of it is complete nonsense. You look around and you see people chasing shadows, thinking they've found some profound truth when they're really just tripping over their own feet in a dark room. It's exhausting. Just constant, unrelenting chaos disguised as progress. We're all just spinning our wheels in the mud, pretending we're going somewhere important. It's enough to make a person want to pull the curtains and stay in bed until the world decides to grow up. kaže:
I honestly have no clue how you people are envisioning this entire stay.😁
Do you honestly believe a teacher just sits there behind her desk for four straight hours while the kids sit in total silence—completely alone, frantically scribbling away at their assignments without even a single break?

🤣 Are we just browsing this forum for the sake of it? Because we’ve got full computers in the classroom now—everything from the grading portals to all those other digital tools. 🤣Meanwhile, the kids are grinding away at their homework like they’re working double shifts at a factory, absolutely relentless and without a single break.

I’m not sure this is even the right thread, so I won't drag out the whole discussion about after-school programs. Here in the States, the reality of these programs is a total mess—it’s basically whatever they feel like doing that day. It’s a far cry from what’s actually written in the books. If you look at the Department of Education website, there is a very specific, strictly laid out schedule of activities that is supposed to be followed. They wrote the rules themselves, for heaven's sake! So, if anyone is actually curious, just go ahead and browse their site. Otherwise, we can just start a whole new thread to explain this, but why bother?

Here’s the breakdown: lunch, some downtime, a structured block for homework and studying—two class periods' worth—followed by another organized session. We’re talking an after-school program running from noon until 5 PM. There’s no such thing as "duty" here; the teachers stay right there with the kids until the very last student heads home. It’s constant supervision. No gaps. No excuses.
Assignments are only officially required for subjects like Duke Energy, math, and SSN. Foreign languages and social studies? Not on the official list. Sure, kids can tackle those on their own terms if they feel like it, but that’s on them. We aren't obligated to police their creativity or force their hand. It's all just Department of Education recommendations, anyway. Just more bureaucracy to navigate.
The kids can show up at the school as early as 7:00 AM for before-school care. There’s an official duty schedule in place, but honestly? It’s all handled by the teachers during their instructional hours, per a little arrangement they made. Typical.

rowdypanther12 said:Plus, it means the kid comes home from after-school care having actually learned something because someone sat down and explained things, rather than just grinding through homework alone.

Hmm... that isn't really the issue here. I’m not dictating their work; I’m providing the kind of guidance a parent should be giving at home. I explain things, then I explain them again 😁 because let's face it, kids rarely grasp things on the first try. I step in when they hit a wall. We sit side-by-side if they can't focus, nudging them back toward the task through questioning... but it’s an uphill battle. These after-school programs operate with mixed groups—think a chaotic blend of first graders and third graders all in one room—and we’re packed in with up to 30 students. You do the math on those working conditions. Just imagine how much individual attention a teacher can actually provide under those constraints.

Every assignment gets reviewed. Whether the classroom teacher or I handle the grading depends on our arrangement. Some teachers prefer I take the lead; others want to do it themselves. At the end of the day, we’re equals.

The real crisis hits when these programs disappear. If we don't train these kids to actually MEMORIZE or write down what they need to do, they're lost. Teachers constantly coordinate and pass information back and forth, but if the kids in the program never develop the habit of remembering, they fall through the cracks. Without someone there to "push" them and manage their time, they lose their footing. Once the program ends, they're stuck doing homework while parents are still stuck at the office, and if there wasn't any discipline instilled earlier, they'll just sit there idling until their parents walk through the door.

So, basically they can actually write that assignment during language class and study hall? They have the time; it just hasn't been graded yet?

urbantinker8 said:No, I’m actually just responding to what you said about why they don't finish their language arts homework, since the teacher isn't the one doing the work for them anyway.
Look, rowdypanther12 is actually in after-school care right now, so maybe they can give you a better idea of how things actually play out there.
When they're working on assignments, they're usually talking through the material with the teacher; the teacher explains things if something seems fuzzy, everyone asks their own specific questions, and if the instructor notices that most of the class is struggling with a particular concept, they'll try to go over it more thoroughly to make sure it clicks.
So, what happens if she doesn't speak French, but the kids happen to have French homework?
Should we just give them thirty minutes to struggle through it entirely on their own, without any guidance or oversight, just so parents don't have to deal with it once the school day ends?🤷

And obviously, after-school programs are about way more than just sitting there grinding through homework—I mean, rowdypanther12 could probably tell you all about everything else they do during those few hours.

Look, I’ve been working in after-school care for two years now myself.
I’ve bounced around quite a few different schools over the last couple of years—mostly doing subbing work—and I’ve mostly worked with middle schoolers. Compared to the after-school crowd? Man, bless their hearts... 😉
I don't know how else to put this—some people probably think you're "just" supervising homework and watching kids until their parents pick them up... but honestly, to me, it’s so fundamentally different from being in a regular classroom that you can't even compare the two.
It’s physically and mentally draining, period.

But seriously, after-school programs are such a win for both the kids and the parents... they offer so much more than just checking off a homework list.😉

vividhound60 said:Hey ladies,

quick question for all you moms with preschoolers out there... I was wondering how often you hear about kids being told to wait another year before starting kindergarten? And if you have, did you catch any of the reasoning behind it...
I was just chatting with a friend who’s actually paying for private school prep classes for her little one (seriously?!!!???) and she’s absolutely freaking out about the idea of him sitting out a year...😲

Honestly, I don't get why she's freaking out. If the experts say wait, then just wait, right? It’s probably way better for the kid to have that extra time anyway.

Anyway, I was looking over my notes yesterday and counting up the pros 😍.. and since this baby is due in February, that’s really all I need to know. I am officially done having kids born right on the edge of those age cutoffs—I'm not dealing with them starting school at six and a half years old ever again. 🤣

Richard Morris43 said:Honestly, I don't get why she's freaking out. If the experts say wait, then just wait, right? It’s probably way better for the kid to have that extra time anyway.

Anyway, I was looking over my notes yesterday and counting up the pros 😍.. and since this baby is due in February, that’s really all I need to know. I am officially done having kids born right on the edge of those age cutoffs—I'm not dealing with them starting school at six and a half years old ever again. 🤣

I ended up having my second two kids right at the tail end of kindergarten or early first grade. 😂

CONGRATS!!!!

I suppose I’m just gauging my availability based on a few other commitments I have lined up.🤣

Congrats!

vividhound60 said:Hey ladies,

quick question for all you moms with preschoolers out there... I was wondering how often you hear about kids being told to wait another year before starting kindergarten? And if you have, did you catch any of the reasoning behind it...
I was just chatting with a friend who’s actually paying for private school prep classes for her little one (seriously?!!!???) and she’s absolutely freaking out about the idea of him sitting out a year...😲

Private prep classes??????😕😕

Well, delaying enrollment can happen for all sorts of different reasons. We've actually touched on this quite a few times before we started talking about after-school programs.🤣

It usually comes down to things like emotional maturity, social skills, focus levels, physical restlessness, speech delays, or just general readiness for the classroom environment.

My kid was in a full-day program, and honestly, I just have to give a massive shout-out to the teachers and how everything was run. It was top-tier.
We actually had to move away after first grade, so she stopped going—which is when it finally hit me just how much of a lifesaver those full-day setups really are.

Sorry for the off-topic post.

If I’m reading this right—and I might be overthinking things here—this full-day program is actually intended for kids whose parents aren't home, you know, because they aren't quite old enough to be left unsupervised... which leads to the inevitable question of how they'll even get home safely, right?
So, is it basically a "necessary evil" for working families?

It isn't just some optional little extra that people pick just for the sake of it, is it? 🤷

Now, Kate Allen, I’m not pointing fingers at you specifically to answer—I mean, I noticed in your previous comment that you used to go but don't anymore... and honestly, I have no idea what changed or why, but it got my gears turning.

Is this whole thing really meant for those kids who simply have nobody to pick them up, provide a lunch, or hang out with them for hours until their parents finally roll in from work? Because if that's the case, those kids are essentially living the "childhood" experience while both parents are stuck at the office. Or is there actually no massive rush for enrollment, meaning anyone can just sign up whenever they feel like it?

I mean, I haven't quite wrapped my head around the logistics yet... by the way, does pretty much every single elementary school in a major city like Chicago have this kind of full-day setup?

Tyler Ruiz502 said:If I’m reading this right—and I might be overthinking things here—this full-day program is actually intended for kids whose parents aren't home, you know, because they aren't quite old enough to be left unsupervised... which leads to the inevitable question of how they'll even get home safely, right?
So, is it basically a "necessary evil" for working families?

It isn't just some optional little extra that people pick just for the sake of it, is it? 🤷

Now, Kate Allen, I’m not pointing fingers at you specifically to answer—I mean, I noticed in your previous comment that you used to go but don't anymore... and honestly, I have no idea what changed or why, but it got my gears turning.

Is this whole thing really meant for those kids who simply have nobody to pick them up, provide a lunch, or hang out with them for hours until their parents finally roll in from work? Because if that's the case, those kids are essentially living the "childhood" experience while both parents are stuck at the office. Or is there actually no massive rush for enrollment, meaning anyone can just sign up whenever they feel like it?

I mean, I haven't quite wrapped my head around the logistics yet... by the way, does pretty much every single elementary school in a major city like Chicago have this kind of full-day setup?

I'll weigh in once the moderators move this along:

By the time she started school, my youngest was born, my middle child was still in preschool, and my husband was working on a cargo ship out in the Pacific 😬
So yeah, I was flying solo with a newborn, a preschooler, and a first grader. That was exactly the year they rolled out the after-school program at our local school.
After first grade, we moved, and the new school didn't offer any kind of after-school care, so she stopped going.

The program costs about $300 (at least back then) and it's really intended for working parents. Don't quote me on the exact amount, though—my daughter is finishing fourth grade now, so that's ancient history to me 🤣

aha, got it. I know the basics about you—three girls, husband’s a merchant marine 😁 I wasn't implying you had to "justify" why your daughter was in daycare. I meant more generally... we're going to be needing this kind of info for years to come, so I'm just curious...

Okay, this is a complete tangent, but if you could give me a quick answer: in Chicago, is it standard for kids to attend the elementary school in their own neighborhood—assuming there isn't some crazy enrollment lottery—or is the whole thing scrambled like the preschool system where it's totally normal for a kid to end up at some random school just a few blocks away?

It’s not really a race to sign up; kids basically just get assigned to a specific school based on where they live. I guess you can submit an application to try for a different one, though there's no guarantee it'll stick—not that it's usually that hard to get into a school outside your district.

I think almost every school in a city like Chicago offers after-school programs. When I was growing up, staying after school was basically a given through fourth grade, but things have changed. With how expensive everything is now, it’s pretty rare to find programs past third grade; most places just offer it for first graders.

Back when I was growing up, school used to offer these two totally different setups: full-day programs or after-school care.

The full-day option was this specific way they organized everything where you’d basically have two different teachers looking after the class, and the schedule was all mixed up—like, you’d have an hour of actual lessons, then an hour of playtime, then back to a lesson, and so on.

Then there was the after-school thing, which was more just hanging out in the classroom once the regular school day wrapped up; you'd be with whatever teacher was on duty, just grinding through homework and stuff.

I ended up being in the full-day program for my first four years of elementary school (though even then, I’d still beat my parents home most days, since they wouldn't get back until around 5:00 PM and my grandma lived way across town—I'm guessing that was pretty unusual back then, because whenever I read these old threads, everyone talks about how their parents were pulling into the driveway by 3:00, but mine definitely weren't 😁).

Honestly though, I wonder if anyone even does that old-school full-day style anymore?

Karen Richardson3 said:Back when I was growing up, school used to offer these two totally different setups: full-day programs or after-school care.

The full-day option was this specific way they organized everything where you’d basically have two different teachers looking after the class, and the schedule was all mixed up—like, you’d have an hour of actual lessons, then an hour of playtime, then back to a lesson, and so on.

Then there was the after-school thing, which was more just hanging out in the classroom once the regular school day wrapped up; you'd be with whatever teacher was on duty, just grinding through homework and stuff.

I ended up being in the full-day program for my first four years of elementary school (though even then, I’d still beat my parents home most days, since they wouldn't get back until around 5:00 PM and my grandma lived way across town—I'm guessing that was pretty unusual back then, because whenever I read these old threads, everyone talks about how their parents were pulling into the driveway by 3:00, but mine definitely weren't 😁).

Honestly though, I wonder if anyone even does that old-school full-day style anymore?

Probably not.

So, that pretty much covers everything regarding the school after-care programs.
🙂

Honestly, hearing how you all describe these programs makes me feel like delaying school enrollment is actually a great move.

Also, when you mention those "extra credit" points for early development, it got me thinking—some parents are probably being really careful not to have their kids born right at the end of August. Personally, I think a September 1st birthday is the sweet spot.
I mean, sure, they won't be enrolled in preschool unless they have a specific connection, but they’ll be heading into elementary school as full-fledged seven-year-olds.
😍

Susan James said:So, that pretty much covers everything regarding the school after-care programs.
🙂

Honestly, hearing how you all describe these programs makes me feel like delaying school enrollment is actually a great move.

Also, when you mention those "extra credit" points for early development, it got me thinking—some parents are probably being really careful not to have their kids born right at the end of August. Personally, I think a September 1st birthday is the sweet spot.
I mean, sure, they won't be enrolled in preschool unless they have a specific connection, but they’ll be heading into elementary school as full-fledged seven-year-olds.
😍

No, that’s not an "extra plus." An extra plus only exists when people have a completely warped view of what school and after-school care actually entail. Look, I’m not saying after-school care is some kind of magical paradise for a kid, but it isn't the absolute catastrophe people make it out to be when they cherry-pick complaints out of context.

In a perfect world? My ideal scenario would be for parents to hang out with their kids after school. They’d eat a home-cooked meal, take a breather, knock out the homework while Mom and Dad double-check it, and spend the rest of the day just playing. Simple. Clean.

But let's be real—that isn't happening for most families. After-school programs don't look repulsive to me, and they certainly aren't a reason to delay starting school any later than we already do.