The First Day of Online School in the Age of COVID-19

Today was my kids first day of "School". I put it in quotes because they were both at home during what would have been a day at an actual building. I have written about my feelings on the upcoming school year, and since that time, things have changed.

Before I go into this, I still am hopeful that at some point this year it will be safe enough for my kids to be in class in person with their friends and teachers because they very much need the socialization, but I understand why our school district, and many others, have opted to do fully virtual to start the year. We have had far, far too many CoronaVirus outbreaks when people get together in big settings and do not follow the proper safety protocols. Hell, look at what has happened in Georgia, and all around college campuses right now. This virus is still raging, and when we don't respect it, it seems to come at us harder. So, while about a month ago I wanted my kids to be in school full time, I get why this change was made. It is the safe, and smart thing to do at the current moment.

And, for the most part, the day went okay. There were hiccups, and that was expected. My daughter's first Zoom of the day for preschool, her screen completely froze. We couldn't get back on, and after about a ten minute delay, we had to use my phone for the rest of her meetings. It doesn't seem like a huge deal, but my phone is small, it has cracks in it and it isn't as fast as the computer. But we made it work, and most likely will have to do the same the rest of the week until we get her computer back up to speed. My son also experienced some delays in Zoom meetings, and other parents said their kids dealt with the same. He missed the first ten minutes of his Strings class today, but he was able to catch up pretty quickly, he is a smart little dude.

Outside the technical stuff, the only other real "problem" I had with the kids was boredom. My son wanted to go ahead in his workbook, but the teachers have enforced a strict no reading ahead policy, which we will abide by. My daughter had three different Zoom's, and in between each one, her and I would do the lesson, but we would finish it within twenty minutes. That left us with another forty minutes of doing the same thing over and over again. She got quite frustrated a few times at me. But again, this was to be expected.

I do want to shout out how well the rest of the day went though. Both kids logged on at 8:30am, and they had work to do until their day was done. My daughter had her meetings and lessons, and she was, for the most part, engaged in the material for her three hours. My son's first Zoom was over an hour long, and he looked exhausted afterward. I asked why, and he said because there was a lot of information. That is what I was hoping for with this virtual learning experience. He also had meetings, or assignments or recess, walking the dogs, and other basics all the way up until about 3pm. He was busy all day, and that is a good thing for him.

When both of their days were over the consensus was, it was good, but weird. They both said they want to go back to their classroom. My son misses his friends and my daughter adores her preschool teacher, and she misses her. But, they both had enough work to fill the day, they were both in the safest place they could be at the time, they're both tired, they both dressed as if they were going to a school building. We made it as close to school as we could, my wife and I that is. So, while I still want the kids to be able to go back to a brick and mortar building, to be with kids their age, to learn from people who are trained in teaching kids their age, this first day went fairly well. We have nine more weeks before the school district reassess their plan, and while I think they won't be going back until after the new year, maybe in the second semester, this first day was fine. Let's just hope it stays this way. The teachers and the district need to keep this momentum until they are able to do the job the way it is intended. But for now, my hat is off.

A good, but stressful, first day of school here in Saint Louis. But above all, a safe first day of school. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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