Not too many scratches in this one.

[waltesefalcon]

Bob, my cursing was edited out for the sensitive folks around here. I have been working from home since spring break, mostly this entails checking my email and communicating with students, parents, admin, and creating some content on google classroom. None of which I have much patience for, I am not a distance learning kinda guy.

I wondered the same thing while watching the glass harp video.
I think that guy would have a field day, especially with the Sweet Dreams equipment. I cannot imagine the amount of time assembling and programming that would go into building that machine and making it make music.

Tom, I think Bob has a good idea to fight back.

 

[Bob McElwee]

Walt, we have and daughter in law and niece who have both been doing the same thing in different OK school districts. Our daughter has been home schooling the grandkids out in San Diego also. I was just trying to be funny with you.

If Tom could synchronize the different insturments together that would probably drive the neighbors crazy :highly_amused:

 

[NutmegCT]

...

If Tom could synchronize the different insturments together that would probably drive the neighbors crazy :highly_amused:

Synchronizing would be fun - but none of the ding-bat neighbors could hear them. Their ATVs, motorcycles, and roaring engines could cover up a twenty kiloton nuclear explosion.

(hmmm - maybe I should develop a twenty*one* kiloton explosion?)

 

[waltesefalcon]

Bob, I hope your daughter in law and niece are coping better than I am.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Tom, just turn it up to 11.

 

[Bob McElwee]

Walt, d-i-l seems to be doing ok when we talk with them, busy like you but surviving. Only see niece on FB and she seems to be doing fine also. Teacher daughter is ready to be done with the whole thing, all the jokes going around about parents homeschooling she usually agrees with. When we were video calling today I asked ggs if he wanted the same teacher next year, an emphatic 'NO' was the reply.

 

[NutmegCT]

I wonder if families are actually seeing their distant relatives a lot *more* than before, now that zoom, skype, and facetime are popular.

I keep in touch with about a dozen teachers involved in the "distance learning" bit. They show all the wonderful reading material and videos they've assembled, but admit the kids at the other end of the line aren't learning much at all. And that's if (and that's a B I G if) the kids at home even have high speed internet and parents who keep them on task.

And the parents of the kids are mystified with (1) the technology and (2) the content. Neighbor called me on Thursday asking if I knew anything about quadratic equations - she was "helping" their teenager do an online assignment. She gave up and finally just found a YT video on the topic. Teenager said he couldn't see the details on his iphone, then just smiled, said "that's stupid", and went back to his video games.

I'm betting that students will have fallen a year behind, when they finally get back to real schooling.

Tom M.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Tom, that's my fear. In the fall I'm willing to bet good money that the kids will be pretty far behind as a result of this distance learning.

 

[John Turney]

My wife told me today how to get the kiddies to read. Mute the TV and tun on closed captioning.

 

[DavidApp]

My wife teaches kindergarten and has found that about 25% of her students have not done any work. Some are doing well with the online programs and some parents are doing the work.
She has an incubator with eggs and is doing Zoom chats so the class can see the progress. She has hatched chicks fr the last 24 years in the classroom. Not going to let this situation stop this class hatching chicks.

David

 

[mikephillips]

My brother the high school music eacher tells me that about 1/3 of his kids have basically dropped off the map and aren't doing assignments. And in subjects like math and science 50% or more aren't, they seem to be treating it like early summer vacation. And this is what would be considered a middle to upper middle class high school with educated parents. Seems to me to be what I can only describe as a lack of respect for learning to deliver on commitments to themselves and their futures.

 

[NutmegCT]

My brother the high school music eacher tells me that about 1/3 of his kids have basically dropped off the map and aren't doing assignments. And in subjects like math and science 50% or more aren't, they seem to be treating it like early summer vacation. And this is what would be considered a middle to upper middle class high school with educated parents. Seems to me to be what I can only describe as a lack of respect for learning to deliver on commitments to themselves and their futures.

Yep - that's about what I figured. The teachers have been told to (almost overnight) create "online learning" packages. But kids don't follow those things unless their parents or other adults actually have them do it. Imagine a classroom in a modern high school, packed with materials to teach a specific curricular area, and every desk occupied by a student. Only thing missing - the teacher up in front. Day after day - no teacher up front.

Imagine how much learning of the curriculum would take place.

And regardless of what the kids actually learn (or don't learn), they'll probably all be moved up to the next grade in the fall.

yeesh

 

[mikephillips]

He's got one student who told him via chat that she already had good enough grades to graduate, even if she flunked everything for the final semester. And since she'd already been accepted for delayed entry into the army, saw no point in spending the time on it when she could sleep late and goof off. When he talked to her parents, they were not pleased and promised to fix her attitude. So far, she hasn't done anything..

 

[DrEntropy]

Only example of the distance learning I've seen is the "good" neighbors' kids. Private school students, they get the "stink-eye" from their parents and loss of fun stuff if they don't pay attention to classes and assignments. School even furnished them laptops to use. Looks to me to be effective but I'm inclined to think they're the exception, as I see many more school age kids basically wild in the streets.

My sympathy and admiration go to Walt and his fellow educators for their patience and dedication. Has to be frustrating.

My only "call to arms" in the last month has been a call from one client, yesterday. A retail store open a couple days a week, want me to replace one of the printers at the point of sale area that keeps jamming. Quicker/cheaper to replace than repair. That's as busy as it's been for me. Da 'mits (commercial artist/illustrator) has had a few calls for reprint orders, business cards mostly, but no real work. She's taking the down-time to add new tools to her skill-set. I'm the goof-off, spending time in the kitchen. Learning to make quiche, fruit pies and pasta. I guess it could be considered a good thing, at least we're eatin' well.

Thinking I've enuff old floppy and hard drives taking up space here that I ~could~ endeavor to cob together a smaller version "Floppotron". But I think I'd rather be learning to bake bread. :wink:

 

[DavidApp]

Check out Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

Great bread and easy to do. That is about the only bread we eat anymore unless I get creative and make some sour dough bread.

David

 

[NutmegCT]

David - PM sent

Thanks.
Tom M.

 

[DrEntropy]

Check out Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

Great bread and easy to do. That is about the only bread we eat anymore unless I get creative and make some sour dough bread.

David

Thanks David! I'll give that a try Tomorrow or Saturday. No room in the fridge just now, made a big batch of Navy bean soup (2 pounds of beans, ham hock with about a pound of ham on it, assorted veggies and a bit of a chili pepper) a couple days ago in my big slow cooker. But would love some fresh-baked bread to accompany that. And da 'mits made a batch of crepes yesterday afternoon, just had one rolled up for breakfast with apricot preserves. Last eve around 2300hrs, neighbor brought me a quart of hot chicken 'n noodle soup he'd just made. He was the chef at a local steak house for a decade. I thought I'd have a small bowl before bed... nope! Whole thing gone at a sitting. Yesterday we traded a quart of warm bean soup for one of his potato salad...

This novel-corona isolation thing is gonna be the cause of some serious weight gain around here!

 

[waltesefalcon]

One of my biggest gripes with this distance learning bologna is that the fine state took it over right out of the box and didn't even give us professionals a chance to muck things up ourselves before they mucked it up. Okay I have an even bigger gripe: all of this we have done since Spring Break is for naught. The district, in its infinite wisdom, decided to officially end grades on March 12th, everything since then is considered to be "enrichment" and any student who participates will get full credit for the "enrichment" when we tally the grades after this upcoming Friday the pre-distance learning real school stuff will count as 80% of the kids' final grade and the "enrichment" bologna will count as 20% of the kids' final grade. It is all just a ****ed circle jerk by the administration to make it look like they are doing something. I have more gripes actually but I am a bit of a curmudgeon so I could probably complain all night.

 

[DrEntropy]

The neighbor with the Infiniti project has a high school age son doing the "distance" thing, A's and B's in all but math. Last evening the neighbor and I were nattering in my garage, CAB's and conversation. He told me of his kid and that the lad was struggling. I volunteered to look over what his math homework issue is. We'll see if I can lend assistance with it... not sure if I'll be confronted with "Common Core" yet, but if so we'll learn together. If not, I may be of some help to the lad. I'm a duck to water with cypherin', it was diagrammin' sentences, speelin' an' durn'd English wot caused me grief. :grumpy:

I have great sympathy for the educators doing their best to contend with all of this. And having Administration come in with jack-boots mandates has got to be doubly aggravating!

 

[Trevor Triumph]

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain also does a wonderful rendition of Pin Ball Wizard.
Donald Francis Tovey, a British music essayist, wrote that the Toccata in d minor might be viewed as Bach "trying out" an organ. The player is test the range of the instrument, and action - or the way the keys and mechanisms respond. Looks that way for the guitarist, too. To quote another responder, "Wow!"