@RosePetal35 Wow. I tuned in a bit late to the webinar and was not aware so many students (over 250?) who were invited back to campus opted for remote learning. Disappointed that Amherst did not offer those on-campus vacancies to the juniors and seniors who were not invited back this semester.
I completely agree. I can not get out of my mind the info call I was on last night and my dc school wants them to stay in their unairconditioned dorm for the first two weeks, doing their classes on line, going into no other dorms etc. which will span the Labor day weekend. Do they have any idea what they are asking of these kids??? They have put NO thought into what that would be like for anyone. I have no idea why if they wanted the first two weeks of classes to be on line they didn’t wait to move kids in to the dorm. Seems like the majority of schools that are delaying are doing it that way but they are after the money and not concerned about the mental health.
Rosepetal - Im sure it’s a big deal to the RAs, but on a board that’s focused on whether kids will actually be leaving their parents’ homes to go college, and how colleges and universities are handling reopening, it’s not going to get a lot of sympathy.
@nywestie I was really surprised too; they announced it early in the webinar. Surprised they didn’t take those vacancies to invite the rest of the senior class back, since they invited half of them back anyway.
@Massmom10 I understand that, and I was not expecting sympathy; my D and my family at large don’t really care. I just included it as background to information about the spring semester, and I think some people’s snide remarks were uncalled for.
Yep. Many of the parents are outraged - It’s ok for kids to gather in the schools with daycare workers, but it is not safe for these same kids to be in school with teachers. Other parents are just happy that they have a childcare option for their kids while they are at work.
I think all of the staff whose salaries have been frozen or cut would disagree that families are fully funding the budget. So would those who have lost their jobs or been told that if enrollments decline they won’t have jobs to come back to in the spring.
Colleges suffered huge financial losses and remote learning costs more than face to face, yet many colleges aren’t increasing tuition. Some are even giving families discounts. College staff are “sharing the pain.” Families just aren’t seeing it.
Agreed! At my D’s school if you’re isolated after a positive test you are checked on on daily by a counselor (remotely).
There will probably be less kids going to this private day care set up than there would be in the standard public k-8 set up. Also I am assuming that the day care workers are paid less than teachers so more of them can be hired for than same salary budget.
Both of these factors result in low adult to child ratios allowing for classes with social distancing. Kids being in schools at all isn’t a problem. COVID-19 spreads if there is overcrowding and people aren’t wearing masks and washing hands.
Yep, but in all fairness to Duke, most of the freshman that moved in are having a good experience so far (it’s been less than a week) but the vocal minority of students that have had a bad experience are blowing up FB. Maybe things will get better from here? We are monitoring this closely…
i was able to register and got all in-person classes (that was my priority). i guess i’m lucky i’m on east campus and i’ve met dozens of people already. everyone is so open and friendly. having so much fun. duke is everything i hoped it would be, masks and social-distancing and all. let’s hope we last until thanksgiving!
I think it’s very dangerous to put too much stock on facebook posting to really gauge overall sentiment. A few very, very upset parents can sound very overwhelming when in reality the vast majority of students are happy Duke is trying to make it work. My daughter spent the evening eating dinner on the quad with friends comparing schedules and setting up study cohorts - pretty much what we expected. Overall satisfaction is going to much more dependent on their ability to keep the virus from blowing up.
That’s great to here! I’m a little skeptical that you will actually have in-person classes this fall but I am crossing my fingers that you are right. Please keep us updated on how things are going. This is music to my ears…
so far, it’s been great!! it is way better than i expected to be under the circumstances. you know i was worried too and thought really seriously of taking a gap year too. i echo darcy123, i just spent the dinner in the quad where there are dozens of students gathered and getting to know each other. it’s been like that every day since i moved in. so having seriously considered a gap year, i’m pleased i went ahead and matriculated. so far, 3 of my classes are hybrid: meet 1x per week, 1x online. writing 101 is live 2x weekly (12 students), and then a 1/2 cred physed class live 2x weekly. of the 600 who tested the day i tested/moved in, there were 0 positive. so i feel cautiously optimistic. under the circumstances, i am thrilled!
I’ve been in education for 35 years and that is the craziest thing I have ever heard and if I were a parent I’d be at the superintendent’s office (six feet away with mask on) screaming bloody murder.
^^Thanks Calif2020 and Darcy for sharing your experiences. Really hoping and praying all goes well.
True also, naturally those parents are upset and posted on FB. The students/parents where everything is fine would not necessarily post anything so we have to keep everything in context. I hope their situations get resolved too and the students are fine.
In K-6 land, my daughter’s dance school is surveying parents to see if any want their children to distance learn and take dance classes during the day at the dance studio. Like a daycare for older kids situation.
If ND was a state Massachusetts would make their students quarantine 14 days if they visited…
That’s the nature of FB. Toxic…glad I never jumped on the bandwagon.
True. But it’s also a fact that the day care workers don’t have powerful unions “protecting” them.