The Kids Today and Their 3-D Printers

From time to time I told you all I was going to talk about my kids going to school amidst a pandemic. Today I want to touch on that subject, but not the pandemic specific stuff I usually do. I want to do something a little different.

My wife and I are doing all the parent teacher conferences this week. Now that both of our kids are in school, we have extra conferences, and they have been quite eye opening. We are finishing them up tonight but we had one yesterday with our son's gifted teacher. My son has been in this whole gifted program through the school district since he was a kindergartener. We love it. He loves it. The program gives him a challenge he doesn't get in his everyday class. Now it is not that he isn't being challenged in his usual fourth grade class, this gifted program just pushes him to further his creative thinking and learning. The curriculum at the gifted school is made to teach the students to use different parts of their brain, and I am fully on board with all of that. We have had conferences every year, but last night was the most fired up I have been, in a good way, talking to my son's teacher there.

First of all, his teacher is amazing. Big shout out to her and all that she is doing. She is excellent at her job, and my wife and I both totally appreciate everything she is doing. Talking to her via a phone call last night was great. She was super informative. She had an answer to every question we asked. She talked about what my son needs to work on and what he is doing well. I liked that she focused more on what he needs to work on too. We all know he is smart, what he is good at doing in school, I want to know what he needs to work on so I can help him at home as well. I want to put in the effort to help the teachers as much as I can. This was where my mind was literally blown while talking to his teacher last night. When we talked about what he needs to work on, he wrote this down himself by the way, we are not judging him, his teacher told us he wants to get to know coding a bit better so he can do a 3-D print project at the end of the school year. I let out a verbal gasp when the teacher told us they had a 3-D printer in their classroom. I could not believe it. I am not totally computer savvy, but I know my way around one. I write blogs, I record a podcast, I can check email, I know the basics. But the idea of creating a coding program that would lead me to 3-D printing is so beyond any level of computer knowledge I could ever know or have. I was blown away. I thought this was the coolest thing ever. I have seen some 3-D printing products, but never something that I have created or my wife created or my kids created. Now my son is learning how to do this, during a full school day, and I couldn’t be any happier about it. The idea of a 3-D printer, when I was in 4th grade, would have blown my mind. It would have been the only thing I focused on all year. I would have obsessed over it. I would have poured over it. It would have been the only thing in school that mattered.

The fact that they have 3-D printers also proves to me that I am getting older. That a 3-D printer is commonplace in school now shows my age. I remember getting Oregon Trail, and that was the best. I am old. This is the equivalent, I assume, of when my dad and I were driving home from a college football game maybe four or five years ago and I pulled up a different game on the radio on my phone. I had, still have, an iPhone at the time, we had just watched Michigan barely win and my dad was driving the five hours back home. He wanted to listen to other games while we drove, so I pulled up an app that had college football radio stations, downloaded it and we listened to a few games on the way home. He told me that that technology would have been so foreign to him in his teens and 20's. That is how this 3-D printer being in my nine year old's classroom is for me. It is so wild, but also very, very cool.

I love CCL. I love the gifted program. And now that they have these great tools to help the students learn, while it blows my mind, I love it so very much. This is a good thing. This makes me happy. I hope they continue to grow and learn and add the proper, and needed materials for schools. I'm a big fan of all things CCL, especially the new 3-D printer that my son is currently learning how to use. So awesome.

Ty

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

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A Wrap Up on Pandemic Learning

Both my kids finished off the school year yesterday. For a while I was doing updates on how the year was going during the pandemic. Today I want to talk about this school year as a whole, and how impressed I am with how well the district handled some things. We definitely have other problems, big glaring problems that need to be addressed immediately. But I want to keep this strictly about the pandemic, and how the school was able to finish the year in person after nine weeks of virtual learning to start.

We did start virtual, and that was fine. Last year, when everything suddenly shut down, virtual learning was a mess. It was disorganized, too short, too many internet problems, just everything was sloppy. That was expected. None of us knew what in the hell we were doing. It was scary. We were all just trying to deal with our new reality. When the new school year started, virtual learning was leaps and bounds better. They had a schedule. My kids both had multiple Zoom meetings with their teachers. They were both engaged, and it worked. Those nine weeks were long, but they were, for the most part, a success.

Then both my kids went back in person. This was a struggle coming to this decision for me and my wife. We wanted them to learn, to be social, to see their friends, but so little was known about COVID. There is still so much more to learn about this virus. But we eventually decided that the pros outweigh the cons, and we sent them back. We made sure they knew the importance of masking, of personal hygiene, of social distancing. They were already well versed in it when school stopped last year, so I had some kind of comfort in sending them back. And it worked. There were moments, especially during Thanksgiving and the winter holiday season, when there were rumors of returning to all virtual for some time. The case numbers were going up, the variants started to become a thing, people were skirting the CDC guidelines, it was a mess. The kids had to bring home their computers everyday. The parents received emails letting us know that school could go all virtual at any moment, so we had to be ready. But they weathered the storm, and the kids did not miss a day of in person learning all year unless they had a cold or they got a snow day. We did have some virtual Friday's thrown in from time to time. But when they had class, my kids went. And they loved every second of it.

I was talking to both of my kids yesterday when I picked them up from school. I wanted to know what they thought about this whole pandemic school year. They were both thrilled that they got to go back in person, and they both said they were sad because they wouldn't be able to see all the friends they want to. I was pleased with this answer from them for a few reasons. First, it is clear that my kids like school and want to go. They both enjoy learning, seeing their friends, talking to their teachers, the whole experience is good for them. Second, seeing their friends was a humongous deal when they first went back, and since my kids are not old enough for a vaccine yet, and I hope one gets approved for them soon, they only have a few select friends that we feel comfortable with them seeing this summer. These select friends, I know that their folks are vaccinated, and any kid that is old enough for a vaccine has gotten at least one dose. So the fact that they could see all their friends during school, masked, was so big for them. It allowed them to talk freely to everyone they wanted to talk to. They got to be the social butterflies they both have been since they were born. Third, the teachers were absolute rock stars this year. That they were able to come together, to find a way to teach, to do it awesomely, my hat is off to them. This had to be a very, very, very hard year for them, and they nailed it. My son and daughter were both raving about how much they loved their teachers and how much they learned from them this year. Teachers are totally awesome, but they went up a whole new level after this school year. That is a damn tough job, and they knocked it out of the damn park. I'm even more impressed now than I was before. Finally, the superintendent of our school did a masterful job navigating the students, teachers and parents. He had to deal with a ton of nonsense, the stuff I talked about up top that needs to be fixed and fixed fast, and he handled it so gracefully and so properly. I wish he was not retiring. I wish he was staying on. I am so annoyed and angered at some of the parents that attacked him viciously online. Those people are cowards. They are keyboard warriors and nothing more. The superintendent doesn't deserve any of that. He handled this so well, so effectively and was a tremendous asset to our school. I am really going to miss him. And he handled this COVID school year like a champ. I am as impressed with his job performance as I am with all the teachers.

I guess I just want to say thank you to the staff and teachers of both my kids' schools. You did a wonderful job navigating a nearly impossible school year. I am forever grateful to you all, as are my wife and kids. This weird year wouldn't have happened without the wonderful work everyone involved did. My hat is off to you all. Thank you.

Ty

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

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The Continuing Adventures of Pandemic Schooling

I haven't done a school check in blog for awhile, so today feels like a good day for a new one.

We are into the second semester now here in Saint Louis. I assume most places are for that matter. Things have been smoother than I think most of us could have hoped for. I am probably jinxing it, but we haven't gotten an email from my son's school with a new case in well over a month. And my daughter's preschool, still no positive cases all year. Things have been good at school too. My kids have both told me, on separate occasions, that the only real difference is having to wear a mask all day, and they couldn't care less about that. I applaud both schools my kids go to for teaching them the importance of masks and hand washing and why they need to be more conscious of their hygiene. I am a clean freak as it is, but it is nice to have other people, people outside my home, telling them how important cleanliness truly is.

My kids have adapted well to any other changes too, even outside the universal masking at county schools. They have lunch with their class, that is it. No mingling with other classes, no additional students or teachers, just their teacher and their classmates. My son got on board with this fairly easily. My daughter has half days, so lunch is at home with me. My son has a full day, so he does have this new experience, but as I said, he is cool with it. It helps that he is in class with some kids he has been friends with since kindergarten. He already has these built in relationships. But I think no matter who was in his class, he would find someone to hang with. He is very sociable and easy to get along with. He is very good at making friends. Recess is also like lunch. Their class goes out each day to a different area of the playground, and they play. Some days they get the playground, some days they get the blacktop, that includes ga ga ball, basketball and tether ball and other days they get the big field. It rotates every single day. Again, my son has had no problems adapting to this change. He gets to still do all the things he likes doing at recess, and he gets to hang with his buddies. There have been zero problems. My daughter has recess too, but her class is so small, and they go out so early, they get the full playground to themselves, which is very nice for a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds. And both kids have little four people pods they sit in within their classroom. It has been nice because they rotate the people every few weeks. My son is loving his pod right now because he has his three best friends with him. This has caused some issues within the class, but only because all four of them talk non stop. My daughter loves the pod stuff because she gets to kind of run things. She is one of the older kids in her class, so the younger kids look up to her for advice, and to know what to do. She likes to be in charge, and the pod is perfect for her.

The only change that has come in the second semester has been a switch to making every Friday, at least for the next two months, virtual. Every parent knew this was coming. We all saw the writing on the wall. There was far too much travel and meeting with people outside of personal bubbles over the holiday break. Then COVID case numbers started to soar. We just figured it was a matter of time. Today is the second virtual Friday of the quarter, and it has been okay. It is kind of a throw away day, but work does get done. For example, they only have one Zoom, and it is in the morning. I'm not too terribly pleased with this. My son is the type who's mind will wander. I kind of have to stay on him to get his other work done after his 30 minute meeting. It is a bit reminiscent of last year when we had to suddenly shift to virtual, and no one had any idea how to pull it off. The beginning of the school year was much better when we went fully virtual for nine weeks, but they had a whole summer to prepare. The idea to shift now seemed like an inevitable one, but I also feel like there could have been a little bit better of a game plan. One Zoom in the morning is not enough. But all in all, we are all figuring this out and adapting.

This is as weird a school year as I hope we will ever have. I don't think many people have wanted their kids school year to be part time, or fully virtual, but here we are. I am lucky and grateful that we have been able to send both of my kids back this year, and if that means we have to spend one day virtual, so be it. My hat is off to the school district. They have done everything better than I could have expected. It is a weird and wild year, but we are getting through it together.

Ty

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

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An Update on In Person School During the Pandemic

I realized that I haven't done a school blog in a bit, and I wanted to touch base with where we are currently.

My kids are still in school the moment I write this. That is subject to change at any moment. Things have been relatively smooth up until about a week ago. There were no cases in my daughter's school, and my son's school has had only three cases, all of which were traced and the kids and staff involved have all quarantined. But, like the rest of the US right now, cases are rising and rising fast. We received multiple emails from our kids' schools to "be prepared at any moment to have virtual learning for upwards of two to three weeks". With the rise in cases, that means that the staff at both schools has dwindled. I expected this to happen, and right around Thanksgiving was my target date. I have talked to friends via text that have kids roughly the same age, and they all said the same thing. But, for the time being, my kids are still learning in person, and for them, it has been pretty great.

Both my kids are smart, they know what they should at their ages and the learning aspect was only a slight part of why we sent them back to in person learning. The main reason we decided to send both of them back was for the socialization, and that has been amazing for them. Before, when we were doing virtual learning, which was so much better this time around, my kids would throw weird, non important fits. My son would get mad that his sister got candy and he didn't, and he would meltdown. When I would tell my daughter that she couldn't watch TV anymore for the day, she would throw a major fit, similar to what she did as an infant. It was getting to the point where they truly craved, and needed, interaction with kids their age. That part has worked tremendously. My kids are happier, more fulfilled and tired when they get home from school now. They talk glowingly of seeing their friends and teachers. My son has a pod type situation, and his best friends are in his pod. When he goes to his gifted class in school, it is the same people. He now gets to see his current best friend everyday. And it isn't like he wasn't seeing him before, they would chat on a kids messenger thing we have, and play Fortnite together, but now they get to see each other Monday-Friday, and they love it. My daughter absolutely adores her teacher, and she too has a little group of friends, there are only eight kids in her class, that she now gets to see for three hours a day, Monday-Thursday. She is most excited to tell me about who she played with everyday at school, and what her teacher did for her, more than anything else. They have both almost completely reverted back to their normal selves. They do have to, and I make damn well sure, wear their masks. Both my kids have been prepped for this, and they understand why it is so necessary if they want to continue in person learning.

As far as the schools go, they have done a great job enforcing mask rules and making sure the kids understand the importance of hygiene and cleanliness. It has been far smoother than I thought it would be to be totally honest. I thought cases were going to skyrocket within the first two weeks. They didn't, and they still haven't. But there is still the unsettling problem of rising cases in the US that we are now dealing with. I check my email far more often now because I want my kids to be ready for virtual learning again, and I have to explain to them that it will, hopefully, only be temporary. My son doesn't like it, but he gets it. My daughter though, it makes her very sad that she may have to miss school for a few weeks. I fear that, if the numbers continue on the path they are currently on, they may cut her program, and my son won't go back until after the new year. It is really all on the table at this point. For the time being we are continuing to reinforce why masks are important, and the necessity to stay in a "bubble" and to be as careful as possible because in person learning has been so successful for their socialization.

We will see what happens next, I'm sure we will have to go virtual soon, maybe only for a little bit. But, for right now, I commend the school district, the staff and the higher ups for the tremendous job they have done to keep our numbers relatively low compared to other places.

Ty

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

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Thoughts on the Transition from Online to In School Learning

In keeping up with how the school year is going in Saint Louis, today my son returned to in person learning. My daughter went back two weeks ago, to pre k, and my son returned to his third grade classroom today.

It has been seven months since he was in an actual classroom. He went to summer camp, but that was all outdoors, and masked. He played two baseball games before his season was postponed, then ultimately canceled. He has started to play flag football at a local sports spot, also masked. But today is the first day since March that he will be around more than two of his friends. His classroom is full, a little too full if you ask me, of kids his age. He is in one of the three rooms that has in person learning, filled with about 18 kids and one teacher. Now, they are masked, they are being taught the correct way to wash hands, they have assigned seats and assigned lunch time, as well as recess, and they have to follow every safety protocol. I will say, while the state of Missouri hasn't been doing great with curbing COVID, the city and county of Saint Louis have actually done a good job. The state is up 20 percent, but the city and county are down 7 percent. We have mask mandates and the mass majority of people are following the simple rules without throwing a fit. That is why my son and daughter are able to return to their classrooms. The people in charge out here, Democrats, have listened to doctors and scientists, and we have done a solid job of slowing the spread. I do understand that at any moment both kids could be home due to an outbreak. But for the time being, they are in class because we listened to the right people, didn't turn it political and are doing the right things.

I will say that it wasn't euphoric or joyful like I had thought it would be when I dropped my son off this morning. I had been saying that I wanted my kids back in school when it was safe. I mentioned during the summer that I hoped they would be able to start in late August as they intended to. Even when they announced they would be online for the first quarter, I still had hope that they would be able to attend in person earlier than expected. I had all these ideals, that if it were safe, they would both be in school, and that it would be great. I am happy for the kids because they are getting some much needed socialization, quality teaching and a safe place to play, but I miss them. I miss my daughter for those three hours she is in school. I am really, really missing my son too. As I write this, while he was learning virtually, he would usually come and hang out and do his writing assignments while I write my blog. He isn't here right now, and that is weird for me. When I dropped him off, the car was too quiet. Lunch was just me, my wife and daughter. I missed my son being there with us to say some random nonsense that always makes us laugh. Miles is fun to be around, and I guess it took a global pandemic, and school being closed for four months to in person learning, for me to appreciate that about him. I've always known he was fun to be around, and have relished this time we have gotten to spend together, but now that he is back in school, I miss it, and him.

I am happy for him though. Miles is a social butterfly, and he has taken this pandemic hard. We went a few months without seeing anyone. It was just the four of us. Then we added my folks and my wife's mom. Then we added my wife's step mom, brother and dad. And then we let him see two friends. That was it. For seven months, my son, who just wants to talk and play and be around people, only got to see, outside of me, his mom and sister, eight total people. He was excited, but also nervous this morning too. I am sure that the moment he walked into class, and realized that it was similar to last year, with obvious new safety protocols in place, he was fine. I am sure he is happy to be around the friends he has made the past four years in his school. I know he is having fun being able to see his teacher in person, and not on a screen. And I say again, I know that this can be taken away at any moment, and he knows this too. But, for the time being, he is happy, my wife and I feel like he is in the second safest place he can be, our home being first, and he is getting some much needed socialization that he has been craving for seven months now. I hope it works out, and I hope it stays safe. That is up to us, to the school and to the administrators, but they have shown tenfold that they are listening to the right people and doing the right, smart and safe thing.

I miss my son, but I am happy for him. Now lets see what happens from here. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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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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