Fifth graders tell the Bidens virtual learning allowed them to eat and sneak in a nap.
Students at a Virginia fifth grade classroom told President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden Monday that virtual learning gave them the chance to eat, take naps, and even fake technical glitches in order to avoid answering questions.
The school, Yorktown Elementary School, is now open four days per week, with students attending Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Students don’t come to class Wednesday so the school can be cleaned.
One said, “if we were really tired, we could like take a little nap.” Another said, “sometimes when Ms. B was like paying attention to something else you could eat and it was fun.” Yet another student added that, “If you don’t know the question, you can just pretend like your mic doesn’t work.”
Students, relegated in many states to virtual learning for much of the pandemic, fell behind academically in the past year.
A study last year from Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools Office of Research and Strategic Improvement suggests middle and high school students are seeing less academic success as a result of online learning.
The percentage of students with two or more F marks, for example, increased 83% from 6% to 11% in the first quarter of the 2020-2021 school year compared to the first quarter of the 2019-2020 school year. Students with disabilities and non-English speakers experienced the largest increase in F marks.
A separate survey of parents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, found that parents of children who learned virtually reported worse outcomes for their kids on 11 of 17 stress and well-being indicators compared to kids who went to school for in-person instruction.- READ MORE
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