Remote Instruction Has Southland Parents And Students Frustrated

TINLEY PARK, IL — Many students are headed back to school this week for what teachers across the country are calling one of the most important school years of all time. With remote learning in place for most schools, students and teachers expressed their opinions and concerns in a Patch poll published Aug. 31.

Patch asked how things are going in your district and how are parents and students feeling about the new policies and procedures in place to curb the pandemic, and we received a total of 1,031 responses.

More than two-thirds of respondents — 67.9 percent — said their school district is partaking in remote learning, while 2.9 percent said they're having in-person instruction this fall. About 15.6 percent said their schools are offering a mix of remote and in-person instruction, while 13.6 percent of people said parents were given a choice of in-person or remote learning.

Despite the concerns about in-person instruction, when asked what parents would choose if given a choice, 65.5 percent of survey takers said they would prefer in-person instruction, while 34.5 percent preferred remote learning.

There was a mixed response on how parents feel about the district handling their learning choice for the school year: 28 percent of parents voted they're "very happy" with the district response, while 28 percent also voted they're "very unhappy."

Patch asked parents and students on social media how remote instruction is going in Tinley Park, Orland Park, Oak Forest, Homewood-Flossmoor and Chicago Heights. Here are a mix of some responses we received:

"As a parent who has to do it on their own because my husband works a lot of hours, so far it’s been tough! Can’t really get the kids to fully sit down and focus on their teacher," one Facebook user wrote. "Don’t know how I can listen to both teachers at once without getting the other kid distracted. They say make sure you have a quiet workspace, which is impossible when you have more than one kid doing e-learning. It will be one tough year."

"Today is the 1st day for my 4th grader so no feedback yet. My 2 high schoolers complained that the Chromebook screen is too small to stare at for that long, so we made an adjustment for each of them—a bigger screen."

Another parent shared a video on Facebook and said she walked in on her student in class to find her son working on a hands-on project.

"I am loving it because his teacher made it hands on," she said. "We had to pick up the materials earlier. He was having fun and learning at the same time. The hardest part is finding a place to do the activities."

College students are also having a hard time adjusting to classes. Some said they are having Wi-Fi connection issues, while others are saying they are unable to focus at home.

"Teachers are not accommodating nor prepared," one student said on Instagram.

"It is frustrating at times," another said.

A college student expressed that remote instruction is difficult in her field. "This is terrible," she wrote. "I am in nursing school and it's truly the worst experience of my life."

Teachers are under pressure as well, with one writing: "From a teachers perspective, it's crazy and I wish we could go back to normal school soon."

Read results from the Illinois Patch Survey here.