CHAPTER 1 - IT’S ALL NEW TO US! -

 - IT’S ALL NEW TO US! -

    Computers were distributed by our school district 1-week ahead of classes...well, let’s be honest, it was 5-days before classes began. We drove as a family to pick up our son’s device. My first steps into a High School in over 30-years did not bring back any memories. I was greeted by gowned, gloved and masked staff, giving me directions on where to stand while I waiting my turn to receive our son’s device. After a short wait in line, appropriately distanced, I walked to a long table and was greeted by another covered staff member, sitting opposite of me at a large table that was at least 10-feet long. She spoke through her mask, as did I. We exchanged minimal pleasantries and with a long outstretch armed she shoved me the device, down to my side of the 10-foot table. We said goodbye and off I went to return home, with the family, to begin figuring out what comes next. 

    We had already set up a ‘home office’ for our 5-year old and we were excited to have the device, completing all of the things that we were (pretty sure) we needed. The bunk bed arrangement, with a workbench underneath seemed like a great idea, space saving and efficient. “This will be where he spends his school-days”, Mom (aka - Momtch) and I said to each other, both realizing we are putting our son in a small cave, at age 5, to fend for himself each day, in an online only world. We both paused, sad that this was the best we could afford him, under the entirety of circumstances – he would have no first-day of school experience, at least not one either of us could appreciate. 

    The information we received from the school was overwhelming: logins, admin sites, Hubs, apps, file systems, system requirements, internet requirements, app requirements, cookies settings, setting settings, phantom app warnings, VPN settings, liability acknowledgments, emails of presentations with laborious instructions, support materials, tech support info…. This list of things was extraneous and taxed us past our limits. 

    We forged ahead. A parents meeting was set up 2-days before class, our first chance to speak with anyone who would actually have touched the programs that would be used to teach our child. Confusion prevailed as the ‘online teacher’ tried to speak over background noises, ultimately muting everyone out of frustration – it was the only way to have her even be heard. Questions were unanswerable; no one left feeling better about how this would work out but the first class was coming regardless. 

    Momtch and I tried to work through how to access the necessary lessons. I spent hours working through the technical aspects, ultimately discovering a kernel of knowledge that was left out and leading the ‘online teacher’ to distribute the information to all of the other parents. More hours piled up as I tried to understand the workflow intentions, leading me to realize none of this was ever intended to help a kindergartner be ‘autonomous’ - this would be a full-time operation. I was broken. With no other good option, we pushed ahead.