Discussions

Being August 25, school in Manitoba including Brandon School Division is set to start in two weeks on September 8.  
 
For a variety of circumstances some parents are not comfortable with sending their kids to public school in the current environment in Prairie Mountain Health as proposed.  
 
This thread is intended as a space to explore alternatives to one sending their kiddo(s) full-time, five days per week.  
 
Options might include:  
 
-Homeschooling where a parent is available and able to conduct learning and have kids’ needs met. This likely involves some safe form of co-ordinating with other parents. We have some homeschooling voices on the forums here that have provided some good information. I’m aware of the Facebook groups for homeschooling and there seem to be some good folks in those with some good info too.  
 
-Remote learning. In Manitoba not so much an option as in Ontario, Alberta or BC but perhaps some options for enrolling in remote learning options that are located elsewhere so long as spaces are available. I had explored with a school in BC that normally would take enrolments out of province and teach out of province, but they are overwhelmed with signups from residents of their own province that they aren’t able to take out of province at this time.  
 
-The nuclear option… relocating to an area that’s offering choice right from the get-go such as remote learning or blended learning.  
 
Given the short timeline before school starts and the need for some families to decide on a direction asap I’m curious what options other families in the same boat might have explored and what they’ve learned as far as what’s an option for them in practice and what’s practical on the financial end.  
 
I make this post totally respectful of the fact that there are many folks that are fine with the plan as proposed and respectful of the fact that depending on one’s life and work situation there are some options that aren’t practical for everyone. I go on the assumption that based on Ontario numbers it’s probably only about 1/4 of parents/students that are in a position to explore these options even if many others have concerns.  
 
For those looking to continue to have a more general discussion on the return to school and plan, the ongoing thread is at:  
https://ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=1059485&cat_id=3

CBC story that puts homeschooling into a lot more context from a Saskatchewan perspective at least:  
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/home-schooling-options-1.5694152  
 
I noticed the Brandon Sun posting a note looking to talk with parents that are looking at starting homeschooling “pods” and assume more info from a local perspective is on the way there too.  
 
The page on the Manitoba provincial website on homeschooling is at:  
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/schools/ind/homeschool/index.html

CBC story at the link below answers questions re who would potentially qualify for at home learning under the return to class plan as it stands right now.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-covid-19-back-to-school-remote-learning-questions-1.5703859

Still hopeful that province will come to its senses and allow divisions to offer a school connected form of learning choice for everyone that is remote and/or hybrid as we’re seeing in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. Just In reading surveys that divisions outside of province are sending to parents, it's clear that there is a meaningful percentage of folks that feel a simple cut-the-chord homeschooling does not meet the need as widely as should be offered... and so many of these I've seen are in places without virus prevalence (outbreak) anywhere near what we're seeing in Brandon on an active cases/100,000 people basis. 

Was actually just reading the CBC story that’s getting a lot of attention today re remote learning... Saskatoon I guess has remote with multiple re-entry points:  
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/remote-learning-distance-education-not-an-option-for-all-manitoba-students-1.5703745  
 
Comments on the story are quite interesting, I’m not sure a lot of Winnipeg folks get how different it is in Brandon as far as virus in the community. Province needs to step up and acknowledge that difference as it pertains to education, and not just in the form of putting the orange in place that we all thought was in place anyway a week ago.

Posted this in the wider update on the return to school plan, but this portion is relevant to this thread.  
 
When it comes to the province’s “Our way or the highway” stance on return to school, it appears that there would at least be opportunity of some form to on-ramp back from said highway at a later date...  
 
Education Minister stated today that the school division in catchment area has to provide ability to come back into the system, citing scenarios that could change within a family that could necessitate.

If this is something one is considering, I'd recommend contacting Province's homeschooling dept to be clear on what that would entail for you... https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/schools/ind/homeschool/index.html

So, in present public health environment in Brandon and specifically the fact that we’re in the middle of an outbreak we absolutely cannot and will not be sending our kiddo to school to start the year in Brandon. Much respect to those with the division and schools that are doing their best with the situation they’re having to work within but the lack of choice puts parents in an awful spot.  
 
There have been a couple of decent days in terms of number of cases in Brandon, a trend that I hope continues... but clock has run out and we have to pick a direction to run in so that we can best own that direction and make sure our kiddo gets the absolute best of that direction.  
 
Relocating and running the business from a distance from a province that’s giving parents choice could have been one way to get the best of both worlds, but deadlines and timelines around such a relocation would create a “cure is worse than the disease” kind of dynamic that makes it not practical on this short of notice and in the middle of a pandemic.  
 
I know that not everyone is in a position to make the homeschooling commitment and that the lack of a hybrid or remote learning environment is forcing a decision in a lot of parents that would otherwise take it if the same options were made available here that are in Alberta, Ontario, B.C. and some of Saskatchewan.... but at the end of the day short of some kind of mass parent strike one has to make the best decision they can within their reality.  
 
We’ll be homeschooling and looking to make connections with other parents in that K-3 window as part of a small, responsibly sized “pod” that gets together as safely as possible once or twice per week to make sure all needs are met. All will be done with the goal of re-integrating with our BSD school at a later date when the time is right. As much as the province isn’t allowing any kind of arrangement that would allow some guidance from the division/school in knowing that’s our goal, we will make it work and are happy to chat with other folks in the same spot so that we can take on these challenges together.  
 
For those that are considering the homeschool route, I’ve been told by the homeschooling office of Manitoba Education that you would just need to register within 30 days of when you start... so eg starting Sept 10 would mean you have 30 days from that date to send in your forms.  
 
To make this happen and from the perspective that family comes first above everything, I’m going to have to reduce my work commitment. That means that as fun as it’s been and as much value as I feel I’ve been able to contribute to the community I’ll be significantly reducing my regular postings in the buzz section and working out alternative arrangements for more content of value to appear in the same space. I need to make sure I can be there for family to support during this and I need to have the time after that to oversee the classifieds and other areas of eBrandon that folks have historically relied on. Stepping back from the extensive time commitment that it takes to research and properly write buzz section stories is the natural choice to make sure that there is enough time and life to go around. I’ll still of course be around in the forums and doing my best to supplement posts with updates and I love posting pics, galleries and 3D panoramas that I’ll still be finding a way to post once in a while. Conversations ongoing for what’s next for the section of the front page that’s been allocated to buzz posts, stay tuned... very often change creates opportunity for something new and valuable and that's what I'll be going for. 
 
As far as being put in this place by a government that refuses to listen and refuses to give the choice that governments of all kinds of political stripe in Canada and their health experts are giving parents and students, the only recourse left is consequence at the ballot box. I’m not political and have spread my votes over the whole political spectrum including at one time voting for this provincial government but this is the kind of thing that burns in the mind for more than three years and if come election time any of the decision-makers involved in this are involved in leadership with the party currently in the decision-making chair there is zero chance we can support. This includes my MLA who we’ve had no communication with despite multiple emails that he's been included in on. Three years is a long time away but we will be speaking with our vote.  
 
Anyways because I’ve been pretty vocal through this whole process I thought I should post an update for anyone that’s curious. For the best of our family and in striking the right balance that allows this business to serve the community where it's needed the most, Mrs eBrandon and I are looking forward to connecting with other homeschooling parents and owning this unfortunate situation the best that it can possibly be owned and look forward to doing it together with others in the same boat!

For Metis, the MMF has stepped up to provide additional supports:  

Today, the MMF has announced that it is developing a strategy to assist parents homeschooling their children this fall. Read the full release: https://t.co/x8G1a7gt7o #MétisNation pic.twitter.com/Rru35SJ4bL

— MB Metis Federation (@MBMetis_MMF) September 3, 2020