Some Schools Are Holding Zoom Detention and Twitter Is Not Having It

I wish we were joking.

zoom detention twitter

At first, I thought maybe it was a late April Foolā€™s joke. But the more I scrolled, I realized it was no laughing matter. Zoom detention isnā€™t a joke. Itā€™s a thing. Itā€™s really happening in childrenā€™s bedrooms and at kitchen tables right now. And parents are tweeting about it. Zoom Kids are getting sent to digital detention for not paying attention and missing classesā€”among other offenses. I canā€™t help but wonder, how does this work? And is it really necessary? Havenā€™t we all been through enough this school year? Honestly, Iā€™m not having it, and Twitter isnā€™t either.

Can schools require families to enforce rules in their homes?

Hereā€™s a scenario for you. A school district in Springfield, Ill. updates its school handbook with guidelines for remote learning. One rule is students canā€™t wear pajamas to virtual classes or sit in bed. The schools are enforcing dress code. But the problem is that students arenā€™t at school. Theyā€™re at home. Many families donā€™t think the school has a right to tell them what rules their kids have to follow in their own house. So a parent might not care if their kid wears pajamas during Zoom class, but the school does. And the kid gets a Zoom detention. This puts the parent in a tricky spot. They have to be the pajama police. They donā€™t agree with it, but now they have to enforce it? The lines are so blurred here. This is not a typical school year. We canā€™t have school rules and discipline as if it is.

Hereā€™s the link to serve Zoom detention

You can only imagine what Ugu Anya, a teacher, had to say when she got an email with a link to Zoom detention for her kid. Her nine-year-old ā€”like so many other kids across the countryā€”is distracted, playing computer games, ignoring the teacher, or just signing off Zoom. Her child is having the same struggles that all of us are having: keeping it together during a pandemic. Iā€™m pretty sure that Zoom detention isnā€™t going to help kids eliminate distractions, stop playing computer games, pay attention to their teacher, or stay in their Zoom class. If anything, itā€™s just going to things worse. And no one at school will be there to deal with it, Ugu Anya will. Not to mention, how is she going to make sure her kid goes to Zoom detention when sheā€™s trying to teach her own classes?

The solution for Zoom fatigue is more Zoom fatigue?

Within minutes of posting her Tweet, the comments poured in. Twitter wasnā€™t having it.

Good point. Punishing Zoom fatigue with more Zoom fatigue. Thatā€™s effective!

Thereā€™s got to be a better wayā€¦

https://twitter.com/LosFranich/status/1379490126699454466?s=20

Repeat after me. This. Is. Not. A. Normal. School. Year.

How about we give kids a break?

Maybe we should replace Zoom detention with some good old-fashioned playing outside?

First, it was too much screen time. Now itā€™s more screen time?

https://twitter.com/READLENINPLZ/status/1379501525169496072?s=20

Yeah. So this makes senseā€¦

Zoom detention or youā€™re grounded?

https://twitter.com/thatgirl405/status/1379487261868367874?s=20

Sigh. Thereā€™s so much wrong with this.

What are your thoughts on Zoom detention? Come, share, and laugh with us in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Also, be sure to check out The Craziest School Rules For Teachers That Actually Exist.

Some Schools Are Holding Zoom Detention And Twitter Is Not Having It