MCPS is closing Wed 11/24, day before Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Awesome. Thanks for the last minute notice, yet again, MCPS.

It’s great for us working moms who have to physically go into work.

As always, thanks for the adequate notice so that we can scramble to make arrangements.

It was a half day anyway. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

PP- I hear ya and don’t disagree on the whole. But I think the bolded of your post illustrates exactly what was said in my post, which is that people forget teachers are workers and parents also. Teachers also had to work and simultaneously assist their kids on Zoom or try to find childcare, they weren’t exempt for the struggle. They aren’t exempt from the struggle now. And even states where teachers went back experienced the chaos of quarantines and hybrid teaching and are now dealing with learning loss. Its not sunshine and roses everywhere that teachers went back sooner.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I find it interesting that when parents, primarily women, complained about performing their own job duties while supervising their children's distance learning, the response is always "why isn't your spouse or partner helping?" But no one ever says that abut teachers. It's odd.

Why would teachers help you with child care? Yes, most kids have two parents so your spouse needs to step up. Or, you need to hire child care as you are working and when you are at work, you need to make arrangements for your kids.

You need to work on your marriage if your spouse will not help you with "child care."

At least you have the luxury of child care most days. Some of us still have our kids in virtual and have them every day/all day and somehow find a way to make it work. Must be nice to have free child care most days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

PP- I hear ya and don’t disagree on the whole. But I think the bolded of your post illustrates exactly what was said in my post, which is that people forget teachers are workers and parents also. Teachers also had to work and simultaneously assist their kids on Zoom or try to find childcare, they weren’t exempt for the struggle. They aren’t exempt from the struggle now. And even states where teachers went back experienced the chaos of quarantines and hybrid teaching and are now dealing with learning loss. Its not sunshine and roses everywhere that teachers went back sooner.

Some of our kids are still in virtual and yet, we manage to work it out. And, you are complaining about one day.

Who is this for? I’m the NP who was saying this one day is not the reason to once again be bashing teachers and forgetting that they too are parents and humans.

They care more about their free child care so they can prep for thanksgiving vs. caring that teachers may need to do the same thing or travel. Reality is many kids don't go to school that day so its silly to be opened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

Just let MCPS know which other days you would like them to schedule school because there is a requirement for 180 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

PP- I hear ya and don’t disagree on the whole. But I think the bolded of your post illustrates exactly what was said in my post, which is that people forget teachers are workers and parents also. Teachers also had to work and simultaneously assist their kids on Zoom or try to find childcare, they weren’t exempt for the struggle. They aren’t exempt from the struggle now. And even states where teachers went back experienced the chaos of quarantines and hybrid teaching and are now dealing with learning loss. Its not sunshine and roses everywhere that teachers went back sooner.

I don’t forget that teachers are parents and workers. I just expect that they would make accommodations for childcare or leave the same way other professionals are expected to do. I know too many teachers IRL who said that school isn’t childcare, etc., and heard too much push-back from the teachers’ union to bend over backwards to accommodate them. For what? I can’t think of any other profession that expects so much accommodation. I get that teachers are burned out and exhausted. We all are.

At the end of the day, I care less that this day is off than I do about the short notice. That’s what screws people over, and working families most of all. But let’s be real, we know that “school isn’t childcare” is just a dog whistle for contempt for working mothers. It would be great if people could be honest about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

PP- I hear ya and don’t disagree on the whole. But I think the bolded of your post illustrates exactly what was said in my post, which is that people forget teachers are workers and parents also. Teachers also had to work and simultaneously assist their kids on Zoom or try to find childcare, they weren’t exempt for the struggle. They aren’t exempt from the struggle now. And even states where teachers went back experienced the chaos of quarantines and hybrid teaching and are now dealing with learning loss. Its not sunshine and roses everywhere that teachers went back sooner.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I find it interesting that when parents, primarily women, complained about performing their own job duties while supervising their children's distance learning, the response is always "why isn't your spouse or partner helping?" But no one ever says that abut teachers. It's odd.

Why would teachers help you with child care? Yes, most kids have two parents so your spouse needs to step up. Or, you need to hire child care as you are working and when you are at work, you need to make arrangements for your kids.

You need to work on your marriage if your spouse will not help you with "child care."

At least you have the luxury of child care most days. Some of us still have our kids in virtual and have them every day/all day and somehow find a way to make it work. Must be nice to have free child care most days.

I don't know who you think you are speaking to, because the post was not about me. It was about how the family and childcare needs of teachers seem to be prioritized more than those of other working mothers. Your nasty response just illustrates the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

PP- I hear ya and don’t disagree on the whole. But I think the bolded of your post illustrates exactly what was said in my post, which is that people forget teachers are workers and parents also. Teachers also had to work and simultaneously assist their kids on Zoom or try to find childcare, they weren’t exempt for the struggle. They aren’t exempt from the struggle now. And even states where teachers went back experienced the chaos of quarantines and hybrid teaching and are now dealing with learning loss. Its not sunshine and roses everywhere that teachers went back sooner.

I don’t forget that teachers are parents and workers. I just expect that they would make accommodations for childcare or leave the same way other professionals are expected to do. I know too many teachers IRL who said that school isn’t childcare, etc., and heard too much push-back from the teachers’ union to bend over backwards to accommodate them. For what? I can’t think of any other profession that expects so much accommodation. I get that teachers are burned out and exhausted. We all are.

At the end of the day, I care less that this day is off than I do about the short notice. That’s what screws people over, and working families most of all. But let’s be real, we know that “school isn’t childcare” is just a dog whistle for contempt for working mothers. It would be great if people could be honest about that.

I'm not sure why the PP wants to argue that teachers should free from standards of professionalism applicable to most professions. How does that help teachers? It only makes it worse.

[Anonymous]

There’s only outrage bc bored parents NEED to be angry about something. The rest of us (parents that is) are so sick of the Reesman mob. Find a new hobby.

[Anonymous]

MCEA President at their press conference today demanding more early dismissal days like what Howard County has done. Welcome back weekend Wednesdays! She said ‘the day before thanksgiving being off is just the start’.

So sad that the teachers union pushed for schools to remain closed, and now using the poor outcomes and mental health of students as the reason why they need less teaching time due to their ‘burnout’. Come on- they get the whole summer off. Want to talk about burnout- talk to health care professionals. We stick with it though… we don’t take advantage of a bad situation to advance our own position.

So pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should hire subs/floating paras full-time or part-time with full benefits.

I think that is going to have to be the path forward. There needs to be much more backup.

It’s not the answer. Nobody wants those jobs, even with more pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

Just let MCPS know which other days you would like them to schedule school because there is a requirement for 180 days.

Nice try. They build in 182 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

PP- I hear ya and don’t disagree on the whole. But I think the bolded of your post illustrates exactly what was said in my post, which is that people forget teachers are workers and parents also. Teachers also had to work and simultaneously assist their kids on Zoom or try to find childcare, they weren’t exempt for the struggle. They aren’t exempt from the struggle now. And even states where teachers went back experienced the chaos of quarantines and hybrid teaching and are now dealing with learning loss. Its not sunshine and roses everywhere that teachers went back sooner.

I don’t forget that teachers are parents and workers. I just expect that they would make accommodations for childcare or leave the same way other professionals are expected to do. I know too many teachers IRL who said that school isn’t childcare, etc., and heard too much push-back from the teachers’ union to bend over backwards to accommodate them. For what? I can’t think of any other profession that expects so much accommodation. I get that teachers are burned out and exhausted. We all are.

At the end of the day, I care less that this day is off than I do about the short notice. That’s what screws people over, and working families most of all. But let’s be real, we know that “school isn’t childcare” is just a dog whistle for contempt for working mothers. It would be great if people could be honest about that.

Huh? The majority of the teachers I know are working moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well there aren’t enough nannies/sitters to cover that day either. What to make your problem my problem, Board.

Schools are not child care, fool

This is such a stupid response to a real problem. What is the point in posting this? Is it your position that mothers should be sitting at home knitting booties just in case schools close?

NP. Please point out where anyone said that. No. When schools close for a day with two weeks of notice, mothers and fathers should stop whining and throwing adult temper tantrums and use those two weeks to arrange childcare. Yes, the vaaaaast majority of DCUM parents can afford this, even if they don't have family or friends to do it for free and they -- gasp! -- have to pay for it (definitely including the dentist).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can have two of the three:

Plenty of subs
Cheap subs
Decent subs

You can also decline OFF days when there is no coverage.

And then they'll all call out and use sick days. Duh.

And if you don't care about that and are fine with hundreds of kids wasting the day in the gym without enough teachers, then stop saying "it's about education!" because clearly then it's about free babysitting.