Voting out politicians who support school closures

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because they failed at their jobs.

Their job was for them to look out for the interests of children, and to provide education to children. Instead they initiated an un-scientific shutdown of the schools and kept schools closed many months after it was obvious that children were at little risk for Covid and that schools were not significantly contributing to spread.

School board leaders did huge damage to the education and general health and wellbeing of children and there needs to be accountability.

No. Schools in our area went back to the classroom in Feb/Mar just like MANY of other school systems in the country.


Are you the school choice lobbyist who admitted to exploiting the pandemic for your own purposes?

My child in DC had 26 days of in-person learning last year. I know others who got zero days of in-person learning. DC schools differ by individual school, and were some of the last to reopen. They didn't open for 5-day-a-week in-person education until Fall 2021.

Also, there were districts across the country that never closed, and Europeans even opened more than the U.S. throughout the pandemic (if you want to just say red states opened).

So are you person who works at the school choice organization or what?

Nope

It is tough when you have to argue substantively and not just go ad hominem isn't it?

[Anonymous]

Interesting read on school closures....

Long thread worth reading....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because they failed at their jobs.

Their job was for them to look out for the interests of children, and to provide education to children. Instead they initiated an un-scientific shutdown of the schools and kept schools closed many months after it was obvious that children were at little risk for Covid and that schools were not significantly contributing to spread.

School board leaders did huge damage to the education and general health and wellbeing of children and there needs to be accountability.

No. Schools in our area went back to the classroom in Feb/Mar just like MANY of other school systems in the country.


Are you the school choice lobbyist who admitted to exploiting the pandemic for your own purposes?

My child in DC had 26 days of in-person learning last year. I know others who got zero days of in-person learning. DC schools differ by individual school, and were some of the last to reopen. They didn't open for 5-day-a-week in-person education until Fall 2021.

Also, there were districts across the country that never closed, and Europeans even opened more than the U.S. throughout the pandemic (if you want to just say red states opened).

So are you person who works at the school choice organization or what?

Nope

It is tough when you have to argue substantively and not just go ad hominem isn't it?

I just don’t want to waste my time on someone getting paid to post this again and again.

There wasn’t substantial data about safety in the fall. It was reasonable for our schools to wait until after the expected winter surge (which happened) and until teachers were vaccinated.

Kids were back in the classroom in our area in Feb/Mar, depending on grade/school. Which is the same time as many other school districts in the US.

Happy to post charts - again - if you want to dispute this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting read on school closures....

Long thread worth reading....

Yes, let’s discuss after we get kids and teachers back in school.

We have first have to deal with the deluge of absences from omicron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because they failed at their jobs.

Their job was for them to look out for the interests of children, and to provide education to children. Instead they initiated an un-scientific shutdown of the schools and kept schools closed many months after it was obvious that children were at little risk for Covid and that schools were not significantly contributing to spread.

School board leaders did huge damage to the education and general health and wellbeing of children and there needs to be accountability.

No. Schools in our area went back to the classroom in Feb/Mar just like MANY of other school systems in the country.


Are you the school choice lobbyist who admitted to exploiting the pandemic for your own purposes?

My child in DC had 26 days of in-person learning last year. I know others who got zero days of in-person learning. DC schools differ by individual school, and were some of the last to reopen. They didn't open for 5-day-a-week in-person education until Fall 2021.

Also, there were districts across the country that never closed, and Europeans even opened more than the U.S. throughout the pandemic (if you want to just say red states opened).

So are you person who works at the school choice organization or what?

Nope

It is tough when you have to argue substantively and not just go ad hominem isn't it?

I just don’t want to waste my time on someone getting paid to post this again and again.

There wasn’t substantial data about safety in the fall. It was reasonable for our schools to wait until after the expected winter surge (which happened) and until teachers were vaccinated.

Kids were back in the classroom in our area in Feb/Mar, depending on grade/school. Which is the same time as many other school districts in the US.

Happy to post charts - again - if you want to dispute this.

You can talk about your experience. Maybe try to imagine that others have a different experience of when their schools opened. I don't know what area you are talking about, but I am in DC where something like 1/4 of DCPS kids got any in-person learning last school year. Again, that varies by individual school. I imagine you are not familiar with the DC school landscape if you don't live here, though. Individual schools made individual decisions, so there were people whose kids didn't go into schools for the entirety of last school year. That's far later than your Feb/Mar date (which indeed may be true for you).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because it was anti-science and hurt children. Plus the repercussions on women's work force participation.

It certainly is not anti-science. Yes, closures hurt children, but so does COVID. It has hurt everybody's work force participation. Take note that over 800,000 Americans have died, more than in any war.

There's plenty of evidence that school closures did nothing to limit spread. Hell, have the case numbers dropped in the DMV these past couple of weeks when schools were closed for break? no.

So, if school closures don't reduce spread, why do it? It becomes only a negative and no positive.

How many teachers are available to go into these classrooms to teach the children? How many school bus drivers are out on covid related issues? People keep screaming to send the kids back into the classrooms, but fail to consider how to get the children there and who will be in the classrooms to teach. You cannot force teachers to go into environments which many consider unsafe. I would rather the virtual learning than nothing at all. Substitute teachers are useless, as they are simply babysitting without actual instruction. My kid's school planned on returning in-person on Monday, but more than ten teachers reported positive for covid. Monday and Tuesday school closed totally. The remainder of the week is virtual learning. Touch and go to follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because it was anti-science and hurt children. Plus the repercussions on women's work force participation.

It certainly is not anti-science. Yes, closures hurt children, but so does COVID. It has hurt everybody's work force participation. Take note that over 800,000 Americans have died, more than in any war.

There's plenty of evidence that school closures did nothing to limit spread. Hell, have the case numbers dropped in the DMV these past couple of weeks when schools were closed for break? no.

So, if school closures don't reduce spread, why do it? It becomes only a negative and no positive.

How many teachers are available to go into these classrooms to teach the children? How many school bus drivers are out on covid related issues? People keep screaming to send the kids back into the classrooms, but fail to consider how to get the children there and who will be in the classrooms to teach. You cannot force teachers to go into environments which many consider unsafe. I would rather the virtual learning than nothing at all. Substitute teachers are useless, as they are simply babysitting without actual instruction. My kid's school planned on returning in-person on Monday, but more than ten teachers reported positive for covid. Monday and Tuesday school closed totally. The remainder of the week is virtual learning. Touch and go to follow.

Seems like a strawman, because people recognize staffing issues. I, for one, completely understand that people will test positive and be out. Hopefully the schools will follow CDC guidance and those asymptomatic positives will only be isolated and out for 5 days. At least that's the case here where teachers are required to be vaccinated. I guess it would be 10 days in places where teachers aren't required to be vaccinated. At any rate, once they get it we can all have a regular 3 months.

But what people are "screaming" about (where do you see this?) is the pre-emptive closings as if 2 days of extra closures will protect anyone. People were pretty traumatized (parents, kids, teachers) from last year, and the trust in schools is gone. So the mere suggestion that we do something to protect against covid -- without evidence that it will actually prevent spread -- just pokes at the trauma. People get excited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because they failed at their jobs.

Their job was for them to look out for the interests of children, and to provide education to children. Instead they initiated an un-scientific shutdown of the schools and kept schools closed many months after it was obvious that children were at little risk for Covid and that schools were not significantly contributing to spread.

School board leaders did huge damage to the education and general health and wellbeing of children and there needs to be accountability.

No. Schools in our area went back to the classroom in Feb/Mar just like MANY of other school systems in the country.


Are you the school choice lobbyist who admitted to exploiting the pandemic for your own purposes?

My child in DC had 26 days of in-person learning last year. I know others who got zero days of in-person learning. DC schools differ by individual school, and were some of the last to reopen. They didn't open for 5-day-a-week in-person education until Fall 2021.

Also, there were districts across the country that never closed, and Europeans even opened more than the U.S. throughout the pandemic (if you want to just say red states opened).

So are you person who works at the school choice organization or what?

Nope

It is tough when you have to argue substantively and not just go ad hominem isn't it?

I just don’t want to waste my time on someone getting paid to post this again and again.

There wasn’t substantial data about safety in the fall. It was reasonable for our schools to wait until after the expected winter surge (which happened) and until teachers were vaccinated.

Kids were back in the classroom in our area in Feb/Mar, depending on grade/school. Which is the same time as many other school districts in the US.

Happy to post charts - again - if you want to dispute this.

You can talk about your experience. Maybe try to imagine that others have a different experience of when their schools opened. I don't know what area you are talking about, but I am in DC where something like 1/4 of DCPS kids got any in-person learning last school year. Again, that varies by individual school. I imagine you are not familiar with the DC school landscape if you don't live here, though. Individual schools made individual decisions, so there were people whose kids didn't go into schools for the entirety of last school year. That's far later than your Feb/Mar date (which indeed may be true for you).

Who do you think was in charge of schools when they left individual schools to fend for themselves and create their own plans. That would be Mayor Muriel Bowser

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting read on school closures....

Long thread worth reading....

Only right wing crazies argued that school closure was bad for kids and that reopening them wouldn’t cause mass death.

Only right wing nutters agreed with Orange Man when he said that solutions couldn’t be worse than the problem. Kids in areas where school closures were briefest fared best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the only issue I care about in the upcoming primaries. Did you support banning children from going to school? If the answer is yes, we are going to end your career. What happened in Virginia and New Jersey is coming to the D.C.

Why would vote out school board leaders who have had to make the completely thankless decisions regarding closures, masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc. I guarantee that whatever decisions you would have made would have generated widespread opposition as well. Get a life! Over 800,000 Americans have died due to COVID, which is probably understated.

Because they failed at their jobs.

Their job was for them to look out for the interests of children, and to provide education to children. Instead they initiated an un-scientific shutdown of the schools and kept schools closed many months after it was obvious that children were at little risk for Covid and that schools were not significantly contributing to spread.

School board leaders did huge damage to the education and general health and wellbeing of children and there needs to be accountability.

No. Schools in our area went back to the classroom in Feb/Mar just like MANY of other school systems in the country.


Are you the school choice lobbyist who admitted to exploiting the pandemic for your own purposes?

My child in DC had 26 days of in-person learning last year. I know others who got zero days of in-person learning. DC schools differ by individual school, and were some of the last to reopen. They didn't open for 5-day-a-week in-person education until Fall 2021.

Also, there were districts across the country that never closed, and Europeans even opened more than the U.S. throughout the pandemic (if you want to just say red states opened).

So are you person who works at the school choice organization or what?

Nope

It is tough when you have to argue substantively and not just go ad hominem isn't it?

I just don’t want to waste my time on someone getting paid to post this again and again.

There wasn’t substantial data about safety in the fall. It was reasonable for our schools to wait until after the expected winter surge (which happened) and until teachers were vaccinated.

Kids were back in the classroom in our area in Feb/Mar, depending on grade/school. Which is the same time as many other school districts in the US.

Happy to post charts - again - if you want to dispute this.

You can talk about your experience. Maybe try to imagine that others have a different experience of when their schools opened. I don't know what area you are talking about, but I am in DC where something like 1/4 of DCPS kids got any in-person learning last school year. Again, that varies by individual school. I imagine you are not familiar with the DC school landscape if you don't live here, though. Individual schools made individual decisions, so there were people whose kids didn't go into schools for the entirety of last school year. That's far later than your Feb/Mar date (which indeed may be true for you).

Who do you think was in charge of schools when they left individual schools to fend for themselves and create their own plans. That would be Mayor Muriel Bowser

I agree about last year, but I also see her this year. Plus, the only viable alternative to Bowser right now (in terms of who is running against her) is R. White, and under him the problems would be worse. He seems beholden to a certain vocal minority that keeps pressing to close schools again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting read on school closures....

Long thread worth reading....

Only right wing crazies argued that school closure was bad for kids and that reopening them wouldn’t cause mass death.

Only right wing nutters agreed with Orange Man when he said that solutions couldn’t be worse than the problem. Kids in areas where school closures were briefest fared best.

From the linked NYT article:

"Data now suggest that many changes to school routines are of questionable value in controlling the virus’s spread. Some researchers are skeptical that school closures reduce Covid cases in most instances. Other interventions, like forcing students to sit apart from their friends at lunch, may also have little benefit.

One reason: Severe versions of Covid, including long Covid, are extremely rare in children. For them, the virus resembles a typical flu. Children face more risk from car rides than Covid."

Remember when people here were insisting schools needed to be closed for "safety," despite ample evidence from Europe that doing so achieved nothing?

Things played out exactly as predicted, but school boards want to pretend we didn't know better at the time.

[Anonymous]

The city council is going to take up a bill today by that nutjob Robert White that would force schools to close when coronavirus cases reach certain thresholds (that they will inevitably reach). Contact your representative and tell them vote against this bill.


https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/1478128022561693700

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The city council is going to take up a bill today by that nutjob Robert White that would force schools to close when coronavirus cases reach certain thresholds (that they will inevitably reach). Contact your representative and tell them vote against this bill.


https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/1478128022561693700

I'm at a loss why Robert White is so receptive to the screaming twitter mob of upper SES white women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting read on school closures....

Long thread worth reading....

Only right wing crazies argued that school closure was bad for kids and that reopening them wouldn’t cause mass death.

Only right wing nutters agreed with Orange Man when he said that solutions couldn’t be worse than the problem. Kids in areas where school closures were briefest fared best.

From the linked NYT article:

"Data now suggest that many changes to school routines are of questionable value in controlling the virus’s spread. Some researchers are skeptical that school closures reduce Covid cases in most instances. Other interventions, like forcing students to sit apart from their friends at lunch, may also have little benefit.

One reason: Severe versions of Covid, including long Covid, are extremely rare in children. For them, the virus resembles a typical flu. Children face more risk from car rides than Covid."

Remember when people here were insisting schools needed to be closed for "safety," despite ample evidence from Europe that doing so achieved nothing?

Things played out exactly as predicted, but school boards want to pretend we didn't know better at the time.

If it only saves one life, maybe, depending on the analysis, and assumptions... anything is worth it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city council is going to take up a bill today by that nutjob Robert White that would force schools to close when coronavirus cases reach certain thresholds (that they will inevitably reach). Contact your representative and tell them vote against this bill.


https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/1478128022561693700

I'm at a loss why Robert White is so receptive to the screaming twitter mob of upper SES white women.

Oh, apparently White introduced the bill 3 or 5 days too late and it can't be considered right now.

And then there's Mary Cheh calling it a "trojan horse" to close schools again.

Damn what R. White is really making himself out to be the "close schools!" candidate. At the very least, seems wildly tone-deaf.