I keep saying that a vaccine is not going to automatically appear, and it could take years. Not to mention the fact that we have to get it to the billions of people worldwide. It's time to open schools. |
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I don’t think any teacher has said that that they don’t want to go back to school in any way. Most are just very nervous because of the lack of safety at the moment.
In the end, teachers have very little say in all this, so don’t blame teachers. |
I really understand where this person is coming from. I’m not offended or upset that she teaches my kids at all. I carry a lot of hurt from the disrespect toward MCPS and teachers I see on here sometimes. School is called a joke, teachers are called incompetent, and parents insist they could do a better job managing a classroom, creating a curriculum, you name it. It is hard to face down the health risks I will face by going back under the current circumstances, and it pains me more to think we might be forced to go back earlier than we should for the convenience of parents who have criticized us so much. |
This. How will we measure the cost of all of those kids who could have been inspired, kept a spark and desire to keep learning, but now won't because they are stuck with "remote learning" that in the best of circumstances (ie, functional family, good wifi, sufficient computers, etc) is boring and joyless? Not to mention all those kids who don't have the best of circumstances? Not to mention the drop-off in referrals for child abuse (because the teachers aren't there to see it), etc. We need to go back to school in person. To the extent the school is able to put in place the safety measures, it should. But if the safety measures are not feasible that should not lead to no (or only half-time or quarter-time) in-person school. Fact: people are going to die of this disease. Most of them will be elderly. That is very sad. But it is even more sad to lose a generation of kids. |
This is a sensible plan. |
No, it is not. Parent of a HS student. |
Here's the thing, scientist with a background in virology: the effects of this pandemic are not, and never have been, solely about the virus. The mitigation efforts have caused enormous problems related to mental health, unemployment, child abuse, etc. We absolutely need virologists at the table when these kinds of decisions are made, but we also need educators, economists, psychologists, sociologists, and others in the social science realm. We can't decide that it's worse for (mostly) elderly to die of COVID-19 than it is for children to be beaten to death by their parents, at least, not without some discussion of those trade-offs. Moreover, there's actual data suggesting that kids don't get infected as often as adults: https://explaincovid.org/post/kids-and-covid-19/iNR6ns6TY6OqDPfWrcqg The studies described are preliminary, and the article is a summary, but it provides better data than your speculation about SARS-CoV2. |
Agreed. NOT a sensible plan. -Parent of 2 HS students |
It doesn't matter whether the PP is a scientist or not. It doesn't take a scientist to write what she wrote, but more importantly, whether and how we open schools or not is not a purely scientific decision. It is a decision that should be based on a thorough analysis of costs and benefits, with a view to the long term. The "scientist" PP wants to have proof that kids do NOT spread the virus before opening schools. An equally valid position would be to demand proof that kids DO spread the virus, and that their spread DOES significantly contribute to community spread before keeping schools closed indefinitely. If you consider the harms of closed schools greater than the potential harms of a potentially slight increase in overall community spread (and all currently available evidence points to the impact being slight), schools should return to regular operations with reasonable precautions. There is plenty of evidence that closed schools have a negative long-term impact on kids' futures, and it is not for someone with a background in virology to make the call whether those harms can be neglected because of a potential but unproven impact on viral community spread. It was estimated (I think it was in The Lancet), that opening schools *may potentially* lead to a 2-4% increase in overall deaths. Whether those deaths (which will be concentrated among the elderly) are a greater harm than the harms of lost education is not a scientific question but question of bioethics. Simply deferring to the virologists (who will always argue for the policies that will most minimize viral transmission) on the much more complex dilemmas we are facing is a cop out on the part of decision makers. |
10:00 here and I see you beat me to it (and said it much better). |
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All of this black and white thinking is ridiculous. It is not a choice between going back the way we used to or full-time distance learning for everyone. The reality is that it will be a hybrid of the two, and exactly what that looks like will vary across the country because there are different densities of people, different resources, and different community needs. As soon as Maryland put out the guidelines, it should have been apparent to anyone with an understanding of how a school actually functions that MCPS will have a hybrid model next year. These are the three most obvious reasons IMO:
1. If schools don't attempt to follow at least some of the guidelines and a child gets seriously sick and suffers permanent health problems or dies, there will be lawsuits. 2. There are going to be a significant number of parents who don't want to send their kids to school buildings. Because of this, the schools will have to offer some type of distance learning. 3. There are going to be a significant number of teachers who don't want to go in to school buildings. Because of this, the schools will need to offer distance learning. (And you can be flippant and say the teachers should just quit if they don't want to teach. Yes, yes they will. Mid-July is the date to retire, take leave of absence, or resign without prejudice. Then who will you have to teach your kids that you insisted had to be back in the schools?) As a result of the above, two other challenges come to mind: 4. We know that DL isn't working for many kids, especially elementary, SPED, and ESOL. There is absolutely a priority to get as many kids back in the classroom as possible. The question right now is who and how? 5. In order to meet guidelines, the density of students in school buildings needs to be at least 50% of what it is normally. The question is, how to do this? Alternating days/weeks? Half-days with morning or afternoon shifts? Some students mostly in school and some students mostly at home? 5a. And yes, public schools do also function as daycare for the youngest students (under 8). Our economy as it is currently structured assumes that. How does this need to be adapted? Part of the day inside for learning, and then part of the day outside for play/daycare? Community co-ops for watching kids? It's time for people to get over the idea that MCPS will start 2020 school year like it started 2019 in the fall. It is just not going to happen. Not because people are brainwashed, or hate your children, or don't want to teach. It's because as a society we know that we have to balance health, economic, and social concerns of all of the different people who live in our communities. Part of that balance will be a hybrid model for schools next year. |
I'm 9:49, and I appreciate your post! The more of us who make this argument, the better. Fareed Zakaria (I think) said the same thing in the Post a few weeks ago. Heck, even Tony Fauci said he thinks schools not opening in the Fall is unnecessary! |
| There was a research study that showed closing schools had miniscule effects on virus spread. Closing indoor bars and restaurants had an enormous effect. |
You are still not getting it. There is no reason to have any distance learning on the fall. There is no justification for it as there is no evidence that it has any real effect on the spread (schools that is). Nobody HAS to send their kids back to school-they can homeschool. There were people homeschooling before this and will be after this. As far as teachers are concerned if they are that concerned then they need to find a new job. It's not like working with kids was risk free before. I work with kids and consistently get strep once a year because of it. It's never been a job without risk of getting sick. My kid got the flu from someone in his class last year and was very sick for 8 days. I didn't file a lawsuit about it. Frankly "the I don't feel safe" argument from teachers just feels like a cop out at this point. |
Um Covid can and does kill people. And not just elderly. Do you never look at the MoCo graphs? I work in healthcare. Big difference |