MCPS is closing Wed 11/24, day before Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Summers are not off." They are unpaid time not part of teachers' contracts. But hey, if their gig is soooooo easy, join them! Enjoy that sweet, sweet salary cut of a first year teacher.

+1500000....I'm a government contracter for part of the year. I do not work the other 6 months because to be honest, I don't need to. I re-up every six months. No one has EVER accused me of the bs they accuse teachers of because most people understand how CONTRACTS work. Teachers are contracted for ten months a year. Try to keep up.

Funny- I always assumed teachers kept their health care subsidies over the summer. I didn't realize their contracts ended and had to go on COBRA.

Neither do I, genius.

[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.

And teacher’s are to blame for the short notice becuase they in masse decided at the last minute to take the day before Thanksgiving off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Once again, there will not be any added days, as this will take the place of a snow day, and if a second snow day is later needed, it will be virtual.

We have not had a virtual day yet. Is this even an option?

Why not, everyone has chrome books. .

I thought MSBE only counts in-person days against the 180 requirement (for good reaaon). I think MCPS would need to request a waiver to make virtual/worksheet days count.

[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 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.

And teacher’s are to blame for the short notice becuase they in masse decided at the last minute to take the day before Thanksgiving off?

Why is there a question mark at the end of this statement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Don't be ridiculous. Other professions have PRN workers. The difference is that the PRN workers often get paid *more* on a daily/hourly basis than the FTEs they're covering for. Subs are the odd one out there, getting paid peanuts compared to FT teachers.

Pay subs $500 a day. You'll get applicants.

MCPS could/should simply hire a bunch of full-time floating staff members to cover the expected needs. Subs should augment floating staff.

Yeah, and teachers who are married and can get healthcare through their spouses will quit and become subs. The much touted “teacher retirement” benefits have been steadily whittled away over the years to where they won’t compete with high $. And subs can work every day somewhere if they choose, so they’re always needed.

They tried this with nursing and facilities are now understaffed because staff nurses left to become travel nurses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

Yes, PP “put your (high schoolers) to bed earlier.”

ROFL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Summers are not off." They are unpaid time not part of teachers' contracts. But hey, if their gig is soooooo easy, join them! Enjoy that sweet, sweet salary cut of a first year teacher.

+1500000....I'm a government contracter for part of the year. I do not work the other 6 months because to be honest, I don't need to. I re-up every six months. No one has EVER accused me of the bs they accuse teachers of because most people understand how CONTRACTS work. Teachers are contracted for ten months a year. Try to keep up.

Funny- I always assumed teachers kept their health care subsidies over the summer. I didn't realize their contracts ended and had to go on COBRA.

Hm. Your assumption is not quite right. Teachers do keep their healthcare over the summer…because they’ve already paid for it through deductions from their ten months of biweekly paychecks! Funny how that works…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Summers are not off." They are unpaid time not part of teachers' contracts. But hey, if their gig is soooooo easy, join them! Enjoy that sweet, sweet salary cut of a first year teacher.

+1500000....I'm a government contracter for part of the year. I do not work the other 6 months because to be honest, I don't need to. I re-up every six months. No one has EVER accused me of the bs they accuse teachers of because most people understand how CONTRACTS work. Teachers are contracted for ten months a year. Try to keep up.

Funny- I always assumed teachers kept their health care subsidies over the summer. I didn't realize their contracts ended and had to go on COBRA.

Hm. Your assumption is not quite right. Teachers do keep their healthcare over the summer…because they’ve already paid for it through deductions from their ten months of biweekly paychecks! Funny how that works…

Thanks-beat me to it. I love when people think they are owning an argument and are just so very wrong. Embarrassing.

[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.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

Yes, PP “put your (high schoolers) to bed earlier.”

ROFL

If they cannot be responsible, yes, put them to bed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

Could you please explain how to put a 16-year-old to bed? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

You clearly don’t have a high schooler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

Could you please explain how to put a 16-year-old to bed? Thank you.

Ask Woody Allen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

Could you please explain how to put a 16-year-old to bed? Thank you.

Also, high schoolers are up late due to a ton of HW + sports practices.