Schools as babysitters - please take a moment to think about who you are bashing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all those complaining that parents only see schools as babysitters and who want schools open so that they don't have to pay for childcare - why aren't you thinking about the large number of families who cannot pay for childcare?? Most of the upper middle class can figure this out and pay for alternatives. Those that are more financially challenged can also figure this out, but can't afford this option or for other reasons it may not be as easily solved.

So when you start hating on all parents for wanting schools back in, for any reason, please note that you are hating on some very vulnerable people in our society. The ones that can't afford tutors, who can't be one of the 2 million women who have dropped out of the workforce, the ones that technology does not come as easy to, etc.

I see this on so many posts and I can't imagine the liberally focused majority on this board can't open their minds to this....

If they can’t afford kids, shouldn’t have had them. It’s a choice to be a parent. They were irresponsible. Teachers did not force them to reproduce even though it didn’t fit their lifestyle.

This is....the dumbest take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all those complaining that parents only see schools as babysitters and who want schools open so that they don't have to pay for childcare - why aren't you thinking about the large number of families who cannot pay for childcare?? Most of the upper middle class can figure this out and pay for alternatives. Those that are more financially challenged can also figure this out, but can't afford this option or for other reasons it may not be as easily solved.

So when you start hating on all parents for wanting schools back in, for any reason, please note that you are hating on some very vulnerable people in our society. The ones that can't afford tutors, who can't be one of the 2 million women who have dropped out of the workforce, the ones that technology does not come as easy to, etc.

I see this on so many posts and I can't imagine the liberally focused majority on this board can't open their minds to this....

If they can’t afford kids, shouldn’t have had them. It’s a choice to be a parent. They were irresponsible. Teachers did not force them to reproduce even though it didn’t fit their lifestyle.

If they didn't want to teach children in schools, they shouldn't have become public school teachers. It's a choice to be a teacher. They were irresponsible. Parents didn't force them to get education degrees and take jobs in public schools, even though the job didn't fit their lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well this is going well.

OP, I agree. It is bizarre how many people are reacting to struggling families by saying "Your problem not mine, you shouldn't have had kids then."

As someone facing a huge childcare deficit because of closed schools, here's how I'm handling it:

- Oh, you need me to do some admin stuff for the school so that you can report attendance numbers or brag about how well DL is going at our school? Sorry, I don't have time for that because I'm parenting and educating my own kid. Guess you'll have to figure that out on your own.

- Oh, you want my young child to wear a mask perfectly while walking down the street so you can feel safe? Sorry, but I'm focused on parenting and educating my child and I don't have the energy to take care of your medical and emotional needs. Guess you'll just have to figure that out on your own.

See, it's not so fun when society just decides they don't give a flying f**k about what you need to function in the world, is it? Tough shit, maybe you shouldn't have gone into education. Maybe you shouldn't be a person with a body that can get sick. I mean, why do you even bother living at all if you need me to do all this work just to make things easier for you? Haven't you heard of pErSoNaL rEsPoNsIbIlItY??

Jeez you sound mentally ill. Seriously, you're trying to burn people by letting your kid not wear a mask properly, because you're pissed they have to do DL? Wow.

Why would I bother myself to fix my kids mask in a situation with a next to nil chance of infecting someone (outside, while socially distanced), if people are just sitting around shrugging about the fact that my kid doesn't get to go to school? Like why would I waste my very limited energy on making someone feel less anxious about Covid? Who cares? I've been wearing masks and isolating for 8 months, I taught my 3 year old how to wash her hands like a damn surgeon, I donated money to mutual aid societies, I didn't see my parents, I didn't go on vacation, I did everything in my power to help my neighbors in the pandemic.

And now that I'm drowning and asking for help with my child, I'm being told that it's my problem and I shouldn't have had kids?

I'm not mentally ill. I'm done. You don't care about my family? Well I don't care about yours. Suck it up.

Uh, you imagine you're hurting the people making the decision to have DL instead of in-person learning by not putting a mask on your kid properly. Do you not see that that is not hurting the people making that decision? That is the definition of mentally ill.

[Anonymous]

OK - I am shocked by a group of people who rally to the liberal left on one hand (forum) but then sound off like the far right on another! It seems many don't cry for social justice when it doesn't fit their preference. I am glad to hear from those who are reporting everyone is doing well from their standpoint in DL, but I find it hard to believe that there is not more need and widening gaps than what people here are reporting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK - I am shocked by a group of people who rally to the liberal left on one hand (forum) but then sound off like the far right on another! It seems many don't cry for social justice when it doesn't fit their preference. I am glad to hear from those who are reporting everyone is doing well from their standpoint in DL, but I find it hard to believe that there is not more need and widening gaps than what people here are reporting.

Are you really surprised? Look on over at the college forum. Everyone looking for some angle, everyone trying to elbow someone else out of the way to get their kid ahead. Winning.

[Anonymous]

Uuuuh procreation is a fundamental human right in international law and US constitutional law (Skinner vs. Oklahoma)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nearly all of my students in an all lower income school have a parent or relative at home with them. A few of them who don’t go to neighbors.

I teach low income ESOL kids. Their families take Covid VERY seriously. They’ve all known families with it and families who have had very bad cases and outcomes. The kids are being kept at home with some family member.

Same here. We surveyed all of my ESOL families and only one out of appr. 35 wants their kid to go back to school. The virus has gone through their neighborhood and where the school is located has one of the highest number of cases in the district. One of my students last spring had a grandmother die of it. The entire family had it. Mom says she must have gotten it at work and it killed her mother. Can you imagine that guilt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uuuuh procreation is a fundamental human right in international law and US constitutional law (Skinner vs. Oklahoma)

So have as many kids as you want and expect others to fund those decisions. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uuuuh procreation is a fundamental human right in international law and US constitutional law (Skinner vs. Oklahoma)

So have as many kids as you want and expect others to fund those decisions. Got it.

We have this thing called social welfare. If you're a libertarian, I understand why you wouldn't get it, but I suggest you stop using other community resources as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find the overall argument ridiculous. Teachers aren't just in charge of lecturing. Schools are there to engage and teach students skills beyond just reading and writing, but how to be a student, focus on tasks, take responsibility, etc. They're clearly not able to do that virtually.

On the contrary, distance learning is forcing a lot of kids to learn more about how to manage their time and materials. Distance learning always requires a lot more executive functioning skills than in person

[Anonymous]

I fully get that this is hard for many families but what I find really disingenuous is that a lot of people are holding up poor families as an argument for in person school, when it seems like a majority of poor families DO NOT WANT in person school.

COVID numbers are going up again; just today Hogan announced a bunch of new restrictions for MD, so it seems unlikely we will be back in school anytime before the holidays anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find the overall argument ridiculous. Teachers aren't just in charge of lecturing. Schools are there to engage and teach students skills beyond just reading and writing, but how to be a student, focus on tasks, take responsibility, etc. They're clearly not able to do that virtually.

On the contrary, distance learning is forcing a lot of kids to learn more about how to manage their time and materials. Distance learning always requires a lot more executive functioning skills than in person

Yes, distance learning is doing a great job of teaching my five year old how to manage her time and materials. Extremely excited about how good she is at opening and closing apps on her iPad and knowing how excruciating 45 minutes can feel when she's just staring at a screen the whole time. I mean, I didn't gain those skills until my first soulless corporate job in my 20s! Thank god she isn't wasting her time on dumb stuff like guided play or interactive sing alongs! I'm so glad she isn't gaining language or social skills from being exposed to a broader range of people, because yes, DL has been amazing for her executive functioning. Why, I may never send her to in person school again. She can move seamlessly from doing school alone at home to doing work alone at home.

What a world we live in!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nearly all of my students in an all lower income school have a parent or relative at home with them. A few of them who don’t go to neighbors.

I teach low income ESOL kids. Their families take Covid VERY seriously. They’ve all known families with it and families who have had very bad cases and outcomes. The kids are being kept at home with some family member.

Same here. We surveyed all of my ESOL families and only one out of appr. 35 wants their kid to go back to school. The virus has gone through their neighborhood and where the school is located has one of the highest number of cases in the district. One of my students last spring had a grandmother die of it. The entire family had it. Mom says she must have gotten it at work and it killed her mother. Can you imagine that guilt?

I think that POC who live in multigenerational households are keeping their kids at home. They have older or other family members living there, so where is someone to care for younger children. The childcare dilemma is hardest on college educated single parents and/or household with lower paying jobs like teachers, police officers, administrative workers, government employees, etc. who rely on two incomes and cannot afford extra childcare expense. It is a real problem, as evidenced by the fact that one reason teachers don't want to go back into classrooms is concern about having childcare for their own children. Schools are childcare unless teachers need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nearly all of my students in an all lower income school have a parent or relative at home with them. A few of them who don’t go to neighbors.

I teach low income ESOL kids. Their families take Covid VERY seriously. They’ve all known families with it and families who have had very bad cases and outcomes. The kids are being kept at home with some family member.

Same here. We surveyed all of my ESOL families and only one out of appr. 35 wants their kid to go back to school. The virus has gone through their neighborhood and where the school is located has one of the highest number of cases in the district. One of my students last spring had a grandmother die of it. The entire family had it. Mom says she must have gotten it at work and it killed her mother. Can you imagine that guilt?

I think that POC who live in multigenerational households are keeping their kids at home. They have older or other family members living there, so where is someone to care for younger children. The childcare dilemma is hardest on college educated single parents and/or household with lower paying jobs like teachers, police officers, administrative workers, government employees, etc. who rely on two incomes and cannot afford extra childcare expense. It is a real problem, as evidenced by the fact that one reason teachers don't want to go back into classrooms is concern about having childcare for their own children. Schools are childcare unless teachers need it.

Should be "schools aren't childcare" unless teachers need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nearly all of my students in an all lower income school have a parent or relative at home with them. A few of them who don’t go to neighbors.

I’m sure this is true. Adults are at home in rich households and poor households. As always, it’s the middle class getting squeezed. And criticized on this board.