How can we force our school to reopen?

[Anonymous]

I wish some of you could have been at the union meeting yesterday. After that disaster, no one would ever say the union is organized enough to keep schools
Closed.

[Anonymous]

I’m a HS teacher. I’m not young but reasonably healthy and I have no issues going back. Virtual learning is incredibly hard for students and teachers.
I am working 6-7 days a week. DCPS cannot even get me supplies on time. Every year I am lucky if any of my science lab supplies show up before January despite me having placed the order in April of the last school year. Sometimes the supplies never show up and Central office turns a deaf ear to pleas from me or my school administrators. I cannot imagine how they will pull together a decent hybrid or cohort plan. WTU may be partly to blame but believe me plenty of blame lies with the mayor and chancellor

[Anonymous]

To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTU is weak. You are so wrong if you think the WTU is keeping schools closed.

And it's just a coincidence that the only places in America where schools are completely closed are big cities where teachers unions are still powerful?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher myself: this whole "school is not childcare" thing is a bunch of BS. Alongside the various education functions (creating citizens, workforce training, etc.), one is publicly-funded childcare. It's not an either/or proposition, and we need to stop pretending otherwise.

It's like we're all pretending that we didn't learn about the multiple functions which education serves. This literally should have been in your intro classes.

You mean they even teach that in teacher's school and yet so many teachers are raving mad about being equated with childcare? Wow.

Teacher's school? You mean university? And no, this teacher is full of shit. Never heard of a program that says this, unless your major is early childhood education or the like.

However what's not full of shit in the remark is public education does also serve as childcare, even if that IS NOT the primary function.

Wait, so you DIDN'T have a class which went over the social functions of education? That seems like a glaring omission. How are you supposed to choose your teaching philosophy without exposure to that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

I get that, and I think you have a valid viewpoint. I just don't think enough parents feel the same way, or at least not strongly enough to push for a change. Many charter schools, which aren't even unionized, have already announced they are sticking with virtual learning into next year. Our elementary released a survey where a minority of parents said they would send their kids back to school in person if it was offered. I think a lot of parents feel the same way. It's sort of the silent majority. Other than anonymous posters on this board, there just isn't the outcry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

+1

Teachers want a lot of credit for trying to make distance learning work but, honestly, no one cares how much effort they are putting into it. People want results -- they want their kids to actually learn something -- and it's not happening with distance learning. Our kids are going to be incredibly far behind when all of this is over. There's going to be dramatic differences in where kids in places like DC are, in terms of their education, and in other places where schools have been open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

I get that, and I think you have a valid viewpoint. I just don't think enough parents feel the same way, or at least not strongly enough to push for a change. Many charter schools, which aren't even unionized, have already announced they are sticking with virtual learning into next year. Our elementary released a survey where a minority of parents said they would send their kids back to school in person if it was offered. I think a lot of parents feel the same way. It's sort of the silent majority. Other than anonymous posters on this board, there just isn't the outcry.

DP: I totally agree with PP — teachers are working very hard, but that doesn’t mean it works for the students. The kids should be back in school.

From my limited knowledge, *a lot* of parents think this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

I was just about to post this. My child's teachers are amazing and I support them 100%. He is learning nothing and suffering a lot. Schools must open. If we don't have the money to do it, let's furlough the whole , all but a skeleton staff, for three months and use that money for PPE and HVAC fixes so in three months we can open for real hybrid LEARNING.

[Anonymous]

Same. I think my child’s teacher is doing his best AND kids need to get back in schools. AND teachers should stop trying to block it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

I get that, and I think you have a valid viewpoint. I just don't think enough parents feel the same way, or at least not strongly enough to push for a change. Many charter schools, which aren't even unionized, have already announced they are sticking with virtual learning into next year. Our elementary released a survey where a minority of parents said they would send their kids back to school in person if it was offered. I think a lot of parents feel the same way. It's sort of the silent majority. Other than anonymous posters on this board, there just isn't the outcry.

Given that private schools are all at least moving to hybrid soon, I think people need to think a little harder about this. Why are parents who pay getting schooling for their kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTU is weak. You are so wrong if you think the WTU is keeping schools closed.

And it's just a coincidence that the only places in America where schools are completely closed are big cities where teachers unions are still powerful?

Hmm. Pretty sure that’s not true.
Take Arlington, for example. Still closed. Not a big city and it doesn’t have a strong union.
They’ve put out a plan but, like DC, it’s not great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the teachers out there, please know that many parents support you and think you are doing the best you can under unprecedented circumstances. Just because all of us don't spend time anonymously posting about it doesn't mean we feel any less supportive.

I can both think the teachers are doing the best they can, and also believe that schools should reopen.

I get that, and I think you have a valid viewpoint. I just don't think enough parents feel the same way, or at least not strongly enough to push for a change. Many charter schools, which aren't even unionized, have already announced they are sticking with virtual learning into next year. Our elementary released a survey where a minority of parents said they would send their kids back to school in person if it was offered. I think a lot of parents feel the same way. It's sort of the silent majority. Other than anonymous posters on this board, there just isn't the outcry.

DP: I totally agree with PP — teachers are working very hard, but that doesn’t mean it works for the students. The kids should be back in school.

From my limited knowledge, *a lot* of parents think this.

Exactly. And surveys can be posed in a way that is extremely biased. If you asked "would you be in favor of a choice to send kids back to the classroom if the evidence shows that transmission is unlikely and we take the following steps to reduce risk ... " then I bet you'd get a broad majority saying yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WTU is weak. You are so wrong if you think the WTU is keeping schools closed.

And it's just a coincidence that the only places in America where schools are completely closed are big cities where teachers unions are still powerful?

Hmm. Pretty sure that’s not true.
Take Arlington, for example. Still closed. Not a big city and it doesn’t have a strong union.
They’ve put out a plan but, like DC, it’s not great.

At this point, most children in the United States are back in school at least part time.