Teachers not returning. MCPS to hire “Monitors” instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who cohorting and masking isn’t enough. In preschools they don’t keep the kids six feet apart because they cant. They mask and keep classes segregated so no spread within school to other cohorts. Why can’t we just restart school in masks and keep classes separate? What difference does it make if there are 12 kids or 20 kids in the same air for 7 hours. Either we are ok with that or we aren’t. Seems like unnecessary theatre.

And besides, there is NO SUCH THING as ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD. If nobody is sick, like actually sick, there is no risk. Jeez you people still act like such children thinking this virus lives on school chairs, arms outstretched like a tick, just waiting to latch to a host.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who cohorting and masking isn’t enough. In preschools they don’t keep the kids six feet apart because they cant. They mask and keep classes segregated so no spread within school to other cohorts. Why can’t we just restart school in masks and keep classes separate? What difference does it make if there are 12 kids or 20 kids in the same air for 7 hours. Either we are ok with that or we aren’t. Seems like unnecessary theatre.

And besides, there is NO SUCH THING as ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD. If nobody is sick, like actually sick, there is no risk. Jeez you people still act like such children thinking this virus lives on school chairs, arms outstretched like a tick, just waiting to latch to a host.

You cannot be serious. There have been numerous studies on asymptomatic spread. And, without testing everyone you don't know who is sick or not. You clearly don't understand how covid works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is of course a group of teachers that are at higher risk due to underlying health conditions, and I fully support those teachers continuing to teacher remotely and a monitor "managing" those in person classrooms while students in the class and at home zoom the lesson. However, that is not the majority of teachers. Once MCPS returns to in person school (so cdc safety measures are in place like masking and distance), the majority of teachers should be in person in their classrooms 5 days a week, and the students who elected to stay full remote plus the portions of the in person cohorts that are learning at home on any given day should zoom into the lesson. This isn't that complicated and school systems all across the country have been implementing it since September.

Our teachers are coming back, regardless of the kind of in-person learning they're doing. Our ES doesn't have the technology to do that kind of concurrent learning (especially since it would require the teacher to stand in one spot the whole time to stay on camera). We can't fit all the kids who are coming back into one classroom because our building is small, and they are prioritizing keeping kids with their teachers. So you tell me how that can work.

Um, the teacher stands at the front of the room, camera on - if the teacher moves in the room, s/he takes laptop with them - the teacher periodically monitors the chat function on zoom. Seriously there are schools all over that have been implementing hybrid learning this way - there is no special technology required beyond a zoom account!

Exactly. Our kids’ teachers do this. It is not complicated, does not require special technology and does not require hiring more people.

The question of whether the two groups of kids are going to be getting an equal or equitable education is of course up for grabs but you know all the parents who want in person don't give a s*** about that

Nope. They stomp their feet and scream "OMG OUR KIDS HAD TO " SUFFER" IN DL -- NOW IT'S "YOUR TURN!'

No, sweetie. It doesn't work that way, but gold star for effort!

Depends if the teacher is in the classroom. If they are...even if instructing via laptop, the experience will be largely be superior. Particularly as it evolves over time and particularly for ES who will be able to interact with the teacher during all the downtime.

How will the experience be better? They will be sitting in rows several feet apart with masks on. The teacher will not stop teaching virtually to help your child individually and it will happen over zoom. They will not be interacting and will be at their desks reading, individual activities or playing games online.

[Anonymous]

There are not enough vaccines people.

Calm down. Whining about opening exactly like you want it is not going to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers must be protected at all costs. Monitors are less important. Kids will be just fine sitting in clusters in school rooms with a monitor while the teacher is safely at home.

What is this drama all about? How many teachers are dropping dead in all of the others states with FULL classes daily? Give me a break

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, in my kids middle school, only 300 out of 1000 kids are going back to the building. Teachers still need to teach majority of the kids virtually plus those in the building. The only way to do this effectively is to have monitors helping in the classroom. Can you think of another way to do this better?

Yes, live classes like the majority of the American classrooms are doing right now. How is this not common sense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is of course a group of teachers that are at higher risk due to underlying health conditions, and I fully support those teachers continuing to teacher remotely and a monitor "managing" those in person classrooms while students in the class and at home zoom the lesson. However, that is not the majority of teachers. Once MCPS returns to in person school (so cdc safety measures are in place like masking and distance), the majority of teachers should be in person in their classrooms 5 days a week, and the students who elected to stay full remote plus the portions of the in person cohorts that are learning at home on any given day should zoom into the lesson. This isn't that complicated and school systems all across the country have been implementing it since September.

Our teachers are coming back, regardless of the kind of in-person learning they're doing. Our ES doesn't have the technology to do that kind of concurrent learning (especially since it would require the teacher to stand in one spot the whole time to stay on camera). We can't fit all the kids who are coming back into one classroom because our building is small, and they are prioritizing keeping kids with their teachers. So you tell me how that can work.

Um, the teacher stands at the front of the room, camera on - if the teacher moves in the room, s/he takes laptop with them - the teacher periodically monitors the chat function on zoom. Seriously there are schools all over that have been implementing hybrid learning this way - there is no special technology required beyond a zoom account!

THANK YOU!! My sister is doing this right now and it works. Is it a bit tough the first week or so, yes? But she has it down to a science now and says it works great. And if you miss school because you are sick, you can log in at home. If you miss the class, guess what? You miss it just like a normal day of school. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who cohorting and masking isn’t enough. In preschools they don’t keep the kids six feet apart because they cant. They mask and keep classes segregated so no spread within school to other cohorts. Why can’t we just restart school in masks and keep classes separate? What difference does it make if there are 12 kids or 20 kids in the same air for 7 hours. Either we are ok with that or we aren’t. Seems like unnecessary theatre.

And besides, there is NO SUCH THING as ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD. If nobody is sick, like actually sick, there is no risk. Jeez you people still act like such children thinking this virus lives on school chairs, arms outstretched like a tick, just waiting to latch to a host.

That is a complete and utter lie. Stop spreading falsehoods on the internet to promote your agenda.

If you really believe that, improve your news sources, because they have drastically failed you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is of course a group of teachers that are at higher risk due to underlying health conditions, and I fully support those teachers continuing to teacher remotely and a monitor "managing" those in person classrooms while students in the class and at home zoom the lesson. However, that is not the majority of teachers. Once MCPS returns to in person school (so cdc safety measures are in place like masking and distance), the majority of teachers should be in person in their classrooms 5 days a week, and the students who elected to stay full remote plus the portions of the in person cohorts that are learning at home on any given day should zoom into the lesson. This isn't that complicated and school systems all across the country have been implementing it since September.

Our teachers are coming back, regardless of the kind of in-person learning they're doing. Our ES doesn't have the technology to do that kind of concurrent learning (especially since it would require the teacher to stand in one spot the whole time to stay on camera). We can't fit all the kids who are coming back into one classroom because our building is small, and they are prioritizing keeping kids with their teachers. So you tell me how that can work.

Um, the teacher stands at the front of the room, camera on - if the teacher moves in the room, s/he takes laptop with them - the teacher periodically monitors the chat function on zoom. Seriously there are schools all over that have been implementing hybrid learning this way - there is no special technology required beyond a zoom account!

THANK YOU!! My sister is doing this right now and it works. Is it a bit tough the first week or so, yes? But she has it down to a science now and says it works great. And if you miss school because you are sick, you can log in at home. If you miss the class, guess what? You miss it just like a normal day of school. No big deal.

Just you wait - the parents of virtual will complain their kids feel left out. They will complain that they can't get up early or what if they miss a class. Blah, blah, blah. You wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is of course a group of teachers that are at higher risk due to underlying health conditions, and I fully support those teachers continuing to teacher remotely and a monitor "managing" those in person classrooms while students in the class and at home zoom the lesson. However, that is not the majority of teachers. Once MCPS returns to in person school (so cdc safety measures are in place like masking and distance), the majority of teachers should be in person in their classrooms 5 days a week, and the students who elected to stay full remote plus the portions of the in person cohorts that are learning at home on any given day should zoom into the lesson. This isn't that complicated and school systems all across the country have been implementing it since September.

Our teachers are coming back, regardless of the kind of in-person learning they're doing. Our ES doesn't have the technology to do that kind of concurrent learning (especially since it would require the teacher to stand in one spot the whole time to stay on camera). We can't fit all the kids who are coming back into one classroom because our building is small, and they are prioritizing keeping kids with their teachers. So you tell me how that can work.

Um, the teacher stands at the front of the room, camera on - if the teacher moves in the room, s/he takes laptop with them - the teacher periodically monitors the chat function on zoom. Seriously there are schools all over that have been implementing hybrid learning this way - there is no special technology required beyond a zoom account!

Exactly. Our kids’ teachers do this. It is not complicated, does not require special technology and does not require hiring more people.

The question of whether the two groups of kids are going to be getting an equal or equitable education is of course up for grabs but you know all the parents who want in person don't give a s*** about that

Nope. They stomp their feet and scream "OMG OUR KIDS HAD TO " SUFFER" IN DL -- NOW IT'S "YOUR TURN!'

No, sweetie. It doesn't work that way, but gold star for effort!

Depends if the teacher is in the classroom. If they are...even if instructing via laptop, the experience will be largely be superior. Particularly as it evolves over time and particularly for ES who will be able to interact with the teacher during all the downtime.

How will the experience be better? They will be sitting in rows several feet apart with masks on. The teacher will not stop teaching virtually to help your child individually and it will happen over zoom. They will not be interacting and will be at their desks reading, individual activities or playing games online.

It will be better if having the child learn at home the same way has been a significant source of emotional stress for the family. One mother told our grade level team that she did not like how DL changed her relationship with her MS son from his advocate to just another person telling him what to do. By mid-November, she decided that she needed to stop telling him to turn in work in order to preserve their relationship. I appreciated her insight and honesty. She plans for him to learn in person and, presumably, will resume the role that they are both most comfortable with. Meanwhile, the trade-off is that he earned a perfect 50% in all of his classes for MP 2. I have not taught her son before so so don’t know what her advocacy looks like, but teachers are accustomed to playing bad cop so the parent can play good cop and get some work out of the reluctant learner. I hope it works!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who cohorting and masking isn’t enough. In preschools they don’t keep the kids six feet apart because they cant. They mask and keep classes segregated so no spread within school to other cohorts. Why can’t we just restart school in masks and keep classes separate? What difference does it make if there are 12 kids or 20 kids in the same air for 7 hours. Either we are ok with that or we aren’t. Seems like unnecessary theatre.

And besides, there is NO SUCH THING as ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD. If nobody is sick, like actually sick, there is no risk. Jeez you people still act like such children thinking this virus lives on school chairs, arms outstretched like a tick, just waiting to latch to a host.

Jama says otherwise https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774707

I got covid from a family member who was asymptomatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is unbelievable and revolting. MCPS has a job posting for monitors for in person teaching. So a monitor (probably a poor minority) will make minimum wage to babysit kids in classrooms so that teachers (mostly upper middle class white people) can work from home virtually. Better yet MCPS isn’t giving these monitors benefits (no health insurance) while teachers (with the best insurance a union can negotiate) sit in the “safety” of their homes. So the monitors assume all of the (minimal according to studies and the CDC) risk of being exposed to Covid so teachers can have zero. MCPS is only requiring a GED for the job. They aren’t even paying the monitors as much as they would a substitute!

This smacks of privilege! Whose idea was this? I can not believe MCPS is doing this. The optics are horrible. Why is a teacher’s life more important than a monitor’s life? And the teachers are getting vaccines while these frontline monitor workers are not! I am appalled!

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/now-hiring-in-school-classroom-monitors/?fbclid=IwAR1xMDbRTNUi2TrlI66IcUU4Z9X_VRhQJ4FXXTHUKDu3ajTs9imYv5y0iSI

Click on the link, people, because not only is the photo of the $15/hr “monitor” a woman, it’s a black woman! Because who else knows how to survive in this area on that kind of income??? Forget about any basic benefits like health insurance.

Who exactly approves these ludicrous teacher union demands? “Woke” Montgomery County Public School teachers have exposed their REAL colors.

SHAME on Montgomery County!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And besides, there is NO SUCH THING as ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD. If nobody is sick, like actually sick, there is no risk. Jeez you people still act like such children thinking this virus lives on school chairs, arms outstretched like a tick, just waiting to latch to a host.

The Russian Troll is strong in this one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is unbelievable and revolting. MCPS has a job posting for monitors for in person teaching. So a monitor (probably a poor minority) will make minimum wage to babysit kids in classrooms so that teachers (mostly upper middle class white people) can work from home virtually. Better yet MCPS isn’t giving these monitors benefits (no health insurance) while teachers (with the best insurance a union can negotiate) sit in the “safety” of their homes. So the monitors assume all of the (minimal according to studies and the CDC) risk of being exposed to Covid so teachers can have zero. MCPS is only requiring a GED for the job. They aren’t even paying the monitors as much as they would a substitute!

This smacks of privilege! Whose idea was this? I can not believe MCPS is doing this. The optics are horrible. Why is a teacher’s life more important than a monitor’s life? And the teachers are getting vaccines while these frontline monitor workers are not! I am appalled!

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/now-hiring-in-school-classroom-monitors/?fbclid=IwAR1xMDbRTNUi2TrlI66IcUU4Z9X_VRhQJ4FXXTHUKDu3ajTs9imYv5y0iSI

Yes, this is how it is in my town. Bizarro World.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is unbelievable and revolting. MCPS has a job posting for monitors for in person teaching. So a monitor (probably a poor minority) will make minimum wage to babysit kids in classrooms so that teachers (mostly upper middle class white people) can work from home virtually. Better yet MCPS isn’t giving these monitors benefits (no health insurance) while teachers (with the best insurance a union can negotiate) sit in the “safety” of their homes. So the monitors assume all of the (minimal according to studies and the CDC) risk of being exposed to Covid so teachers can have zero. MCPS is only requiring a GED for the job. They aren’t even paying the monitors as much as they would a substitute!

This smacks of privilege! Whose idea was this? I can not believe MCPS is doing this. The optics are horrible. Why is a teacher’s life more important than a monitor’s life? And the teachers are getting vaccines while these frontline monitor workers are not! I am appalled!

https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/now-hiring-in-school-classroom-monitors/?fbclid=IwAR1xMDbRTNUi2TrlI66IcUU4Z9X_VRhQJ4FXXTHUKDu3ajTs9imYv5y0iSI

Click on the link, people, because not only is the photo of the $15/hr “monitor” a woman, it’s a black woman! Because who else knows how to survive in this area on that kind of income??? Forget about any basic benefits like health insurance.

Who exactly approves these ludicrous teacher union demands? “Woke” Montgomery County Public School teachers have exposed their REAL colors.

SHAME on Montgomery County!

THIS!!! How did this thread get so off track? The optics of this are horrifying. The Teachers Union looks about as racist and elitist as humanly possible right now. The teachers think they are too good and too important to go into classrooms and do their well paid jobs but it is ok to send a minimum wage struggling (most likely minority) monitor with minimal to no education in to expose themselves to Covid. So it’s too dangerous for precious teachers but fine for low wage workers to be at risk without even offering health insurance?

And don’t say this isn’t happening because it is. There are teachers already informing students they will be home for health reasons when they return but assuring the parents there will be monitors i. The class while they are online. (Never mind the disgusting fact that their have been low wage monitors in school classroom in “pods” for MCPS profit this entire tone while kids suffer at home)

The whole thing makes a mockery of the word “equity” and is the very essence of racism. MCPS and the Union have zero self awareness. Hypocrites.