Maryland Recovery Plan for Education has been posted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

That’s why they are not going to be used.
Too complicated. It’s going to be a phase 3 style back to school as normal or 100% virtual.
The problem for teachers is they will be expected to be online and working a
lot more for fall than right now, so the ones with younger kids might still need childcare. And if schools can’t open safely,
Neither can daycares.

If schools and daycares can't open safely, then many parents who are currently staying at home will need to continue to stay at home.

And as long as schools and daycares are closed, employers are all but forced to work with their employees on these alternative work structures. If schools partially reopen, it’s much easier for employers to tell their employees to figure it out because they expect everyone back in the office as usual.

But keeping schools closed is not an acceptable option. Kids need to go to school. The question isn't, should we keep schools closed or not? The question is, what will we do so that kids go to school in the fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

That’s why they are not going to be used.
Too complicated. It’s going to be a phase 3 style back to school as normal or 100% virtual.
The problem for teachers is they will be expected to be online and working a
lot more for fall than right now, so the ones with younger kids might still need childcare. And if schools can’t open safely,
Neither can daycares.

Yes, some teachers might need to figure out childcare for some parts of the day - just like tons of other people have being doing and will have to do. Let’s not pretend this is a unique hardship not borne by many other working parents right now.

You still haven't answered the question of where this childcare will come from. I'm a single mom working FT from home right now, and I count myself lucky to still have a paycheck. I also have a lot of sympathy for teachers, because their job is fundamentally different from mine. Unless I'm in a meeting, my job is not tied to a certain timeframe. A policy paper on X is due by Friday, and I can work on it whenever.

That's so fundamentally different from teacher as to be unrecognizable in terms of what it looks like to work from home. Given your callous reaction, I'm guessing your job is more like mine than like a teacher's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

That’s why they are not going to be used.
Too complicated. It’s going to be a phase 3 style back to school as normal or 100% virtual.
The problem for teachers is they will be expected to be online and working a
lot more for fall than right now, so the ones with younger kids might still need childcare. And if schools can’t open safely,
Neither can daycares.

If schools and daycares can't open safely, then many parents who are currently staying at home will need to continue to stay at home.

And as long as schools and daycares are closed, employers are all but forced to work with their employees on these alternative work structures. If schools partially reopen, it’s much easier for employers to tell their employees to figure it out because they expect everyone back in the office as usual.

But keeping schools closed is not an acceptable option. Kids need to go to school. The question isn't, should we keep schools closed or not? The question is, what will we do so that kids go to school in the fall?

I can’t tell if you’re a troll or a m desperate to get back her her Starbucks and OrangeTheory classes. But definitely not someone who’s seriously considering the bigger picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

That’s why they are not going to be used.
Too complicated. It’s going to be a phase 3 style back to school as normal or 100% virtual.
The problem for teachers is they will be expected to be online and working a
lot more for fall than right now, so the ones with younger kids might still need childcare. And if schools can’t open safely,
Neither can daycares.

Yes, some teachers might need to figure out childcare for some parts of the day - just like tons of other people have being doing and will have to do. Let’s not pretend this is a unique hardship not borne by many other working parents right now.

You still haven't answered the question of where this childcare will come from. I'm a single mom working FT from home right now, and I count myself lucky to still have a paycheck. I also have a lot of sympathy for teachers, because their job is fundamentally different from mine. Unless I'm in a meeting, my job is not tied to a certain timeframe. A policy paper on X is due by Friday, and I can work on it whenever.

That's so fundamentally different from teacher as to be unrecognizable in terms of what it looks like to work from home. Given your callous reaction, I'm guessing your job is more like mine than like a teacher's.

It’s not callous to expect teachers to deal with the same issues we are all facing. The post I responded to suggested that this difficulty was a reason to not require expanded schooling (from 45 minutes a day currently in my kid’s class), whether online, in-class or a combo. That’s frankly ridiculous. Everyone else is finding a way to make it work - even though it is hard and imperfect- and we can expect the same of teachers.

And no my job is not flexible. I have specific things that must be done at specific times, except I have far more than 45 minutes (or likely a few hours if school is expanded) to cover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

That’s why they are not going to be used.
Too complicated. It’s going to be a phase 3 style back to school as normal or 100% virtual.
The problem for teachers is they will be expected to be online and working a
lot more for fall than right now, so the ones with younger kids might still need childcare. And if schools can’t open safely,
Neither can daycares.

If schools and daycares can't open safely, then many parents who are currently staying at home will need to continue to stay at home.

And as long as schools and daycares are closed, employers are all but forced to work with their employees on these alternative work structures. If schools partially reopen, it’s much easier for employers to tell their employees to figure it out because they expect everyone back in the office as usual.

But keeping schools closed is not an acceptable option. Kids need to go to school. The question isn't, should we keep schools closed or not? The question is, what will we do so that kids go to school in the fall?

I can’t tell if you’re a troll or a m desperate to get back her her Starbucks and OrangeTheory classes. But definitely not someone who’s seriously considering the bigger picture.

Neither. I'm somebody who thinks that kids need to go to school. When did this become a matter of debate? School is a high priority. Schools need to be open. Do you think it's ok to just call off school for kids for years? Or doing distance learning, which is a stopgap whose only advantage is that it's better than nothing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

That’s why they are not going to be used.
Too complicated. It’s going to be a phase 3 style back to school as normal or 100% virtual.
The problem for teachers is they will be expected to be online and working a
lot more for fall than right now, so the ones with younger kids might still need childcare. And if schools can’t open safely,
Neither can daycares.

If schools and daycares can't open safely, then many parents who are currently staying at home will need to continue to stay at home.

And as long as schools and daycares are closed, employers are all but forced to work with their employees on these alternative work structures. If schools partially reopen, it’s much easier for employers to tell their employees to figure it out because they expect everyone back in the office as usual.

But keeping schools closed is not an acceptable option. Kids need to go to school. The question isn't, should we keep schools closed or not? The question is, what will we do so that kids go to school in the fall?

I can’t tell if you’re a troll or a m desperate to get back her her Starbucks and OrangeTheory classes. But definitely not someone who’s seriously considering the bigger picture.

Neither. I'm somebody who thinks that kids need to go to school. When did this become a matter of debate? School is a high priority. Schools need to be open. Do you think it's ok to just call off school for kids for years? Or doing distance learning, which is a stopgap whose only advantage is that it's better than nothing?

NP. I think distance learning is preferable to having a lot of teachers and students get sick. Some teachers and staff definitely are in higher risk categories and could end up hospitalized or dead. Even some children are becoming very sick with this virus. At a minimum they will bring it home to the adults in their household. If schools do reopen in the fall, it's very unlikely that they will be fully back to normal. Distance learning will still be a big part of what they do.

[Anonymous]

Guys, Smith literally said "we can't just keep kids out of school for 6 months and think that's ok." They will be back in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP. I think distance learning is preferable to having a lot of teachers and students get sick. Some teachers and staff definitely are in higher risk categories and could end up hospitalized or dead. Even some children are becoming very sick with this virus. At a minimum they will bring it home to the adults in their household. If schools do reopen in the fall, it's very unlikely that they will be fully back to normal. Distance learning will still be a big part of what they do.

First we closed schools to "flatten the curve" to avoid overwhelming the hospitals. Now we're going to keep schools closed, indefinitely, to avoid people getting sick? Teachers and staff in higher risk categories should have the option of staying home. Students in higher risk categories too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guys, Smith literally said "we can't just keep kids out of school for 6 months and think that's ok." They will be back in the fall.

Perhaps the reality of our situation hasn't fully sunk in. We all have to accept things which were previously unimaginable. Who knows, maybe covid will disappear this summer, never to reemerge? This is a situation no one has dealt with before. We're doing things ad hoc and there's no road map.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Working parents (including teachers) are screwed if these alternative plans are used.

I’m a teacher and a working parent and I agree 100%. Discrimination against anyone with kids is going to be a huge issue as we spiral into a depression. But people who think that schools will just magically do what they did before are Kidding themselves. There will be so many fewer jobs available that employers can pick and choose.

I have family who can help but I have no idea what single parents will do. Lots of borderline age latchkey kids for sure. Two income families would do well planning to live on one income in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP. I think distance learning is preferable to having a lot of teachers and students get sick. Some teachers and staff definitely are in higher risk categories and could end up hospitalized or dead. Even some children are becoming very sick with this virus. At a minimum they will bring it home to the adults in their household. If schools do reopen in the fall, it's very unlikely that they will be fully back to normal. Distance learning will still be a big part of what they do.

First we closed schools to "flatten the curve" to avoid overwhelming the hospitals. Now we're going to keep schools closed, indefinitely, to avoid people getting sick? Teachers and staff in higher risk categories should have the option of staying home. Students in higher risk categories too.

As a teacher who is immunocompromised, I’d be ok with this. My kids go to before/aftercare in typical times because the school day doesn’t last as long as my work day so I think we’d be ok with being able to send them there. Do other teachers not have to send their kids to before and aftercare? The only ones I know who don’t do that are the ones whose own kids attend the school where they work.

But since I’m immunocompromised, I probably would have to keep them home as long as it’s still unsafe for me to be in a school building. There’s no point in me staying home if I’m sending them to school plus another facility for care on the days when it’s not their turn to go to school. As long as there are options, I can figure it out. If there are no options it will become a lot more complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guys, Smith literally said "we can't just keep kids out of school for 6 months and think that's ok." They will be back in the fall.

Perhaps the reality of our situation hasn't fully sunk in. We all have to accept things which were previously unimaginable. Who knows, maybe covid will disappear this summer, never to reemerge? This is a situation no one has dealt with before. We're doing things ad hoc and there's no road map.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do the parents work in a room with 500 other people? Do they walk in halls touching other people, crammed together? Do they all take bathroom breaks together? Do they sit in an office with 30 other people?
What part of staying away from other people during this pandemic have you missed? When did the education system in this country fail so terribly that some people can not follow what it means to have a pandemic?

You can [phone] all you want. The coronavirus doesn't give a damn. It's looking for hosts to plant itself and spread and the more people crammed together the happier it is. A happy coronavirus is tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of sick people for Maryland. Public schools aren't set up for un-vaccinated students, remember? Every single child right now is un-vaccinated.

I'm pretty sure that not all 2,000+ kids in my kid's high school all use the same bathroom at the same time.

Also, public schools absolutely are set up for unvaccinated students, every year during flu season.

Where do you work that a bell rings and people all rush for the bathrooms at the same time?

Vaccines are required of students attending public school. This is not the flu. Please stop watching Trump press conferences. This is not the flu or a flu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do the parents work in a room with 500 other people? Do they walk in halls touching other people, crammed together? Do they all take bathroom breaks together? Do they sit in an office with 30 other people?
What part of staying away from other people during this pandemic have you missed? When did the education system in this country fail so terribly that some people can not follow what it means to have a pandemic?

You can [phone] all you want. The coronavirus doesn't give a damn. It's looking for hosts to plant itself and spread and the more people crammed together the happier it is. A happy coronavirus is tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of sick people for Maryland. Public schools aren't set up for un-vaccinated students, remember? Every single child right now is un-vaccinated.

I'm pretty sure that not all 2,000+ kids in my kid's high school all use the same bathroom at the same time.

Also, public schools absolutely are set up for unvaccinated students, every year during flu season.

Where do you work that a bell rings and people all rush for the bathrooms at the same time?

Vaccines are required of students attending public school. This is not the flu. Please stop watching Trump press conferences. This is not the flu or a flu.

What high school do you know of where all of the students rush for the bathrooms at the same time?

Agreed that covid-19 is not the flu. But it's silly to say that schools aren't set up for unvaccinated students, because they are. For example, students who did not get the flu vaccine, which is not required. Or students with infectious diseases that don't have vaccines, which there are many of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do the parents work in a room with 500 other people? Do they walk in halls touching other people, crammed together? Do they all take bathroom breaks together? Do they sit in an office with 30 other people?
What part of staying away from other people during this pandemic have you missed? When did the education system in this country fail so terribly that some people can not follow what it means to have a pandemic?

You can [phone] all you want. The coronavirus doesn't give a damn. It's looking for hosts to plant itself and spread and the more people crammed together the happier it is. A happy coronavirus is tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of sick people for Maryland. Public schools aren't set up for un-vaccinated students, remember? Every single child right now is un-vaccinated.

I'm pretty sure that not all 2,000+ kids in my kid's high school all use the same bathroom at the same time.

Also, public schools absolutely are set up for unvaccinated students, every year during flu season.

Where do you work that a bell rings and people all rush for the bathrooms at the same time?

Vaccines are required of students attending public school. This is not the flu. Please stop watching Trump press conferences. This is not the flu or a flu.

What high school do you know of where all of the students rush for the bathrooms at the same time?

Agreed that covid-19 is not the flu. But it's silly to say that schools aren't set up for unvaccinated students, because they are. For example, students who did not get the flu vaccine, which is not required. Or students with infectious diseases that don't have vaccines, which there are many of.

All high schools.
This is not the flu or a flu.
When 99% of students are vaccinated against something you realize that creates a protection for the few that can't get the vaccine, right?
No one has been vaccinated against COVID-19. Please stop listening to Trump.