Mandatory vaccines for teachers/staff and eligible students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, are you ok? It's not like you to get into the weeds like this. I say this without any sarcasm.

I am a parent of a DCPS student so why shouldn't I get into the weeds? Beyond that, after a nearly a year and a half of seeing teachers blamed for every evil under the sun, I think I reached my limit. I am constantly amazed that posters here seem to believe that teachers are nothing but stupid lazy, incompetent, slackers (and now anti-vaxxers to boot), but want them to care and educate their children. I understand parents are frustrated -- I'm frustrated too -- but taking it out on teachers and the WTU is not the solution.

that’s a caricature of my position here, Jeff. School closure was very harmful to my SN child, and not justified by public health knowledge in my opinion. It is not “teacher bashing” to be upset about that. It is not “WTU bashing” to ask why they are not affirmatively supporting the single most effective way to keep schools open (mandatory vax) and instead focusing on measures that shift the burden onto my child (cohorts, distancing, masking, and quarantines/closures). And of course there was a LOT of extremely toxic parent bashing on here — I was called a “bad parent” many times, told that my SN kid’s struggles were my fault, I only wanted free daycare, etc.

Very well said. Many parents feel similarly. I think a lot of us aren't simply blaming teachers and the union. It was institutional failure on many levels, from the mayor on down, and unfortunately the unions and many teachers used the opportunity to "never let a crisis go to waste" and abuse medical leave, etc to avoid doing their jobs. Many teachers also bent over backward to help students, but the evidence overwhelmingly shows that distance learning and school closures as DC did them were very very harmful to kids. Plenty of other public school districts in this country figured out how to safely reopen schools. DC failed. That failure should not be forgotten nor excused away.

oh, if thats all your saying then....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, are you ok? It's not like you to get into the weeds like this. I say this without any sarcasm.

I am a parent of a DCPS student so why shouldn't I get into the weeds? Beyond that, after a nearly a year and a half of seeing teachers blamed for every evil under the sun, I think I reached my limit. I am constantly amazed that posters here seem to believe that teachers are nothing but stupid lazy, incompetent, slackers (and now anti-vaxxers to boot), but want them to care and educate their children. I understand parents are frustrated -- I'm frustrated too -- but taking it out on teachers and the WTU is not the solution.

that’s a caricature of my position here, Jeff. School closure was very harmful to my SN child, and not justified by public health knowledge in my opinion. It is not “teacher bashing” to be upset about that. It is not “WTU bashing” to ask why they are not affirmatively supporting the single most effective way to keep schools open (mandatory vax) and instead focusing on measures that shift the burden onto my child (cohorts, distancing, masking, and quarantines/closures). And of course there was a LOT of extremely toxic parent bashing on here — I was called a “bad parent” many times, told that my SN kid’s struggles were my fault, I only wanted free daycare, etc.

Very well said. Many parents feel similarly. I think a lot of us aren't simply blaming teachers and the union. It was institutional failure on many levels, from the mayor on down, and unfortunately the unions and many teachers used the opportunity to "never let a crisis go to waste" and abuse medical leave, etc to avoid doing their jobs. Many teachers also bent over backward to help students, but the evidence overwhelmingly shows that distance learning and school closures as DC did them were very very harmful to kids. Plenty of other public school districts in this country figured out how to safely reopen schools. DC failed. That failure should not be forgotten nor excused away.

oh, if thats all your saying then....

It would be helpful for you to bold the nuance as well as the entire quote, which says that many teachers did one thing that was not good and many teachers did another thing that WAS good.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, are you ok? It's not like you to get into the weeds like this. I say this without any sarcasm.

I am a parent of a DCPS student so why shouldn't I get into the weeds? Beyond that, after a nearly a year and a half of seeing teachers blamed for every evil under the sun, I think I reached my limit. I am constantly amazed that posters here seem to believe that teachers are nothing but stupid lazy, incompetent, slackers (and now anti-vaxxers to boot), but want them to care and educate their children. I understand parents are frustrated -- I'm frustrated too -- but taking it out on teachers and the WTU is not the solution.

that’s a caricature of my position here, Jeff. School closure was very harmful to my SN child, and not justified by public health knowledge in my opinion. It is not “teacher bashing” to be upset about that. It is not “WTU bashing” to ask why they are not affirmatively supporting the single most effective way to keep schools open (mandatory vax) and instead focusing on measures that shift the burden onto my child (cohorts, distancing, masking, and quarantines/closures). And of course there was a LOT of extremely toxic parent bashing on here — I was called a “bad parent” many times, told that my SN kid’s struggles were my fault, I only wanted free daycare, etc.

Actually, bashing teachers -- even if you feel it is justified -- is still "teacher bashing". You are welcome to ask why the WTU is not affirmatively supporting a mandate. The answer to that has been provided many times: DCPS has not proposed a mandate. But, that is not what you have been posting. Rather, you have repeatedly claimed that the WTU opposes a mandate. That is not supported by available facts.

As for posts about bad parents, I have spent a huge amount of time and effort removing them. Sadly, most of those appear to come from other parents. So, blaming teachers for them is another case of misdirected anger.

so any criticism of teachers or the union is “bashing.” got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, are you ok? It's not like you to get into the weeds like this. I say this without any sarcasm.

I am a parent of a DCPS student so why shouldn't I get into the weeds? Beyond that, after a nearly a year and a half of seeing teachers blamed for every evil under the sun, I think I reached my limit. I am constantly amazed that posters here seem to believe that teachers are nothing but stupid lazy, incompetent, slackers (and now anti-vaxxers to boot), but want them to care and educate their children. I understand parents are frustrated -- I'm frustrated too -- but taking it out on teachers and the WTU is not the solution.

that’s a caricature of my position here, Jeff. School closure was very harmful to my SN child, and not justified by public health knowledge in my opinion. It is not “teacher bashing” to be upset about that. It is not “WTU bashing” to ask why they are not affirmatively supporting the single most effective way to keep schools open (mandatory vax) and instead focusing on measures that shift the burden onto my child (cohorts, distancing, masking, and quarantines/closures). And of course there was a LOT of extremely toxic parent bashing on here — I was called a “bad parent” many times, told that my SN kid’s struggles were my fault, I only wanted free daycare, etc.

Very well said. Many parents feel similarly. I think a lot of us aren't simply blaming teachers and the union. It was institutional failure on many levels, from the mayor on down, and unfortunately the unions and many teachers used the opportunity to "never let a crisis go to waste" and abuse medical leave, etc to avoid doing their jobs. Many teachers also bent over backward to help students, but the evidence overwhelmingly shows that distance learning and school closures as DC did them were very very harmful to kids. Plenty of other public school districts in this country figured out how to safely reopen schools. DC failed. That failure should not be forgotten nor excused away.

oh, if thats all your saying then....

It would be helpful for you to bold the nuance as well as the entire quote, which says that many teachers did one thing that was not good and many teachers did another thing that WAS good.

The nuance is pathetic. To summarize: Many teachers abused leave, etc. Many teachers bent over backwards to help students, but it was no good.

[Anonymous]

I WAS a teacher for many years and am now a parent. Am I allowed to give my opinion on the morality of what occurred?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, are you ok? It's not like you to get into the weeds like this. I say this without any sarcasm.

I am a parent of a DCPS student so why shouldn't I get into the weeds? Beyond that, after a nearly a year and a half of seeing teachers blamed for every evil under the sun, I think I reached my limit. I am constantly amazed that posters here seem to believe that teachers are nothing but stupid lazy, incompetent, slackers (and now anti-vaxxers to boot), but want them to care and educate their children. I understand parents are frustrated -- I'm frustrated too -- but taking it out on teachers and the WTU is not the solution.

that’s a caricature of my position here, Jeff. School closure was very harmful to my SN child, and not justified by public health knowledge in my opinion. It is not “teacher bashing” to be upset about that. It is not “WTU bashing” to ask why they are not affirmatively supporting the single most effective way to keep schools open (mandatory vax) and instead focusing on measures that shift the burden onto my child (cohorts, distancing, masking, and quarantines/closures). And of course there was a LOT of extremely toxic parent bashing on here — I was called a “bad parent” many times, told that my SN kid’s struggles were my fault, I only wanted free daycare, etc.

Very well said. Many parents feel similarly. I think a lot of us aren't simply blaming teachers and the union. It was institutional failure on many levels, from the mayor on down, and unfortunately the unions and many teachers used the opportunity to "never let a crisis go to waste" and abuse medical leave, etc to avoid doing their jobs. Many teachers also bent over backward to help students, but the evidence overwhelmingly shows that distance learning and school closures as DC did them were very very harmful to kids. Plenty of other public school districts in this country figured out how to safely reopen schools. DC failed. That failure should not be forgotten nor excused away.

oh, if thats all your saying then....

It would be helpful for you to bold the nuance as well as the entire quote, which says that many teachers did one thing that was not good and many teachers did another thing that WAS good.

The nuance is pathetic. To summarize: Many teachers abused leave, etc. Many teachers bent over backwards to help students, but it was no good.

I think you read that as a teacher-bashing post, while I did not.

I think the "many teachers" statements suggest that teachers had a range of behaviors. I think that's pretty obvious and hard to argue with.

I think it's factual that "but it was no good." The data coming out does show there were resulting educational shortcomings from school closures and DL. Those educational shortcomings aren't necessarily the fault of teachers; the modality of DL doesn't work for many types of learners and particularly young kids. Plus to even learn you had to engage with the computers, which was difficult or impossible for some (again, that's not the fault of teachers). Even with kids who showed up, you could work your ass off as a teacher but not necessarily get good results (that's been shown in ed research regarding the efficacy of distance learning).

Also, I'm not the PP, but they literally say that they blame the entirety of the school institution, not just teachers.

At any rate, everyone is fried from last year -- parents, teachers, administrators, etc. We're all starting to wonder what this year brings and I think people are regurgitating the same tropes we lobbed at each other last year. I think many of us are reacting from being traumatized by last year.

[Anonymous]

Anyone who thinks DC government should follow the lead of the federal government, requiring vax or test, please write to your council member.

[Anonymous]

I’m a DCPS parent and I agree with Jeff’s posts here. The mayor must first propose a vaccine mandate before the WTU can respond. Teachers are being maligned needlessly. Some are at fault but many are not. Yes, the WTU was at fault last year but I blame the mayor and chancellor even more. Teachers have no faith in central office. I hope this year is better as otherwise I will lose my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a DCPS parent and I agree with Jeff’s posts here. The mayor must first propose a vaccine mandate before the WTU can respond. Teachers are being maligned needlessly. Some are at fault but many are not. Yes, the WTU was at fault last year but I blame the mayor and chancellor even more. Teachers have no faith in central office. I hope this year is better as otherwise I will lose my mind.

why would the union not be able to propose a vaccination mandate? it would be the #1 health and safety measure they could get in a contract. Especially to the extent they can get DCPS to bargain for mandatory vax with staff unions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a DCPS parent and I agree with Jeff’s posts here. The mayor must first propose a vaccine mandate before the WTU can respond. Teachers are being maligned needlessly. Some are at fault but many are not. Yes, the WTU was at fault last year but I blame the mayor and chancellor even more. Teachers have no faith in central office. I hope this year is better as otherwise I will lose my mind.

why would the union not be able to propose a vaccination mandate? it would be the #1 health and safety measure they could get in a contract. Especially to the extent they can get DCPS to bargain for mandatory vax with staff unions.

Why would they? What about eligible students? What about all the staff in schools that are not part of WTU. Only teachers are WTU. There is a lot of other staff around. Also, what about the security officers at middle and high schools? It makes little sense to fixate on teachers only. What about the entire neighborhood and community around schools? You cannot just single out teachers. Many hospitals are still struggling to make sure all their medical and administrative staff is vaccinated. Some hospitals are only at 60% vaccinated rate. It needs to be a city-wide mandate if anything. The mayor is reluctant for a reason - because it is complicated and from what I have seen - our mayor and chancellor are not trail blazers. They muddle through with some sort of in-between confusing path.

[Anonymous]

Can the WTU publicize the vaccination rate of their members?

And when will the city make their proposal? Time is of the essence here.

[Anonymous]

The mayor could do a "vax or test" protocol like NYC or the Feds, for all public sector employees. Why Bowser has not....well, she generally seems fairly spineless and in over her head. So I'm not surprised. I would like to have a different mayor, but the choice of a mayors in DC seems to be 1) ineffectual but not corrupt, and 2) driving the city into the ground and corrupt.

[Anonymous]

From up-post, here's who to write to:

Phil Mendelson: [e-mail]
Anita Bonds (At Large): [e-mail]
Elissa Silverman (At Large): [e-mail]
Robert White (At Large): [e-mail]
Christina Henderson(At Large): [e-mail]
Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1): [e-mail]
Brooke Pinto (Ward 2): [e-mail]
Mary Cheh (Ward 3): [e-mail]
Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4): [e-mail]
Kenyan McDuffie (Ward 5): [e-mail]
Charles Allen (Ward 6): [e-mail]
Vincent Gray (Ward 7): [e-mail]
Trayon White (Ward 8): [e-mail]

PLUS
Executive office of the mayor:
[e-mail]

Lewis Ferebee (Chancellor)
[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From up-post, here's who to write to:

Phil Mendelson: [e-mail]
Anita Bonds (At Large): [e-mail]
Elissa Silverman (At Large): [e-mail]
Robert White (At Large): [e-mail]
Christina Henderson(At Large): [e-mail]
Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1): [e-mail]
Brooke Pinto (Ward 2): [e-mail]
Mary Cheh (Ward 3): [e-mail]
Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4): [e-mail]
Kenyan McDuffie (Ward 5): [e-mail]
Charles Allen (Ward 6): [e-mail]
Vincent Gray (Ward 7): [e-mail]
Trayon White (Ward 8): [e-mail]

PLUS
Executive office of the mayor:
[e-mail]

Lewis Ferebee (Chancellor)
[e-mail]

Someone please post what ferebee responds back with. Or if he even responds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The mayor could do a "vax or test" protocol like NYC or the Feds, for all public sector employees. Why Bowser has not....well, she generally seems fairly spineless and in over her head. So I'm not surprised. I would like to have a different mayor, but the choice of a mayors in DC seems to be 1) ineffectual but not corrupt, and 2) driving the city into the ground and corrupt.

As a vaccinated teacher and mom to 2 kids under 12 I'd LOVE to qualify for the free weekly COVID testing. Just for the peace of mind, I wonder if all staff members will be given the option.