I'm so tired of the "think of the teachers and administrators" rhetoric on every thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is the crux of this debate. If schools do not open full-time but parents are told they need to go to the office full time, they fear they will get fired.

First, I don’t think this will happen. If you run your own business I’m sure there is a lot to worry about, but if all the major school systems are doing distance learning then employers are not going to get away with simply firing all the parents.

Second, I think this is a fear that is based on relatively recent generational change. We are now living in a time when most people think it’s necessary for both parents to work in order to survive financially. Obviously this was not always the case. But given that we live in these times, we have come to assume schools are the social support that makes this possible. It turns out this was not a reliable assumption in these historic times. Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t care that you have to go to work to pay the bills.

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

It’s really an awful situation, and I’m sorry to hear it. But what is your evidence that the school system doesn’t care about students and/or parents? A significant majority of teachers and administrators are themselves parents of MCPS students. They’re in the same boat as us. Half the posts on here claim DL is too hard and the other half claim it’s too easy. How is MCPS supposed to do this “right”? And they can’t even just decide to open if they want to, because the state of MD makes that call. We all want to blame people, but all we have to blame is the virus.

Teachers are NOT in the same boat. They're getting paid to stay home with their kids.

Just like the millions of other people currently working from home. Are you angry at all of those people, too? Or just the teachers? Because a lot of people are being paid a lot more to work from home than we are.

I'm not angry at teachers. They're not able to work from home. But that means they're getting paid to not work from home. Whereas people working from home are actually working. Other people in their situation (working jobs that practically cannot be done from home) were furloughed. I'm not saying they should have been, but they're in a special class.

Okay Karen. I’m sure you work so much harder than everyone else. I work from home all day every day but I know my work isn’t valuable to you anymore, since it doesn’t provide you with full time childcare. Just admit that and be honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

Literally everyone feels this way. That doesn’t make it less profound but it is the reality of a crisis of this magnitude. Even if schools opened up at full capacity, how long do you think it would be before students and staff began getting sick and they had to close down for weeks at a time? It would do nothing to solve your childcare problem.

They wouldn't close down the whole school system. They would close individual schools.

And when that’s your child’s school, how does that help you? You’re still SOL for the next two weeks.

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

Literally everyone feels this way. That doesn’t make it less profound but it is the reality of a crisis of this magnitude. Even if schools opened up at full capacity, how long do you think it would be before students and staff began getting sick and they had to close down for weeks at a time? It would do nothing to solve your childcare problem.

They wouldn't close down the whole school system. They would close individual schools.

And when that’s your child’s school, how does that help you? You’re still SOL for the next two weeks.

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is the crux of this debate. If schools do not open full-time but parents are told they need to go to the office full time, they fear they will get fired.

First, I don’t think this will happen. If you run your own business I’m sure there is a lot to worry about, but if all the major school systems are doing distance learning then employers are not going to get away with simply firing all the parents.

Second, I think this is a fear that is based on relatively recent generational change. We are now living in a time when most people think it’s necessary for both parents to work in order to survive financially. Obviously this was not always the case. But given that we live in these times, we have come to assume schools are the social support that makes this possible. It turns out this was not a reliable assumption in these historic times. Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t care that you have to go to work to pay the bills.

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

It’s really an awful situation, and I’m sorry to hear it. But what is your evidence that the school system doesn’t care about students and/or parents? A significant majority of teachers and administrators are themselves parents of MCPS students. They’re in the same boat as us. Half the posts on here claim DL is too hard and the other half claim it’s too easy. How is MCPS supposed to do this “right”? And they can’t even just decide to open if they want to, because the state of MD makes that call. We all want to blame people, but all we have to blame is the virus.

Teachers are NOT in the same boat. They're getting paid to stay home with their kids.

Just like the millions of other people currently working from home. Are you angry at all of those people, too? Or just the teachers? Because a lot of people are being paid a lot more to work from home than we are.

I'm not angry at teachers. They're not able to work from home. But that means they're getting paid to not work from home. Whereas people working from home are actually working. Other people in their situation (working jobs that practically cannot be done from home) were furloughed. I'm not saying they should have been, but they're in a special class.

Okay Karen. I’m sure you work so much harder than everyone else. I work from home all day every day but I know my work isn’t valuable to you anymore, since it doesn’t provide you with full time childcare. Just admit that and be honest.

I'm a private school parent and I have full time childcare, pandemic or not. And I honestly don't care that you're not working--it's a pandemic, it's complicated. But no, teachers are not in the same boat. I don't know why they intensely need us to go along with this fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

Literally everyone feels this way. That doesn’t make it less profound but it is the reality of a crisis of this magnitude. Even if schools opened up at full capacity, how long do you think it would be before students and staff began getting sick and they had to close down for weeks at a time? It would do nothing to solve your childcare problem.

They wouldn't close down the whole school system. They would close individual schools.

And when that’s your child’s school, how does that help you? You’re still SOL for the next two weeks.

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

I bet DCUM will try!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

The parents would be in quarantine too, eh? That's how quarantine works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Okay Karen. I’m sure you work so much harder than everyone else. I work from home all day every day but I know my work isn’t valuable to you anymore, since it doesn’t provide you with full time childcare. Just admit that and be honest.

I'm thinking about reporting this post for inappropriate use of the term "Karen".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

The parents would be in quarantine too, eh? That's how quarantine works.

And then they’ll magically have time off work to quarantine? I’m confused. I thought you were going to lose your job for taking a day off when your child has a fever, now you can take two weeks off in case one of you falls ill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is the crux of this debate. If schools do not open full-time but parents are told they need to go to the office full time, they fear they will get fired.

First, I don’t think this will happen. If you run your own business I’m sure there is a lot to worry about, but if all the major school systems are doing distance learning then employers are not going to get away with simply firing all the parents.

Second, I think this is a fear that is based on relatively recent generational change. We are now living in a time when most people think it’s necessary for both parents to work in order to survive financially. Obviously this was not always the case. But given that we live in these times, we have come to assume schools are the social support that makes this possible. It turns out this was not a reliable assumption in these historic times. Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t care that you have to go to work to pay the bills.

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

It’s really an awful situation, and I’m sorry to hear it. But what is your evidence that the school system doesn’t care about students and/or parents? A significant majority of teachers and administrators are themselves parents of MCPS students. They’re in the same boat as us. Half the posts on here claim DL is too hard and the other half claim it’s too easy. How is MCPS supposed to do this “right”? And they can’t even just decide to open if they want to, because the state of MD makes that call. We all want to blame people, but all we have to blame is the virus.

Teachers are NOT in the same boat. They're getting paid to stay home with their kids.

Just like the millions of other people currently working from home. Are you angry at all of those people, too? Or just the teachers? Because a lot of people are being paid a lot more to work from home than we are.

I'm not angry at teachers. They're not able to work from home. But that means they're getting paid to not work from home. Whereas people working from home are actually working. Other people in their situation (working jobs that practically cannot be done from home) were furloughed. I'm not saying they should have been, but they're in a special class.

Okay Karen. I’m sure you work so much harder than everyone else. I work from home all day every day but I know my work isn’t valuable to you anymore, since it doesn’t provide you with full time childcare. Just admit that and be honest.

I'm a private school parent and I have full time childcare, pandemic or not. And I honestly don't care that you're not working--it's a pandemic, it's complicated. But no, teachers are not in the same boat. I don't know why they intensely need us to go along with this fiction.

Do you think teachers are never parents? Or that every non-teacher still getting paid is working at their normal productivity? You are delusional!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

Literally everyone feels this way. That doesn’t make it less profound but it is the reality of a crisis of this magnitude. Even if schools opened up at full capacity, how long do you think it would be before students and staff began getting sick and they had to close down for weeks at a time? It would do nothing to solve your childcare problem.

They wouldn't close down the whole school system. They would close individual schools.

And when that’s your child’s school, how does that help you? You’re still SOL for the next two weeks.

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

I bet DCUM will try!

Being out of school for 2 weeks is not the same as being out for 3 months or more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

Literally everyone feels this way. That doesn’t make it less profound but it is the reality of a crisis of this magnitude. Even if schools opened up at full capacity, how long do you think it would be before students and staff began getting sick and they had to close down for weeks at a time? It would do nothing to solve your childcare problem.

They wouldn't close down the whole school system. They would close individual schools.

And when that’s your child’s school, how does that help you? You’re still SOL for the next two weeks.

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

I bet DCUM will try!

Being out of school for 2 weeks is not the same as being out for 3 months or more.

And what if it happens multiple times? And then flu season comes along and there are so many teachers calling out that they can’t run the school? I don’t understand this magical thinking that if things just open as usual, the problem disappears. That isn’t the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

The parents would be in quarantine too, eh? That's how quarantine works.

And then they’ll magically have time off work to quarantine? I’m confused. I thought you were going to lose your job for taking a day off when your child has a fever, now you can take two weeks off in case one of you falls ill?

Because "The public health department told me that I must stay home in quarantine for 2 weeks because my family was exposed" is just exactly like "I have to quit my job because the whole school system shut down and I have no idea when it's going to reopen"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is the crux of this debate. If schools do not open full-time but parents are told they need to go to the office full time, they fear they will get fired.

First, I don’t think this will happen. If you run your own business I’m sure there is a lot to worry about, but if all the major school systems are doing distance learning then employers are not going to get away with simply firing all the parents.

Second, I think this is a fear that is based on relatively recent generational change. We are now living in a time when most people think it’s necessary for both parents to work in order to survive financially. Obviously this was not always the case. But given that we live in these times, we have come to assume schools are the social support that makes this possible. It turns out this was not a reliable assumption in these historic times. Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t care that you have to go to work to pay the bills.

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

It’s really an awful situation, and I’m sorry to hear it. But what is your evidence that the school system doesn’t care about students and/or parents? A significant majority of teachers and administrators are themselves parents of MCPS students. They’re in the same boat as us. Half the posts on here claim DL is too hard and the other half claim it’s too easy. How is MCPS supposed to do this “right”? And they can’t even just decide to open if they want to, because the state of MD makes that call. We all want to blame people, but all we have to blame is the virus.

Teachers are NOT in the same boat. They're getting paid to stay home with their kids.

Just like the millions of other people currently working from home. Are you angry at all of those people, too? Or just the teachers? Because a lot of people are being paid a lot more to work from home than we are.

I'm not angry at teachers. They're not able to work from home. But that means they're getting paid to not work from home. Whereas people working from home are actually working. Other people in their situation (working jobs that practically cannot be done from home) were furloughed. I'm not saying they should have been, but they're in a special class.

Okay Karen. I’m sure you work so much harder than everyone else. I work from home all day every day but I know my work isn’t valuable to you anymore, since it doesn’t provide you with full time childcare. Just admit that and be honest.

I'm a private school parent and I have full time childcare, pandemic or not. And I honestly don't care that you're not working--it's a pandemic, it's complicated. But no, teachers are not in the same boat. I don't know why they intensely need us to go along with this fiction.

Do you think teachers are never parents? Or that every non-teacher still getting paid is working at their normal productivity? You are delusional!

I think they are parents, which is why I said: "They're getting paid to stay home with their kids."

I think people who can work from home are being expected to match normal productivity. My husband and I certainly are. Other people I know have been furloughed. Teachers are in an unusual situation. Which is fine! I just don't understand why they expect us to go along with this fiction that they are working full time from home. Of course it's not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No parents will be expected to spend even more money to get a babysitter/nanny and return to work or lose their job.

As a woman and a mom I have already had to quit my job since March to stay at Home with my two younger elementary school kids. And of course camp was canceled so there is that. So I can't even begin to look for another job until school goes back to normal.

It sucks. And it's reality. But the school systems don't seem to care about the crappy education that is being provided through DL especially to young elementary kids. They certainly don't care about parents. I just don't know what the solution is but I have never been so stressed in my life.

Literally everyone feels this way. That doesn’t make it less profound but it is the reality of a crisis of this magnitude. Even if schools opened up at full capacity, how long do you think it would be before students and staff began getting sick and they had to close down for weeks at a time? It would do nothing to solve your childcare problem.

They wouldn't close down the whole school system. They would close individual schools.

And when that’s your child’s school, how does that help you? You’re still SOL for the next two weeks.

PP, I think that we can all understand the difference between

(1) 166,000 students out of school indefinitely
(2) [however many students are in your child's school] out of school for 2 weeks

Again, how would that be comforting to the parents of the children who attend that school? It’s not like they would be allowed to just drop in to another school for the duration of the shutdown.

I bet DCUM will try!

Being out of school for 2 weeks is not the same as being out for 3 months or more.

And what if it happens multiple times? And then flu season comes along and there are so many teachers calling out that they can’t run the school? I don’t understand this magical thinking that if things just open as usual, the problem disappears. That isn’t the case.

Somehow people in schools get the flu every year and don't close so not particularly understanding that comparison. And no, the problem won't disappear but it will still be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And what if it happens multiple times? And then flu season comes along and there are so many teachers calling out that they can’t run the school? I don’t understand this magical thinking that if things just open as usual, the problem disappears. That isn’t the case.

Nobody has said that the problem will disappear.

What people have said is that the schools need to be open. The schools need to not be closed. If something comes up after that, deal with it then. Do not close all of the schools pre-emptively and indefinitely on grounds that something might happen in the future that might require some of the schools to close for a limited period of time.