Let’s cut to the chase and furlough teachers.

[Anonymous]

MCPS teachers are paid pretty well especially compared to other professionals in the county government.

We had absolutely no need for a full-time teacher. They were clear not to bother them when we emailed a simple help question and were told our kid can figure it out. They did 15 minute zoom sessions that had no teaching and then it was MCPS provided worksheets/curriculum. You could have one teacher for 50-100 kids for that level of work.

But, I've heard really good things about other schools and teachers actually taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

This is a very real proposal in my hometown district in PA. Several members of the school board are proposing to cancel school entirely next year, furlough all teachers and staff, and resume school in fall 2021. All kids will pick up where they left off, one year older. And it has the support of a substantial portion of the community. It’s a small town, where people think trying to come up with all of these plans for distance learning is too much trouble. I can’t imagine the state would allow it...

That’s a great way to f@ck over kids who will turn 18 this year. We have two in my home. March birthdays. Nothing forces custodial parents to support a child after 18. When I taught at Kennedy, we’d have students couch surfing for months and working all night, then falling asleep in class because they had to leave home as soon as they were legally an adult. Are you aware that court-ordered financial support typically ends at 18. Same with many social safety net programs. Some might extend to high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes soonest, but there would still be a lot of seniors turning 19 between January and April and forced to fend of themselves full-time financially.

Only if their parents think like you and raise them off of law and not love.

Not like me. My kids are not in any danger of being kicked out at 18. I’m telling you what I have seen as a teacher in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we should cut to the chase and furlough all parents who won’t be able to perform their jobs due to childcare issues.

Maybe you think you are being clever, but that was exactly what I was facing this spring. We were luckily able to hire a nanny who was let go because the mother at her former family was furloughed. I am fairly senior at a small organization and they did not cut us slack for the fact that we were having a pandemic. We didn’t find the nanny for 3 weeks and I took all of my leave to watch my kids. I do not have a job where I can help my kids and also work.

This fall I will likely ask for part time, but if my employer says no I am not sure what we will do. We can dip into saving and hire a nanny again, but it is not sustainable for us long term.

There are >$1M people who have filed for unemployment for the past 16 weeks. I am hopeful that no one else loses their job, but it is ridiculous for teachers to pretend like hybrid or distance learning doesn’t have real financial implications for other families. I care if teachers get furloughed and you should care that it is a financial burden to do distance or hybrid learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we should cut to the chase and furlough all parents who won’t be able to perform their jobs due to childcare issues.

This is already happening all around you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we should cut to the chase and furlough all parents who won’t be able to perform their jobs due to childcare issues.

Maybe you think you are being clever, but that was exactly what I was facing this spring. We were luckily able to hire a nanny who was let go because the mother at her former family was furloughed. I am fairly senior at a small organization and they did not cut us slack for the fact that we were having a pandemic. We didn’t find the nanny for 3 weeks and I took all of my leave to watch my kids. I do not have a job where I can help my kids and also work.

This fall I will likely ask for part time, but if my employer says no I am not sure what we will do. We can dip into saving and hire a nanny again, but it is not sustainable for us long term.

There are >$1M people who have filed for unemployment for the past 16 weeks. I am hopeful that no one else loses their job, but it is ridiculous for teachers to pretend like hybrid or distance learning doesn’t have real financial implications for other families. I care if teachers get furloughed and you should care that it is a financial burden to do distance or hybrid learning.

Literally the point of this thread is that the OP wants to stop paying teachers, so let’s not pretend that this is someone who has any compassion for others.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, the major flaw in your plan is that if you furlough workers, they’re eligible for unemployment. So your taxes are either paying their salaries or their unemployment. I think I’d rather they work, even if they’re doing a mediocre job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

This is a very real proposal in my hometown district in PA. Several members of the school board are proposing to cancel school entirely next year, furlough all teachers and staff, and resume school in fall 2021. All kids will pick up where they left off, one year older. And it has the support of a substantial portion of the community. It’s a small town, where people think trying to come up with all of these plans for distance learning is too much trouble. I can’t imagine the state would allow it...

That’s a great way to f@ck over kids who will turn 18 this year. We have two in my home. March birthdays. Nothing forces custodial parents to support a child after 18. When I taught at Kennedy, we’d have students couch surfing for months and working all night, then falling asleep in class because they had to leave home as soon as they were legally an adult. Are you aware that court-ordered financial support typically ends at 18. Same with many social safety net programs. Some might extend to high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes soonest, but there would still be a lot of seniors turning 19 between January and April and forced to fend of themselves full-time financially.

Only if their parents think like you and raise them off of law and not love.

Not like me. My kids are not in any danger of being kicked out at 18. I’m telling you what I have seen as a teacher in MCPS.

The PP needs to learn to read before she lashes out. She owes you an apology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

This is a very real proposal in my hometown district in PA. Several members of the school board are proposing to cancel school entirely next year, furlough all teachers and staff, and resume school in fall 2021. All kids will pick up where they left off, one year older. And it has the support of a substantial portion of the community. It’s a small town, where people think trying to come up with all of these plans for distance learning is too much trouble. I can’t imagine the state would allow it...

That’s a great way to f@ck over kids who will turn 18 this year. We have two in my home. March birthdays. Nothing forces custodial parents to support a child after 18. When I taught at Kennedy, we’d have students couch surfing for months and working all night, then falling asleep in class because they had to leave home as soon as they were legally an adult. Are you aware that court-ordered financial support typically ends at 18. Same with many social safety net programs. Some might extend to high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes soonest, but there would still be a lot of seniors turning 19 between January and April and forced to fend of themselves full-time financially.

That's a great way to f@ck over most kids. Doesn't this country have mandatory schooling like other civilized nations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people think that distance learning this fall will be the same as distance learning last spring. In the spring, there was zero time to plan for DL, and the districts and teachers did the best they could. I expect a lot more learning in my kids’ distance learning this fall because 1) there is more time to prepare and 2) they have this spring’s experience to learn from.

While it’s true that teachers learned from the spring and will have more tricks up their sleeve for fall, they do not get paid for summer work and are likely to do only so much to prepare to do better for fall, especially since they don’t know what exactly they’re supposed to be preparing for. The district isn’t giving them much to go on. Also, the district isn’t making it easier by changing up the tech and putting restrictions on how much synchronous teaching time they can offer. So I wouldn’t hang your hopes on summer prep, in a nutshell.

They can’t prep given no one knows what will be happening in fall. It is also unpaid time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok, but what happens when you need them again and they have fled to other districts?

What districts are hiring teachers right now? Is this like saying restaurants should pay chefs while they have no customers so that a competing restaurant doesn’t scoop them up ?

I know a whole bunch of folks in Bethesda are willing to pay a pretty penny for a nanny/teacher. It’s pretty good income.

And a whole lot of teachers who find new jobs may not ever look back. Good luck with that. On the plus side, districts would have to pay teachers more to get them back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

This is a very real proposal in my hometown district in PA. Several members of the school board are proposing to cancel school entirely next year, furlough all teachers and staff, and resume school in fall 2021. All kids will pick up where they left off, one year older. And it has the support of a substantial portion of the community. It’s a small town, where people think trying to come up with all of these plans for distance learning is too much trouble. I can’t imagine the state would allow it...

That’s a great way to f@ck over kids who will turn 18 this year. We have two in my home. March birthdays. Nothing forces custodial parents to support a child after 18. When I taught at Kennedy, we’d have students couch surfing for months and working all night, then falling asleep in class because they had to leave home as soon as they were legally an adult. Are you aware that court-ordered financial support typically ends at 18. Same with many social safety net programs. Some might extend to high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes soonest, but there would still be a lot of seniors turning 19 between January and April and forced to fend of themselves full-time financially.

That's a great way to f@ck over most kids. Doesn't this country have mandatory schooling like other civilized nations?

Unfortunately, this part of the country has done it before. Prince Edward County closed its public schools to avoid complying with the federal desegregation order. The just opened private segregation academies for white students. If you listen really carefully you hear echoes of that on DCUM today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

This is a very real proposal in my hometown district in PA. Several members of the school board are proposing to cancel school entirely next year, furlough all teachers and staff, and resume school in fall 2021. All kids will pick up where they left off, one year older. And it has the support of a substantial portion of the community. It’s a small town, where people think trying to come up with all of these plans for distance learning is too much trouble. I can’t imagine the state would allow it...

I've been wondering if any schools would consider that option. Interesting. My kid already held back though so it isn't a great option for her but I guess we'll deal with the hand we're dealt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok, but what happens when you need them again and they have fled to other districts?

What districts are hiring teachers right now? Is this like saying restaurants should pay chefs while they have no customers so that a competing restaurant doesn’t scoop them up ?

MCPS is hiring teachers.

[Anonymous]

Maryland Constitution requires that the state provide "Free Public Schools." The costs of litigating the furloughing of all or a majority of the teachers would offset any savings, plus you would eventually need to fill the positions.

Counties that primarily use DL could, however, offer a large number of teachers the opportunity to take unpaid leave for the 2020/2021 year.

[Anonymous]

I see 0 benefit to furloughing teachers. It’s not like your taxes will go down. So what exactly do you stand to gain here, OP? Aside from joy at the misery of others apparently?