Maryland Recovery Plan for Education has been posted

[Anonymous]

Send the kids back. Done. Teachers have choice early retire or FMLA if don’t like it. Hire new young teachers who are cheaper fresh out of school or recent graduates who are low risk to replace older or teachers with existing medical conditions.

The teachers over 50 cost a fortune with pensions and medical and higher salaries. Replace them with 21-29 year warranty or healthy teachers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send the kids back. Done. Teachers have choice early retire or FMLA if don’t like it. Hire new young teachers who are cheaper fresh out of school or recent graduates who are low risk to replace older or teachers with existing medical conditions.

The teachers over 50 cost a fortune with pensions and medical and higher salaries. Replace them with 21-29 year warranty or healthy teachers

This is about sending kids back to school for an education, not about sending kids back to school for supervision by the cheapest warm bodies available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK but another way we're not Denmark is that we dont have much of a safety net for parents who have to work during a year long pandemic - not for income, housing, health insurance, or childcare help. So distance learning for a year with full time adult supervision at home is not something most families have the flexibility or resources to provide. It's not that we don't WANT to, it's that working from home for a year and/or affording a nanny is just not the default situation for people. So what IS realistic?

If you have two working parents then you’re going to need to pay for childcare. If you have to downsize then you have to downsize. Everyone is going to have to make sacrifices. Businesses are also going to have to expand work from home options, and onsite daycare. A half day or every other day schedule is going to present the same challenges as not opening up at all. This has nothing to do with what anyone WANTS. This is the hand we’ve been dealt.

You're not hearing me. I'm saying WE DO NOT have a society set up for the average family to make this work AS INDIVIDUALS. That is the entore point of my saying we don't have a social support system. Saying every family will just have to have a parent home full time or pay an entire additional salary out of their net is INSANE. I agree that opening half time presents the same challenges but just saying "oh families will figure it out" is not a serious attempt to grapple with logistics.

Heres why:

1. Many, many families cannot afford full time childcare for school age kids - nor is it even available around here, in a place where there are multi year waiting lists for day cares. Do you know that a lot of parents with degrees do not make more, after tax, than it costs to employ a nanny? Because we've run those numbers.

2. Yes, i guess in SOME families one parent could drop out of the workforce, but that's a huge gamble as to whether they will ever get back in and a huge hit to financial security, not everyone can live on one income, and what about single parent homes?

3. People living in apartments can't "downsize." And people who bought small homes 5 years ago probably can't save by moving to an apartment.

4. I'd like to think businesses will adapt to help their employees at no profit, but that is not my general experience so far. It's a very optimistic hope.

If you're saying it's up to individual parents to just take their masses of extra space and money and either quit their jobs or employ household staff, you do not have a realistic idea of how others live. Parents should not be in the position of having to choose between the day to day safety of their children and their ability to hold a job to feed and shelter their children. I just would like people to admit that if we as a society insist it's parents' responsibility to give both employers and schools mutually exclusive amounts of time and energy in the absence of any social support system, we are CHOOSING to put people in an impossible position.

I understand all of those things. But we have a government who says that people want the market to figure it out. I think we should have subsidized childcare, universal healthcare, a universal basic income, and free and equitable public education through college. That’s not the direction our country is headed, though. People don’t want to pay more in taxes, either, which is how those things are funded in other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send the kids back. Done. Teachers have choice early retire or FMLA if don’t like it. Hire new young teachers who are cheaper fresh out of school or recent graduates who are low risk to replace older or teachers with existing medical conditions.

The teachers over 50 cost a fortune with pensions and medical and higher salaries. Replace them with 21-29 year warranty or healthy teachers

You can also drop out of the work force and be replaced. You are not special and we are not here to serve you.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:How will they have the staff to cover lunches in classrooms and enough teachers to cover smaller classes spread out using MS space?

Teachers will have to give up their lunches.

Teachers will not give up their lunches. Sometimes that is the only time during the seven hours while we're at school that I can use the bathroom. I am not allowed to look at my cell phone (you get written up), open my laptop (even for work-we're expected to be "engaged" with the kids at all times), or leave the room for any reason (to wash hands, to fill a water bottle, to pee, etc) at school. The only time I can do these things is during my lunch period, or during a prep. Before COVID, we frequently lost our preps because of IEP meetings (in our own class or others that run over time), teacher absences (which will definitely only increase in frequency now), special events (like school-wide celebrations) and various other reasons. I am also not working all day with no break and no prep and going home to create lessons. Our pay is already abysmal for masters level professionals.

Furthermore, it's illegal for us to work all day without a break. If you work for more than 6 hours you are entitled to a minimum of 30 minutes for lucnh. I am absolutely not working all day without washing my hands even once (even before eating). I am absolutely not monitoring students when I need a break myself. I am not a robot and I deserve to do all the things you take for granted at work-call my doctor, text my husband, read the news for a few minutes, walk down the block and grab a coffee, eat lunch without having to break up a fight. We fought long and hard for our lunch break to be included in our contract, we are not giving it up now. Maybe parents can volunteer to come in and watch the kids! Each parent can come in once a month and if they can't cover the shift then they have to find another parent to do it in their absence. Parents are pushing for schools to open? Then make it feasible.

You sound charming. I’m a big teacher advocate but what exactly are you doing for your students now? If you hate teaching so much, leave it.

Working without a break has absolutely nothing to do with teaching. You are not a "big teacher advocate" if you think it's appropriate for us to give up our only break in the day. It's an extremely basic labor protection that is not specific to our profession-if you work for 6 hours, you get a 30 minute lunch break. I'm not going to be constantly fighting off kidney infections so I can babysit your children without pause. Get real. It has nothing to do with what I'm willing to "do for my students"-it would make administrators' lives easier, sure. You don't get to guilt me into saying that I'm fine being trapped in a room for seven hours without using the bathroom, checking my phone, or taking care of myself in the smallest way.

I’m not saying you should not have a break. Of course you should. But your anger seems to go way beyond that. I hope you’re nowhere near my kid.

Why do you all want your kids to back into school buildings so badly when you hate teachers so much?

I hope that as well! It was suggested that we should give up our breaks. Literally "Teachers will have to give up their lunches." We do not get other breaks. I'm sure as a literate adult you can understand the equivalency.
I want to be clear here. I will not take a bullet for your child. I will not willingly make myself ill for your child by giving up my opportunities to eat or pee or wash my hands (in a pandemic). I will not give up my only break of the day (as required by law, and by my contract). I will not work through the night. I will not work weekends. I'm a teacher, and it is my job. I am not a martyr, and they are not my children.

No one is asking you to do any of these things, you absolute freak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK but another way we're not Denmark is that we dont have much of a safety net for parents who have to work during a year long pandemic - not for income, housing, health insurance, or childcare help. So distance learning for a year with full time adult supervision at home is not something most families have the flexibility or resources to provide. It's not that we don't WANT to, it's that working from home for a year and/or affording a nanny is just not the default situation for people. So what IS realistic?

If you have two working parents then you’re going to need to pay for childcare. If you have to downsize then you have to downsize. Everyone is going to have to make sacrifices. Businesses are also going to have to expand work from home options, and onsite daycare. A half day or every other day schedule is going to present the same challenges as not opening up at all. This has nothing to do with what anyone WANTS. This is the hand we’ve been dealt.

I would really like to know what this poster’s housing, work, and childcare situation is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will they have the staff to cover lunches in classrooms and enough teachers to cover smaller classes spread out using MS space?

Teachers will have to give up their lunches.

Teachers will not give up their lunches. Sometimes that is the only time during the seven hours while we're at school that I can use the bathroom. I am not allowed to look at my cell phone (you get written up), open my laptop (even for work-we're expected to be "engaged" with the kids at all times), or leave the room for any reason (to wash hands, to fill a water bottle, to pee, etc) at school. The only time I can do these things is during my lunch period, or during a prep. Before COVID, we frequently lost our preps because of IEP meetings (in our own class or others that run over time), teacher absences (which will definitely only increase in frequency now), special events (like school-wide celebrations) and various other reasons. I am also not working all day with no break and no prep and going home to create lessons. Our pay is already abysmal for masters level professionals.

Furthermore, it's illegal for us to work all day without a break. If you work for more than 6 hours you are entitled to a minimum of 30 minutes for lucnh. I am absolutely not working all day without washing my hands even once (even before eating). I am absolutely not monitoring students when I need a break myself. I am not a robot and I deserve to do all the things you take for granted at work-call my doctor, text my husband, read the news for a few minutes, walk down the block and grab a coffee, eat lunch without having to break up a fight. We fought long and hard for our lunch break to be included in our contract, we are not giving it up now. Maybe parents can volunteer to come in and watch the kids! Each parent can come in once a month and if they can't cover the shift then they have to find another parent to do it in their absence. Parents are pushing for schools to open? Then make it feasible.

You sound charming. I’m a big teacher advocate but what exactly are you doing for your students now? If you hate teaching so much, leave it.

Working without a break has absolutely nothing to do with teaching. You are not a "big teacher advocate" if you think it's appropriate for us to give up our only break in the day. It's an extremely basic labor protection that is not specific to our profession-if you work for 6 hours, you get a 30 minute lunch break. I'm not going to be constantly fighting off kidney infections so I can babysit your children without pause. Get real. It has nothing to do with what I'm willing to "do for my students"-it would make administrators' lives easier, sure. You don't get to guilt me into saying that I'm fine being trapped in a room for seven hours without using the bathroom, checking my phone, or taking care of myself in the smallest way.

I’m not saying you should not have a break. Of course you should. But your anger seems to go way beyond that. I hope you’re nowhere near my kid.

Why do you all want your kids to back into school buildings so badly when you hate teachers so much?

I love teachers. I don’t enjoy the ones who refer to teaching as babysitting. One poster made that ridiculous comment about lunches. One. None of the rest of us agree with that.

[Anonymous]

Parents just need to understand this in context. Teachers have spent many years underpaid and disrespected, and now fear that they will also be asked to double their workload and risk their health, in order to allow higher earning workers than themselves to get back to work. Try to imagine yourself in the same situation.

I am considering simply quitting if asked to do some of the things I’ve read in the report. Like many teachers, my husband is the main breadwinner. And we live with an elderly family member we don’t want to infect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents just need to understand this in context. Teachers have spent many years underpaid and disrespected, and now fear that they will also be asked to double their workload and risk their health, in order to allow higher earning workers than themselves to get back to work. Try to imagine yourself in the same situation.

I am considering simply quitting if asked to do some of the things I’ve read in the report. Like many teachers, my husband is the main breadwinner. And we live with an elderly family member we don’t want to infect.

I am a teacher and work with 100% of kids who are working class or poor. I think schools need to go back in session 100% of the day, every day in order to support working class families not higher earners. The high earners have no difficulty working from home. I have students whose parents are grocery store workers. If a cashier can go to work everyday then it is only fair teachers go back. The are underpaid and disrespected every day yet still show up to work.
Selfishly it is really easy for me to stay home with my own kids but working class families are really gong to suffe long term as soon as the extra $600 in unemployment goes away, which I think may be July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents just need to understand this in context. Teachers have spent many years underpaid and disrespected, and now fear that they will also be asked to double their workload and risk their health, in order to allow higher earning workers than themselves to get back to work. Try to imagine yourself in the same situation.

I am considering simply quitting if asked to do some of the things I’ve read in the report. Like many teachers, my husband is the main breadwinner. And we live with an elderly family member we don’t want to infect.

Higher-earning workers than themselves? Plenty of teachers at least in Moco make close to 100K, and most are married to a working spouse, giving them a very decent HHI. Where on earth do you teach that all of your parents make more than you? Private school? And who was talking about doubling a teacher’s workload?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents just need to understand this in context. Teachers have spent many years underpaid and disrespected, and now fear that they will also be asked to double their workload and risk their health, in order to allow higher earning workers than themselves to get back to work. Try to imagine yourself in the same situation.

I am considering simply quitting if asked to do some of the things I’ve read in the report. Like many teachers, my husband is the main breadwinner. And we live with an elderly family member we don’t want to infect.

Higher-earning workers than themselves? Plenty of teachers at least in Moco make close to 100K, and most are married to a working spouse, giving them a very decent HHI. Where on earth do you teach that all of your parents make more than you? Private school? And who was talking about doubling a teacher’s workload?

+1
And it’s not just about parents getting back to work. It’s about, you know, bettering the lives of children and furthering their educations. Frankly, you don’t sound like much of a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send the kids back. Done. Teachers have choice early retire or FMLA if don’t like it. Hire new young teachers who are cheaper fresh out of school or recent graduates who are low risk to replace older or teachers with existing medical conditions.

The teachers over 50 cost a fortune with pensions and medical and higher salaries. Replace them with 21-29 year warranty or healthy teachers

This is about sending kids back to school for an education, not about sending kids back to school for supervision by the cheapest warm bodies available.

No, it's actually about the latter. We can pretend it's for the sake of education, but really it's for the sake of free childcare.

(This is not my view at all--I think we need to keep the health of students and staff as the priority--but this is the view of pretty much everyone on DCUM and people I know IRL as well. They don't actually care who is teaching their kids when it comes down to it, although they sure have an opinion on their kids' teachers in normal times. But given the choice between distance learning and school being taught by unqualified warm bodies acting as babysitters, they'll pick the latter and then complain about the poor quality education their kids are getting.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents just need to understand this in context. Teachers have spent many years underpaid and disrespected, and now fear that they will also be asked to double their workload and risk their health, in order to allow higher earning workers than themselves to get back to work. Try to imagine yourself in the same situation.

I am considering simply quitting if asked to do some of the things I’ve read in the report. Like many teachers, my husband is the main breadwinner. And we live with an elderly family member we don’t want to infect.

Higher-earning workers than themselves? Plenty of teachers at least in Moco make close to 100K, and most are married to a working spouse, giving them a very decent HHI. Where on earth do you teach that all of your parents make more than you? Private school? And who was talking about doubling a teacher’s workload?

+1
And it’s not just about parents getting back to work. It’s about, you know, bettering the lives of children and furthering their educations. Frankly, you don’t sound like much of a teacher.

She’s not much of a teacher? How would you know? You don’t sound like much of a parent and neither does anyone suggesting they fire educators and replace them with unqualified people desperate for a job. Parents want to go back to work so badly that they are willing to give up on any semblance of an education. It also shows how little concern they have for their family’s safety. Selfishness is not really a good quality in a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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As a teacher who works for a year round program, I can speak to this. We are paid a ten month salary. If you choose to work the summer you get paid an additional 18% of your yearly salary on top of your regular summer checks. Obviously, this is tremendously expensive for the district.
The only reason summer is bearable is because you go on many field trips, there’s only one official classroom observation, there is no testing, etc. All our classrooms are air conditioned. The pay is also great. You’re basically suggesting that teachers work with no extra pay, no air conditioning, no field trips, high anxiety, and worse. I agree that the bathroom would be a huge issue. When the weather is bad we just do what? Get soaked? I’m sorry but you can hire a sitter for the summer and ask them to do workbooks with your kid. I did not sign up for that.

Denmark is currently holding their school classes outdoors, or so I read. To be sure, Denmark in May is not Maryland in July. I expect it rains in Denmark, though, and I'm certain that kids and teachers in Denmark need to use bathrooms during the school day. In other words, some of these are problems that not only can be solved, but actually have been solved, somehow, by people.

That doesn’t change the fact that you want teachers to accept that the material nature of their job and the number of work days for a previously negotiated rate of pay. I’m not working without being compensated.
If you do any research you’ll see that they aren’t teaching in tents. They are “holding as much of their classes outdoors as possible” which seems to primarily mean music and other classes that don’t require materials. The kids are sitting in the grass. It’s also a totally different culture. You know I’m going to get angry calls, “Johnny didn’t make it to the bathroom on time. The next time this happens I’m going to call the superintendent! This is child abuse” or “Elizabeth has a sunburn! I told you to apply sunblock every hour. You should be fired.” American parents are so high strung. You want us providing some kind of magical rigorous instruction in a post apocalyptic setting. You’re welcome to open up some freewheeling nature camp and watch other people’s kids all summer. It’s not happening.

Issue 1: paying people for work
Separate issue 2: having school outside as much as possible

I'm all in favor of paying people for work. I'm also really, really, really, really, really tired of hearing that it's impossible to do things that are actually being done in real life by real people. American exceptionalism now seems to mean "Americans can't do what everyone else can do".

We’re also the only first world country without universal healthcare so forgive us if we are naturally a little more risk averse than people in Denmark. They also get 18 weeks of paid maternal leave, 2 weeks of paternal leave, and 32 additional weeks they can split between them. They also have subsidized childcare and free education. Unemployment benefits last two years after losing your job. If you want us to be like Denmark then you can’t ignore all of those factors.

As if public school teachers don't have Cadillac health insurance... (Not to mention that if I get COVID, I would MUCH rather be treated in the United States.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a teacher who works for a year round program, I can speak to this. We are paid a ten month salary. If you choose to work the summer you get paid an additional 18% of your yearly salary on top of your regular summer checks. Obviously, this is tremendously expensive for the district.
The only reason summer is bearable is because you go on many field trips, there’s only one official classroom observation, there is no testing, etc. All our classrooms are air conditioned. The pay is also great. You’re basically suggesting that teachers work with no extra pay, no air conditioning, no field trips, high anxiety, and worse. I agree that the bathroom would be a huge issue. When the weather is bad we just do what? Get soaked? I’m sorry but you can hire a sitter for the summer and ask them to do workbooks with your kid. I did not sign up for that.

Denmark is currently holding their school classes outdoors, or so I read. To be sure, Denmark in May is not Maryland in July. I expect it rains in Denmark, though, and I'm certain that kids and teachers in Denmark need to use bathrooms during the school day. In other words, some of these are problems that not only can be solved, but actually have been solved, somehow, by people.

That doesn’t change the fact that you want teachers to accept that the material nature of their job and the number of work days for a previously negotiated rate of pay. I’m not working without being compensated.
If you do any research you’ll see that they aren’t teaching in tents. They are “holding as much of their classes outdoors as possible” which seems to primarily mean music and other classes that don’t require materials. The kids are sitting in the grass. It’s also a totally different culture. You know I’m going to get angry calls, “Johnny didn’t make it to the bathroom on time. The next time this happens I’m going to call the superintendent! This is child abuse” or “Elizabeth has a sunburn! I told you to apply sunblock every hour. You should be fired.” American parents are so high strung. You want us providing some kind of magical rigorous instruction in a post apocalyptic setting. You’re welcome to open up some freewheeling nature camp and watch other people’s kids all summer. It’s not happening.

Issue 1: paying people for work
Separate issue 2: having school outside as much as possible

I'm all in favor of paying people for work. I'm also really, really, really, really, really tired of hearing that it's impossible to do things that are actually being done in real life by real people. American exceptionalism now seems to mean "Americans can't do what everyone else can do".

We’re also the only first world country without universal healthcare so forgive us if we are naturally a little more risk averse than people in Denmark. They also get 18 weeks of paid maternal leave, 2 weeks of paternal leave, and 32 additional weeks they can split between them. They also have subsidized childcare and free education. Unemployment benefits last two years after losing your job. If you want us to be like Denmark then you can’t ignore all of those factors.

As if public school teachers don't have Cadillac health insurance... (Not to mention that if I get COVID, I would MUCH rather be treated in the United States.)

Here we go again about how spoiled teachers are! I’ve lost all motivation to go out of my way for parents. It’s so clear how little you think of us. “Provide hours of live instruction (that aren’t required) or you hate kids!” “Agree to go back without any changes or policies to keep you safe or you hate my kids! You’re a terrible teacher!”
You should become a teacher since you think it has such great perks and compensation. Parents think it’s such a cakewalk but I don’t see them running out o become educators.