Allegedly there are several options for the fall none of which include being back full time?

[Anonymous]

We are still 3 months away. At this rate, I think positivity rate will be small enough that closing schools would be totally unnessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im sorry for saying this but some of you all are so dumb. Low income people don't want their kids in school so they don't get sick? Low income people don't have medical bills because they are on Medicaid?

Some of you should take a deep look at yourself and take time to learn. You embody exactly why we are at 2 wks of protests that have spanned every state and over 13 countries.

Do you know how Medicaid works? Because I work in healthcare and they pay nothing. So no, they don't worry about medical bills. I'm not saying their life is easy by any means but medical bills are not one of their worries.

Medicaid recipients do have out of pocket expenses. Especially recipients who are working adults, which is most low income parents. You may not see a payment from them, but that isn’t true for all providers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im sorry for saying this but some of you all are so dumb. Low income people don't want their kids in school so they don't get sick? Low income people don't have medical bills because they are on Medicaid?

Some of you should take a deep look at yourself and take time to learn. You embody exactly why we are at 2 wks of protests that have spanned every state and over 13 countries.

Do you know how Medicaid works? Because I work in healthcare and they pay nothing. So no, they don't worry about medical bills. I'm not saying their life is easy by any means but medical bills are not one of their worries.

Medicaid recipients do have out of pocket expenses. Especially recipients who are working adults, which is most low income parents. You may not see a payment from them, but that isn’t true for all providers.

Their out of pocket costs are very fixed and ridiculous (like $5 for certain prescriptions). But in most cases those out of pocket costs are for non essential medical care. For emergency/sick care it's pretty much always completely covered. And for kids it's even more so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im sorry for saying this but some of you all are so dumb. Low income people don't want their kids in school so they don't get sick? Low income people don't have medical bills because they are on Medicaid?

Some of you should take a deep look at yourself and take time to learn. You embody exactly why we are at 2 wks of protests that have spanned every state and over 13 countries.

Do you know how Medicaid works? Because I work in healthcare and they pay nothing. So no, they don't worry about medical bills. I'm not saying their life is easy by any means but medical bills are not one of their worries.

Medicaid recipients do have out of pocket expenses. Especially recipients who are working adults, which is most low income parents. You may not see a payment from them, but that isn’t true for all providers.

Their out of pocket costs are very fixed and ridiculous (like $5 for certain prescriptions). But in most cases those out of pocket costs are for non essential medical care. For emergency/sick care it's pretty much always completely covered. And for kids it's even more so.

Working class and many middle class families are not going to qualify for Medicaid and are nonetheless hurting. Moreover, Medicaid does not cover all expenses, particularly prescriptions. I’m not sure why people who have no idea what it’s like to be on Medicaid or to contend with financial instability are suggesting that families who are poor are better off with out jobs and kids not going to school. Absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There sure are a lot of people on here who think they know better than county leaders, doctors, public health experts, school administrators, and teachers. I don’t know what the right answer is, but neither do you.

I know that kids need to go to school.

And I know that a child's right to an education does not supersede the rights of teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and instructional aides to a safe working environment. We want school back in session too. But meaningful protocols to mitigate the spread of the virus need to be in place. Unfortunately, if a school is overcrowded they will have to reduce density by establishing different cohorts of students who physically attend school on different days. There is no other way around it-we can't build and staff new schools to accommodate all the students.

Why not?

I’m hoping that you bolder the wrong area of that post and really don’t mean that you think children have more right to be in a building than adults have a right to live.

DP. You say "being in a building" as if that is the only thing kids are losing when they do not go to school. Clearly, you do not appreciate the importance of school. It is absolutely our duty as a society to find a way to educate the 55 million kids in this country AT SCHOOL and together and full-time, and not by way of the some parent-facilitated "distance learning" charade. This virus poses a lethal threat only to a small minority of those who get exposed - to imply that the adults working at schools would run a high risk of death in case of exposure is hyperbole that is not helpful to the discussion. Adults in the building can protect themselves with masks, handwashing, and keeping their distance. There is no reason anyone in the building but teachers should ever have to get closer than within 3 feet of a kid, which is now thought to be a reasonably safe distance. Those at truly at high risk, or those simply concerned about infection, need to retire or find another career.

Kids are our most vulnerable citizens, with the least political clout. Their futures are at stake, and yes, they are more important than any adult's right to absolute safety from infection with a virus that is a serious danger to only a tiny fraction of those exposed. What will you suggest if a vaccine doesn't materialize very quickly? This virus isn't going to disappear like magic. We need to find a way to keep educating kids, both academically and socially.

Agree. Why do teachers get a pass when the rest of us have to go back to work? Teachers are essential workers. There is no way to do the job without being in a room with kids. Those that aren’t willing to do that in the fall should be finding new jobs.

Exactly! Well stated, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been patiently reading this debate on multiple treads by now. I have a question that I hope someone can give a meaningful answer. It seems some teachers would like to go back to school in the new academic year, but some teachers would first like to see some protocols in place because they say otherwise it is not safe for them. On the other hand, the vast majority of parents (even when one of the parents stay at home) want schools to open for all students. Now these parents are willing to send their kids to schools that some teachers argue not safe. Every night, the kids come back home from school. So if they pose a risk to teachers, shouldn't they pose a risk to their parents as well? Why do the parents think the risk is manageable, but some teachers think otherwise? Also since being a teacher is not a virtue people are born with, instead people become teachers after they are born, would those teachers change their mind on this issue if they were not teachers?

If you talk to lower income parents of color and I do since they are my neighbors and the parents of many of my students, they are worried about their kids bring coronavirus home. They just aren’t on DCUM to chime in on these posts.

I'd think for lower income families it's even more critical that kids go to school. Otherwise parents would have difficulty going to work. Also those kids would have very little out of school enrichment opportunities.

I get that you THINK that, but I’m telling you what people are saying to me. They are scared. Scared their kids will get “mildly” ill and they will miss work. Scared that they themselves will get ill and miss work. They are worried about doctors’ bills and hospital fees that they can’t afford. Scared that household member already in bad health will die. Some sublease housing illegally and are afraid that they might be kicked out if they or their kids get ill with COVID. It’s important to actually ask lower income people what they think rather than assuming you know what is best for them.

I work with low income families and they absolutely want - and need - schools to reopen. Yes, reopen with safety protocols I’m place, but schools reopening is not just about stability and enabling a parent to work, it’s also about education and socialization kids need. The prospect that parents working hourly pay jobs are taking off time to help kids navigate Zoom classes is absurd. What’s actually happening in many cases is parents leaving kids alone - often relatively young middle schoolers or older elementary schoolers who then watch younger kids in the home.

We’ve managed to keep Costcos open but somehow balk at reopening schools. Kids are not vectors for this disease. They hysteria needs to stop. School needs to start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im sorry for saying this but some of you all are so dumb. Low income people don't want their kids in school so they don't get sick? Low income people don't have medical bills because they are on Medicaid?

Some of you should take a deep look at yourself and take time to learn. You embody exactly why we are at 2 wks of protests that have spanned every state and over 13 countries.

Do you know how Medicaid works? Because I work in healthcare and they pay nothing. So no, they don't worry about medical bills. I'm not saying their life is easy by any means but medical bills are not one of their worries.

Do you think i would make this statement if i didnt work in healthcare snd hear my patients deny vital tests because of the costs? As i stated, educate yourself before you make blanket statements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im sorry for saying this but some of you all are so dumb. Low income people don't want their kids in school so they don't get sick? Low income people don't have medical bills because they are on Medicaid?

Some of you should take a deep look at yourself and take time to learn. You embody exactly why we are at 2 wks of protests that have spanned every state and over 13 countries.

Do you know how Medicaid works? Because I work in healthcare and they pay nothing. So no, they don't worry about medical bills. I'm not saying their life is easy by any means but medical bills are not one of their worries.

Medicaid recipients do have out of pocket expenses. Especially recipients who are working adults, which is most low income parents. You may not see a payment from them, but that isn’t true for all providers.

Their out of pocket costs are very fixed and ridiculous (like $5 for certain prescriptions). But in most cases those out of pocket costs are for non essential medical care. For emergency/sick care it's pretty much always completely covered. And for kids it's even more so.

Working class and many middle class families are not going to qualify for Medicaid and are nonetheless hurting. Moreover, Medicaid does not cover all expenses, particularly prescriptions. I’m not sure why people who have no idea what it’s like to be on Medicaid or to contend with financial instability are suggesting that families who are poor are better off with out jobs and kids not going to school. Absurd.

+100. Completely absurd. I know why, its called ignorance.

[Anonymous]

People on here think teachers are whining to “get a pass” while everyone else has to go back to work? Well, consider your environment. When you go back to work, will you be in all-day meetings packed with people shoulder to shoulder without masks? No, you won’t. We will. No other workplace as crowded as schools would be allowed to reopen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People on here think teachers are whining to “get a pass” while everyone else has to go back to work? Well, consider your environment. When you go back to work, will you be in all-day meetings packed with people shoulder to shoulder without masks? No, you won’t. We will. No other workplace as crowded as schools would be allowed to reopen.

The people commenting don’t teach. As a result, they have no idea how close we have to be to students in order to do our jobs. For example, a lot of the time I use a 3 inch voice when working individually with a student who is shy or anxious. At 3 inches, I’m whispering so I can help them discreetly without other students hearing our conversation. In contrast, a 3 foot voice is actually quite loud. That means that the other students can clearly hear what I say. If a student with special needs has a live reader read aloud accommodation during a test, I can’t provide that accommodation from three feet away without the other students hearing. It might distract them, especially students with ADD. And our RTSE says that if you are reading aloud to the whole class, it doesn’t count because everyone got the accommodation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People on here think teachers are whining to “get a pass” while everyone else has to go back to work? Well, consider your environment. When you go back to work, will you be in all-day meetings packed with people shoulder to shoulder without masks? No, you won’t. We will. No other workplace as crowded as schools would be allowed to reopen.

You are grasping at straws here. Are you going to in person meetings right now? No. And that is a very simple thing to have accommodations for when school reopens. There is no reason adults at the school cannot continue zoom meetings with each other For as long as needed. The point is you are not going to get COVID from a kid and it's easy enough for adults to take the proper precautions from each other as adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People on here think teachers are whining to “get a pass” while everyone else has to go back to work? Well, consider your environment. When you go back to work, will you be in all-day meetings packed with people shoulder to shoulder without masks? No, you won’t. We will. No other workplace as crowded as schools would be allowed to reopen.

Workplaces as crowded as schools have been open all along. Not everyone works in a white-collar setting.

[Anonymous]

Imagine if hospital and nursing home workers were this demanding about not going back to work?

School is just as essential as healthcare. You all are being absolutely ridiculous.

"I'm not going back until I feel it's a completely safe working environment"!
Newsflash: teaching has literally NEVER been a completely safe working environment. Teachers catch things from kids all the tine. Kids bring weapons to school etc...if you will not go back until there is zero risk than you need to find a new career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine if hospital and nursing home workers were this demanding about not going back to work?

School is just as essential as healthcare. You all are being absolutely ridiculous.

"I'm not going back until I feel it's a completely safe working environment"!
Newsflash: teaching has literally NEVER been a completely safe working environment. Teachers catch things from kids all the tine. Kids bring weapons to school etc...if you will not go back until there is zero risk than you need to find a new career.

This. School is an essential societal function just like healthcare. If there are unavoidable risks the job brings, you have to assume them when you go into the job. The good news about Covid is that if you are under 65 and don't have any severe pre-existing conditions, the actual risk for you is vanishingly small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People on here think teachers are whining to “get a pass” while everyone else has to go back to work? Well, consider your environment. When you go back to work, will you be in all-day meetings packed with people shoulder to shoulder without masks? No, you won’t. We will. No other workplace as crowded as schools would be allowed to reopen.

You are grasping at straws here. Are you going to in person meetings right now? No. And that is a very simple thing to have accommodations for when school reopens. There is no reason adults at the school cannot continue zoom meetings with each other For as long as needed. The point is you are not going to get COVID from a kid and it's easy enough for adults to take the proper precautions from each other as adults.

It has not been proven that kids can’t transmit COVID.