Should we prepare for virtual schooling starting in January?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hoarding cash in case I have to move back to private. But I don’t think they will - MoCo says they will be DL only if the state orders it, and Hogan wants to be president so he won’t.

Now that my kids are vaccinated, I even expect fewer quarantines than fall. More absent kids but just 1-2 who are actually (mildly) ill.

If that were true, how do you explain universities switching to virtual where 99% students are vaccinated? That’s what doesn’t make sense to me.

Haven't read the entire thread but colleges have a lot of very old faculty, combined with a student body that is more equipped to handle digital learning than at the elementary and secondary levels.

Interesting opinion but that really isn't true. Several of my kid's teachers aren't especially young and I don't see that my kids are very used to sitting in front of a screen.

? DP.. that's the point. A lot of ES students and teachers struggle with DL. College students are expected to self study; ES students are not.

Also, most of the colleges have student housing where students are living together in dense housing. Any kind of contagious illness will spread like wildfire in dorms, where not only are they living in close quarters, but they aren't exactly known for being good about quarantining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's also crickets right now from the CDC on omicron.

I know, right?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's also crickets right now from the CDC on omicron.

I know, right?!

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's also crickets right now from the CDC on omicron.

I know, right?!

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html

What an absolutely useless update from the CDC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Making at least the first two weeks of January virtual would make sense. I know families at our school who plan to travel internationally and they are not changing their plans. Covid will get worse in Jan. February should be better hopefully

Why? When it's spreading in the community? And nothing else is closing?

Why do we need things to close to be careful? Our government is not going to fix this so people need to.

Why, indeed? Keep the schools open.

Follow the advice of experts to help keep our community and kids safe.

LOL. Which experts? Did you mean Fauci? Eh, I think he’s pretty much done.

Or do you mean that we should listen to the Pfizer CEO?

Maybe we can finally listen to the experts who have been saying that kids need to be IN school. That kids are relatively low risk doll with regards for Covid. And that it is too damaging to kids and families when kids are kept out of school.

Let’s listen to experts in states like Florida and Texas, where schools were safely open last year.

That works for me. Keep. Our. Kids. In. School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's also crickets right now from the CDC on omicron.

I know, right?!

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html

What an absolutely useless update from the CDC.

I mean, isn’t that clear at this point? Especially when it comes to our kids’ health. Both mental and physical.

Crickets from the CDC when it comes to advocating for our kids. Crickets while schools shut down in person school and kids’ activities, while the rest of society remains open.

If it was not clear before that NOBODY at the CDC gives a rats a$$ about our kids, it should be now. Remember when they lifted the mask mandates, before the 12+ crowd could even get their second shot. As if they were simply an afterthought.

This pandemic has made me completely lose faith in our government health agencies. Especially with regards to our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Making at least the first two weeks of January virtual would make sense. I know families at our school who plan to travel internationally and they are not changing their plans. Covid will get worse in Jan. February should be better hopefully

Why? When it's spreading in the community? And nothing else is closing?

Why do we need things to close to be careful? Our government is not going to fix this so people need to.

Why, indeed? Keep the schools open.

Follow the advice of experts to help keep our community and kids safe.

LOL. Which experts? Did you mean Fauci? Eh, I think he’s pretty much done.

Or do you mean that we should listen to the Pfizer CEO?

Maybe we can finally listen to the experts who have been saying that kids need to be IN school. That kids are relatively low risk doll with regards for Covid. And that it is too damaging to kids and families when kids are kept out of school.

Let’s listen to experts in states like Florida and Texas, where schools were safely open last year.

That works for me. Keep. Our. Kids. In. School.

Kids need an education. How it is done is a different issues. Need and want care two different things. We need our kids safe and healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's also crickets right now from the CDC on omicron.

I know, right?!

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html

What an absolutely useless update from the CDC.

I mean, isn’t that clear at this point? Especially when it comes to our kids’ health. Both mental and physical.

Crickets from the CDC when it comes to advocating for our kids. Crickets while schools shut down in person school and kids’ activities, while the rest of society remains open.

If it was not clear before that NOBODY at the CDC gives a rats a$$ about our kids, it should be now. Remember when they lifted the mask mandates, before the 12+ crowd could even get their second shot. As if they were simply an afterthought.

This pandemic has made me completely lose faith in our government health agencies. Especially with regards to our kids.

They promised to lift the mask mandate per the demand of the constituents if goal posts were made. They lowered the goal posts because of all the complaining and followed through on getting rid of the mask mandate. Everyone is screaming covid is no big deal so why make the fuss about schools. If you choose to send your child in person, plan for quarantines and covid. You know the risks and are ok with it.

Shutting down society is silly and keeping schools when schools have no distancing or other precautions. We shouldn't need government to behave responsibly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Making at least the first two weeks of January virtual would make sense. I know families at our school who plan to travel internationally and they are not changing their plans. Covid will get worse in Jan. February should be better hopefully

Why? When it's spreading in the community? And nothing else is closing?

Why do we need things to close to be careful? Our government is not going to fix this so people need to.

Why, indeed? Keep the schools open.

Follow the advice of experts to help keep our community and kids safe.

LOL. Which experts? Did you mean Fauci? Eh, I think he’s pretty much done.

Or do you mean that we should listen to the Pfizer CEO?

Maybe we can finally listen to the experts who have been saying that kids need to be IN school. That kids are relatively low risk doll with regards for Covid. And that it is too damaging to kids and families when kids are kept out of school.

Let’s listen to experts in states like Florida and Texas, where schools were safely open last year.

That works for me. Keep. Our. Kids. In. School.

Fauci does what he is told to keep his job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Kids need an education. How it is done is a different issues. Need and want care two different things. We need our kids safe and healthy.

Yes, we do, and part of that is the kids being in school.

[Anonymous]

Covid is spreading like crazy right now. Going virtual for a few weeks may be essential after holiday travel. Vaccines are not working very well against omicron. Schools are already stretched too thin. No substitute in their right mind will work at schools this winter. This sucks but we need to soldier on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's also crickets right now from the CDC on omicron.

I know, right?!

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html

What an absolutely useless update from the CDC.

I mean, isn’t that clear at this point? Especially when it comes to our kids’ health. Both mental and physical.

Crickets from the CDC when it comes to advocating for our kids. Crickets while schools shut down in person school and kids’ activities, while the rest of society remains open.

If it was not clear before that NOBODY at the CDC gives a rats a$$ about our kids, it should be now. Remember when they lifted the mask mandates, before the 12+ crowd could even get their second shot. As if they were simply an afterthought.

This pandemic has made me completely lose faith in our government health agencies. Especially with regards to our kids.

They promised to lift the mask mandate per the demand of the constituents if goal posts were made. They lowered the goal posts because of all the complaining and followed through on getting rid of the mask mandate. Everyone is screaming covid is no big deal so why make the fuss about schools. If you choose to send your child in person, plan for quarantines and covid. You know the risks and are ok with it.

Shutting down society is silly and keeping schools when schools have no distancing or other precautions. We shouldn't need government to behave responsibly.

I don’t care what the ‘demands of the constituents’ were. Aren’t they supposed to be an independent agency. Did they also recommend vaccines for kids due to the ‘demand from Pfizer’? I mean, what in the world is going on at the CDC?

I am definitely okay with the risks and want to keep our kids in school.

Agree that shutting down society is silly. And shutting down schools is even sillier.

But the CDC has become a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Kids need an education. How it is done is a different issues. Need and want care two different things. We need our kids safe and healthy.

Yes, we do, and part of that is the kids being in school.

+1

A very important part of keeping kids healthy is keeping them in school.

Ask any of the pediatricians who have witnessed the mental health issues in kids that resulted from the unnecessary school shut downs in this area.

[Anonymous]

This thread has been taken over by Open Schools people, I see.


I'm all for that.

Except that Omicron spreads so fast that there won't be enough teachers to teach your kids, just like there won't be enough healthcare workers in hospitals to tend to all the sick and injured.

Now if you wish to keep school buildings open as daycares, with a skeletal staff dedicated to just keeping kids occupied and fed while parents work, that's also OK with me. Parents need to work!

But the learning needs to happen also, and it won't happen when your child's teacher is out. There are no subs. Teachers were so badly treated last year that they left, just like healthcare workers did. Public school subs have always had terrible working conditions, so they're off doing other work.

Which means that shortly it will either be no learning, or virtual learning. For what I hope will be a short period of time, since Omicron is 5 times as transmissible as Delta and it will blast through the population.

My kids need to study for their AP exams in May. They cannot miss one iota of academic content. Whatever schools decide, all I want is that teachers are available to teach the entire curriculum. I don't want them sick and out. I want them healthy and teaching. So if that means virtual, then virtual it is. Maybe you can ask MCPS to have some buildings open for childcare if your kids are younger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My kids need to study for their AP exams in May. They cannot miss one iota of academic content. Whatever schools decide, all I want is that teachers are available to teach the entire curriculum. I don't want them sick and out. I want them healthy and teaching. So if that means virtual, then virtual it is. Maybe you can ask MCPS to have some buildings open for childcare if your kids are younger.

If your kids' AP exams are your main priority, then you don't need any teachers or school at all. Just have your kids self-study with their textbooks and the materials on the College Board website.