3 teachers taught from a empty classroom, all caught COVID & 1 died

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

People are deluded about the kind of environment their child will be walking in to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

How do you think your trash gets collected? How do you think your groceries appear? What exactly do you think the rest of the world has been doing? Where do you think those kids are now? Their parents are at work and they are in congregate child care settings where workers who are no less important than you care for them. Why do you believe that you get a pass by saying that you're going to half-ass it no matter what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

How do you think your trash gets collected? How do you think your groceries appear? What exactly do you think the rest of the world has been doing? Where do you think those kids are now? Their parents are at work and they are in congregate child care settings where workers who are no less important than you care for them. Why do you believe that you get a pass by saying that you're going to half-ass it no matter what?

Stop equating the risk level of catching COVID for all jobs. Trash collectors don't sit in a room with thirty kids (and other adults) for seven hours a day. They're in a truck with one other person and their job is performed outside. The people in the grocery store are currently sitting behind plexiglass and stores have the right to refuse entry/service to people not wearing a mask. Teachers are going to be stuck in un-airconditioned, unventilated classrooms for hours at a time with groups of people who may or may not be wearing a mask, who require physical assistance with activities such as tying shoes and blowing their noses, and who don't respect social distancing. Just because you pretend that everyone is facing the same risks doesn't make it true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

How do you think your trash gets collected? How do you think your groceries appear? What exactly do you think the rest of the world has been doing? Where do you think those kids are now? Their parents are at work and they are in congregate child care settings where workers who are no less important than you care for them. Why do you believe that you get a pass by saying that you're going to half-ass it no matter what?

Plot twist - I am not a teacher. I am a parent.

[Anonymous]

Send the kids to school and have the teachers on screen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

Many many other countries have dealt with this with covid numbers comparable to the dmv and rest of Northeast. There really wasn’t much of an impact from schools opening.

Same poster, of course, AZ, TX, Fl and SoCal should not reopen schools until they get their numbers down to our levels. But we don’t live there, we live on an area with an extremely competent covid response.

“It won’t happen here” attitude is very shortsighted. It’s spreading across US beyond the states you listed. Come fall, it stays the same you think? We are a protected DMV bubble? Nah

Many other countries who opened school have re-closed due to spread.

Seriously the stupidest response ever.

Our numbers are good because we have good testing capacity, conservative governors/mayors and people have to wear masks.

The states that are having problems have none of these things,

It’s not dumb luck that we are doing well, it’s the Policies implemented.

And btw, less than one percent of the schools re opened worldwide since spring have closed due to covid, and then only for a few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So three adults shared a space and spread the virus among each other.

This has nothing to do with schools.

No? Now multiply the amount of people by several hundred.

Still not about schools. It's about three adults in a room. Which is to say, it's about ALL workplaces.

Agreed, buy my company is able to make decisions - without the general population insisting they get a vote.

[Anonymous]

We need to approach this with an eye toward respecting teachers' lives and students' learning, prioritizing safety as well as vulnerable children, and using public policy not personal bullying as the best tactic to get us one step closer to where we need to be. Calling teachers fragile helps no one, it is just someone venting their frustration, and regardless of which side people are on, we are all frustrated that life isn't like it used to be. There isn't a single person who wouldn't waive their fingers and make it all go away if they could. So let's start from there - we all want our kids learning in person, but what does it take to get there? Our leaders haven't done enough to encourage the correct behaviors, and as long as state borders are open, infections will spread to better managed areas. We need real leadership and we should all be clamoring for that. The longer we don't have it, the higher this toll takes on our children's education.

[Anonymous]

People who teach remotely should teach from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

How do you think your trash gets collected? How do you think your groceries appear? What exactly do you think the rest of the world has been doing? Where do you think those kids are now? Their parents are at work and they are in congregate child care settings where workers who are no less important than you care for them. Why do you believe that you get a pass by saying that you're going to half-ass it no matter what?

Stop equating the risk level of catching COVID for all jobs. Trash collectors don't sit in a room with thirty kids (and other adults) for seven hours a day. They're in a truck with one other person and their job is performed outside. The people in the grocery store are currently sitting behind plexiglass and stores have the right to refuse entry/service to people not wearing a mask. Teachers are going to be stuck in un-airconditioned, unventilated classrooms for hours at a time with groups of people who may or may not be wearing a mask, who require physical assistance with activities such as tying shoes and blowing their noses, and who don't respect social distancing. Just because you pretend that everyone is facing the same risks doesn't make it true.

You cannot possibly think teachers are the only jobs at risk. There are a lot of people who simply cannot work from home and have been going in to work this whole time. People who are exposed to 10, 50, 100 other people every day. Think about gym employees, wait staff, people who need access to classified networks. There are countless employers who are open and the employee has a choice - go to work, or quit. Teachers are no different. Do your job or quit. That’s my choice right now, why are teachers special??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Many many other countries have dealt with this with covid numbers comparable to the dmv and rest of Northeast. There really wasn’t much of an impact from schools opening.

Same poster, of course, AZ, TX, Fl and SoCal should not reopen schools until they get their numbers down to our levels. But we don’t live there, we live on an area with an extremely competent covid response.

Can you please name a country that has reopened schools without much of an impact from schools opening?

I would like to actually compare the rate of COVID spread in that country, with the rate of COVID spread in the DMV area, to evaluate this statement.

I'll start: (note -- case rates are probably less right now in close in suburbs than in overall state but hard for me to access county numbers, plus since we don't have county border lockdowns what happens in one county affects all....)


DC -- 58 new cases per million people per day (24% increasing)
MD State: 71 new cases per million per day (18% increasing)
VA state: 71 new cases per million per day (13% increasing)

My understanding is that the schools reopening in European countries are in places where new cases per day are 1 to 3 new cases, per million per day.

Is that what you are seeing as well? Or do you have different information?

WE NEED TO GET OUR SPREAD DOWN TO THAT LEVEL.

10 new cases per million per day at the highest.

That will protect teachers, office worker, grocery workers, UPS drivers, healthcare workers.

We need to stop arguing about how to reopen schools safely when spread is so high it is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You cannot possibly think teachers are the only jobs at risk. There are a lot of people who simply cannot work from home and have been going in to work this whole time. People who are exposed to 10, 50, 100 other people every day. Think about gym employees, wait staff, people who need access to classified networks. There are countless employers who are open and the employee has a choice - go to work, or quit. Teachers are no different. Do your job or quit. That’s my choice right now, why are teachers special??

Teachers are only "special" in that we are doing the math and are saying that the rate of spread of new cases is just too high right now. We need to all work together to get it lower.

We need spread to be at the rates of countries in Europe.

10 new cases per million people per day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

How do you think your trash gets collected? How do you think your groceries appear? What exactly do you think the rest of the world has been doing? Where do you think those kids are now? Their parents are at work and they are in congregate child care settings where workers who are no less important than you care for them. Why do you believe that you get a pass by saying that you're going to half-ass it no matter what?

Stop equating the risk level of catching COVID for all jobs. Trash collectors don't sit in a room with thirty kids (and other adults) for seven hours a day. They're in a truck with one other person and their job is performed outside. The people in the grocery store are currently sitting behind plexiglass and stores have the right to refuse entry/service to people not wearing a mask. Teachers are going to be stuck in un-airconditioned, unventilated classrooms for hours at a time with groups of people who may or may not be wearing a mask, who require physical assistance with activities such as tying shoes and blowing their noses, and who don't respect social distancing. Just because you pretend that everyone is facing the same risks doesn't make it true.

You cannot possibly think teachers are the only jobs at risk. There are a lot of people who simply cannot work from home and have been going in to work this whole time. People who are exposed to 10, 50, 100 other people every day. Think about gym employees, wait staff, people who need access to classified networks. There are countless employers who are open and the employee has a choice - go to work, or quit. Teachers are no different. Do your job or quit. That’s my choice right now, why are teachers special??

That's lowest common denominator level thinking. And we should have made it easier for service workers to stay home if they felt at risk. Jobs that can be done remotely are being encouraged to be done remotely. I work for DoD and maximized telework is still the policy. If we don't have the ability to assure teachers that the risk is low, we have to opt for distance learning until we can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely infuriating. So now that a 61-year-old retired teacher with asthma and multiple health conditions died because she didn't take precautions to protect herself--while claiming that she took them in the classroom (but please, why oh why did the need to be in the same classroom?), people will use this as another reason for not returning to school? This has nothing to do at all with the precautions they took in the classroom. It is very clear that she and her family were not that careful. Plus, she's 61, obese, with asthma. She should have been more responsible. She seemed like a lovely person who was very much loved by her family, so I understand this is very sad. But she didn't take personal responsibility for her own health. And now you nuts all want to prevent healthy children from getting an education over this example? It's so frustrating!

So only fit people deserve to survive and thrive. You clearly haven't lived in America for long to know how despicable and costly our healthcare system has been long before COVID. I'm appalled by your response and encourage you to not only get out of your bubble, but to show compassion for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all workplaces are created equal, and people have a right to fear for their lives.

Sure. And you have the right to decide whether or not you go to work. You don't have the right to decide that your employer will continue to pay you. It is the same for all of us.

So what are you going to do when teachers retire or quit rather than go to work, and they can't be replaced (at all, or in time for the school year)? What are you going to do when teachers do go back to work, and then get sick, and then schools have to be closed? What are you going to do when there are no subs, because subs are quite often older women (often retired teachers), and they don't want to work, either? Treating it like a purely individual decision is missing the point. It's a systemic issue that needs a systemic solution.

I'll do the same thing I am doing now. My kid hasn't been to school since February, I figured it out then. The solution isn't to waste more tax money paying teachers not to teach. You can argue all you want, but online school is in no way an equivalent service and should be priced accordingly.

In an environment where teachers and staff are worried for their health and lives and those of their loved ones and constantly having to enforce safety for themselves and their 20-30 students, how much of a better education do you think those kids will get vs the ones learning at home with teachers who are not under the same stressors? In person schools during a pandemic will serve mainly as babysitting and food for working parents.

How do you think your trash gets collected? How do you think your groceries appear? What exactly do you think the rest of the world has been doing? Where do you think those kids are now? Their parents are at work and they are in congregate child care settings where workers who are no less important than you care for them. Why do you believe that you get a pass by saying that you're going to half-ass it no matter what?

Stop equating the risk level of catching COVID for all jobs. Trash collectors don't sit in a room with thirty kids (and other adults) for seven hours a day. They're in a truck with one other person and their job is performed outside. The people in the grocery store are currently sitting behind plexiglass and stores have the right to refuse entry/service to people not wearing a mask. Teachers are going to be stuck in un-airconditioned, unventilated classrooms for hours at a time with groups of people who may or may not be wearing a mask, who require physical assistance with activities such as tying shoes and blowing their noses, and who don't respect social distancing. Just because you pretend that everyone is facing the same risks doesn't make it true.

You cannot possibly think teachers are the only jobs at risk. There are a lot of people who simply cannot work from home and have been going in to work this whole time. People who are exposed to 10, 50, 100 other people every day. Think about gym employees, wait staff, people who need access to classified networks. There are countless employers who are open and the employee has a choice - go to work, or quit. Teachers are no different. Do your job or quit. That’s my choice right now, why are teachers special??

I didn't say that teachers are the only ones at risk-you are the one assuming that. Every job has different levels of risk. I'm in New York and gyms here are NOT opening because it is not safe for people to be breathing heavily in close quarters-period. Restaurants are open at a very low capacity and waiters are wearing masks, menus are either accessed on your phone or they are disposable, etc. There are many safety protocols in place.

The reality of the situation is that schools here are extremely over crowded and now we are paying the price for that. If we had invested in education years ago then we wouldn't be in such a bind now. Because we refused to maintain school buildings and infrastructure, now that there is a pandemic we are totally screwed. Sinks don't work, water fountains found to contain dangerous levels of lead are simply blocked off with plastic bags, teachers find dead vermin in their classroom closets, there is no air conditioning. They just told us that we will not be receiving the (meager) stipend we get each year to purchase classroom supplies, so anything I need to revamp my classroom to comply with social distancing/no material sharing etc. comes straight out of my paycheck. We have no PTA and we aren't allowed to ask parents to make any purchases. It's bullshit and I'm done. We need to demand that the rich pay a fair share of taxes so that we can afford to improve our public infrastructure. We can't go back under these conditions. We have an ugly summer ahead of us.