Schools as babysitters - please take a moment to think about who you are bashing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP.

Our social institutions have created the expectation of schools being a source of childcare Monday through Friday. To eliminate that and criticize those who perceive it as "childcare" is unfair. You cannot set expectations and then yank them out from underneath of people who are relying on them.

You decided it was for child care and set that expectation. However, you didn't plan for emergencies or something like this to happen as it hasn't happened in most of our lifetimes but now it has and you need to adapt and figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all those complaining that parents only see schools as babysitters and who want schools open so that they don't have to pay for childcare - why aren't you thinking about the large number of families who cannot pay for childcare?? Most of the upper middle class can figure this out and pay for alternatives. Those that are more financially challenged can also figure this out, but can't afford this option or for other reasons it may not be as easily solved.

So when you start hating on all parents for wanting schools back in, for any reason, please note that you are hating on some very vulnerable people in our society. The ones that can't afford tutors, who can't be one of the 2 million women who have dropped out of the workforce, the ones that technology does not come as easy to, etc.

I see this on so many posts and I can't imagine the liberally focused majority on this board can't open their minds to this....

Let’s get our government to pay for childcare and other services stand alone then instead of repurposing schools to babysit, launder clothes, provide medication, and everything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP.

Our social institutions have created the expectation of schools being a source of childcare Monday through Friday. To eliminate that and criticize those who perceive it as "childcare" is unfair. You cannot set expectations and then yank them out from underneath of people who are relying on them.

You decided it was for child care and set that expectation. However, you didn't plan for emergencies or something like this to happen as it hasn't happened in most of our lifetimes but now it has and you need to adapt and figure it out.

I am not one of those who view school as childcare, but can empathize with those who do...

Get real. Who in the hell plans for a pandemic in their emergency preparations?

Empathy and compassion. Two things you are certainly in need of brushing up on!

[Anonymous]

I had previously been a big supporter of public schools.
This year I’m sending my kindergartner to private school for childcare reasons and I pretty much regret not sending my 3rd and 6th graders too. I will probably send them all to private school next year or at least the younger two, and the oldest if he wants.

But I want it to be known that I wanted public school to open when you come crying in a year or two about how the rich paid for school how the kids who did virtual are so behind. I am not taking that on. I will blame the FCPS school board for any resulting inequality for full virtual when the Governor said schools could be open (and, sure I’ll blame Trump too for no national corona plan).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing. I don’t think *your* need for childcare outweighs *my* health and safety. Especially because I virtually guarantee I make less money than you and also have children of my own.

You cannot guarantee this. The average teacher in my school district outearns me, and my husband also works for local government and makes about what a teacher with his same level of education and expertise would make. It is very likely that many teachers have a higher HHI than my family does.

Also, no one is saying they need childcare at the expense of someone's safety. They are saying "let's take all reasonable measures to mitigate risk in schools, as we have in most other workplaces including doctor's offices, grocery stores, etc." Why would I want to send my child to an unsafe school environment where they might bring Covid home to our family? Of course I don't want that. But that doesn't mean I think we should keep schools closed indefinitely, especially when so many other schools have opened without incident. There is obviously a reasonably safe way to do it.

Teachers aren't screaming about child care. Select parents are. No one is saying keep schools closed indefinitely. But, they are closed indefinitely because numbers are going up and will probably go up with the holidays coming.

Some teachers are screaming about childcare. See Carroll County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing. I don’t think *your* need for childcare outweighs *my* health and safety. Especially because I virtually guarantee I make less money than you and also have children of my own.

You cannot guarantee this. The average teacher in my school district outearns me, and my husband also works for local government and makes about what a teacher with his same level of education and expertise would make. It is very likely that many teachers have a higher HHI than my family does.

Also, no one is saying they need childcare at the expense of someone's safety. They are saying "let's take all reasonable measures to mitigate risk in schools, as we have in most other workplaces including doctor's offices, grocery stores, etc." Why would I want to send my child to an unsafe school environment where they might bring Covid home to our family? Of course I don't want that. But that doesn't mean I think we should keep schools closed indefinitely, especially when so many other schools have opened without incident. There is obviously a reasonably safe way to do it.

Teachers aren't screaming about child care. Select parents are. No one is saying keep schools closed indefinitely. But, they are closed indefinitely because numbers are going up and will probably go up with the holidays coming.

Some teachers are screaming about childcare. See Carroll County.

MCPS, too. Child care was brought up as one of the common themes in the concerns they heard from teachers. Notably, that if they're forced to return to class on a hybrid schedule, what would they do with their young kids on the days they're not at school?

So apparently teachers are willing to acknowledge school is child care as long as its for their own kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing. I don’t think *your* need for childcare outweighs *my* health and safety. Especially because I virtually guarantee I make less money than you and also have children of my own.

You cannot guarantee this. The average teacher in my school district outearns me, and my husband also works for local government and makes about what a teacher with his same level of education and expertise would make. It is very likely that many teachers have a higher HHI than my family does.

Also, no one is saying they need childcare at the expense of someone's safety. They are saying "let's take all reasonable measures to mitigate risk in schools, as we have in most other workplaces including doctor's offices, grocery stores, etc." Why would I want to send my child to an unsafe school environment where they might bring Covid home to our family? Of course I don't want that. But that doesn't mean I think we should keep schools closed indefinitely, especially when so many other schools have opened without incident. There is obviously a reasonably safe way to do it.

Teachers aren't screaming about child care. Select parents are. No one is saying keep schools closed indefinitely. But, they are closed indefinitely because numbers are going up and will probably go up with the holidays coming.

Some teachers are screaming about childcare. See Carroll County.

MCPS, too. Child care was brought up as one of the common themes in the concerns they heard from teachers. Notably, that if they're forced to return to class on a hybrid schedule, what would they do with their young kids on the days they're not at school?

So apparently teachers are willing to acknowledge school is child care as long as its for their own kids.

They get child care like they would any other year. Simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP.

Our social institutions have created the expectation of schools being a source of childcare Monday through Friday. To eliminate that and criticize those who perceive it as "childcare" is unfair. You cannot set expectations and then yank them out from underneath of people who are relying on them.

You decided it was for child care and set that expectation. However, you didn't plan for emergencies or something like this to happen as it hasn't happened in most of our lifetimes but now it has and you need to adapt and figure it out.

I am not one of those who view school as childcare, but can empathize with those who do...

Get real. Who in the hell plans for a pandemic in their emergency preparations?

Empathy and compassion. Two things you are certainly in need of brushing up on!

We do. We have had one bad thing happen after another for many years so yes, we plan as we know what can happen. If you choose not to save/plan for an emergency that's on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had previously been a big supporter of public schools.
This year I’m sending my kindergartner to private school for childcare reasons and I pretty much regret not sending my 3rd and 6th graders too. I will probably send them all to private school next year or at least the younger two, and the oldest if he wants.

But I want it to be known that I wanted public school to open when you come crying in a year or two about how the rich paid for school how the kids who did virtual are so behind. I am not taking that on. I will blame the FCPS school board for any resulting inequality for full virtual when the Governor said schools could be open (and, sure I’ll blame Trump too for no national corona plan).

In person elementary is pretty slow. Many of us supplement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well this is going well.

OP, I agree. It is bizarre how many people are reacting to struggling families by saying "Your problem not mine, you shouldn't have had kids then."

As someone facing a huge childcare deficit because of closed schools, here's how I'm handling it:

- Oh, you need me to do some admin stuff for the school so that you can report attendance numbers or brag about how well DL is going at our school? Sorry, I don't have time for that because I'm parenting and educating my own kid. Guess you'll have to figure that out on your own.

- Oh, you want my young child to wear a mask perfectly while walking down the street so you can feel safe? Sorry, but I'm focused on parenting and educating my child and I don't have the energy to take care of your medical and emotional needs. Guess you'll just have to figure that out on your own.

See, it's not so fun when society just decides they don't give a flying f**k about what you need to function in the world, is it? Tough shit, maybe you shouldn't have gone into education. Maybe you shouldn't be a person with a body that can get sick. I mean, why do you even bother living at all if you need me to do all this work just to make things easier for you? Haven't you heard of pErSoNaL rEsPoNsIbIlItY??

Jeez you sound mentally ill. Seriously, you're trying to burn people by letting your kid not wear a mask properly, because you're pissed they have to do DL? Wow.

+1. How pathetic. I've never in my life seen so many adults throwing fits like preschoolers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP.

Our social institutions have created the expectation of schools being a source of childcare Monday through Friday. To eliminate that and criticize those who perceive it as "childcare" is unfair. You cannot set expectations and then yank them out from underneath of people who are relying on them.

That expectation was an assumption and an incorrect assumption. I hope everyone now knows better and will in the future not plan to have more kids than they are willing to parent without 13 years of free babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Stop your naive trope OP.

I think of schools as the main method to teach real skills in reading, writing, math, science, and history as well as enrichment and health areas like gym, art, music in order to have a productive and well functioning society.

It is more effective and efficient to do so in a school environment than for every family to reinvent the wheel homeschooling or via pods. Tests are fine, they monitor progress and ID issues. They are used throughout the world in k-12 education, university, and even job interviews.

School is also pivotal to a child’s social and developmental growth, as well as sense of self and communication.

[Anonymous]

Btw, there is no perfect childcare. Not sitters who look at their phone half the day, not barely literate foreign nannies, not crowded daycares w underpaid labor, not old grandma, not boy crazy Au pair, and sometimes not even lonely bio mom.

Humans need people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Btw, there is no perfect childcare. Not sitters who look at their phone half the day, not barely literate foreign nannies, not crowded daycares w underpaid labor, not old grandma, not boy crazy Au pair, and sometimes not even lonely bio mom.

Humans need people!

You need to stay away in a pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Btw, there is no perfect childcare. Not sitters who look at their phone half the day, not barely literate foreign nannies, not crowded daycares w underpaid labor, not old grandma, not boy crazy Au pair, and sometimes not even lonely bio mom.

Humans need people!

You need to stay away in a pandemic.

Lock her up!