NYT Op Ed from a pediatrician - again arguing against schools closures

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is a vocal handful on these boards that clamor for school openings and quote dubious claims by people who are not pandemic experts.
We must ignore them. They are literally pushing for more deaths.

seek mental help

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There is a vocal handful on these boards that clamor for school openings and quote dubious claims by people who are not pandemic experts.
We must ignore them. They are literally pushing for more deaths.

OK, union rep. Everyone on this board who cares for children and believes in science: remember, the teacher's union and the politicians on the Apple Ballot have destroyed your children's lives for the past four months. They should have been in school, but instead we've had bars and restaurants open while teachers collect their paychecks and coast towards their pensions--and they want to keep schools closed for as long as possible. Remember this at the polls; write to County Council; remember that this organization is doing a lifetime of damage to your kids.

PP you replied to. I'm a scientist and a parent. I couldn't care less about what the unions think. This is a matter of saving lives. Opening schools or restaurants or anything indoors that is not critical for food or shelter or medical care SHOULD NOT HAPPEN RIGHT NOW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics"

which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

So true. Europe put schools first. Here blue states put schools last. Disgrace.

Each state makes their own decision, including the red ones with closed schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously? The last sentence really makes me hope you are not a teacher. God help us all.

Who besides a teacher would frame the issue this way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There is a vocal handful on these boards that clamor for school openings and quote dubious claims by people who are not pandemic experts.
We must ignore them. They are literally pushing for more deaths.

Do you also complain that people who want restaurants and other non-essential activities to stay open are pushing for more deaths?

There are so few complaints about it that I don't come across them. The crazies are all focused on schools. Nothing inside should be open except essential services. Education and entertainment are not essential in a pandemic.

Do you really equate these two things in terms of their respective societal importance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

False! Plenty (all?) public/quasi-public sector essential workers are unionized and are on the job. Who else do you think are running utilities, trash pickup, transit, safety ... not to mention unionized private employees like nurses, truckers, longshoremen. All on the job. Teachers are unique in cowardly refusing to work n

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:False! Plenty (all?) public/quasi-public sector essential workers are unionized and are on the job. Who else do you think are running utilities, trash pickup, transit, safety ... not to mention unionized private employees like nurses, truckers, longshoremen. All on the job. Teachers are unique in cowardly refusing to work n

C'mon - the vast majority of those employees don't work face to face, in a closed setting, with a static cohort, for 6 hours a day. Whatever the merits of opening v DL, schools are a unique setting.

The closest thing, I guess, would be a hospital, where PPE use is baked into the system. Well, that or a cruise ship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:False! Plenty (all?) public/quasi-public sector essential workers are unionized and are on the job. Who else do you think are running utilities, trash pickup, transit, safety ... not to mention unionized private employees like nurses, truckers, longshoremen. All on the job. Teachers are unique in cowardly refusing to work n

C'mon - the vast majority of those employees don't work face to face, in a closed setting, with a static cohort, for 6 hours a day. Whatever the merits of opening v DL, schools are a unique setting.

The closest thing, I guess, would be a hospital, where PPE use is baked into the system. Well, that or a cruise ship.

Do you know how many staff are in hospitals in prolonged contact with the public and each other? So many! And your comment also shows your ignorance. A "static cohort" is actually safer because it reduces the number of people you're exposed to, as opposed to settings where you are exposed to many different people constantly. Schools are indeed a "unique setting" in that they are an essential function serving a constituency that is apparently not valued by the powers-that-be around here. Unlike EVERY OTHER essential function, they've been deemed optional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

I am a Catholic school teacher who has been teaching full time in person since early September. I do not feel exploited, nor do my colleagues in my school. Please do not presume. We are adults capable of assessing our own risks and of making our own decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

When is MCEA going to quit exploiting the students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

I am a Catholic school teacher who has been teaching full time in person since early September. I do not feel exploited, nor do my colleagues in my school. Please do not presume. We are adults capable of assessing our own risks and of making our own decisions.

+100000 public school teacher who has been teaching full time in person since late August. Do NOT speak for us.

[Anonymous]

MCPS has 166K students. Rates are surging. People aren't following any social distancing rules, and are still traveling, eating out and living life as normal. MCPS made the right call. In MoCo we have low income child care called equity hub so if you need child care for k-5th its available if you meet the criteria. Otherwise, pay for it. That is one doctor's opinion. He did it for his five minutes of fame. Kids ARE DYING.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

I am a Catholic school teacher who has been teaching full time in person since early September. I do not feel exploited, nor do my colleagues in my school. Please do not presume. We are adults capable of assessing our own risks and of making our own decisions.

+100000 public school teacher who has been teaching full time in person since late August. Do NOT speak for us.

Do you have 35 kids in a classroom who change classrooms for 8 periods in an over capacity building where each teacher doesn't have their own classroom and very little cleaning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/schools-closing-covid.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

I couldn't agree more and am really disappointed with MCPS and their non-scientific "health metrics" which we will certainly never meet, meaning no in-person school for our kids this year.

This isn’t about the kids. This is a workplace safety issue. The sooner you realize that and understand that your feelings as a parent are completely irrelevant, the sooner you will understand the reality of the situation.

Why the hell would a doctor write about schools? Maybe a teacher should write about the medical workplace?

Seriously. Unless teachers can be outfitted with covid floor level ppe, no way they should be forced to teach in person.

Yet somehow daycare workers and private school teachers and Catholic school teachers and German teachers are teaching in person ...

That other employees are exploited -- likely because they lack protections afforded by strong unions -- hardly means that others should similarly be exploited.

False! Plenty (all?) public/quasi-public sector essential workers are unionized and are on the job. Who else do you think are running utilities, trash pickup, transit, safety ... not to mention unionized private employees like nurses, truckers, longshoremen. All on the job. Teachers are unique in cowardly refusing to work n

MCPS made the call, not teachers. All those jobs require someone to go in. Teaching can and is being done online. Its the same quality for us. The issue is there is not enough teaching time but it would be the same issue in person. Grow up, figure out how to make it work and with all the time you spend slamming teachers, spend that time helping your kids.

If you like how Germany or Catholics are doing things, either move to Germany or pay for Catholic. Simple.

Why don't you sign up to work at a school? Interesting how you can volunteer others and you cannot even help your kids at home, which is your responsibility.