Economist- Let them learn- The risks of keeping schools closed far outweigh the benefits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

Oh my goodness, what a silly baby! Blame it on the Orange man! Did you learn this on CNN? Make sure to watch tonight so they can teach you how to stay scared. Meanwhile, low-income and minority children are SUFFERING and FALLING very far behind because of your little bitty fear.

Screw you! We're all afraid at times. Step up and take care of business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

Fear does not equate to facts. The long term negative impact on children is a fact. Teachers were screaming for shutdowns for the fall before schools were provided the opportunity to demonstrate their plan.

Either step up and do the job or find another profession. (See all other open businesses and their employees.)

If you want, DM your number so I can buy you a beer. You are 100% right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who think we should open the school, under what conditions would you close them? Do you ever think the risks outweigh the benefits? Be specific.

Don't be lazy, read the article.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who think we should open the school, under what conditions would you close them? Do you ever think the risks outweigh the benefits? Be specific.

Closing a school should be based SOLELY on the infection rate and cases in the county/town. Closing should be a last resort not the other way around. Close bars, indoor dining, churches, limit retail, mandatory masks, etc.

The fact that bars and indoor dining is open and schools are closed shows the priorities of a community.

There are always risks. There are risks that children will get in a car accident and die on the way to school. Does that mean we cancel school? No.

I find it very disturbing that so many grown adults bow down to their fears. They try to stay safe so much that they end up damaging themselves even more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

Fear does not equate to facts. The long term negative impact on children is a fact. Teachers were screaming for shutdowns for the fall before schools were provided the opportunity to demonstrate their plan.

Either step up and do the job or find another profession. (See all other open businesses and their employees.)

Hi, you're an adult. Act like it. Deal with your fear like an adult. Grow up.

You don’t speak for all teachers. Just because you aren’t worried about the long-term health impact for your own health, doesn’t mean other teachers aren’t concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it comes down to how risk-adverse we are. Everyone has a different degree of comfort. I do not trust the constantly emerging information coming from a medical community and administration sending mixed messages. There are reports of people who recovered now displaying pulmonary/respiratory, heart/blood pressure changes. Babies in the NICU are being exposed. I’m a NICU mom so already super conservative e.

The virus mutates. Our research is based off of VERY LOW COUNTS OF TESTING. We are 90 days in and don’t have a full national picture (forget global) or a plan in place to restructure to a new vision. I simply don’t trust the info emerging yet. There are idiots running around not familiar with public service and treating every policy as an attack on their wallet. CDC is getting censored. Add my low confidence for just a few of these reasons to the fact that every year in this are there is some horrible bug going around near Thanksgiving, I have no doubt that c19 would spread like wildfire in the fall. it’s already a tricky time of year. I’m willing to risk the loss
of money (which is being printed like Monopoly money anyway as politicians manipulate the system for a cash grab of as much as they can before it all crumbles down) for a life to enjoy it.

But you are free to volunteer your child as Tribute for Trump’s Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in their* favour!

I do think masks should be mandated and i also think the states should articulate how they have been using this time to prepare for a reopening that may lead to increased surges.


*their = innocent, helpless, minor children

Guys, notice how when ever someone needs an excuse to embrace their fear they usually blame Donald Trump? States are dictating most of the policies around Covid 19, not the federal leader.

What about the low-income minority children who will not be getting ANY online teaching at all due to poor resources? You only care about your little gated community full of only white people. You should be ashamed of your blatant racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

I’m shocked to hear schools don’t have soap in the bathrooms. That being said I am CERTAIN parents or even strangers would be more than happy to donate to the school if that’s so it takes to reopen. I don’t have kids but I’d gladly restock your school singlehandedly! Sadly I do think there are some teachers who don’t want to reopen at all if they have to take any risk whatsoever and there still getting paid. They should feel more sense of responsibility for the future of our children. Imagine if our healthcare workers refused to help patients until some long list of demands were met. Teachers play just as big a role in the (social, intellectual, emotional) health of our society as healthcare workers do.

Agree 100%.


It has been disheartening to read how many teachers don't consider themselves essential. They are scared of all the wrong things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07/18/the-risks-of-keeping-schools-closed-far-outweigh-the-benefits?fbclid=IwAR3aWHwHAUu3yCEdbtG0aywVXZNz_v3scNGhdW0i6nEglfeX510KUxQuH4k

Text available here for those that don’t have a Subscription- https://outline.com/stat1k/

“Education is the surest path out of poverty. Depriving children of it will doom them to poorer, shorter, less fulfilling lives. The World Bank estimates that five months of school closures would cut lifetime earnings for the children who are affected by $10trn in today’s money, equivalent to 7% of current annual GDP.

With such catastrophic potential losses, governments should be working out how to reopen schools as soon as it is safe. This should not be a partisan issue, as it has sadly become in America, where some people assume it is a bad idea simply because President Donald Trump proposes it. In some countries teachers’ unions have been obstructive, partly out of justified concern for public health as cases climb, but also because teachers’ interests are not the same as children’s—especially if they are being paid whether they work or not. The main union in Los Angeles urges that schools remain closed until a long wishlist of demands has been met, including the elusive dream of universal health care in America. Children cannot wait that long.”

The Wall Street Journal recently had an article that said the same thing. They said keeping the high schools closed will create juvenile delinquency in the cities. The poor will be hurt the most.

So then let's close the bars and stop the airplanes until Labor Day. Stop the large gatherings on private property.

Maybe we should just not live in fear and grow the eff up. How old are you? You are not brave at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry we will be having our elite pod where our hand picked tutors and pod mates are all wealthy and not having to deal with silly poverty

And we won't have to deal with poor minority children interrupting our education. I swear, I think some of these yuppies WANT schools to shut down so they can self-segregate.

[Anonymous]

I agree with article. And the surest way to mitigate the damage is to do ALL of the things our federal government and some state governments have refused to do.

If all these "back to school" screamers would simply acknowledge this is 1. not a hoax. 2. Is a pandemic with serious health risks for our entire population 3. demand our government act responsibly then maybe we could get back to school.

Unfortunately all the people screaming about getting back to school are the same ones who refuse to do and/or support all the things necessary for it to happen. Its like the friggin twilight zone.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

Fear does not equate to facts. The long term negative impact on children is a fact. Teachers were screaming for shutdowns for the fall before schools were provided the opportunity to demonstrate their plan.

Either step up and do the job or find another profession. (See all other open businesses and their employees.)

Teachers were “screaming for shutdowns” because they knew all too well how woefully unprepared schools are for handling a public health crisis (lack of supplies, lack of resources/$$, lack of understanding and support for education/teachers/students, lack of leadership) and therefore it would not be safe to reopen schools.

Look at the demographics of teachers. That's why. If it were mostly men, it'd be a different story. Most teachers are yuppie white women who've never had to work a day of manual labor in their life. Just spoiled middle class whiners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

Fear does not equate to facts. The long term negative impact on children is a fact. Teachers were screaming for shutdowns for the fall before schools were provided the opportunity to demonstrate their plan.

Either step up and do the job or find another profession. (See all other open businesses and their employees.)

Teachers were “screaming for shutdowns” because they knew all too well how woefully unprepared schools are for handling a public health crisis (lack of supplies, lack of resources/$$, lack of understanding and support for education/teachers/students, lack of leadership) and therefore it would not be safe to reopen schools.

Look at the demographics of teachers. That's why. If it were mostly men, it'd be a different story. Most teachers are yuppie white women who've never had to work a day of manual labor in their life. Just spoiled middle class whiners.

This

It's the only profession that feels entitled to keep working from home. It's odd especially considering there was never a telework option available to them or in general practice previously. Like it or not, many consider a school teacher to be an essential service worker, like a postal worker, eletrictian, nursing aide, garbage collector, police officer. Blue collar workers never stopped working during the pandemic and even white collar workers are starting to return to office buildings, yet school teachers are a special protected class...I wonder why?

[Anonymous]

Guess what? We parents are ALSO risking getting Covid if the schools open. We are at least as at risk as teachers. But in spite of that I want the schools to open because it is best for my child. Teachers should have the same commitment to kids. If the schools don’t open, many children will go to day care where the risks of spread will be greater, not less.

Feel disgusted and let down by DCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry we will be having our elite pod where our hand picked tutors and pod mates are all wealthy and not having to deal with silly poverty

And we won't have to deal with poor minority children interrupting our education. I swear, I think some of these yuppies WANT schools to shut down so they can self-segregate.

Bingo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07/18/the-risks-of-keeping-schools-closed-far-outweigh-the-benefits?fbclid=IwAR3aWHwHAUu3yCEdbtG0aywVXZNz_v3scNGhdW0i6nEglfeX510KUxQuH4k

Text available here for those that don’t have a Subscription- https://outline.com/stat1k/

“Education is the surest path out of poverty. Depriving children of it will doom them to poorer, shorter, less fulfilling lives. The World Bank estimates that five months of school closures would cut lifetime earnings for the children who are affected by $10trn in today’s money, equivalent to 7% of current annual GDP.

With such catastrophic potential losses, governments should be working out how to reopen schools as soon as it is safe. This should not be a partisan issue, as it has sadly become in America, where some people assume it is a bad idea simply because President ****** ***** proposes it. In some countries teachers’ unions have been obstructive, partly out of justified concern for public health as cases climb, but also because teachers’ interests are not the same as children’s—especially if they are being paid whether they work or not. The main union in Los Angeles urges that schools remain closed until a long wishlist of demands has been met, including the elusive dream of universal health care in America. Children cannot wait that long.”

LOL. You take your public health information from The Economist? You don't think they might have the teensiest, tiniest ulterior motive for the things they say. Grow up.