WaPo on the mental health crisis students are experiencing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why there’s no sense of urgency to get kids back. To me, keeping schools closed for almost a year is a crisis. I don’t think we even know yet the scope.

If you were to watch the Council meeting yesterday where people testified about reopening to City Councillors, you'd understand the issue. 90% of speakers were STRONGLY against reopening. NO mention made of the damage to children by those presenting, to mental health or to learning or for anything at all.

These are the loudest voices, most organized, by far.

It is very disheartening but I also understand why so few people are willing to speak out at something as public as a City Council meeting. We are new to our neighborhood and school and are terrified of getting labeled as anti-teacher (very liberal neighborhood and the line here has definitely been that anti-Trump, pro-science, and pro-teacher also means anti-opening, which is exhausting and infuriating). I like to think that if we were a more established family and our kid already had friends here, we would be willing to speak up, but honestly, I don't know. The anti-opening people are terrifying. They are mean and go right for the jugular the minute anyone expresses any different opinion.

Like for me, my attitude is "I get why teachers are concerned and think we need to listen to those concerns and address them. But I think we should be looking for ways to get kids in schools by addressing teacher concerns, and not just accept indefinite closure as a solution because it is hurting so many kids."

And the response is, "Fine, I guess you want teachers to die then. Guess your precious snowflakes academic performance is more important than a teacher's life or safety. Typical privileged white person."

I've split the difference and have been advocating heavily for outdoor school options (which I actually do think are a good option and probably should have been implemented last fall). But it is hard to walk that line and worry that someone is going to tar and feather you because you say something "controversial", like "I'm worried about child literacy."

This is exactly right. I applaud those parents who spoke out yesterday at the meeting.

I imagine, though, that you could speak your mind in a statement to the council instead which could be anonymous/private. They requested such statements.

PP here. I didn’t realize this. I will definitely submit something. Thanks for letting me know.

Here:

If you are unable to testify at the roundtable, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Written statements should be submitted to [e-mail]. The record will close at 5:00pm on February 5, 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

Yes to all of the above! The lack of flexibility, imagination, and leadership on straightforward things like outdoors, half days, and windows is maddening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

Well said, all of it. Excellent examples of actual resilience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

Very well said!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

Except that the headline of this article is very misleading. Not sure if the whole article is (I don't have a subscription to read it), but it is not true that European countries are now all broadly and indefinitely closing schools. Far from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

I’m the one who posted the newer data. And I completely agree with this, which is why I said I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. Let’s just stop with the “people who have some concerns are anti-science” BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids is a mess and the school psychologist who is wonderful is also fully.booked.

You have health insurance. Get a private therapist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
WaPo’s reporting on this, and anything to do with schools and childhood development, is subpar.

Take with a grain of salt.

How so? Why is it subpar?

They just meant they don't want schools open, and WaPo has heroically IMO been taking a pro-children stance on this since the beginning, with a lot of reporting on damage to kids and learning, and also a pro-science stance, with a lot of reporting on the consensus that schools are safe for kids.

Pro science is pro children... all the data shows kids should be in school.

Except not anymore. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601

I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. But can we please stop with the “all the data says” nonsense? Because the data on children and Covid is rapidly changing, most especially with the new strain.

The data on Covid is changing and we should be worried about the new strains.

The data on kids and DL is not changing.

If anything, the new strains and some of this concerning data about spread in schools should be lighting a fire under us to figure out a real solution. Indefinite distant learning is not a real solution. Here are some actual solutions that would actually help us address all of our problems (both mitigating spread as much as humanly possible while also getting children what they need, particularly at the elementary level):

-- Outdoor school. Why is there not a plan in place? We need tents, we need jackets and cold weather gear, we need to change curriculums to accommodate it. We need to rework the school calendar. Why is this not even on the table? It is a obvious solution to several problems at once.

-- Open the damn windows. Same idea. Why did we sit around discussing air purifiers for months on end when we could have opened windows. And I know not all schools in DC have windows that open. Are we changing that? We should.

-- Half day school. This one is harder because it doesn't address the childcare issue for some people. But it solves a bunch of other stuff and the childcare piece could be addressed in other ways. Half day school with open windows, then outdoor aftercare, for instance. If DL has taught me anything, it's that kids really don't need to be sitting in chairs focused on learning for 8 hours a day or even close to it. But in-person instruction during those few hours would be light years more effective than staring at a screen. Light years. And not just from an academic standpoint. I honestly think that interacting with a teacher via a screen has been detrimental to my child's mental well-being.

What else? I am tired of people saying "Well, Covid so we can't do anything." No. Covid, so we need to do something else. We have tried DL. It is not a longterm solution, not for most kids. They deserve better.

I’m the one who posted the newer data. And I completely agree with this, which is why I said I’m not posting this to say schools shouldn’t open. Let’s just stop with the “people who have some concerns are anti-science” BS.

You call that WSJ article "the newer data"?

[Anonymous]

Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids is a mess and the school psychologist who is wonderful is also fully.booked.

You have health insurance. Get a private therapist.

How do you know she has health insurance? How do you know it has in-network therapists with appointments available? Quit giving useless advice on the internet that's just intended to judge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

Here we go. This is the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids is a mess and the school psychologist who is wonderful is also fully.booked.

You have health insurance. Get a private therapist.

How do you know she has health insurance? How do you know it has in-network therapists with appointments available? Quit giving useless advice on the internet that's just intended to judge.

Because everyone on DCUM is RICH remember? Everyone can FIRE and have their kids and their kids' kids college and wedding and first house all saved up for!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

Done.

Now who is going to look at what is going on with my career and our family's income and change society's structure to make it work for all the women, like me, who are putting the entire burden of the pandemic on our backs?

I'm doing right by my kid, but this city is doing dirty by me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids are struggling for a variety of reasons but they need adult support. Kids will struggle if they don't have someone to monitor and support them when they have questions and make sure assignments is done. Likewise, if your kid is struggling at home you need to look at what is going on and change your home structure to make it work for your child. You cannot expect schools to be everything to everyone, especially in terms of mental health. If your child is struggling, use your insurance and get your child and you support.

Here we go. This is the answer.

No, it’s not. Again, what is with the assumption that everyone has this great insurance that covers mental health services. Do you realize how many people are out of work? Do you realize how many parents have left their jobs to oversee their kids’ DL?