I’m getting nervous about school because of delta

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, want to be back in person. Last year was exhausting. I am on the teacher FB group and I haven’t seen any posts about teachers wanting to start virtual nor have I heard anyone from my school say this.

There is a discussion about how nervous everyone is.

Curious if these were teachers who were in person in spring? I was nervous (despite believing being in-person was the right thing and intellectually knowing the risks were low) until I set foot in school and then it was easy to be there. I have been assuming this year would be similar. You just have to do it.

THIS. People who haven’t been out much in 18 months are far more nervous than people who have. It’s not some big bogey man.

This is absolutely true. It’s a real thing, called anxious avoidance. And the longer you avoid doing something he worse you build it up in your head. Any clinical psychologist will tell you that avoiding something you are nervous about is pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of contributing to your anxiety level about it.

I’m not suggesting people throw caution to the wind. But I think some people on the most extreme end are going to need something akin to exposure therapy in order to avoid having a panic attack when they venture out in public. Past pandemics in other countries have provided us data on this.

I have panic attacks and THIS. Every time FCPS backs down from reopening, it reinforces the view of some parents and staff that school is unsafe, and their anxiety increases and hardens. We had 1.7% of hospital beds in this region occupied by COVID last week. To the extent people are getting sick, they aren’t getting hospitalized. It’s time to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

looks like a bunch of teachers and school employees in person ready to start a school year in person. I'm not seeing the reason for outrage here

Those are all administrators, I believe.

On Tuesday staff received an email that read:

As of Monday, August 2, all FCPS staff – both in offices and schools – are strongly encouraged to wear a mask at all times indoors:

FCPS is encouraging all staff who work in our offices to show solidarity with schools and wear your mask at all times when you are indoors – even if you are fully vaccinated.
We serve as role models for our students. This practice will help encourage them to follow the universal masking guidance at all times.
According to the CDC, there are instances of breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals. Although vaccinated individuals are not becoming severely ill, they are able to transmit the infection to others.
We are aware that the Delta variant is seeing transmission rates rise in our area, and we are encouraging all staff to do their part.

These meetings were held at West Springfield and I believe Woodson and all students were banned from the buildings during the meetings so that the administrators and SB could go maskless. No football, field hockey, band practices or any other student activity were cancelled. Way to put students first, just so you didn't have to wear a mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

looks like a bunch of teachers and school employees in person ready to start a school year in person. I'm not seeing the reason for outrage here

This happened literally the day after Fairfax county was told all people should mask indoors and after the mandate from FCPS that all teachers and students must mask inside schools.

By posting this she somehow was able to piss off both sides of the argument.

- To those people who are afraid of COVID this looks like a super spreader event, that FCPS staff are being unsafe.
- To those who don't want their kids masked in schools it looks like hypocrisy from a SB member and staff

Why did FCPS issue guidance that masks are mandatory and then allow this meeting to happen in a school unmasked?

If everyone was wearing a mask in this pic wouldn't be a issue. All this does is create more tension around schools reopening and create unnecessary drama from both sides.

She is the rare politician who is somehow able to piss everyone off on every side of the argument and then act like a victim when she is called out on it.

We can't recall her fast enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, want to be back in person. Last year was exhausting. I am on the teacher FB group and I haven’t seen any posts about teachers wanting to start virtual nor have I heard anyone from my school say this.

There is a discussion about how nervous everyone is.

Curious if these were teachers who were in person in spring? I was nervous (despite believing being in-person was the right thing and intellectually knowing the risks were low) until I set foot in school and then it was easy to be there. I have been assuming this year would be similar. You just have to do it.

THIS. People who haven’t been out much in 18 months are far more nervous than people who have. It’s not some big bogey man.

This is absolutely true. It’s a real thing, called anxious avoidance. And the longer you avoid doing something he worse you build it up in your head. Any clinical psychologist will tell you that avoiding something you are nervous about is pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of contributing to your anxiety level about it.

I’m not suggesting people throw caution to the wind. But I think some people on the most extreme end are going to need something akin to exposure therapy in order to avoid having a panic attack when they venture out in public. Past pandemics in other countries have provided us data on this.

It'll be interesting to see how that hits kids. Of course, we've always been told they're "resilient" when it comes to DL so who knows. It's just mindblowing to think that many kids haven't stepped inside a school building for almost 1.5 years.

My DD is in HS and has anxiety issues. She did not want to go back last spring. We made her. And then made her go up to 4 days when offered. It was hard for her the first week of 2 days and the first week of 4. And the HS was empty. Some classes only had 2-3 kids. By later April, she was doing much better than I had seen her in a year. If we had allowed her to stay home last spring, we never would have gotten her back this fall, straight into full capacity. The transition back with less crowding was helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

looks like a bunch of teachers and school employees in person ready to start a school year in person. I'm not seeing the reason for outrage here

This happened literally the day after Fairfax county was told all people should mask indoors and after the mandate from FCPS that all teachers and students must mask inside schools.

By posting this she somehow was able to piss off both sides of the argument.

- To those people who are afraid of COVID this looks like a super spreader event, that FCPS staff are being unsafe.
- To those who don't want their kids masked in schools it looks like hypocrisy from a SB member and staff

Why did FCPS issue guidance that masks are mandatory and then allow this meeting to happen in a school unmasked?

If everyone was wearing a mask in this pic wouldn't be a issue. All this does is create more tension around schools reopening and create unnecessary drama from both sides.

She is the rare politician who is somehow able to piss everyone off on every side of the argument and then act like a victim when she is called out on it.

We can't recall her fast enough.

As far as I can tell, the bolded represents the entire school board. See: the calendar D debacle that some of my friends who couldn't care less about reopening are STILL furious about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, want to be back in person. Last year was exhausting. I am on the teacher FB group and I haven’t seen any posts about teachers wanting to start virtual nor have I heard anyone from my school say this.

There is a discussion about how nervous everyone is.

Curious if these were teachers who were in person in spring? I was nervous (despite believing being in-person was the right thing and intellectually knowing the risks were low) until I set foot in school and then it was easy to be there. I have been assuming this year would be similar. You just have to do it.

THIS. People who haven’t been out much in 18 months are far more nervous than people who have. It’s not some big bogey man.

This is absolutely true. It’s a real thing, called anxious avoidance. And the longer you avoid doing something he worse you build it up in your head. Any clinical psychologist will tell you that avoiding something you are nervous about is pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of contributing to your anxiety level about it.

I’m not suggesting people throw caution to the wind. But I think some people on the most extreme end are going to need something akin to exposure therapy in order to avoid having a panic attack when they venture out in public. Past pandemics in other countries have provided us data on this.

I have panic attacks and THIS. Every time FCPS backs down from reopening, it reinforces the view of some parents and staff that school is unsafe, and their anxiety increases and hardens. We had 1.7% of hospital beds in this region occupied by COVID last week. To the extent people are getting sick, they aren’t getting hospitalized. It’s time to go.

NYT finally has a handy map of hospitalizations. We are at somewhere between 2 and 4 per 100,000, which is under the UK's full-reopening threshhold. Still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, want to be back in person. Last year was exhausting. I am on the teacher FB group and I haven’t seen any posts about teachers wanting to start virtual nor have I heard anyone from my school say this.

There is a discussion about how nervous everyone is.

Curious if these were teachers who were in person in spring? I was nervous (despite believing being in-person was the right thing and intellectually knowing the risks were low) until I set foot in school and then it was easy to be there. I have been assuming this year would be similar. You just have to do it.

THIS. People who haven’t been out much in 18 months are far more nervous than people who have. It’s not some big bogey man.

This is absolutely true. It’s a real thing, called anxious avoidance. And the longer you avoid doing something he worse you build it up in your head. Any clinical psychologist will tell you that avoiding something you are nervous about is pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of contributing to your anxiety level about it.

I’m not suggesting people throw caution to the wind. But I think some people on the most extreme end are going to need something akin to exposure therapy in order to avoid having a panic attack when they venture out in public. Past pandemics in other countries have provided us data on this.

It'll be interesting to see how that hits kids. Of course, we've always been told they're "resilient" when it comes to DL so who knows. It's just mindblowing to think that many kids haven't stepped inside a school building for almost 1.5 years.

My DD is in HS and has anxiety issues. She did not want to go back last spring. We made her. And then made her go up to 4 days when offered. It was hard for her the first week of 2 days and the first week of 4. And the HS was empty. Some classes only had 2-3 kids. By later April, she was doing much better than I had seen her in a year. If we had allowed her to stay home last spring, we never would have gotten her back this fall, straight into full capacity. The transition back with less crowding was helpful.

As a teacher, you did the right thing. Very few people want to face reality that kids only just returning this august after 1.5 years out of a school are going to have a really hard time readjusting. School is very mentally draining and over stimulating, the go go go after getting to do DL from your house will be a shock. Just getting back into a routine with a building full of kids will be very tough on some of them. And then there’s the annoying teachers who did DL last year and act like returning is something horrific daunting feat despite the fact most of us did it last year and almost none got Covid. Some of them are so dramatic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

looks like a bunch of teachers and school employees in person ready to start a school year in person. I'm not seeing the reason for outrage here

Those are all administrators, I believe.

On Tuesday staff received an email that read:

As of Monday, August 2, all FCPS staff – both in offices and schools – are strongly encouraged to wear a mask at all times indoors:

FCPS is encouraging all staff who work in our offices to show solidarity with schools and wear your mask at all times when you are indoors – even if you are fully vaccinated.
We serve as role models for our students. This practice will help encourage them to follow the universal masking guidance at all times.
According to the CDC, there are instances of breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals. Although vaccinated individuals are not becoming severely ill, they are able to transmit the infection to others.
We are aware that the Delta variant is seeing transmission rates rise in our area, and we are encouraging all staff to do their part.

These meetings were held at West Springfield and I believe Woodson and all students were banned from the buildings during the meetings so that the administrators and SB could go maskless. No football, field hockey, band practices or any other student activity were cancelled. Way to put students first, just so you didn't have to wear a mask.

It does say “strongly encouraged” and not “must”. When teachers go into the school before students start, I hope they don’t catch any flack from their administrators if they decide to not mask during staff meetings.

Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, want to be back in person. Last year was exhausting. I am on the teacher FB group and I haven’t seen any posts about teachers wanting to start virtual nor have I heard anyone from my school say this.

There is a discussion about how nervous everyone is.

Curious if these were teachers who were in person in spring? I was nervous (despite believing being in-person was the right thing and intellectually knowing the risks were low) until I set foot in school and then it was easy to be there. I have been assuming this year would be similar. You just have to do it.

THIS. People who haven’t been out much in 18 months are far more nervous than people who have. It’s not some big bogey man.

This is absolutely true. It’s a real thing, called anxious avoidance. And the longer you avoid doing something he worse you build it up in your head. Any clinical psychologist will tell you that avoiding something you are nervous about is pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of contributing to your anxiety level about it.

I’m not suggesting people throw caution to the wind. But I think some people on the most extreme end are going to need something akin to exposure therapy in order to avoid having a panic attack when they venture out in public. Past pandemics in other countries have provided us data on this.

It'll be interesting to see how that hits kids. Of course, we've always been told they're "resilient" when it comes to DL so who knows. It's just mindblowing to think that many kids haven't stepped inside a school building for almost 1.5 years.

My DD is in HS and has anxiety issues. She did not want to go back last spring. We made her. And then made her go up to 4 days when offered. It was hard for her the first week of 2 days and the first week of 4. And the HS was empty. Some classes only had 2-3 kids. By later April, she was doing much better than I had seen her in a year. If we had allowed her to stay home last spring, we never would have gotten her back this fall, straight into full capacity. The transition back with less crowding was helpful.

As a teacher, you did the right thing. Very few people want to face reality that kids only just returning this august after 1.5 years out of a school are going to have a really hard time readjusting. School is very mentally draining and over stimulating, the go go go after getting to do DL from your house will be a shock. Just getting back into a routine with a building full of kids will be very tough on some of them. And then there’s the annoying teachers who did DL last year and act like returning is something horrific daunting feat despite the fact most of us did it last year and almost none got Covid. Some of them are so dramatic

What some teachers are seeing in students returning is really concerning.

Almost every teacher I know has noticed the same sinister reality this summer: Kids have come back to the classroom. But the classroom hasn’t come back to the kids.

Far from it.

More to the point, they are back, they are sitting at their desks, but in many ways they now embody the detached, lifeless malaise of a hipster zombie incapable of showing the slightest patina of zest or zeal. This isn’t their fault, mind you. They have spent the last year in a learning ecosystem that was decidedly not of their choosing — watching Zoom classes, learning through omnipresent pixilated screens that demanded little from them and, in too many instances, taught them even less.

And now?

Now, they are perpetually chilled out, difficult to intellectually prod or verbally poke. They resist verbal engagement with me — or with each other. At the end of the day, we usually have a few minutes to spare before the bell rings. But nowadays there’s little talking. No socializing. No teenage gossiping or flirting. Instead, they silently self-medicate on their devices.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-07-24/zoom-classroom-detached-students?_amp=true

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, want to be back in person. Last year was exhausting. I am on the teacher FB group and I haven’t seen any posts about teachers wanting to start virtual nor have I heard anyone from my school say this.

There is a discussion about how nervous everyone is.

Curious if these were teachers who were in person in spring? I was nervous (despite believing being in-person was the right thing and intellectually knowing the risks were low) until I set foot in school and then it was easy to be there. I have been assuming this year would be similar. You just have to do it.

THIS. People who haven’t been out much in 18 months are far more nervous than people who have. It’s not some big bogey man.

This is absolutely true. It’s a real thing, called anxious avoidance. And the longer you avoid doing something he worse you build it up in your head. Any clinical psychologist will tell you that avoiding something you are nervous about is pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of contributing to your anxiety level about it.

I’m not suggesting people throw caution to the wind. But I think some people on the most extreme end are going to need something akin to exposure therapy in order to avoid having a panic attack when they venture out in public. Past pandemics in other countries have provided us data on this.

It'll be interesting to see how that hits kids. Of course, we've always been told they're "resilient" when it comes to DL so who knows. It's just mindblowing to think that many kids haven't stepped inside a school building for almost 1.5 years.

My DD is in HS and has anxiety issues. She did not want to go back last spring. We made her. And then made her go up to 4 days when offered. It was hard for her the first week of 2 days and the first week of 4. And the HS was empty. Some classes only had 2-3 kids. By later April, she was doing much better than I had seen her in a year. If we had allowed her to stay home last spring, we never would have gotten her back this fall, straight into full capacity. The transition back with less crowding was helpful.

As a teacher, you did the right thing. Very few people want to face reality that kids only just returning this august after 1.5 years out of a school are going to have a really hard time readjusting. School is very mentally draining and over stimulating, the go go go after getting to do DL from your house will be a shock. Just getting back into a routine with a building full of kids will be very tough on some of them. And then there’s the annoying teachers who did DL last year and act like returning is something horrific daunting feat despite the fact most of us did it last year and almost none got Covid. Some of them are so dramatic

What some teachers are seeing in students returning is really concerning.

Almost every teacher I know has noticed the same sinister reality this summer: Kids have come back to the classroom. But the classroom hasn’t come back to the kids.

Far from it.

More to the point, they are back, they are sitting at their desks, but in many ways they now embody the detached, lifeless malaise of a hipster zombie incapable of showing the slightest patina of zest or zeal. This isn’t their fault, mind you. They have spent the last year in a learning ecosystem that was decidedly not of their choosing — watching Zoom classes, learning through omnipresent pixilated screens that demanded little from them and, in too many instances, taught them even less.

And now?

Now, they are perpetually chilled out, difficult to intellectually prod or verbally poke. They resist verbal engagement with me — or with each other. At the end of the day, we usually have a few minutes to spare before the bell rings. But nowadays there’s little talking. No socializing. No teenage gossiping or flirting. Instead, they silently self-medicate on their devices.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-07-24/zoom-classroom-detached-students?_amp=true

I expect this will be some of them at least initially. The problem is, they need time and help to readjust and reacclimate. But the learning loss narrative and “catch them up!!!” mentality means a lot will be rushed into just “doing” school like usual again. 1.5 years is a SIGNIFICANT span of time and development for kids. We have to do this right and not just jump into “okay time to learn a bunch of stuff to prove you’re not broken.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

looks like a bunch of teachers and school employees in person ready to start a school year in person. I'm not seeing the reason for outrage here

Those are all administrators, I believe.

On Tuesday staff received an email that read:

As of Monday, August 2, all FCPS staff – both in offices and schools – are strongly encouraged to wear a mask at all times indoors:

FCPS is encouraging all staff who work in our offices to show solidarity with schools and wear your mask at all times when you are indoors – even if you are fully vaccinated.
We serve as role models for our students. This practice will help encourage them to follow the universal masking guidance at all times.
According to the CDC, there are instances of breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals. Although vaccinated individuals are not becoming severely ill, they are able to transmit the infection to others.
We are aware that the Delta variant is seeing transmission rates rise in our area, and we are encouraging all staff to do their part.

These meetings were held at West Springfield and I believe Woodson and all students were banned from the buildings during the meetings so that the administrators and SB could go maskless. No football, field hockey, band practices or any other student activity were cancelled. Way to put students first, just so you didn't have to wear a mask.

At the end of the day I don't care that these people were meeting indoors without masks. I assume most are vaccinated and people should be able to make their own decisions about how they chose to protect themselves.

But I mean JFC. LJC is supposed to be a politician and politicians are supposed to have a semi basic sense of messaging.

- Fairfax County advises all adults should wears masks indoors regardless of vaccine status, sure whatever

- FCPS requires masks for all despite vaccine status

- FCPS has a giant indoor meeting where none of the attendees are wearing masks, and then posts freaking pictures of it on social media

I mean come the F on. Just don't post the picture and no one would ever know or care.

Her lack of common sense alone is more then enough to trigger a recall. I honestly don't even know how she is able to dress herself in the morning let alone have oversite of one of the largest public school systems in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

+1. We are living our lives, but avoiding unnecessary risk. Looking at all those teachers crammed in facing each other makes my skin crawl.

[Anonymous]

All the regions had these this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

looks like a bunch of teachers and school employees in person ready to start a school year in person. I'm not seeing the reason for outrage here

Those are all administrators, I believe.

On Tuesday staff received an email that read:

As of Monday, August 2, all FCPS staff – both in offices and schools – are strongly encouraged to wear a mask at all times indoors:

FCPS is encouraging all staff who work in our offices to show solidarity with schools and wear your mask at all times when you are indoors – even if you are fully vaccinated.
We serve as role models for our students. This practice will help encourage them to follow the universal masking guidance at all times.
According to the CDC, there are instances of breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals. Although vaccinated individuals are not becoming severely ill, they are able to transmit the infection to others.
We are aware that the Delta variant is seeing transmission rates rise in our area, and we are encouraging all staff to do their part.

These meetings were held at West Springfield and I believe Woodson and all students were banned from the buildings during the meetings so that the administrators and SB could go maskless. No football, field hockey, band practices or any other student activity were cancelled. Way to put students first, just so you didn't have to wear a mask.

+1. I’m pretty moderate about COvId and I’m pissed that fully vaxxed teacher can go maskless and fmy fully vaxxed teen cannot. I mean, WTF. Vaxx rates are high among teachers, but not universal. And I don’t see one mask.

1. Why are teachers treated differently than students eligible for the vaccine?

2. The Board of Supervisors sent out emails saying Fairfax County had reached the point where everyone should mask indoors. Why are teacher— employees of the county— not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the Region 4 leadership and Laura Jean Cohen are not nervous to be in a packed room in a school - unmasked even.

So looks like that's one bunch of people fully ready for a strong start on August 23.

Is she incapable of common sense?

I mean for crying out loud!!

+1. We are living our lives, but avoiding unnecessary risk. Looking at all those teachers crammed in facing each other makes my skin crawl.

Not teachers, principals and APs. Will they allow their staff to do the same?