MCPS is closing Wed 11/24, day before Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

NP- Burn out is real is all those professions that you named and the folks responsible for employing them are having to make accommodations and do things in order to keep their employees happy and working. So its not that teachers are more special, its that teachers are the same, everyone takes their job for granted until they throw their hands up and say to hell with it, I’m taking my talents elsewhere. People forget that teachers are parents also. Teachers have lives outside also. So again, its not that teachers view themselves as more special, but that many a parent, especially here on DCUm seems to view themselves and their circumstances as more special.

DP, but I think part of what people are reacting to is that (1) unlike the other areas listed, teachers (at least here) did NOT work in-person for much of the pandemic and (2) parents were given SO little grace around having to work and simultaneously assist their kids with the hell that was Zoom school. So, frankly, there's not much left in the tank, especially not when teachers' unions actively worked to keep remote education as long as it was. I get that teachers are exhausted. We are ALL exhausted. It would have been great if we could have been more understanding a year ago instead of just screaming about how school wasn't daycare and we should watch our own [bleeping] kids.

That’s the fault of those parents’ employers, not teachers.

No, it's not. Teachers' unions added plenty of vitriol to the mix. Stop dodging the issue.

Also, some of the flack came from the teachers! Telling me I needed to make sure my kids did X or Y like I wasn’t already doing their job and mine at the same time.

[Anonymous]

I know there is a sub shortage.

But any of my teacher relatives would be in HUGE trouble if they took the leave the day before a break - so I don’t get the need for subs. Most places, it is in all staff contracts that you can’t miss the day before a break.

[Anonymous]

My kid is off school all week that week. You guys need to quit complaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is off school all week that week. You guys need to quit complaining.

You aren't MCPS then so why are you posting on the MCPS board? I'd love to have the week off.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Today is the day to start booking those high school students for the half day. I’m sure a lot of them would like to make extra cash! College students might also be available. Two weeks is plenty of time to find somebody.

Yeah, that works for me. But might not work for everyone.

I mean, when you work at Target and have a monthly budget to stick to - an additional unexpected expense for a sitter can be a bit stressful.

For all the BS that MCPS likes to talk about ‘equity’, this is surely not something that helps struggling working parents. Though, I guess it’s been clear this past year that MCPS doesn’t care all that much about what happens to our kids.

Do you work at Target and have a tight budget? Do you never get babysitters (we don't - never ever had one)?

Lets be real. Its usually the comfortable families complaining because the ones who are working at Target know this can be an issue and simply figure it out.

Or, if the reason is they cannot get enough subs for the teachers who request off, maybe you can sign up to be a sub and work that day.

DP, and ah, yes, the romanticizing of poverty. "They have it all figured out"--is that how you rationalize this kind of crap? Figuring it out for many families means kids unsupervised. You know that, right?

I am not romanticizing poverty but the ones I know who are complaining about this stuff are the most comfortable and just don't feel like dealing with their kids. There are lots of options. Usually the county also offers a program and they have low income waivers. You probably don't know as you just hire a sitter.

[Anonymous]

The trolls are strong in this thread.

[Anonymous]

To anyone who really does work at Target and doesn't have extra money for child care, check in with your local Bar-T or aftercare provider. There are lots of subsidies available through the county. I don't know if they cover drop in care, but it's worth checking out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know there is a sub shortage.

But any of my teacher relatives would be in HUGE trouble if they took the leave the day before a break - so I don’t get the need for subs. Most places, it is in all staff contracts that you can’t miss the day before a break.

Most contracts say you can’t be paid for the day before a break. That is different than saying you can’t take leave. I had surgery the day before Thanksgiving a few years ago, rather than miss three days in a regular week. I wasn’t paid for the Wed, but teaching isn’t slavery, they can’t force you to come. You can take leave at any time. Even the first or last day of school. It might be unpaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today is the day to start booking those high school students for the half day. I’m sure a lot of them would like to make extra cash! College students might also be available. Two weeks is plenty of time to find somebody.

Yeah, that works for me. But might not work for everyone.

I mean, when you work at Target and have a monthly budget to stick to - an additional unexpected expense for a sitter can be a bit stressful.

For all the BS that MCPS likes to talk about ‘equity’, this is surely not something that helps struggling working parents. Though, I guess it’s been clear this past year that MCPS doesn’t care all that much about what happens to our kids.

Do you work at Target and have a tight budget? Do you never get babysitters (we don't - never ever had one)?

Lets be real. Its usually the comfortable families complaining because the ones who are working at Target know this can be an issue and simply figure it out.

Or, if the reason is they cannot get enough subs for the teachers who request off, maybe you can sign up to be a sub and work that day.

DP, and ah, yes, the romanticizing of poverty. "They have it all figured out"--is that how you rationalize this kind of crap? Figuring it out for many families means kids unsupervised. You know that, right?

I am not romanticizing poverty but the ones I know who are complaining about this stuff are the most comfortable and just don't feel like dealing with their kids. There are lots of options. Usually the county also offers a program and they have low income waivers. You probably don't know as you just hire a sitter.

You and others really need to stop acting like these kinds of decisions don't harm disadvantaged families the most, "program" and all. Who cares who's complaining? Just because people aren't complaining on DCUM doesn't mean it's okay.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Awesome. Thanks for the last minute notice, yet again, MCPS.

It’s great for us working moms who have to physically go into work.

As always, thanks for the adequate notice so that we can scramble to make arrangements.

It’s two weeks notice.

I’m a dentist. I blocked off the afternoon, knowing that the kids would be off and I could do pick up. Now, with two weeks notice, I have to call and reschedule all the people who took time out of their scheduled to make appointments that morning. Or, I scramble to find a sitter with short notice, just like everyone else who will also need to do so.

They could have decided this at the beginning of the year. Or in October. Two weeks notice is ridiculous.

Don’t you have an office your kids can sit in with an iPad for four hours?

I really find it hard to believe that you have that many dental appointments for the day before Thanksgiving.

Are you kidding? LOL. Our office is booked weeks out. Pretty much any medical provider is booked solid over this past year. Lots of dentists retired and demand for appointments has been up.

Who’s going to pick the kids up from the bus stop and bring them to the office?

PP, for someone who thinks she has all the answers, you’re actually pretty out of touch with reality, aren’t you.

Pssst, school is out. Nobody needs to pick them up from the bus stop

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can have two of the three:

Plenty of subs
Cheap subs
Decent subs

You can also decline OFF days when there is no coverage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This. Such privilege and obnoxiousness.

Do people have any idea what life is like outside of their cushy telework universe?

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. My neighbor works for Wegmans. Now, she has to pay for a sitter that afternoon. Because, surely, you can see ho it might be difficult for her to ask for off the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with only two weeks notice. Glad to see all the teachers celebrating the news on FB though.

It was supposed to be a half day. She would have had to pay for a sitter that afternoon regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This. Such privilege and obnoxiousness.

Do people have any idea what life is like outside of their cushy telework universe?

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. My neighbor works for Wegmans. Now, she has to pay for a sitter that afternoon. Because, surely, you can see ho it might be difficult for her to ask for off the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with only two weeks notice. Glad to see all the teachers celebrating the news on FB though.

It was supposed to be a half day. She would have had to pay for a sitter that afternoon regardless.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know there is a sub shortage.

But any of my teacher relatives would be in HUGE trouble if they took the leave the day before a break - so I don’t get the need for subs. Most places, it is in all staff contracts that you can’t miss the day before a break.

They would just call in sick. Same problem. Lack of subs.

[Anonymous]

KAH is still open on 11/24