Will they talk about Covid shut down like the Great Depression

[Anonymous]

Probably yes

[Anonymous]

We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the pandemic really has made me fundamentally not trust schools. I don't know how to let it go. I didn't move during the pandemic for an open school (because I was actually financially ruined), but I still feel the need to move to just find a different school district. Just to get a cleaner slate.

Trust isn't something that is easy to get back once it has been ruined.

Same, I don't trust schools and I have lost the ability to believe that anyone associated with a school actually has a vested interest in my children.

It's really altered my perception of teachers. It's not that I don't appreciate what they do, I do. But I have limited capacity to believe that they, as a group, are invested in the well being of children. I think individual teachers may be invested in certain groups of kids. But I don't view the teaching profession as focused on the well-being of children. I think teacher's unions and educational organizations exist primarily for their own benefit, and if children benefit that's a nice side effect but not necessary for them to accomplish their goals.

I work in healthcare and think about how I and others took seriously our oaths to protect and care for our patients during the single biggest healthcare crisis of my lifetime. I simply do not see that same dedication or willingness to sacrifice on the part of teachers. They looked out for themselves and while I guess you can't fault them for that (most people did), coming from another helping profession where I don't think we put ourselves first at all, it was somewhat shocking to me to realize this.

Yeah, it was pretty shocking just how little teachers and the teachers' unions cared about schoolchildren. You become a teacher because, presumably, you have an interest in the wellbeing of children, at least as one factor. And yet, teachers were the biggest obstruction to getting kids back into schools. If it had been left to the teachers in places like the DC area and California, schools would have remained virtual through 2022.

Before the pandemic, we were pretty engaged with our school community. Now, we're mostly checked out. We didn't even re-up our membership with the PTA.

This. I’m a “front line” public service worker and would loved to have skipped my commute, saved on gas, and only done a few hours a day of abridged work, but I took an oath and had a job to do. Teachers, schools, EVERYONE, failed our children. I don’t ever want to hear another teacher complaining about one child who virtual schooled during the pandemic who is behind academically or socially. It is YOUR fault. Hope you enjoyed your easy ride. Our kids have paid the price.

I thought teachers did an amazing job for my kids. Overnight they turned to a virtual model of education. That meant figuring out new ways to teach lessons and monitor kids’ progress and wellbeing. That’s impressive in and of itself. But in addition, they were dealing with IT issues and kids who developed emotional issues that spilled over into the educational environment. And many had their own kids and no childcare.

In my sons special education program he went from being able to learn in a small group environment to needing 2:1 services - subject matter and para. So that’s what he got without even having to change the IEP. They scheduled those 2:1 services around my sons needs and preferences. They did home visits. With my daughter, every time she fell behind or seemed out of sorts the principal or counselor would call me and together we’d get her back on track. When the deadline hit for completing the return in person application and I hadn’t done it, the principal called me and stayed on the phone with me until it was done and instead of every other week, my daughter was allowed to attend in person full time.

I have nothing but admiration for the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

I'm a NP but PP's experience was mine as well. I had kids under five, but I managed to get my work done while they were in bed, and the days are still some of my happiest memories of parenting. Is it only the most miserable who get to have memories of what happened?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

I’m sorry that our downtime upsets you. DH was home for three months. I have 3 kids but I don’t work. I was juggling 2 kids in virtual school and a toddler. I guess don’t consider staying home a hardship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A quick reminder for those of you bleating about teachers - the peak COVID period for Virginia was January 2021. If you think the teachers should have been back before the worst of the pandemic and before vaccines, then you are truly human trash.

European schools were open during that time. What makes teachers in the US so precious that they couldn't go back to work like their counterparts in places like France, the UK, Germany, the Nordic countries etc.?

It really is a weird thing, when you think about it. And it wasn't even just a handful of European countries. It was most of the world, including much of Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa. The US was the only place with protracted school shutdowns of a year or more, and it wasn't even the entire US -- much of the US opened with hybrid plans in the fall of 2020, within 5 months of the initial shut down.

The longer it went on, the more nonsensical it became. I remember being fully on board in spring of 2020, and then a little frustrated but understanding when they delayed re-opening in fall 2020. Then when vaccines came out, I was like "okay, soon." Then bars, restaurants, retail stores re-opened, people started traveling, etc. And our schools were still closed -- maybe a handful of in-person spots for high-risk kids but that's it.

Looking back, the idea that the first time my kids set foot in a classroom after March 2020 was the end of August 2021 is insane. And people keep talking about it like it was unavoidable and clearly worth it. It wasn't and it wasn't! We were part of a tiny minority of the globe that burdened kids and families in that way, and it wasn't even remotely worth it, but for some reason people are afraid to admit that. It's crazy.

Our private in Virginia went back in August 2020. Everyone was masked, windows were open, etc. Our kids had to quarantine twice (once for each kid but we kept them both home) due to a kid in their class testing positive. They did weekly tests of all kids, faculty, and staff, and some things were certainly different (no art classes, kids ate lunch in their classrooms, more PE outside), but they made it work just fine. I understand that private schools have resources that public schools may not, but I still think it's flabbergasting that public schools in the DMV didn't do a better job of opening up sooner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work no, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

Your experience was the extreme/outside the norm. I get it…I nearly died in April 2020 and had six(!!) surgeries in the course of 6 weeks. Alone in a hospital. My experience was outside the norm too.

I used that experience to wake up and start traveling, etc. because life can be short and doesn’t wait around for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was your husband working in person?

My husband was working in person. As was his his ex. They were essential workers.

And we shuttled the kids between the two of our households.

I am very high risk. For Covid complications.

It was a terrifying time. I have to tell you that I got very internally fed up with all the people who were able to work fully remotely and stay home safely with their kids and houses in non-divorced families. They were basically safe from Covid. For many of us or risking death and long-term sickness every day and constantly having to worry about that stress.

So, I got pretty frustrated at all the well off parents Who were able to completely stay home for some of us were risking sickness and death.

I also realize that a lot of my friends who are well off had actually outsourced a lot of parenting before the pandemic. They were used to having nannies come in the morning, my friends went off to work, and by the time my friends came home, the kids were bathed and fed and all my friends really had to do is play with them for half an hour before bed. Once they actually had to care for their children full-time, they went crazy. Actually, I even had friends who took their nannies with them to their country houses who still went crazy being around the kids all the time.

They were totally safe from COVID, they had their jobs, Their families were safe, and yet all they did was complain. I thought it was really turned off given the fact that household like mine for dealing with the stress of covid coming into their lives.

So yeah, I didn’t feel too bad for parents Who were able to stay home and work remotely with their kids staying home as well. In fact, their vocal whining and complaining really pissed me off at times. Because they were actually very very lucky.

Now if your husband was working in person and therefore you were dealing with the constant threat of COVID as well, then I totally sympathize.

What did you want us to? Quit our jobs as lawyers or engineers (my husband and I) and volunteer to be a nurse?

I wanted you to realize how lucky you were to be able to stay at home safe with your family rather than whining about how horrible life was from your country home with your sourdough starters. And to recognize that non essential workers staying at home helped lower community spread and made things safer for those who DID have to work in person.

Well, I wasn't sitting around whining but you want to lump everyone who you think didn't have it as bad as you into one group of complainers so you won't believe me anyway. Enjoy the negativity you surround yourself with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

If you had downtime you obviously didn't have young kids with no childcare/ remote "school" and both parents working. There was no downtime at all. It was awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the pandemic really has made me fundamentally not trust schools. I don't know how to let it go. I didn't move during the pandemic for an open school (because I was actually financially ruined), but I still feel the need to move to just find a different school district. Just to get a cleaner slate.

Trust isn't something that is easy to get back once it has been ruined.

Same, I don't trust schools and I have lost the ability to believe that anyone associated with a school actually has a vested interest in my children.

It's really altered my perception of teachers. It's not that I don't appreciate what they do, I do. But I have limited capacity to believe that they, as a group, are invested in the well being of children. I think individual teachers may be invested in certain groups of kids. But I don't view the teaching profession as focused on the well-being of children. I think teacher's unions and educational organizations exist primarily for their own benefit, and if children benefit that's a nice side effect but not necessary for them to accomplish their goals.

I work in healthcare and think about how I and others took seriously our oaths to protect and care for our patients during the single biggest healthcare crisis of my lifetime. I simply do not see that same dedication or willingness to sacrifice on the part of teachers. They looked out for themselves and while I guess you can't fault them for that (most people did), coming from another helping profession where I don't think we put ourselves first at all, it was somewhat shocking to me to realize this.

Yeah, it was pretty shocking just how little teachers and the teachers' unions cared about schoolchildren. You become a teacher because, presumably, you have an interest in the wellbeing of children, at least as one factor. And yet, teachers were the biggest obstruction to getting kids back into schools. If it had been left to the teachers in places like the DC area and California, schools would have remained virtual through 2022.

Before the pandemic, we were pretty engaged with our school community. Now, we're mostly checked out. We didn't even re-up our membership with the PTA.

This. I’m a “front line” public service worker and would loved to have skipped my commute, saved on gas, and only done a few hours a day of abridged work, but I took an oath and had a job to do. Teachers, schools, EVERYONE, failed our children. I don’t ever want to hear another teacher complaining about one child who virtual schooled during the pandemic who is behind academically or socially. It is YOUR fault. Hope you enjoyed your easy ride. Our kids have paid the price.

I thought teachers did an amazing job for my kids. Overnight they turned to a virtual model of education. That meant figuring out new ways to teach lessons and monitor kids’ progress and wellbeing. That’s impressive in and of itself. But in addition, they were dealing with IT issues and kids who developed emotional issues that spilled over into the educational environment. And many had their own kids and no childcare.

In my sons special education program he went from being able to learn in a small group environment to needing 2:1 services - subject matter and para. So that’s what he got without even having to change the IEP. They scheduled those 2:1 services around my sons needs and preferences. They did home visits. With my daughter, every time she fell behind or seemed out of sorts the principal or counselor would call me and together we’d get her back on track. When the deadline hit for completing the return in person application and I hadn’t done it, the principal called me and stayed on the phone with me until it was done and instead of every other week, my daughter was allowed to attend in person full time.

I have nothing but admiration for the teachers.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

Everyone’s circumstances were different. What’s the point in being jealous of others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

Ok, that PP is tone deaf, obviously. But seriously OP, it's been over three years since COVID started around here. Move forward and stop being so angry at people who had it easy. If they had also suffered you wouldn't have suffered any less. You get that, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

OP here - this is the sentiment that annoys me the most. You enjoyed your downtime? Great glad you had such a lovely time reconnecting and spending time together.

I was trying to literally survive every damn day. Thats it. Survival. There was no down time between work, virtual online school, no daycare, baby who never slept and a husband who was working 60+ hours a day.

You want everyone else to be miserable because you had to struggle? What a warped attitude. If this is still upsetting so much you then you should seek therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actually enjoyed our downtime. No, don’t think you can compare to the Great Depression at all.

If you had downtime you obviously didn't have young kids with no childcare/ remote "school" and both parents working. There was no downtime at all. It was awful.

DP. I had kids under five with no childcare and both of parents working. I did virtually all the childcare, but I was able to get my work done with a combination of early mornings, late nights, and putting on a movie during the afternoon. Most of my daylight hours were spent exploring the woods with my kids, baking, and reading to them. It was genuinely a very positive time.

Obviously, lots of people had awful times, but in a country of hundreds of millions of people, virtually every experience imaginable was had.