WaPo: How D.C. and its teachers, with shifting plans and demands, failed to reopen schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disgusting. Disgusted with the teachers. No civic duty.

"Civic duty." LOL. Teachers are not your babysitters in a pandemic. They provide education via DL. If you need childcare, hire it.

+1000000

Teachers are not babysitters dude.

NP. Why would you assume "civic duty" refers to babysitting? Teachers' civic duty lies in providing *effective* education and help facilitate social growth for kids in a school environment. Virtual teaching is not effective for most kids, and deprives them of the social learning integral to the school experience.

Teachers get no respect in the US. I’m not sure why they would go out of their way to perform a civic duty when they are not paid very well and get blamed for all of societies failings. There is no accountability any more for students or parents. I’m a parent not a teacher but just being realistic. We routinely bash teachers and denigrate them as losers and then are shocked that they just treat their profession as a job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both sides look bad in the article, but i already knew that the union had been obstructionist. It was helpful to see laid out how the Mayor missed so many opportunities to get the public, parents and principals on her side. Things might have played out differently if Bowser had effectively built up a coalition behind her. Unions will run amok if there is no counter pressure pushing back against them and the Mayor alone was not enough.

Agreed. I am no deBlasio booster but he decided to make schools a priority and approached each road block from a problem-solving position. Bowser and Ferebee repeatedly responded to challenges by throwing up their hands and just blaming the union, which made itself an extremely convenient scapegoat (if I were a teacher I’d be livid about the decision-making and messaging from the union, which was seemingly designed to enrage parents).

The point is: if they really wanted to open schools, they would have found a way. This wasn’t the moon landing.

I said in the very early days of the pandemic that DeBlasio's priority of keeping schools open for in-person learning was the true liberal/leftist position on the issue, just like what many of our leftist European country friends have prioritized. It's really messed up in the USA that wanting to open schools gets you accused of being a Trumper.

This. I am from Germany and think American liberals have it completely backwards on this issue. It's crazy that opening public schools has become branded as right-wing in the US.

It's of course related to the politicization of the pandemic overall in the US. Trump's denial of Covid has led the left to go to the other extreme. The way the danger of the virus as a lethal threat to everyone is being hyped in the US has strongly contributed to parents' reluctance to send their kids back, and has stoked hysteria among teachers and the general public. The discourse in Germany isn't nearly as dramatic - the problem of Covid and the need for lockdowns is usually presented as a matter of preventing hospitals from being overrun, not of every infection being a likely death sentence or a high risk for long-term disability.

[Anonymous]

I’ve just been so disgusted by the WaPo’s opinion pieces about reopening schools, and its unrelenting critique of public schools in our area. I’m a parent, not a school employee. WaPo needs to understand we cannot open schools during a catastrophic viral surge. It also needs to understand most public schools here have done an excellent job adapting to the pandemic. South Korea, with its exacting academic standards, has no live instruction for students! Same for Japan. They expect kids to learn by themselves asynchronously and you can bet no one is whining about it. Our kids are spoiled by our area’s school systems. We have it really good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least Bowser tried to get kids back in school. It’s more than I can say for leaders in neighboring jurisdictions who sat on their hands.

The leaders in the neighboring districts are a lot smarter. They know that a war with teachers is bad for kids in the long run. They will end up opening around the same time as DCPS without so much collateral damage. We have idiots with no emotional IQ running DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Howard County is the same and a hot.hot.mess

They aren’t even planning to go back until 12/21.

Are you nuts? They said April 2021. And they mean all kids which is really what will end up happening in DC too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disgusting. Disgusted with the teachers. No civic duty.

"Civic duty." LOL. Teachers are not your babysitters in a pandemic. They provide education via DL. If you need childcare, hire it.

+1000000

Teachers are not babysitters dude.

NP. Why would you assume "civic duty" refers to babysitting? Teachers' civic duty lies in providing *effective* education and help facilitate social growth for kids in a school environment. Virtual teaching is not effective for most kids, and deprives them of the social learning integral to the school experience.

Teachers get no respect in the US. I’m not sure why they would go out of their way to perform a civic duty when they are not paid very well and get blamed for all of societies failings. There is no accountability any more for students or parents. I’m a parent not a teacher but just being realistic. We routinely bash teachers and denigrate them as losers and then are shocked that they just treat their profession as a job

Wrong. If they treated their profession as a job, they’d acknowledge it has to be done in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least Bowser tried to get kids back in school. It’s more than I can say for leaders in neighboring jurisdictions who sat on their hands.

The leaders in the neighboring districts are a lot smarter. They know that a war with teachers is bad for kids in the long run. They will end up opening around the same time as DCPS without so much collateral damage. We have idiots with no emotional IQ running DC

If they were a lot smarter, schools would be open. I think the same fights are going on in the suburbs. It’s just quieter. I’m sure parents in three suburbs are equally disappointed with unions/teachers and will be for some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I’ve just been so disgusted by the WaPo’s opinion pieces about reopening schools, and its unrelenting critique of public schools in our area. I’m a parent, not a school employee. WaPo needs to understand we cannot open schools during a catastrophic viral surge. It also needs to understand most public schools here have done an excellent job adapting to the pandemic. South Korea, with its exacting academic standards, has no live instruction for students! Same for Japan. They expect kids to learn by themselves asynchronously and you can bet no one is whining about it. Our kids are spoiled by our area’s school systems. We have it really good.

Yeah, but not continuously since March. South Korean schools have reopened and closed a number of times since the spring. Kids did get a good amount of in-person instruction since the pandemic began, unlike US kids. We maybe shouldn't open the schools right now, but we should have been open for a lot of the time since March, just like all other civilized countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least Bowser tried to get kids back in school. It’s more than I can say for leaders in neighboring jurisdictions who sat on their hands.

The leaders in the neighboring districts are a lot smarter. They know that a war with teachers is bad for kids in the long run. They will end up opening around the same time as DCPS without so much collateral damage. We have idiots with no emotional IQ running DC

If they were a lot smarter, schools would be open. I think the same fights are going on in the suburbs. It’s just quieter. I’m sure parents in three suburbs are equally disappointed with unions/teachers and will be for some time.

The dialogue is way more civilised in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow! What a disaster! I don’t understand why DCPS kept the principals in the dark. Then they fired the popular Walls principal and all hell broke loose. Why did they keep shooting themselves in the foot so many times. The principal of our school is very transparent about how much she hates DCPS Central.

Firing the Walls principal was a complete panic move by Bowser. She was flailing around. Now he will end up getting a hefty settlement for what? DC will have to pay up because Bowser does not like dissent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both sides look bad in the article, but i already knew that the union had been obstructionist. It was helpful to see laid out how the Mayor missed so many opportunities to get the public, parents and principals on her side. Things might have played out differently if Bowser had effectively built up a coalition behind her. Unions will run amok if there is no counter pressure pushing back against them and the Mayor alone was not enough.

Agreed. I am no deBlasio booster but he decided to make schools a priority and approached each road block from a problem-solving position. Bowser and Ferebee repeatedly responded to challenges by throwing up their hands and just blaming the union, which made itself an extremely convenient scapegoat (if I were a teacher I’d be livid about the decision-making and messaging from the union, which was seemingly designed to enrage parents).

The point is: if they really wanted to open schools, they would have found a way. This wasn’t the moon landing.

I said in the very early days of the pandemic that DeBlasio's priority of keeping schools open for in-person learning was the true liberal/leftist position on the issue, just like what many of our leftist European country friends have prioritized. It's really messed up in the USA that wanting to open schools gets you accused of being a Trumper.

This. I am from Germany and think American liberals have it completely backwards on this issue. It's crazy that opening public schools has become branded as right-wing in the US.

It's of course related to the politicization of the pandemic overall in the US. Trump's denial of Covid has led the left to go to the other extreme. The way the danger of the virus as a lethal threat to everyone is being hyped in the US has strongly contributed to parents' reluctance to send their kids back, and has stoked hysteria among teachers and the general public. The discourse in Germany isn't nearly as dramatic - the problem of Covid and the need for lockdowns is usually presented as a matter of preventing hospitals from being overrun, not of every infection being a likely death sentence or a high risk for long-term disability.

THIS. What we have here is a massive messaging failure. This board is a great example. Hysterical teachers and parents committed to keeping kids out of classrooms until the heat death of the universe if that’s what it takes to stick it to Trump. Yeah, he and his cabinet are craven morons, but as this article shows, so are Bowser and the WTU.

Our poor kids

[Anonymous]

All this in a city that has consistently had some of the lowest coronavirus levels in the country. Even today, there’s only three states with better numbers than ours.

Teachers should be ashamed of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I’ve just been so disgusted by the WaPo’s opinion pieces about reopening schools, and its unrelenting critique of public schools in our area. I’m a parent, not a school employee. WaPo needs to understand we cannot open schools during a catastrophic viral surge. It also needs to understand most public schools here have done an excellent job adapting to the pandemic. South Korea, with its exacting academic standards, has no live instruction for students! Same for Japan. They expect kids to learn by themselves asynchronously and you can bet no one is whining about it. Our kids are spoiled by our area’s school systems. We have it really good.

95% of private schools stayed open. Obviously public schools could have stayed open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’ve just been so disgusted by the WaPo’s opinion pieces about reopening schools, and its unrelenting critique of public schools in our area. I’m a parent, not a school employee. WaPo needs to understand we cannot open schools during a catastrophic viral surge. It also needs to understand most public schools here have done an excellent job adapting to the pandemic. South Korea, with its exacting academic standards, has no live instruction for students! Same for Japan. They expect kids to learn by themselves asynchronously and you can bet no one is whining about it. Our kids are spoiled by our area’s school systems. We have it really good.

Yeah, but not continuously since March. South Korean schools have reopened and closed a number of times since the spring. Kids did get a good amount of in-person instruction since the pandemic began, unlike US kids. We maybe shouldn't open the schools right now, but we should have been open for a lot of the time since March, just like all other civilized countries.

My nephew in Asia has been in school all year.

[Anonymous]

Yikes. There are a whole bunch of entitled angry parents letting their frustrations out on teachers in this thread. The people really struggling and at risk in this pandemic aren’t the ones writing on DCUM complaining about teachers not wanting to sacrifice their lives and go back to work in person without a vaccine. Look, as a parent and a teacher I know from both sides how hard it has been this past almost year now, and I also know that teachers are not to blame here. Get a tele therapist and vent to them.