Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In MCPS, yes, because logic has gone out the window, and they seem more focused on deferring to anxiety and politics than facts and science. It’s particularly painful since we’re home to the NIH and the FDA.
I’m a progressive Democrat, FWIW, and completely disgusted by how far down the list kids are in this whole mess. It’s like schools exist solely to provide jobs for adults.
+1
OP here. This is how it's looking. If teachers are vaccinated and masks work, then why not return them to school? I'd even take half day school at thsi point. Kids and parents are being held hostage based on how people "feel" about returning, not science. Same people who feel uneasy with opening schools are fine with their grocery store workers working full shifts dealing with hundreds of people every day, not just 5-10 masked children who are staying in one place and have parents who would be happy to give them a saliva test every week to get them back in school if need be.
I agree to a point but young kids aren’t that good about staying masked or washing their hands. Kids have and will die from covid even though it’s a small percentage.
And then there are the anti-vaxxers...
I see the bolded all the time and it is so far from my actual experience. Virtually every kid I know will keep a mask on as long as you ask them to. Some don't mind them at all, others are annoyed by them but will wear them anyway. Kids, especially in elementary school, are conditioned to accept arbitrary rules they don't understand and you get really good compliance. If they are provided with well-fitting masks and see their peers wearing them. All the kids over the age of about 4 in my (not wealthy and very diverse) neighborhood wear masks, and plenty of kids younger than 4.
And with hand washing, as long as it is built into the day, kids will do it. My child went to an outdoor camp last year for a few weeks, and they had those hand sanitizer stations, for drop off, pick up, and any shift from one part of the camp to another. The kids lined up, got the automatic spray of sanitizer, rubbed it in, and went on with their day. After like the third day, you didn't even have to remind them. And my kid is 3, by the way. Kids are extremely easy to train.
Yes, there are outliers -- kids with behavioral issues and sensory processing disorders. We need to come up with other solutions for those kids that still get them the education they need while keeping teachers and other kids safe. That's hard, but it's a problem schools are always dealing with -- what do you do with kids who cannot or will not abide by the rules? There are a lot of processes and programs in place for just this problem.
People are really underestimating kids in this conversation. It makes me wonder how many of these people who are super opposed to in-person school (1) have kids, or (2) have spent any amount of time around them, especially recently. Kids are handling masking and hand washing better than adults, as far as I can tell.
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