Friday's "snow?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.

“Give them a break” simply means stop picking on them and calling them entitled.

Nobody is implying to give them a morning delay just to give them a break.

Relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.

“Give them a break” simply means stop picking on them and calling them entitled.

Nobody is implying to give them a morning delay just to give them a break.

Relax.

Yes, they absolutely are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

It wasn't much different 2 hours later, so what good would that have done?

It was worse 2 hours later in fact. That would have been worse than opening on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to be willing to open offices and childcare during weather like yesterday and delay or close schools. The roads were totally drivable with some care, and we can't shut down absolutely everything because people can't drive. But the buses have extra challenges and that needs to be acknowledged.

The reason I cheer for the opening yesterday is that lately MCPS has been all or nothing. They seem to think if it is not safe for school buses on residential roads, it can't be safe for anyone, ignoring that the rest of the world is going about the day normally.

Buses really don't have extra challenges. Because of their weight, buses handle snow well.

The multiple mcps bus drivers that I talked to yesterday adamantly disagree with this.

Like driving a car, it helps to get experience in a bus. Because MCPS is historically so quick to close, some drivers will have limited experience. The may have been nervous, like when they first started driving. Some may have even slid into things. But remember, accidents in this conditions are typically minor fender benders at slow speeds with minimal injuries.

What if the thing you slide into is a kid?

I said this above, but I skidded through a stop sign very, very close to my children’s school, where a lot of kids were walking their normal route. I was going slow. I am used to driving in the northeast. These were untreated side streets and there was ice. Having lived in the northeast, I appreciate the sentiment that we should be able to handle this kind of weather. The fact remains however that many roads were dangerously untreated and I’m shocked school happened as it did.

Better than crashing into kids at full speed, which happens when conditions are good.

You're trying to compare the best-case scenario on a sunny, warm day to the worse-case scenario on a snowy day. That's a ridiculous comparison.

I’m sorry, what? There are reckless drivers out there on a good day, so why should it matter if people slip when driving slowly on ice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to be willing to open offices and childcare during weather like yesterday and delay or close schools. The roads were totally drivable with some care, and we can't shut down absolutely everything because people can't drive. But the buses have extra challenges and that needs to be acknowledged.

The reason I cheer for the opening yesterday is that lately MCPS has been all or nothing. They seem to think if it is not safe for school buses on residential roads, it can't be safe for anyone, ignoring that the rest of the world is going about the day normally.

Buses really don't have extra challenges. Because of their weight, buses handle snow well.

The multiple mcps bus drivers that I talked to yesterday adamantly disagree with this.

Like driving a car, it helps to get experience in a bus. Because MCPS is historically so quick to close, some drivers will have limited experience. The may have been nervous, like when they first started driving. Some may have even slid into things. But remember, accidents in this conditions are typically minor fender benders at slow speeds with minimal injuries.

What if the thing you slide into is a kid?

I said this above, but I skidded through a stop sign very, very close to my children’s school, where a lot of kids were walking their normal route. I was going slow. I am used to driving in the northeast. These were untreated side streets and there was ice. Having lived in the northeast, I appreciate the sentiment that we should be able to handle this kind of weather. The fact remains however that many roads were dangerously untreated and I’m shocked school happened as it did.

In an area where we are typically only minority inconveniences by snow, we will never have the infrastructure to handle snow and ice efficiently. And we will never get good at driving in snow and ice efficiently.

The email from the county is an embarrassment. And the fact that they couldn’t figure out conditions is bull. My kid works on snow crew in the county driving plows and salt trucks. He got called in to work at
2 am. There is no possible way to make the roads safe in the three hours they had before school buses went out.

There was a bus collision. Kids sat on buses for hours. Kids who needed breakfast didn’t get it. Buses couldn’t reach all of the kids so not everyone could get to school. Teachers couldn’t all get in so some teachers covered multiple classes which means babysitting and damage control not education. It was not business as usual.

Have you ever lived in a northern climate? What do you think happens when it snows? That they have armies of trucks that magically clear snow off the roads as soon as it falls?

No, of course not. With the exception of 270, the roads in Montgomery County were as good or better than you'd expect to find in New York, Michigan, or Wisconsin, or Minnesota. People just understand you can drive in those conditions. You can drive in much worse conditions, actually. And no, they don't have special cars or tires there. Just more common sense.

In the northeast, they treat the roads much more reliably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.

“Give them a break” simply means stop picking on them and calling them entitled.

Nobody is implying to give them a morning delay just to give them a break.

Relax.

Yes, they absolutely are.

Give it a rest. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to be willing to open offices and childcare during weather like yesterday and delay or close schools. The roads were totally drivable with some care, and we can't shut down absolutely everything because people can't drive. But the buses have extra challenges and that needs to be acknowledged.

The reason I cheer for the opening yesterday is that lately MCPS has been all or nothing. They seem to think if it is not safe for school buses on residential roads, it can't be safe for anyone, ignoring that the rest of the world is going about the day normally.

Buses really don't have extra challenges. Because of their weight, buses handle snow well.

The multiple mcps bus drivers that I talked to yesterday adamantly disagree with this.

Like driving a car, it helps to get experience in a bus. Because MCPS is historically so quick to close, some drivers will have limited experience. The may have been nervous, like when they first started driving. Some may have even slid into things. But remember, accidents in this conditions are typically minor fender benders at slow speeds with minimal injuries.

What if the thing you slide into is a kid?

I said this above, but I skidded through a stop sign very, very close to my children’s school, where a lot of kids were walking their normal route. I was going slow. I am used to driving in the northeast. These were untreated side streets and there was ice. Having lived in the northeast, I appreciate the sentiment that we should be able to handle this kind of weather. The fact remains however that many roads were dangerously untreated and I’m shocked school happened as it did.

In an area where we are typically only minority inconveniences by snow, we will never have the infrastructure to handle snow and ice efficiently. And we will never get good at driving in snow and ice efficiently.

The email from the county is an embarrassment. And the fact that they couldn’t figure out conditions is bull. My kid works on snow crew in the county driving plows and salt trucks. He got called in to work at
2 am. There is no possible way to make the roads safe in the three hours they had before school buses went out.

There was a bus collision. Kids sat on buses for hours. Kids who needed breakfast didn’t get it. Buses couldn’t reach all of the kids so not everyone could get to school. Teachers couldn’t all get in so some teachers covered multiple classes which means babysitting and damage control not education. It was not business as usual.

Have you ever lived in a northern climate? What do you think happens when it snows? That they have armies of trucks that magically clear snow off the roads as soon as it falls?

No, of course not. With the exception of 270, the roads in Montgomery County were as good or better than you'd expect to find in New York, Michigan, or Wisconsin, or Minnesota. People just understand you can drive in those conditions. You can drive in much worse conditions, actually. And no, they don't have special cars or tires there. Just more common sense.

In the northeast, they treat the roads much more reliably.

Because they use salt. It isn't an issue of resources.

And they did brine the roads here. It worked pretty well on main roads other than 270. The roads would have been fairly similar in the northeast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to be willing to open offices and childcare during weather like yesterday and delay or close schools. The roads were totally drivable with some care, and we can't shut down absolutely everything because people can't drive. But the buses have extra challenges and that needs to be acknowledged.

The reason I cheer for the opening yesterday is that lately MCPS has been all or nothing. They seem to think if it is not safe for school buses on residential roads, it can't be safe for anyone, ignoring that the rest of the world is going about the day normally.

Buses really don't have extra challenges. Because of their weight, buses handle snow well.

The multiple mcps bus drivers that I talked to yesterday adamantly disagree with this.

Like driving a car, it helps to get experience in a bus. Because MCPS is historically so quick to close, some drivers will have limited experience. The may have been nervous, like when they first started driving. Some may have even slid into things. But remember, accidents in this conditions are typically minor fender benders at slow speeds with minimal injuries.

What if the thing you slide into is a kid?

I said this above, but I skidded through a stop sign very, very close to my children’s school, where a lot of kids were walking their normal route. I was going slow. I am used to driving in the northeast. These were untreated side streets and there was ice. Having lived in the northeast, I appreciate the sentiment that we should be able to handle this kind of weather. The fact remains however that many roads were dangerously untreated and I’m shocked school happened as it did.

Better than crashing into kids at full speed, which happens when conditions are good.

You're trying to compare the best-case scenario on a sunny, warm day to the worse-case scenario on a snowy day. That's a ridiculous comparison.

I’m sorry, what? There are reckless drivers out there on a good day, so why should it matter if people slip when driving slowly on ice?

Accidents in snowy conditions are less severe than accidents in dry conditions. There are about 30% fewer injuries and 50% fewer deaths. People generally drive slower, to the accidents are more likely to be from losing control (or failure to stop) at lower speeds versus high-speed collisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.

“Give them a break” simply means stop picking on them and calling them entitled.

Nobody is implying to give them a morning delay just to give them a break.

Relax.

Yes, they absolutely are.

Give it a rest. Seriously.

I get that you're trying to spin it, but someone already confessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

It wasn't much different 2 hours later, so what good would that have done?

It was worse 2 hours later in fact. That would have been worse than opening on time.

+1
People don’t grasp this at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

It wasn't much different 2 hours later, so what good would that have done?

It was worse 2 hours later in fact. That would have been worse than opening on time.

+1
People don’t grasp this at all.

No, they do. What they're really saying is that they wanted school cancelled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.

“Give them a break” simply means stop picking on them and calling them entitled.

Nobody is implying to give them a morning delay just to give them a break.

Relax.

Yes, they absolutely are.

Give it a rest. Seriously.

I get that you're trying to spin it, but someone already confessed.

I missed this confession apparently. I did see one teacher who said SHE didn’t witness any struggle getting in, but that she would appreciate erring on the side of caution. I then saw one poster (you?) pick up on her statement that she would use the time to get caught up on work and (gasp!) actually have the time to eat breakfast for once. Apparently that’s the “confession” that you are using to say teachers generally feel entitled to 2-hour delays to get caught up.

Ironically, she simply asked for grace, which is something you’re completely incapable of granting. You’ve proven that already. No need to dig in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

It wasn't much different 2 hours later, so what good would that have done?

It was worse 2 hours later in fact. That would have been worse than opening on time.

+1
People don’t grasp this at all.

No, they do. What they're really saying is that they wanted school cancelled.

Yes. Since it was dangerous going to ES at 9 and high schools start earlier, I would have supported a closure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.

“Give them a break” simply means stop picking on them and calling them entitled.

Nobody is implying to give them a morning delay just to give them a break.

Relax.

Yes, they absolutely are.

Give it a rest. Seriously.

I get that you're trying to spin it, but someone already confessed.

I missed this confession apparently. I did see one teacher who said SHE didn’t witness any struggle getting in, but that she would appreciate erring on the side of caution. I then saw one poster (you?) pick up on her statement that she would use the time to get caught up on work and (gasp!) actually have the time to eat breakfast for once. Apparently that’s the “confession” that you are using to say teachers generally feel entitled to 2-hour delays to get caught up.

Ironically, she simply asked for grace, which is something you’re completely incapable of granting. You’ve proven that already. No need to dig in.

I really hope you're not an English teacher because you obviously struggle with reading comprehension. Look at that post again. Did she express safety concerns or talk about burnout?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

It wasn't much different 2 hours later, so what good would that have done?

It was worse 2 hours later in fact. That would have been worse than opening on time.

+1
People don’t grasp this at all.

No, they do. What they're really saying is that they wanted school cancelled.

Yes. Since it was dangerous going to ES at 9 and high schools start earlier, I would have supported a closure.

At least you're honest. But here's part of the answer to the earlier pp's question about the opposition to a delay.