Why are parents so fixated on reopening schools in-person?

[Anonymous]

Pretty much every school that "opened up" to in-person had to shut down again. Why? Because the majority of the U.S. Population doesn't understand the difference between High School math (bell curves) and the science of Coronavirus propagation. Folks, there is no "curve".

As long as you have one infected person, and a large number of uninfected people; that one person will infect the others. The cycle just restarts over and over again. This is what happened in Europe and in the U.S. Go research it yourselves. Play the game called "Plague" and maybe the math and science will make more sense. It's a math thing. The virus doesn't care about public opinions or politics. The science of transmission doesn't change from testing or wishful thinking.

The only way to totally stop this cycle is either to fully immunize the population (fewer deaths) or achieve "herd immunity" by infecting the entire population (which is bad news for anyone over 60 or with health conditions - sorry but you're written off as collateral damage).

This doesn't even include the human factor that teachers will become the new "front line" of Covid. You're asking them, without medical training, to become a "super-spreader defensive line"? If even one kid sniffles or coughs, what then? How many parents and their families will you infect? What if they live with family or have close contact with people with medical conditions or elderly? What if the child has a medical condition himself/herself? Are they all expendable?

I can understand if a kids home is already infected (e.g. parents that didn't understand the impact early in the pandemic), or if the kid is developing mental health issues from the isolation - but some parents were just complaining they didn't have daycare. For those parents, I do empathize that you do need some sort of help or solution - and maybe the school can assist in some way; but to force your will on other parents and other families is going too far. Find a solution for your own children, but not by creating issues for others.

To all those parents pushing to re-open, work with the schools to find a solution to your issues, but leave the rest who want to save lives alone.

[Anonymous]

I think we have dumped so many social responsibilities on the school system—childcare, food, social skills, counseling, etc.—that we are just in a state of shock when they assert that their main job is education.

[Anonymous]

Because school system has become defacto paretns

[Anonymous]

Parent here.
I don't want schools open right now, for the obvious reasons you stated.
But it is beyond dumb to shut down schools while keeping bars and casinos open. It’s just near-sighted greed.
My kids are lucky to have great teachers who are really trying hard, but there is NO DOUBT that most kids, including mine, are missing out on important education. And that’s not even starting in on the profound stress and loss of income that having them home all day is putting on parents (I work from home and husband has to work out of home, so my work is suffering. Like many families, we aren’t rich enough to hire help and are just doing our best with it all).
OP, parents are angry that kids are at the bottom of the priorities list and that our society has been making choices that lead to the current situation. I wouldn’t ask a teacher to work in a school with the current metrics. But we didn't have to be here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we have dumped so many social responsibilities on the school system—childcare, food, social skills, counseling, etc.—that we are just in a state of shock when they assert that their main job is education.

And they haven't been doing their main job--education--since March.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent here.
I don't want schools open right now, for the obvious reasons you stated.
But it is beyond dumb to shut down schools while keeping bars and casinos open. It’s just near-sighted greed.
My kids are lucky to have great teachers who are really trying hard, but there is NO DOUBT that most kids, including mine, are missing out on important education. And that’s not even starting in on the profound stress and loss of income that having them home all day is putting on parents (I work from home and husband has to work out of home, so my work is suffering. Like many families, we aren’t rich enough to hire help and are just doing our best with it all).
OP, parents are angry that kids are at the bottom of the priorities list and that our society has been making choices that lead to the current situation. I wouldn’t ask a teacher to work in a school with the current metrics. But we didn't have to be here.

I don’t think that conflicts with anything the OP is saying?

[Anonymous]

Another post!!

They are fixated on this because the teachers and the city admin was making decisions based upon 'feelings' and politics, and not science and numbers. The kids can't do it, so the parents have to advocate for them. Of course, numbers are rising now, but there was a long time when some sort of hybrid model could have been started safely. It's not an all or nothing game. The kids aren't ok, they need their friends, their teachers, their community, their schools. For them it's like the unseen monster from the stories has come to life, and everything is on hold. The schools are not just 'childcare' they are anchors for kids. My kids feel proud of the school and have a deep sense of belonging to it. I don't want schools to open up and be covid spreaders, but I don't want to minimize the loss that the kids are feeling either.

[Anonymous]

Our children (PK3, K, and 1st) have been in school in-person with no cases among students or staff from September 2 until yesterday. Being in school in-person is a million times better and more effective than remote schooling, especially at younger ages. And it's been great socially too, especially since we don't do any indoor playdates or socializing at home. School is a controlled environment, with masks, distancing, and other precautions.

Our school decided to go remote temporarily now, because of a few recent COVID cases that are not even among students or staff. But because a handful of students and staff have been exposed to these other cases, we have gone remote as a precaution. Still, the in-person learning we enjoyed until now has been a huge benefit. I can absolutely see why parents would want it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pretty much every school that "opened up" to in-person had to shut down again. Why? Because the majority of the U.S. Population doesn't understand the difference between High School math (bell curves) and the science of Coronavirus propagation. Folks, there is no "curve".

As long as you have one infected person, and a large number of uninfected people; that one person will infect the others. The cycle just restarts over and over again. This is what happened in Europe and in the U.S. Go research it yourselves. Play the game called "Plague" and maybe the math and science will make more sense. It's a math thing. The virus doesn't care about public opinions or politics. The science of transmission doesn't change from testing or wishful thinking.

The only way to totally stop this cycle is either to fully immunize the population (fewer deaths) or achieve "herd immunity" by infecting the entire population (which is bad news for anyone over 60 or with health conditions - sorry but you're written off as collateral damage).

This doesn't even include the human factor that teachers will become the new "front line" of Covid. You're asking them, without medical training, to become a "super-spreader defensive line"? If even one kid sniffles or coughs, what then? How many parents and their families will you infect? What if they live with family or have close contact with people with medical conditions or elderly? What if the child has a medical condition himself/herself? Are they all expendable?

I can understand if a kids home is already infected (e.g. parents that didn't understand the impact early in the pandemic), or if the kid is developing mental health issues from the isolation - but some parents were just complaining they didn't have daycare. For those parents, I do empathize that you do need some sort of help or solution - and maybe the school can assist in some way; but to force your will on other parents and other families is going too far. Find a solution for your own children, but not by creating issues for others.

To all those parents pushing to re-open, work with the schools to find a solution to your issues, but leave the rest who want to save lives alone.

How is that happening? How are parents forcing other parents?

"maybe the school can assist in some way" - umm...you mean by partial opening or like a hybrid model for those who chose to go in-person?

"work with the schools to find a solution to your issues" - Who do I write to? the parents ( at least most of them) that are talking about re-opening arent talking about going back to normal on day one, but they are insisting on having a plan, some plan to open someday.

"leave the rest who want to save lives alone" - who is bothering you, buddy?

[Anonymous]

My kids are depressed. They are learning very little, one has regressed so much academically he's now several grade levels behind.

There was a British study about what teachers saw when schools reopened. Huge academic regression, children forgetting their numbers and letters, forgetting how to read. Huge social and emotional regression, mental health problems and lack of physical conditioning.

OP, your fears about the pandemic are less important than our future generations. Look outside of yourself.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-pandemic-kid-regression/

[Anonymous]

because my ES kids are basically treading water as far as learning new material. That means we either turn family time into supplement time or just accept it. Meanwhile their friends in catholic school are back full time and moving at a normal pace. It infuriates me that an adequate education is now wholly dependent on the ability to pay

[Anonymous]

WHY????? Seriously, is this even a question. Because kids learn so much better in person - especially younger ones and those with learning issues. Plus, the kids who are getting left behind the worst are those who don't have adequate resources and motivation and quiet space at home. The learning gap is turning into an abyss and as those of us with kids in DCPS know that impacts every child there - advanced, medium and slow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent here.
I don't want schools open right now, for the obvious reasons you stated.
But it is beyond dumb to shut down schools while keeping bars and casinos open. It’s just near-sighted greed.
My kids are lucky to have great teachers who are really trying hard, but there is NO DOUBT that most kids, including mine, are missing out on important education. And that’s not even starting in on the profound stress and loss of income that having them home all day is putting on parents (I work from home and husband has to work out of home, so my work is suffering. Like many families, we aren’t rich enough to hire help and are just doing our best with it all).
OP, parents are angry that kids are at the bottom of the priorities list and that our society has been making choices that lead to the current situation. I wouldn’t ask a teacher to work in a school with the current metrics. But we didn't have to be here.

I don't usually wade into these endless arguments because it never changes minds, but why do you think that closing the bars/casinos etc. wouldn't impact kids? Don't you realize that the workers in those places have kids that need shelter and food (which is more important than education, which is happening, although not as effectively). I'm not arguing whether we should close or open the bars/casinos/restaurants or schools, even, but I just don't get why people think that closing people's jobs is automatically better for kids. Better for your YOUR kid, maybe, but certainly not all of them, and certainly not all the poor kids that the wealthy DCUMers want us to believe is the real source of their frustration about closed schools. I mean, are you guys so eager to open schools, and close down jobs that you are willing to pay higher taxes to make sure everyone receives enough financial support? Because right now the homelessness crisis is increasing by a huge magnitude and it's only going to get worse when evictions start happening again en masse, as the evictions stopped but the rent obligation has not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent here.
I don't want schools open right now, for the obvious reasons you stated.
But it is beyond dumb to shut down schools while keeping bars and casinos open. It’s just near-sighted greed.
My kids are lucky to have great teachers who are really trying hard, but there is NO DOUBT that most kids, including mine, are missing out on important education. And that’s not even starting in on the profound stress and loss of income that having them home all day is putting on parents (I work from home and husband has to work out of home, so my work is suffering. Like many families, we aren’t rich enough to hire help and are just doing our best with it all).
OP, parents are angry that kids are at the bottom of the priorities list and that our society has been making choices that lead to the current situation. I wouldn’t ask a teacher to work in a school with the current metrics. But we didn't have to be here.

I don’t think that conflicts with anything the OP is saying?

OP is wondering how parents could have wanted this at all this year. Parents are saying it could have been handled in a way that kids were given priority over bars. Our Federal government failed us. Bigly. Imagine if grocery stores had been closed all this time.

[Anonymous]

Because virtual learning is ineffective.
Because the mental health of isolation.
Because schools are a controlled environment and are not the cause of spread. Unmasked gatherings are causing the spread.
Because we are going to ruin the economy and people will suffer.