Reply to Is there any evidence that a teacher has died from COVID that was transmitted from a student?

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "Is there any evidence that a teacher has died from COVID that was transmitted from a student?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why is it necessary to prove they got it from  student? I don't Iike what you are implying- that there's no risk here. Putting hundreds of people in a building IS A RISK.  Period.

Kids are asymptomatic quite often as are many adults.  No one's testing,  no one's contact tracing.  Teachers definitely will be at risk. So will students.  So will the community.  [/quote]

So the question becomes what is that risk?  What is the risk of becoming seriously ill as a result of attending school?  What is the risk of death?  What are the risks of continuing with DL indefinitely for all students? How will we, as a society, pick up the pieces after the pandemic is over? Where will the funding come from to address the issues created through continue exclusion from school buildings? What harms are some children suffering?

Public policy decision are not made based on individual risks. Every action has consequences and associated cost, and policy is made by evaluating risks, rewards, and cost and determining what course is best. There is room for disagreement in any policy decision, and that is absolutely true in the debate surrounding return to in-person school. Some of the more individual concerns about risk can be addressed through ADA accommodations on the staff side and the continued availability of DL on the student/family side. Beyond that, there is a considerable downside to continued closures, including the fact that many students are receiving an in person education, some children whose families prefer DL for safety reasons are not receiving the education they should, many teachers hate in person learning, and the fact that all experts agree that in person learning model is best for most students. It works great for some, not so much for others. From a social and community standpoint, it is less than idea. Public policy is about what is best for the public at large. Overall, are we as a society better off with all children excluded from school buildings or, on balance, do the benefits associated with in person school, which may include social benefits by eliminating isolation, benefits conferred through school attendance during the day, observation of child heath (physical and mental) by adults at school, or any of the other reasons why have in person public school in the first place. A lost year of education is more than just a lost year; the cost might be a year of exclusion from the workforce.  Children from families at all income levels suffer when their parents experience job insecurity, mental health issues, and stress from the pandemic. If continued DL remains an option, the fact that DL works well for some families should not negate the negative consequences for other families.

At some point, the costs of these closures must be considered. School buildings cannot remain closed for years.[/quote]

I don't know why the conversation is all about risks to individual teachers and not about the risk to a generation of kids. We're mostly parents here. Why are we not more concerned with accumulating harm to children? Is it because the kids who are suffering the most aren't ours?[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics