Reply to PETITION: MCPS Board of Eduction - Keep Schools Open for In-Person Learning!

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Reply to "PETITION: MCPS Board of Eduction - Keep Schools Open for In-Person Learning!"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A couple of issues with this CHOP paper:

- 2.) emphasizes staying home with respiratory illness, which not all families will do
- 6.) encourages boosters and vaccinations, which is great, but not all kids are currently protected by these, either because they are late/didn't get them or are 12-15 and got them early; this warrants flexibility while they get things in order
- many of the recommendations are sensible but not being followed by school systems (though most are in DC) - masks being required, for example

Is this the only guidance like this? Are others joining CHOP?

Also, remember, this is population guidance, and for that it is sound. Individuals do have different needs and may need or want to make different choices.

[/quote]

This essay from a Harvard professor of medicine and epidemiology really captures a lot of my feelings on this issue. I echo her sentiment that voices of color are not represented as they should be in this discussion.

https://prospect.org/education/folly-of-school-openings-as-zero-sum-game-coronavirus/[/quote]

I don't disagree with what she says.  Unfortunately, it seems to follow the same either/or structure she decries: White vs. minority families.  Minority families are not a monolith, but that essay implies that they are.  I know plenty of "white influencers" who demand virtual education in the name of minority children.  That's not okay, either.

What's missing all around is a discussion of ALL the issues and trade-offs.  Are there potential benefits to virtual instruction?  Absolutely!  But those benefits come with drawbacks, and frankly, too many proponents of virtual instruction seem unwilling to consider those.  And at this point, we're so far gone into stress and chaos that it's hard to maintain an open mind.  It's hard for me to listen honestly to people who yelled things like "school isn't childcare!" and "you just want teachers to die!"

I get that we still need to consider adults in this equation.  Frankly, though, they've had their needs tended to far more than children have thus far in the pandemic and knowing as much as we do, scientifically, about the impact of chronic stress on kids, it's unconscionable to keep moving forward as we have been in the past.  [/quote]

+ 1000[/quote]

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