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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]Jeff/Admin: Can you explain why posts in this thread keep getting deleted if they mention APE?[/quote]

There is a post directly above yours that mentions APE that did not get deleted. Posts are getting deleted for that reason. They are getting deleted for making false statements.[/quote]

This group, which a SB candidate led for years, was an open schools group in Arlington. They were abusive online and in school board meetings. Some of their most aggressive, vocal members were anti-maskers, anti-CRT, pro-voucher. They were aligned with open schools groups out in FCPS and LCPS. Including Ian Prior, PDE (Koch bro), etc. [/quote]

I really hope the normal lurkers on this page are not buying these defamatory lies. Literally none of this true. It'd be laughable if we we're living in an era of mis-information and conspiracy theory uptake. Please do your own research and look into this group, read their newsletters, and explore their website. I know some of them personally and they are all very active in their school communities and closely aligned with many APS teachers. There are a few deranged trolls on this page (likely the same people making the same outlandish claims on AEM) that are obsessed and continue to spread lies. They make accusation with no evidence or links. They associate people who have long been kicked out of APE if they went against their values and mission as being "leaders." It's disturbing. [/quote]

No,PP, they are true. I'm involved in school issues, know MT, know APE. I can respect different views and I respect her for some of her advocacy. But APE was unhinged for a while, and MT didn't see that forest for the trees until later. Their level of anger and personal attacks turned off people like me who were open to their original advocacy. [/quote]

I will never forget the hostility and abuse they showed to teachers. [/quote]

And administrators and parents.

It’s shocking that they have the audacity to move forward without some massive apology to the community. Are they hoping that we all just forgot? 
[/quote]

I don't think they are hoping. More like gaslighting. [/quote]

This former APS teacher remembers it like it was:

At first, when schools moved to online instruction in the spring of 2020 and parents saw firsthand the hardships teachers were enduring, plaudits poured in for the educators showing remarkable commitment to their profession in a difficult situation they had never trained for. Virtual teaching took much more time to prepare, execute and evaluate. And because students were often not required to turn on their cameras, it was a lot like teaching into a void. But as time crawled on and schools remained closed to in-person instruction, parents became critical, even angry. The hostility parents leveled against teachers was astonishing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/03/08/teachers-woes-vulnerable-profession-robbins/?fbclid=IwAR09zWPxOvQ7ARNI88LVb53WxRdEE-8OSZNjn02BRB4rxJ5N_3psAqdN2Ts[/quote]

Are you a secondary teacher?  Because elementary school in APS wasn't anything like this in spring of 2020.  For K-2, APS prohibited any teaching whatsoever, so my child didn't see her teacher after the schools closed and didn't get any work from her.  For 3-5, no new instruction was permitted, so my older child's teacher sent repetitive worksheets every day (she was great, this was not her fault) and had once weekly video check ins.  I didn't and don't blame the teachers for this; these were APS decisions.  But for elementary parents, we were very much on our own and we saw our kids suffer from the complete lack of instruction and limited engagement from their teachers.  I'm not a member of APE or any other group.  But I think it's important to remember the context to understand how disappointed and concerned parents were when APS decided in the summer of 2020 to keep schools closed.[/quote]

Are you saying the context justified the hostility the parents in the OPEN SCHOOLS NOW group showed to teachers (and others too)? I cannot agree with that. [/quote]

Bad behavior is bad behavior all around and should not be considered acceptable. However, let's also not forget the, "Open Coffins Now" teachers that did their own protests mock coffins included![/quote]

I don't ever remember teachers attacking parents. That is the difference. [/quote]

You don't remember the open coffins?  You don't remember accusations here and on AEM that parents just wanted babysitters?  You don't remember the incessant gaslighting that kids were resilient and if they weren't it was their parents fault?  There was even a teacher or staff member with a phony name on AEM who was vicious to parents. The vast majority of teachers did not engage in those actions, but there were a few who did.  To be clear, we had great teachers. They showed up every day that hard virtual year with nothing but enthusiasm, often while their own kids were at home. I understood only a smidge of what they had to do to show up like that every day in a zoom room. I was disappointed in APS and lack of leadership from our school board and county board to not work together more on real solutions. But was never disappointed in my kids' teachers. [/quote]

Yes I remember all of this and it made me so sad to see that these were educators on AEM posting these things. I kept thinking, these are APS teachers expressing themselves like this in a forum (any forum)?  I am glad some of the APE craziest were kicked out of the group, do not condone a lot of the rhetoric on both sides but for me APS took a way bigger hit in the past three years. Hope to have Miranda on the SB soon![/quote]

PP. Want to be clear again that it was very few teachers but wanted to respond to an earlier person who said they didn't remember teachers attacking parents.  Emotions ran high that year and some people did not pass the test.  Sadly that included a few teachers even though most were the glue for our virtual lives. I don't hold grudges against anyone because teachers were scared and families were watching their kids suffer in lots of ways. So glad those days are behind us. [/quote]
This exactly. I was afraid to go back into the classroom before a vaccine but also found some of my colleagues were being inappropriate. It was happening all around but it’s (mostly) over now. I didn’t like APE And Miranda at first but I feel like they are doing good advocacy now for smaller classes and higher pay. I’ll support Miranda this time. [/quote]

I wish you would say this in AEM under your true name. I don't trust anyone anonymous to represent themselves truthfully.[/quote]
I do not go on AEM[/quote]

Anyone can say that they’re a teacher here. So don’t be surprised if no one believes you.[/quote]

+1000 it's very easy to pretend you're a teacher. I don't personally know any teachers who would support anyone in APE. [/quote]
There are several APS teachers in the APE group, including some who comment in a positive way to some things. [/quote]

sure, sure there are. [/quote]

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