Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of countries are already planning (some already announced) to start the school year early to make up for the loss instruction. Our stats have improved tremendously, and every day it improves more. I believe schools will open by if they don't, whoever makes that decision will not get my vote in the next election.

Are the stats truly improving?

The MOCO corona stats dashboard is updated every day and yes they are "truly improving" almost every day. And if not a day an improvement-a day of stability. It's been like that for over a month at the least.

Maryland Heath gov is also updated daily with graphics so improvement is easy to see at state level. Improvement has been on going since peak of hospitalizations in April

I’m not sure how someone would say they are not truly improving in MD.

Virginia / NOVA also right trends on their dashboard but they had a Slight lag behind MD. Same with DC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The median age for teachers in the US is around 40. 40% of Americans have at least one risk factor. Oh and don’t forget the staff and administrators. That’s a lot of people to take out of the pool and expect the schools to somehow function at full capacity. The death rate for people 50-64 is 2.9 % which is an unacceptable number of deaths. Also keep in mind that this is a NEW virus so what you think you know about it may not prove to be true. Information can and will change so it is best to make cautious decisions as we move forward.

There needs to be more justification than "it's best to be cautious" to keep schools closed next fall.

If we're concerned about community spread, and we believe that schools are a priority, then we need to focus on limiting community spread so that schools can open.

If we don't believe that schools are a priority, then we just decide right off the bat that it's not possible for schools to open.

You're exactly right, PP, and I'm afraid your second scenario is what's happening. By all means, reopen indoor dining and retail or society will crumble, but keep the schools closed, it would take too many sacrifices elsewhere to open them. I'm so depressed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of countries are already planning (some already announced) to start the school year early to make up for the loss instruction. Our stats have improved tremendously, and every day it improves more. I believe schools will open by if they don't, whoever makes that decision will not get my vote in the next election.

Are the stats truly improving?

The MOCO corona stats dashboard is updated every day and yes they are "truly improving" almost every day. And if not a day an improvement-a day of stability. It's been like that for over a month at the least.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers who are high risk should be accommodated. Everyone else should be willing to get back in the classroom or get a different profession.

The definition of high risk is shifting. The CDC just expanded it to include those with a BMI of 30. That must encompass at least 50% of the MCPS teachers based on the argument than half of Americans are obese.

And pregnancy. Looks like I’ll have a baby next year, after all.

Schools can't open because there's a pandemic, but a pandemic is a great time to have a baby!

Wait, what?

Let them. All I can say is enjoy paying through the nose for a nanny and being trapped at home with a newborn for the next 18 months.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of countries are already planning (some already announced) to start the school year early to make up for the loss instruction. Our stats have improved tremendously, and every day it improves more. I believe schools will open by if they don't, whoever makes that decision will not get my vote in the next election.

Are the stats truly improving?

Just as soon as the state mandate to shut down happened I saw people in our community hosting driveway parties, neighbors hanging out in each other's living rooms, extended family meals together soccer teams sneaking in practices on the fields and even one ding bat throwing an impromptu concert on the street.

Those idiots who chose to thumb their noses at the measures to stop the virus spread are who you can thank for the mess we find ourselves in today.

Virus can not spread without a host. The anti science, anti mask people have taken from you your children's education, have damaged your economy for years and , should we fully shut down again, your liberties.

Those people should be shunned, though I can think of more extreme repercussions I wish we could see.

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Anonymous wrote:

Yes teachers are just like doctors what with all the respect, support and money they get from society. Everyone wants someone else to make the sacrifice for them, but god forbid Larla has to be sad and her parents have to sacrifice for her.

I'd say teachers get more respect and money than supermarket workers. And yet the latter are doing their jobs despite some risk.

Retail workers, home health care aides, other medical workers who aren't doctors, bus drivers, delivery people, construction workers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, food manufacturing workers, building services workers, mail carriers...

And it's not about Larla's sadness, or at least not only about Larla's sadness (though mental health is also a public-health factor, just like covid). It's about Larla's education.

So you think that teachers should be treated like delivery people, truck drivers, or warehouse workers? None of those jobs require prolonged exposure to other people in a small enclosed space, day after day. None of those jobs require them to literally touch other people's bodily fluids, except home health aides. They also don't require any formal education at all. I'm sorry, I didn't work my way through undergrad and graduate school to be fold sweaters or stock shelves in a supermarket. Forgive all our student loans and just throw us in the building with the kids and I'll keep them alive, then. They can watch movies, color, whatever they want. Either I'm a babysitter or I'm an educator. I'm not both.

DP (and the one who said that other essential workers haven’t complained this way):

-There are many, many essential workers who absolutely are in small enclosed spaces with *other adults* (aka the ones most likely to spread COVID) all day
-Stop looking down on people who have less education than you
-You can’t teach people while providing care? Really? Inherent in the job of teaching children, especially young ones, is providing oversight. Is the issue that you think you’re better than a “babysitter”?
-I really hope you can develop more appreciation for the emotional work of teaching. Part of the reason I respect (some) teachers so highly is because they get how important their role is. They don’t haughtily describe themselves as “educators” only and ignore the very real emotional care they provide to children

And I only respect some parents. Some of them just can’t be bothered to do any work at all with their children (the majority of my class) and are angry that they’ve lost their free full time care. I don’t think they’re doing their job supporting the emotional or educational needs of their children, which is an enormous personal failure on their part. We absolutely will not be pushed back to the classroom under unsafe conditions. We’ve worked hard for our rights and we aren’t going to sacrifice them to make your life easier.
You assume that you can tell me that you don’t respect me, and then turn around and say that I don’t value other people’s work. You don’t see the irony there? Good luck treating teachers like they owe you a place to deposit your child 5 days a week during a pandemic. They don’t.

Not a teacher and I totally agree. I think the same people on here and on FB who bitch and moan about schools JUST HAVE to be open have the financial privilege and job security to keep their kids home but they just don't want bothered.

Seems pretty entitled on the part of a teacher to expect the parents to do a good part of their job, which is what it amounts to when you deal with young elementary students. The "virtual" teacher is pretty much useless, and what I am doing is homeschooling. And frankly, that's what I'll likely do if we have DL.

Yup, I’m expected to continue to perform all of my duties and responsibilities while working at home. I can’t tell someone else to pick up the slack.

That's what parenting is. You want a teacher to risk their life or the life of their family member so you can get your work done? What on earth is wrong with you people? Also keep in mind that teenagers are more like adults in their ability to catch and spread the illness so all the high school teachers are dealing with a different situation. Can't we just band together, do our best and thank our lucky effing stars that kids dont' seem to be dying of this?

DP. No, parenting does not require a willingness to homeschool, which doesn't work for most parents or kids. That's why we have public schools. Yes, I expect teachers to do their jobs, not primarily for my sake but for my kids' sake, for whom DL is a pale substitute to actual school. Unless, of course, the teachers are actually at high risk, in which case they should be offered the option to teach DL to those kids who are also high-risk, or whose parents have other reasons not to send them back. Or they should get retirement incentives, career change support, etc. But to expect that they should keep receiving the same benefits while parents serve as their substitutes or assistants is just entitled. It was fine for a few months while everyone was dumbfounded by an unexpected pandemic, but it is not fine for potentially another year or years. What on earth is wrong with you people thinking we could keep kids out of school for this long?

Parenting DOES require you to oftentimes experience trials or discomfort to assist them. That's the WHOLE job. No one doesn't expect teachers to do their jobs I just don't expect them to die for their jobs. Not wanting to die teaching is NOT entitled. Wanting people to potentially experience a life altering illness or die so your child doesn't miss one year of school is entitled - super entitled. Life is long, kids are adaptable (except for your little darlings apparently) if they need to repeat a year then they repeat a year. You get to have them home for another year before they go to college and save for another year. This is a global pandemic. If we don't get this right people, thousands will literally die. What on earth is wrong with you people thinking that your child's education is more important than someone else's life? Where is your soul?

You are trying to personalize this, and twist the call to re-open schools into the moral failure of the suburban moms on DCUM. But the issue is much bigger than this. We are not just talking about the loss of education for mine or some other poster’s kid, but for tens of millions across the country. It is a question both of public health and of bioethics. How many lives would we need to save in order to justify depriving millions of kids of their education for a year? How many lives saved would justify the harms inflicted on so many kids, as well as on their families’ livelihoods? I don’t think your cavalier dismissal that those harms even exist or that they don’t matter in the face of even a single death is going to be taken seriously by any expert in the field. There are no easy answers, but trying to brand the parents who question the justifications and wisdom of widespread and indefinite school closures as morally deficient is definitely not helpful to any serious discussion of this complex issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes teachers are just like doctors what with all the respect, support and money they get from society. Everyone wants someone else to make the sacrifice for them, but god forbid Larla has to be sad and her parents have to sacrifice for her.

I'd say teachers get more respect and money than supermarket workers. And yet the latter are doing their jobs despite some risk.

Retail workers, home health care aides, other medical workers who aren't doctors, bus drivers, delivery people, construction workers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, food manufacturing workers, building services workers, mail carriers...

And it's not about Larla's sadness, or at least not only about Larla's sadness (though mental health is also a public-health factor, just like covid). It's about Larla's education.

So you think that teachers should be treated like delivery people, truck drivers, or warehouse workers? None of those jobs require prolonged exposure to other people in a small enclosed space, day after day. None of those jobs require them to literally touch other people's bodily fluids, except home health aides. They also don't require any formal education at all. I'm sorry, I didn't work my way through undergrad and graduate school to be fold sweaters or stock shelves in a supermarket. Forgive all our student loans and just throw us in the building with the kids and I'll keep them alive, then. They can watch movies, color, whatever they want. Either I'm a babysitter or I'm an educator. I'm not both.

DP (and the one who said that other essential workers haven’t complained this way):

-There are many, many essential workers who absolutely are in small enclosed spaces with *other adults* (aka the ones most likely to spread COVID) all day
-Stop looking down on people who have less education than you
-You can’t teach people while providing care? Really? Inherent in the job of teaching children, especially young ones, is providing oversight. Is the issue that you think you’re better than a “babysitter”?
-I really hope you can develop more appreciation for the emotional work of teaching. Part of the reason I respect (some) teachers so highly is because they get how important their role is. They don’t haughtily describe themselves as “educators” only and ignore the very real emotional care they provide to children

And I only respect some parents. Some of them just can’t be bothered to do any work at all with their children (the majority of my class) and are angry that they’ve lost their free full time care. I don’t think they’re doing their job supporting the emotional or educational needs of their children, which is an enormous personal failure on their part. We absolutely will not be pushed back to the classroom under unsafe conditions. We’ve worked hard for our rights and we aren’t going to sacrifice them to make your life easier.
You assume that you can tell me that you don’t respect me, and then turn around and say that I don’t value other people’s work. You don’t see the irony there? Good luck treating teachers like they owe you a place to deposit your child 5 days a week during a pandemic. They don’t.

Not a teacher and I totally agree. I think the same people on here and on FB who bitch and moan about schools JUST HAVE to be open have the financial privilege and job security to keep their kids home but they just don't want bothered.

Seems pretty entitled on the part of a teacher to expect the parents to do a good part of their job, which is what it amounts to when you deal with young elementary students. The "virtual" teacher is pretty much useless, and what I am doing is homeschooling. And frankly, that's what I'll likely do if we have DL.

Yup, I’m expected to continue to perform all of my duties and responsibilities while working at home. I can’t tell someone else to pick up the slack.

That's what parenting is. You want a teacher to risk their life or the life of their family member so you can get your work done? What on earth is wrong with you people? Also keep in mind that teenagers are more like adults in their ability to catch and spread the illness so all the high school teachers are dealing with a different situation. Can't we just band together, do our best and thank our lucky effing stars that kids dont' seem to be dying of this?

Sure, if teachers are willing to take a pay cut and divert that lost salary to increase resources to reach the truly vulnerable kids in this scenario. Increase mental health resources, crisis teams, technology access for kids who don’t have it, etc. Also, some kids who can’t go back to school WILL die, just not of COVID.

There are more serious problems in our society than education if your child (or anyone's child) will DIE because they can't go to school. That idea just blows my mind. There are some serious issues that need to be dealt with that have nothing to do with a virus. I for one would have to be dependent on the schools to keep my kids alive. Parents need to be responsible for keeping their kids alive. That basic premise is gone??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers who are high risk should be accommodated. Everyone else should be willing to get back in the classroom or get a different profession.

The definition of high risk is shifting. The CDC just expanded it to include those with a BMI of 30. That must encompass at least 50% of the MCPS teachers based on the argument than half of Americans are obese.

And pregnancy. Looks like I’ll have a baby next year, after all.

Schools can't open because there's a pandemic, but a pandemic is a great time to have a baby!

Wait, what?

Anonymous wrote:The median age for teachers in the US is around 40. 40% of Americans have at least one risk factor. Oh and don’t forget the staff and administrators. That’s a lot of people to take out of the pool and expect the schools to somehow function at full capacity. The death rate for people 50-64 is 2.9 % which is an unacceptable number of deaths. Also keep in mind that this is a NEW virus so what you think you know about it may not prove to be true. Information can and will change so it is best to make cautious decisions as we move forward.

There needs to be more justification than "it's best to be cautious" to keep schools closed next fall.

If we're concerned about community spread, and we believe that schools are a priority, then we need to focus on limiting community spread so that schools can open.

If we don't believe that schools are a priority, then we just decide right off the bat that it's not possible for schools to open.

Anonymous wrote:The median age for teachers in the US is around 40. 40% of Americans have at least one risk factor. Oh and don’t forget the staff and administrators. That’s a lot of people to take out of the pool and expect the schools to somehow function at full capacity. The death rate for people 50-64 is 2.9 % which is an unacceptable number of deaths. Also keep in mind that this is a NEW virus so what you think you know about it may not prove to be true. Information can and will change so it is best to make cautious decisions as we move forward.

Do you have a source for that fatality rate? I am assuming it is a case fatality rate and not an infection fatality rate?

The median age for teachers in the US is around 40. 40% of Americans have at least one risk factor. Oh and don’t forget the staff and administrators. That’s a lot of people to take out of the pool and expect the schools to somehow function at full capacity. The death rate for people 50-64 is 2.9 % which is an unacceptable number of deaths. Also keep in mind that this is a NEW virus so what you think you know about it may not prove to be true. Information can and will change so it is best to make cautious decisions as we move forward.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Parenting DOES require you to oftentimes experience trials or discomfort to assist them. That's the WHOLE job. No one doesn't expect teachers to do their jobs I just don't expect them to die for their jobs. Not wanting to die teaching is NOT entitled. Wanting people to potentially experience a life altering illness or die so your child doesn't miss one year of school is entitled - super entitled. Life is long, kids are adaptable (except for your little darlings apparently) if they need to repeat a year then they repeat a year. You get to have them home for another year before they go to college and save for another year. This is a global pandemic. If we don't get this right people, thousands will literally die. What on earth is wrong with you people thinking that your child's education is more important than someone else's life? Where is your soul?

"Kids are adaptable" is what we tell ourselves to assuage our consciences because we know that closed schools harm kids.

Also, re deaths. According to the CDC, from February 1 to June 13, covid was fatal to 83,426 people 65 or older, and 2,620 deaths to people 44 or younger.

So: MCPS should allow teachers 65 or older to stay out of the classroom.

Teachers 65 or older can get full pension. So do teachers in their 50’s with more than 30 years who continue to “teach” as they have cushy jobs with a lot of flexibility. They need to retire and the positions cut.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers who are high risk should be accommodated. Everyone else should be willing to get back in the classroom or get a different profession.

The definition of high risk is shifting. The CDC just expanded it to include those with a BMI of 30. That must encompass at least 50% of the MCPS teachers based on the argument than half of Americans are obese.

And pregnancy. Looks like I’ll have a baby next year, after all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers who are high risk should be accommodated. Everyone else should be willing to get back in the classroom or get a different profession.

The definition of high risk is shifting. The CDC just expanded it to include those with a BMI of 30. That must encompass at least 50% of the MCPS teachers based on the argument than half of Americans are obese.

"In Maryland, 28.3% of adults are considered obese. "

https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/ccdpc/healthy-lifestyles/Pages/obesity.aspx