Anonymous wrote:It isn’t as simple a decision as many are making it seem. While most of you are the lucky ones with “typical” children that you want back in school, MCPS serves every child and has a number of programs serving special education students who are some of our most vulnerable. I work in a program where 6 of our students are not able to bathroom themselves- the staff changes them 2-3 times a day at minimum. 2 have feeding tubes. 5 drool. 0 are able to cover their sneezes/coughs. While a few families will make the difficult decision to keep their child home, because Covid may be devastating for them if contracted, others will choose to send their child if school re-opens. The staff working with this population faces a much different situation than a typical classroom. The county has to think about many more individuals than those that are low risk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If schools open without very strict protocols, adults working in the buildings will be FAR MORE EXPOSED than you or the average working adult, OP. Teachers in the NY public school system died because schools closed too late.

Shame on you. If you are so moronic as to misunderstand the level of risk involved, don't whine about "being so tired".
Everyone is tired of this pandemic!

Accept that some adults have been more exposed than you, or will be more exposed than you, and that a pandemic involves caring for others and making sure they're as safe as they can be. A novel concept for you, it seems.

You guys really come on here and say anything...

Average working adult jobs with just as much exposure as school employees:

Me- medical field (have not stopped working)
Grocery store
Retail
Combination (target/Walmart)
Gas station employee
Fast food industry (drive thru window)
Law enforcement/ public safety
bus drivers

See? Took 2 minutes just for those.

Op here. This is my point. But yet somehow, those who work in schools are "special" and need to be catered to. I just don't get it.

Teachers are not special which is why some of them will die of COVID contracted on the job, just like all the careers listed above.

The problem isn’t that teachers think they are more at risk than bus drivers or grocery clerks. The problem is that the public thinks they are LESS at risk. The grocery workers threatened to strike and got masks from their employees. The bus drivers threatened to strike and got cleaning supplies and reduced occupancy. That is similar to what teachers are asking, but no one has guaranteed it yet. So teachers might need to strike.

We probably will. The suggestions that are being thrown around seem to totally disregard any labor protections for teachers. Lunch in the classroom? No mixing of adults and students? Yeah, guess I’ll just work under hazardous conditions all day without a break or the contractually stipulated planning time I need to get my job done. Anything to serve all those ungrateful parents!

Anonymous wrote:

I quit my teaching job due to one of my children’s needs. We had to move and downsize to live as a family of 5 on less than 100k. 3 kids, 2 need one on one help with online learning, one has many, many therapy zooms a week to try to replace what is on his IEP. Only my middle schooler can do online learning without much help. So, no, this is not an easy situation for me. However, I cannot in good conscience send my IEP kid into a classroom with 6 adults when I know he cannot wear a mask. Many days this past winter, adults were out of his classroom sick, even his gen ed teacher was out sick several times. This fall with COVID would be much worse. Dual income families will have tough decisions to make, but teachers aren’t babysitters... so if you’re wanting to send kids to school just so you can work, you should probably start looking into other childcare options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t as simple a decision as many are making it seem. While most of you are the lucky ones with “typical” children that you want back in school, MCPS serves every child and has a number of programs serving special education students who are some of our most vulnerable. I work in a program where 6 of our students are not able to bathroom themselves- the staff changes them 2-3 times a day at minimum. 2 have feeding tubes. 5 drool. 0 are able to cover their sneezes/coughs. While a few families will make the difficult decision to keep their child home, because Covid may be devastating for them if contracted, others will choose to send their child if school re-opens. The staff working with this population faces a much different situation than a typical classroom. The county has to think about many more individuals than those that are low risk.

Interesting that the hospital workers who deal with this situation are still working huh? And the kids they come in contact with are also ACTUALLY sick-not merely have the potential to be.

But as it's been proven on multiple comments-teachers/other school staff don't believe they should have to be exposed to ANY risk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t as simple a decision as many are making it seem. While most of you are the lucky ones with “typical” children that you want back in school, MCPS serves every child and has a number of programs serving special education students who are some of our most vulnerable. I work in a program where 6 of our students are not able to bathroom themselves- the staff changes them 2-3 times a day at minimum. 2 have feeding tubes. 5 drool. 0 are able to cover their sneezes/coughs. While a few families will make the difficult decision to keep their child home, because Covid may be devastating for them if contracted, others will choose to send their child if school re-opens. The staff working with this population faces a much different situation than a typical classroom. The county has to think about many more individuals than those that are low risk.

Interesting that the hospital workers who deal with this situation are still working huh? And the kids they come in contact with are also ACTUALLY sick-not merely have the potential to be.

But as it's been proven on multiple comments-teachers/other school staff don't believe they should have to be exposed to ANY risk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what happens when teachers get sick and there aren’t enough subs? Those of you ‘comparing’ your exposure at your jobs - you have people hugging/touching/coughing/sneezing on you all day? Teachers do. When I was teaching, as a specialist I saw hundreds of kids a week. I had to touch their instruments some of them were licking during class. As a parent, I 100% support online learning this upcoming year to keep everyone safe. Too many parents knowingly send their kids to school sick with zero regard for other kids & teachers.

Must be nice that you can stay at home and 100% help your kids with their online schoolwork.

So you have no job?

Older kids that can do it themselves?

You do realize that your personal situation is not everyone's situation right?

A young elementary school student needs 100% support for online learning. So while you enjoy your priviledge, some of us our losing our jobs, houses, cars and everything we have worked for. But hey, at least we are preventing the school staff from being at even the slightest risk for COVID-that sure is relief.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a big part of the complaints is that teaching attracts a certain personality type--someone who loves human interaction and thrives on relationships but is comfortable doing essentially the same thing for their entire career. Teachers inherently aren't risk takers and haven't sought out a career where they are expected to make big leaps in their skills, but more of a slow evolution as they acquire new methods via continuing learning.

Those of us in corporate America are routinely told to adapt or make way for the next generation. We're expected to take on new positions and learn on the job. We have significant career risk, not job security with a union and a pension. Those in many essential fields, e.g., healthcare or law enforcement, proactively sought out fast paced fields where they would have to adapt on the fly and take on risk.

The best example I have is that our corporation rolled out Microsoft Teams the day we shut down--Friday, March 13--with zero advanced warning. By Monday, every single person was using Teams with very few snags. It was seamless. By contrast, APS also rolled out Microsoft Teams in March. In mid-April I was still getting messages from teachers about needing training courses and how hard it is to use. They still had issues signing on and finding the mute button. My first grader was giving her teacher instruction on how to share her screen well into May. (No comment on teaching--purely her ability to use basic software.)

Teacher's complaints are largely that they are unreasonably being asked to do something they haven't been trained to do and to take on risk that they fundamentally aren't used to taking. Those of us in other fields find it ridiculous as we are asked to do these types of things every day, including during this pandemic.

To this poster, it is beyond obvious that you have little to no knowledge about the teaching profession beyond your individual experiences with your child's teachers and assumptions about teachers as a whole. Yes, most teachers enter teaching because they enjoy human interaction and building relationships. Yes, teachers do have a union and job security. However, to imply that people in the teaching profession are not used to fast changes and just want to do the same thing the entirety of their career is wildly ignorant.

In corporate America, you are routinely told to adapt and make way for the new generation. The exact same thing happens in education, at a national level, state level, district level, school level, and for individual teachers. There are so many of examples of this, but I will just name a few:

-New laws being rolled out for the documentation of special education accommodations at the last minute, calling for special education teachers to learn a whole new process within days and update paperwork for their huge caseload of students quickly.

-Being told one week before school starts that your schedule has changed, and you will be teaching a course you've never taught before this year, on top of your 3 other subjects. Many teachers spend the summer making updates and modifications to their previous lessons to make them better. Sure, some don't, but many do. Then, they are given a brand new class to teach and a week to prepare. Parents on DCUM are so eager to bash teachers' lessons, with very little understanding of the time that goes into creating even a lesson for one day that is differentiated, engaging, and purposeful. Many teachers who are given a new class last minute act swiftly and work hours into the night to make sure that they are providing strong lessons each day, despite having to make this change last minute.

-New curriculum being rolled out throughout the school year. Again, teachers have to quickly adapt as they are sent new topics and lessons (oftentimes poorly written by the source and requiring lots of upgrades--which teachers WANT to make for their students). They are not just able to "do what they've done their entire career."

-New students added to your classroom without notice, and some have accommodations that require an enormous amount of time to meet. These might include enlarging the text on every document, then reformatting so that all of the graphs, word boxes, etc. look the same as they do on the original document, modifying the level of literacy present in the document for individual students, creating extra supports to help the student complete the work. All of this takes quick thinking and working on the fly, and many teachers do this without a complaint.

-Having new students each year brings in the challenge of being responsible for students with new health conditions, new learning needs, and new behavioral challenges. This requires learning a new set skills if a student, for example, starts having a seizure in the middle of your class. What is the behavioral plan for a specific student who becomes violent without being provoked? These expectations change every year, and sometimes multiple times throughout the year.

-Finally--introduction of new technology almost yearly. In the last few years, MCPS has used EdLine, Google Classroom, MyMCPS, and is now introducing a new platform, Synergy. Most teachers are able to adapt to this quickly, and do. Some teachers have less experience with technology and this is challenging and frustrating for them. Perhaps when they entered the profession 30 years ago they weren't thinking how they were excited to do the same thing every day for their whole career, but they just couldn't predict the huge increase in technology that they would be expected to use in the future, with minimal training, and lots of pressure from people mocking them for not understanding a technology that a child, who has grown up ONLY knowing this technology, can use with ease.

There are MANY more examples of this, and these are not meant to say teachers deserve an applause or pat on the back for doing this work. This is standard for the job and not considered going above and beyond. While people on this board like to say that teachers whine and demand special treatment, my experience has been the opposite. Of course, as in any profession, there are some individuals who are not well-suited for the job, some that are adequate, and some that are amazing. MOST teachers love their job, voice the challenges they face (just like people in any other profession), and just don't appreciate being taken advantage of and criticized for things that are perhaps out of their control. Most of the comments critizing teachers, like yours, show a lack of knowledge about the profession itself and what it entails. Teaching is not a slow evolution in the least and requires more quick adaptation than I think many people realize.

The hyperbole here is astounding. I have no doubt that teaching is tough and that there are many unreasonable demands, but this post is over the top. Teacher are used to adapting and working in a fast paced environment because a kid might have a seizure? Or because they receive a new schedule after the year has started? Or get a new student? Or have to enlarge text? This has done nothing to change my views.

Different person here, but the fact that you think this is hyperbole just supports the OP’s point. The post may be extremes, but it addresses your accusation about the teaching profession that is false. I can’t seem to notice throughout this board that non-teachers continue to act like they know so much about being a teacher. I don’t see teachers making broad generalizations of other professions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a big part of the complaints is that teaching attracts a certain personality type--someone who loves human interaction and thrives on relationships but is comfortable doing essentially the same thing for their entire career. Teachers inherently aren't risk takers and haven't sought out a career where they are expected to make big leaps in their skills, but more of a slow evolution as they acquire new methods via continuing learning.

Those of us in corporate America are routinely told to adapt or make way for the next generation. We're expected to take on new positions and learn on the job. We have significant career risk, not job security with a union and a pension. Those in many essential fields, e.g., healthcare or law enforcement, proactively sought out fast paced fields where they would have to adapt on the fly and take on risk.

The best example I have is that our corporation rolled out Microsoft Teams the day we shut down--Friday, March 13--with zero advanced warning. By Monday, every single person was using Teams with very few snags. It was seamless. By contrast, APS also rolled out Microsoft Teams in March. In mid-April I was still getting messages from teachers about needing training courses and how hard it is to use. They still had issues signing on and finding the mute button. My first grader was giving her teacher instruction on how to share her screen well into May. (No comment on teaching--purely her ability to use basic software.)

Teacher's complaints are largely that they are unreasonably being asked to do something they haven't been trained to do and to take on risk that they fundamentally aren't used to taking. Those of us in other fields find it ridiculous as we are asked to do these types of things every day, including during this pandemic.

To this poster, it is beyond obvious that you have little to no knowledge about the teaching profession beyond your individual experiences with your child's teachers and assumptions about teachers as a whole. Yes, most teachers enter teaching because they enjoy human interaction and building relationships. Yes, teachers do have a union and job security. However, to imply that people in the teaching profession are not used to fast changes and just want to do the same thing the entirety of their career is wildly ignorant.

In corporate America, you are routinely told to adapt and make way for the new generation. The exact same thing happens in education, at a national level, state level, district level, school level, and for individual teachers. There are so many of examples of this, but I will just name a few:

-New laws being rolled out for the documentation of special education accommodations at the last minute, calling for special education teachers to learn a whole new process within days and update paperwork for their huge caseload of students quickly.

-Being told one week before school starts that your schedule has changed, and you will be teaching a course you've never taught before this year, on top of your 3 other subjects. Many teachers spend the summer making updates and modifications to their previous lessons to make them better. Sure, some don't, but many do. Then, they are given a brand new class to teach and a week to prepare. Parents on DCUM are so eager to bash teachers' lessons, with very little understanding of the time that goes into creating even a lesson for one day that is differentiated, engaging, and purposeful. Many teachers who are given a new class last minute act swiftly and work hours into the night to make sure that they are providing strong lessons each day, despite having to make this change last minute.

-New curriculum being rolled out throughout the school year. Again, teachers have to quickly adapt as they are sent new topics and lessons (oftentimes poorly written by the source and requiring lots of upgrades--which teachers WANT to make for their students). They are not just able to "do what they've done their entire career."

-New students added to your classroom without notice, and some have accommodations that require an enormous amount of time to meet. These might include enlarging the text on every document, then reformatting so that all of the graphs, word boxes, etc. look the same as they do on the original document, modifying the level of literacy present in the document for individual students, creating extra supports to help the student complete the work. All of this takes quick thinking and working on the fly, and many teachers do this without a complaint.

-Having new students each year brings in the challenge of being responsible for students with new health conditions, new learning needs, and new behavioral challenges. This requires learning a new set skills if a student, for example, starts having a seizure in the middle of your class. What is the behavioral plan for a specific student who becomes violent without being provoked? These expectations change every year, and sometimes multiple times throughout the year.

-Finally--introduction of new technology almost yearly. In the last few years, MCPS has used EdLine, Google Classroom, MyMCPS, and is now introducing a new platform, Synergy. Most teachers are able to adapt to this quickly, and do. Some teachers have less experience with technology and this is challenging and frustrating for them. Perhaps when they entered the profession 30 years ago they weren't thinking how they were excited to do the same thing every day for their whole career, but they just couldn't predict the huge increase in technology that they would be expected to use in the future, with minimal training, and lots of pressure from people mocking them for not understanding a technology that a child, who has grown up ONLY knowing this technology, can use with ease.

There are MANY more examples of this, and these are not meant to say teachers deserve an applause or pat on the back for doing this work. This is standard for the job and not considered going above and beyond. While people on this board like to say that teachers whine and demand special treatment, my experience has been the opposite. Of course, as in any profession, there are some individuals who are not well-suited for the job, some that are adequate, and some that are amazing. MOST teachers love their job, voice the challenges they face (just like people in any other profession), and just don't appreciate being taken advantage of and criticized for things that are perhaps out of their control. Most of the comments critizing teachers, like yours, show a lack of knowledge about the profession itself and what it entails. Teaching is not a slow evolution in the least and requires more quick adaptation than I think many people realize.

The hyperbole here is astounding. I have no doubt that teaching is tough and that there are many unreasonable demands, but this post is over the top. Teacher are used to adapting and working in a fast paced environment because a kid might have a seizure? Or because they receive a new schedule after the year has started? Or get a new student? Or have to enlarge text? This has done nothing to change my views.

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t as simple a decision as many are making it seem. While most of you are the lucky ones with “typical” children that you want back in school, MCPS serves every child and has a number of programs serving special education students who are some of our most vulnerable. I work in a program where 6 of our students are not able to bathroom themselves- the staff changes them 2-3 times a day at minimum. 2 have feeding tubes. 5 drool. 0 are able to cover their sneezes/coughs. While a few families will make the difficult decision to keep their child home, because Covid may be devastating for them if contracted, others will choose to send their child if school re-opens. The staff working with this population faces a much different situation than a typical classroom. The county has to think about many more individuals than those that are low risk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a big part of the complaints is that teaching attracts a certain personality type--someone who loves human interaction and thrives on relationships but is comfortable doing essentially the same thing for their entire career. Teachers inherently aren't risk takers and haven't sought out a career where they are expected to make big leaps in their skills, but more of a slow evolution as they acquire new methods via continuing learning.

Those of us in corporate America are routinely told to adapt or make way for the next generation. We're expected to take on new positions and learn on the job. We have significant career risk, not job security with a union and a pension. Those in many essential fields, e.g., healthcare or law enforcement, proactively sought out fast paced fields where they would have to adapt on the fly and take on risk.

The best example I have is that our corporation rolled out Microsoft Teams the day we shut down--Friday, March 13--with zero advanced warning. By Monday, every single person was using Teams with very few snags. It was seamless. By contrast, APS also rolled out Microsoft Teams in March. In mid-April I was still getting messages from teachers about needing training courses and how hard it is to use. They still had issues signing on and finding the mute button. My first grader was giving her teacher instruction on how to share her screen well into May. (No comment on teaching--purely her ability to use basic software.)

Teacher's complaints are largely that they are unreasonably being asked to do something they haven't been trained to do and to take on risk that they fundamentally aren't used to taking. Those of us in other fields find it ridiculous as we are asked to do these types of things every day, including during this pandemic.

To this poster, it is beyond obvious that you have little to no knowledge about the teaching profession beyond your individual experiences with your child's teachers and assumptions about teachers as a whole. Yes, most teachers enter teaching because they enjoy human interaction and building relationships. Yes, teachers do have a union and job security. However, to imply that people in the teaching profession are not used to fast changes and just want to do the same thing the entirety of their career is wildly ignorant.

In corporate America, you are routinely told to adapt and make way for the new generation. The exact same thing happens in education, at a national level, state level, district level, school level, and for individual teachers. There are so many of examples of this, but I will just name a few:

-New laws being rolled out for the documentation of special education accommodations at the last minute, calling for special education teachers to learn a whole new process within days and update paperwork for their huge caseload of students quickly.

-Being told one week before school starts that your schedule has changed, and you will be teaching a course you've never taught before this year, on top of your 3 other subjects. Many teachers spend the summer making updates and modifications to their previous lessons to make them better. Sure, some don't, but many do. Then, they are given a brand new class to teach and a week to prepare. Parents on DCUM are so eager to bash teachers' lessons, with very little understanding of the time that goes into creating even a lesson for one day that is differentiated, engaging, and purposeful. Many teachers who are given a new class last minute act swiftly and work hours into the night to make sure that they are providing strong lessons each day, despite having to make this change last minute.

-New curriculum being rolled out throughout the school year. Again, teachers have to quickly adapt as they are sent new topics and lessons (oftentimes poorly written by the source and requiring lots of upgrades--which teachers WANT to make for their students). They are not just able to "do what they've done their entire career."

-New students added to your classroom without notice, and some have accommodations that require an enormous amount of time to meet. These might include enlarging the text on every document, then reformatting so that all of the graphs, word boxes, etc. look the same as they do on the original document, modifying the level of literacy present in the document for individual students, creating extra supports to help the student complete the work. All of this takes quick thinking and working on the fly, and many teachers do this without a complaint.

-Having new students each year brings in the challenge of being responsible for students with new health conditions, new learning needs, and new behavioral challenges. This requires learning a new set skills if a student, for example, starts having a seizure in the middle of your class. What is the behavioral plan for a specific student who becomes violent without being provoked? These expectations change every year, and sometimes multiple times throughout the year.

-Finally--introduction of new technology almost yearly. In the last few years, MCPS has used EdLine, Google Classroom, MyMCPS, and is now introducing a new platform, Synergy. Most teachers are able to adapt to this quickly, and do. Some teachers have less experience with technology and this is challenging and frustrating for them. Perhaps when they entered the profession 30 years ago they weren't thinking how they were excited to do the same thing every day for their whole career, but they just couldn't predict the huge increase in technology that they would be expected to use in the future, with minimal training, and lots of pressure from people mocking them for not understanding a technology that a child, who has grown up ONLY knowing this technology, can use with ease.

There are MANY more examples of this, and these are not meant to say teachers deserve an applause or pat on the back for doing this work. This is standard for the job and not considered going above and beyond. While people on this board like to say that teachers whine and demand special treatment, my experience has been the opposite. Of course, as in any profession, there are some individuals who are not well-suited for the job, some that are adequate, and some that are amazing. MOST teachers love their job, voice the challenges they face (just like people in any other profession), and just don't appreciate being taken advantage of and criticized for things that are perhaps out of their control. Most of the comments critizing teachers, like yours, show a lack of knowledge about the profession itself and what it entails. Teaching is not a slow evolution in the least and requires more quick adaptation than I think many people realize.

The hyperbole here is astounding. I have no doubt that teaching is tough and that there are many unreasonable demands, but this post is over the top. Teacher are used to adapting and working in a fast paced environment because a kid might have a seizure? Or because they receive a new schedule after the year has started? Or get a new student? Or have to enlarge text? This has done nothing to change my views.

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t as simple a decision as many are making it seem. While most of you are the lucky ones with “typical” children that you want back in school, MCPS serves every child and has a number of programs serving special education students who are some of our most vulnerable. I work in a program where 6 of our students are not able to bathroom themselves- the staff changes them 2-3 times a day at minimum. 2 have feeding tubes. 5 drool. 0 are able to cover their sneezes/coughs. While a few families will make the difficult decision to keep their child home, because Covid may be devastating for them if contracted, others will choose to send their child if school re-opens. The staff working with this population faces a much different situation than a typical classroom. The county has to think about many more individuals than those that are low risk.

Anonymous wrote:The hyperbole here is astounding. I have no doubt that teaching is tough and that there are many unreasonable demands, but this post is over the top. Teacher are used to adapting and working in a fast paced environment because a kid might have a seizure? Or because they receive a new schedule after the year has started? Or get a new student? Or have to enlarge text? This has done nothing to change my views.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We get it they are "scared" they didn't "sign up for this".

It's BS. Kids have never been germ free. If you are that scared and fragile you shouldn't have ever chosen to work directly with kids from the get go.

Once my company returns to the office we don't get to say we don't feel safe. You either come back or you get a new job. Simple.

If your job now feels unsafe to you then you get a new job-it's not your employers job to coddle you.

We all have to choose a level of risk we are comfortable with. And if you are not comfortable with the risk then that's a personal decision, not a decision that should effect everyone else.

I'm just so tired of it. The idea that we are looking at DL in the fall seems to be directly related to all these teachers and staff that continually go on about how they don't feel safe.

100% agree. It's ridiculous. If you don't want the job, I know a lot of other out-of-work moms who would happily take it from you, do a better job, and be happy to put food on the table.