Trump and DeVoss say schools must be open. Your thoughts?

My thought is the fedgov has no business in the matters of education.

posted by justincredible

My thought is the fedgov has no business in the matters of education.

I agree that the fed shouldn't, but they can use funding to gain control.

They’ll open but at all different levels. I think we are Mon/Tues half of kids....Thurs/Fri other half. Wednesday for planning and cleaning. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Schools will open.  Dewine has made that clear.

As for what it may look like, Dewine has painted a broad brush and told locals to do what they feel is good for their situations.

If you really want to open up the economy, schools have to be open in some form.  You cannot ask for parents to watch their kids at home and still work either at home or in a work place. 

I agree, it should be a state and local decision as each state and local school district is different and has different Covid levels. 

hope so. maybe split it first 9-12 weeks after that I’m hoping 5 days for all 

I'll preface this by saying that I don't have kids, but I find it odd that teachers and schools are somehow responsible for babysitting children, helping the economy recover, and getting us "back to normal." 

To me, the biggest reason schools need to be open is because kids desperately need that structure.  5 months of not having that takes a huge toll on most kids.  They are missing out on not just the learning in person (which cannot be replicated online), but also the social structure of interacting with their peers.  The harm from taking this away from kids far outweighs the risks of in-person school.  Yes there are risks.  But that's always been the case and always will be.  

posted by Fab4Runner

I'll preface this by saying that I don't have kids, but I find it odd that teachers and schools are somehow responsible for babysitting children, helping the economy recover, and getting us "back to normal." 

Havent tried to quantify the impact of schools on the economy?  In many cases, a school is the largest employer in most communities, they generate income for lots of people.

The US economy and job market is directly affected by the ability to have a 2 income household when kids are housed at a school.

posted by Spock

Havent tried to quantify the impact of schools on the economy?  In many cases, a school is the largest employer in most communities, they generate income for lots of people.

The US economy and job market is directly affected by the ability to have a 2 income household when kids are housed at a school.

I'm well aware. Perhaps employers should step up and accommodate working parents instead of everything being put on schools and teachers. We're asking them to risk their health and the health of their loved ones and acting like they're the bad guys if they have a problem with that. 

Open the schools.

The mass hysteria is depressing, mental health will be effected much more than the virus would for a lot of young persons.

bump ttt

posted by Fab4Runner

...I find it odd that teachers and schools are somehow responsible for babysitting children, helping the economy recover, and getting us "back to normal." 

How is it different than people having to go to work at Walmart, or McD's, or Amazon?  The janitor at the hospital.  Cops.  Firefighters and many, many other "essential" workers.

Children have shown not to be spreaders of this.  And I tend to think a teacher is capable of teaching kids from a distance of 8 feet away (or more).  Aside from working remotely, the risk to teachers is probably lower than most other professionals in an office or factory environment.

Like any other job, if they don't find the risk acceptable then take a leave of absence.

posted by gut

How is it different than people having to go to work at Walmart, or McD's, or Amazon?  The janitor at the hospital.  Cops.  Firefighters and many, many other "essential" workers.

Children have shown not to be spreaders of this.  And I tend to think a teacher is capable of teaching kids from a distance of 8 feet away (or more).  Aside from working remotely, the risk to teachers is probably lower than most other professionals in an office or factory environment.

Like any other job, if they don't find the risk acceptable then take a leave of absence.

If there are proper protocols and plans in place, by all means, open schools. Will schools be providing PPE? Masks, sanitizer, etc? Teachers I know have to ask parents for Lysol wipes, Kleenex, and hand sanitizer every year because the schools don't provide them. Will there be regular testing with fast turnaround time? What happens when a teacher tests positive and has to be out for 14+ days? Are there enough substitutes to handle that? Does anyone they were in the teacher's lounge with have to quarantine as well? It's my understanding that 25-30% of teachers are older than 50. That seems like...a lot. I don't believe there is much known about Covid and pregnancy. 

So yeah, it would be great if schools could just open up and everything be normal. But is that currently possible? 

posted by gut

How is it different than people having to go to work at Walmart, or McD's, or Amazon?  The janitor at the hospital.  Cops.  Firefighters and many, many other "essential" workers.

Children have shown not to be spreaders of this.  And I tend to think a teacher is capable of teaching kids from a distance of 8 feet away (or more).  Aside from working remotely, the risk to teachers is probably lower than most other professionals in an office or factory environment.

Like any other job, if they don't find the risk acceptable then take a leave of absence.

Being a cashier with a customer for 2 minutes is a lot different than caring for a kindergartener for 8 hours.

posted by Fab4Runner

If there are proper protocols and plans in place, by all means, open schools. Will schools be providing PPE? Masks, sanitizer, etc? Teachers I know have to ask parents for Lysol wipes, Kleenex, and hand sanitizer every year because the schools don't provide them. Will there be regular testing with fast turnaround time? What happens when a teacher tests positive and has to be out for 14+ days? Are there enough substitutes to handle that? Does anyone they were in the teacher's lounge with have to quarantine as well? It's my understanding that 25-30% of teachers are older than 50. That seems like...a lot. I don't believe there is much known about Covid and pregnancy. 

So yeah, it would be great if schools could just open up and everything be normal. But is that currently possible? 

I’m not going to try and answer the testing piece bc who knows. But schools are full of dead weight. My tiny ass school had an assistant AD for no other reason than they could. Out of control budgets lead to people getting paid for no reason. Same reason police unions should be disbanded is the same reason teachers should. They have no one who controls the budget well. They have money, they just choose to waste it.

posted by iclfan2

I’m not going to try and answer the testing piece bc who knows. But schools are full of dead weight. My tiny ass school had an assistant AD for no other reason than they could. Out of control budgets lead to people getting paid for no reason. Same reason police unions should be disbanded is the same reason teachers should. They have no one who controls the budget well. They have money, they just choose to waste it.

Ok, so between now and mid-August are they going to get rid of the dead weight so they can provide teachers and students with PPE? 

Looking at the spread of covid in prisons is probably  a better comparison than a cashier.  

posted by Fab4Runner

Ok, so between now and mid-August are they going to get rid of the dead weight so they can provide teachers and students with PPE? 

I dunno, should have fixed it 20 years ago. Ask your state government. But are you okay with a hundred thousand kids just not doing school at all? 

posted by iclfan2

I dunno, should have fixed it 20 years ago. Ask your state government. But are you okay with a hundred thousand kids just not doing school at all? 

I believe I already said that it bothers me a lot that governments at every level have fucked this entire pandemic up so badly. Extend that to 17 other areas they've already fucked up in the last God knows how many decades. 

I'm not okay with kids not being educated. I'm also not okay with potentially sacrificing teachers and their loved ones by going into the school year with a bunch of unanswered questions. 

posted by Al Bundy

Being a cashier with a customer for 2 minutes is a lot different than caring for a kindergartener for 8 hours.

Personally I would rather be the teacher and interact with the same kids everyday then have as many random strangers that get in a line during a shift as a cashier

posted by sportchampps

Personally I would rather be the teacher and interact with the same kids everyday then have as many random strangers that get in a line during a shift as a cashier

I don't know what the rate is for cashiers, but we have prisons and nursing homes to look at for people with long-term interactions with the same people. Even if we ignore nursing homes because of the age, the virus spreads extremely fast in prisons (the average teacher is probably older than the average prisoner in most areas). It is just a ridiculous risk for our teachers and students when we have a much safer alternative. The reality is that most people want to use the school as a babysitting service instead of being good parents.

posted by Al Bundy

I don't know what the rate is for cashiers, but we have prisons and nursing homes to look at

Teachers don't have to have nearly the same risk.  Even the cashier has more exposure.  People under 18 have been shown not be good transmitters.....and most teachers can teach with at least 10 feet of social distance.

posted by gut
Teachers don't have to have nearly the same risk.  Even the cashier has more exposure.  People under 18 have been shown not be good transmitters.....and most teachers can teach with at least 10 feet of social distance.

That finding was retracked. Teachers have a much greater risk. The cashier is done with that person in a couple of minutes. If the teacher is teaching young kids, there is no way that they could stay 10 feet. Every class has a kid who can't open their crayons, tie their shoes, or open their juice box. If the teacher works with older kids, they probably have approximately 150 kids (6 classes x 25) to deal with. Can a math teacher honestly help a student from 10 feet away without pulling out his binoculars to see the paper? When a teacher gives a test, how are the tests sanitized to pass out and collect? If someone tests positive, does everyone who came into contact with that person have to 14 day quarantine? Those are only a handful of the questions that don't have good answers at this time. While distance ed isn't a perfect solution, it is the logical solution when you weigh risk vs. reward.