What do you think about schools opening up?

[Kolyan2k]

And perhaps daycare centers too?

I see alot of very different options. Some of them get me very mad lol

My view is that kids need to be in school, kids need to socialize, get education, and continue to live normal lives. There is lots of harm done to kids by keeping them home. I think masks in schools is BS as well, at least in elementary schools and daycare centers.

[BayMoWe335]

Gotta live life bro.

Precautions and live.

Plus, some parents actually have to work and can’t afford their kids being with a sitter all the time.

[Nuckle]

Schools will open up completely in November and not before. It's a shame to be honest. These kids need to be in school. My daughter is 15 and cries often at the fear she may not be able to go. She says the at home learning is garbage and she didn't learn anything the last 9 weeks of her 9th grade year. She is a honor student with a 4.3 GPA.

[BimmerDimmer6]

It's fake news... they all need to be in a classroom during their key developmental years. High school juniors and seniors and university students can stay remote for the time being.

[Banana Hammock]

I feel like the parents who are pushing the hardest for schools to reopen are the ones finally realizing how shitty their kids are and are probably sick of having their kids around 24/7.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Gotta live life bro.

Precautions and live.

Plus, some parents actually have to work and can't afford their kids being with a sitter all the time.

Preach it brother but I will be watching very carefully

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Gotta live life bro.

Precautions and live.

Plus, some parents actually have to work and can’t afford their kids being with a sitter all the time.

Some people are spinning this into "we should have 'free' child care." It's like they pull out new shit out the victimhood hat every chance they get.

[zx10guy]

This is a touchy subject for me.

My daughter has been in private school for day care since this whole mess started. The school never shut down. They took precautions and adjusted as the situation changed with the stats on infection, hospitalizations, and deaths. From March till now, not one issue with any of the kids contracting this virus. Not one incident of any of the faculty coming up positive. This private school was able to figure it out, but the idiots at the public school system had since March to figure out something with no school in session. Then they wait till the last minute to spring their half assed plan leaving parents scrambling to figure out what to do with only weeks before the scheduled start of school.

My daughter has an IEP. No consideration from the public school system about kids in her situation. Where kids with IEPs require physical in class instruction to progress.

The public school system asked parents to vote on if they want distance learning or a hybrid approach. Votes were cast but the school system chose to ignore the 40% (their admitted number which with all that has happened I question if it can be trusted) of parents that voted for a hybrid approach. This left me scrambling at the last minute to secure a spot for my daughter in the kindergarten program in the private school she is currently going for pre-k/day care.

I'm just lucky that I can afford to pay for the education for my daughter to continue to progress. I can sympathize for those families that can't afford to do what I'm doing. I'm of the feeling that if the schools are not going to follow the science which has been put out there by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, then the money that would have gone to running the schools should be given to parents to put their kids in alternate schooling. Because of the ineptness of the school board, I'm now locked in to paying 10 months of private school tuition that I hadn't planned on doing.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by Banana Hammock

I feel like the parents who are pushing the hardest for schools to reopen are the ones finally realizing how shitty their kids are and are probably sick of having their kids around 24/7.

I've been with my kid almost 24/7 for past 2.5 years, so this has been my daily life and nothing changed. What I do want, is for my kid to be able to go to daycare, play with other kids and obviously not wear any masks(not required in daycare). It would also make no sense for workers in daycare to wear them in such a closed space. If the virus is there, you will get it because surgical masks don't stop it

This whole quarantine was about not overwhelming the hospitals and flattening the curve, it was never about stopping the virus. In the very beginning they said over 70% of population will get covid. For months now covid cases have been increasing and death rates have decreasing and its the good news, i dont know why media is trying to push it as negative. And on top of it all, the flu is more dangerous for kids then covid. From 0 to 19 years old there hasn't been even 1 death in my state and across the entire USA numbers are extremely low. According to CDC, flu kills like 500-600 kids each year i think.

Especially mad at the teachers pushing schools to stay closed, while fckers staying home and getting unemployment. Take away the money and tomorrow you will have teachers protest to open schools

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

I've been with my kids almost 24/7 for past 2.5 years, so this has been my daily life and nothing changed. What I do want, is for my kid to be able to go to daycare, play with other kids and obviously not wear any masks(not required in daycare). It would also make no sense for workers in daycare to wear them in such a closed space. If the virus is there, you will check it because surgical masks for stop it

This whole quarantine was about not overwhelming the hospital and flattening the curve, it was never about stopping the virus. In the very beginning they said over 70% of population will get covid. For months now covid cases have been increasing and death rates have decreasing and its the good news, i dont know why media is trying to push it as negative. And on top of it all, the flu is more dangerous for kids then covid. From 0 to 19 years old there hasn't been even 1 death in my state and across the entire USA numbers are extremely low. According to CDC, flu kills like 500-600 kids each year i think.

Especially mad at the teachers pushing schools to stay closed, while fckers staying home and getting unemployment. Take away the money and tomorrow you will have teachers protest to open schools

And on top that, the teacher's unions pushing the sky is falling scenario and their ridiculous demands around when they'll get back into the classroom. Forget which school district this came out of. But one district wanted to put restrictions around virtual teaching because of the stress it puts on teachers due to their home environment being broadcast out to the public to see.

I don't know if there is any legal ability to do this, but teachers need to be declared essential personnel to stop this nonsense.

[CTinline-six]

I work for a technology contracting company and I deal with quite a few school districts and board of eds in the New England area.

In short, it's a total shit show in a variety of ways, and I'd bet money that at least in my state, school won't last 3 weeks before being closed down again.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

I work for a technology contracting company and I deal with quite a few school districts and board of eds in the New England area.

In short, it's a total shit show in a variety of ways, and I'd bet money that at least in my state, school won't last 3 weeks before being closed down again.

Fairfax County, VA's attempt at distance learning was a shit show last school year. And then all the finger pointing going on with the school blaming the software company and the software company blaming the school for not implementing the patches they told them to do a couple of years ago.

None of these schools have had a real load test of their IT systems with teleconferencing.

I'm in IT too. Even we've had issues with some meetings held over teleconference. To the point where many of us had to turn off video to at least stabilize the audio portion.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Fairfax County, VA's attempt at distance learning was a shit show last school year. And then all the finger pointing going on with the school blaming the software company and the software company blaming the school for not implementing the patches they told them to do a couple of years ago.

None of these schools have had a real load test of their IT systems with teleconferencing.

I'm in IT too. Even we've had issues with some meetings held over teleconference. To the point where many of us had to turn off video to at least stabilize the audio portion.

I'm talking about all the IT stuff aside, it will still be a shit show.

1. You have parents threatening to sue the school/teachers and/or other parents if their kid gets the virus.

2. You have board of eds and teachers that are basically doing nothing to make things safer, IE: distancing, providing additional cleaning resources, etc. In one example, the state has said schools need to be cleaned every night for student safety. Many of these schools have bare bones custodial staff due to budget cuts, and they can barely clean things now. The unions obviously won't have them work more hours.

3. You have older staff who are technology inept that are basically refusing to do their jobs since "they don't do technology" and the school unions are protecting them.

4. You have board of ed members that are 70+ who still think laptops and other technology learning tools are not valuable ways to spend money, even in a pandemic where a hybrid in school/distance learning model or completely virtual learning model is likely this year.

5. In one meeting I brought up taking temperatures at the door, and tracking it with our student information/attendance system. Kids who have high temperatures would be sent home to quarantine, giving us more freedom in the school. This idea failed because parents didn't want their kids being singled out, or other people knowing they were sick since they might be made fun of. This kind of behavior leads me to believe they would be the ones sending their kids to school if they were sick, since getting other people sick in their mind is better than their little baby's feeling's getting hurt.

The reality is there are way too many unions, way too many short sighted and empty minded people running school districts to effectively put a plan in place that will work. The state knows this, and this is why the state department of education has put out the most vague guidelines they possibly could've, in order to prevent the blame from being pointed at them when shit hits the fan.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

I'm talking about all the IT stuff aside, it will still be a shit show.

1. You have parents threatening to sue the school/teachers and/or other parents if their kid gets the virus.

2. You have board of eds and teachers that are basically doing nothing to make things safer, IE: distancing, providing additional cleaning resources, etc. In one example, the state has said schools need to be cleaned every night for student safety. Many of these schools have bare bones custodial staff due to budget cuts, and they can barely clean things now. The unions obviously won't have them work more hours.

3. You have older staff who are technology inept that are basically refusing to do their jobs since "they don't do technology" and the school unions are protecting them.

4. You have board of ed members that are 70+ who still think laptops and other technology learning tools are not valuable ways to spend money, even in a pandemic where a hybrid in school/distance learning model or completely virtual learning model is likely this year.

5. In one meeting I brought up taking temperatures at the door, and tracking it with our student information/attendance system. Kids who have high temperatures would be sent home to quarantine, giving us more freedom in the school. This idea failed because parents didn't want their kids being singled out, or other people knowing they were sick since they might be made fun of. This kind of behavior leads me to believe they would be the ones sending their kids to school if they were sick, since getting other people sick in their mind is better than their little baby's feeling's getting hurt.

The reality is there are way too many unions, way too many short sighted and empty minded people running school districts to effectively put a plan in place that will work. The state knows this, and this is why the state department of education has put out the most vague guidelines they possibly could've, in order to prevent the blame from being pointed at them when shit hits the fan.

Point 5 is so spot on and sad. The private school my daughter is attending does temperature checks on every kid that enters the school. None of the parents have made a stink about their measures. We used to be able to have unfettered access to our kids at school. The admins suspended that access to err on the side of caution. I agree with this. This whole situation has opened my eyes about public schools and private/charter schools. The whole voucher debate issue. This nonsense would stop when you have to pay for the school and the administration of said school has the latitude to tell you to pound sand if you don't agree to the rules.

On the IT front, it remains to be seen how this roll out is going to happen. All the school systems around here are saying Chrome books are being distributed along with hot spots if there is no Internet at home. You and I know this is watching the proverbial train wreck that is about to happen.

Oh and we have an appointed public official going on a power trip in Montgomery County, MD. He issued a declaration that private schools would have to shut down last week. Governor Hogan slapped him down on that saying the private schools have the right to determine for themselves if they'll open. Then this turd picks another law to enforce his edict. The parents affected are suing the county now.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Point 5 is so spot on and sad. The private school my daughter is attending does temperature checks on every kid that enters the school. None of the parents have made a stink about their measures. We used to be able to have unfettered access to our kids at school. The admins suspended that access to err on the side of caution. I agree with this. This whole situation has opened my eyes about public schools and private/charter schools. The whole voucher debate issue. This nonsense would stop when you have to pay for the school and the administration of said school has the latitude to tell you to pound sand if you don't agree to the rules.

On the IT front, it remains to be seen how this roll out is going to happen. All the school systems around here are saying Chrome books are being distributed along with hot spots if there is no Internet at home. You and I know this is watching the proverbial train wreck that is about to happen.

Oh and we have an appointed public official going on a power trip in Montgomery County, MD. He issued a declaration that private schools would have to shut down last week. Governor Hogan slapped him down on that saying the private schools have the right to determine for themselves if they'll open. Then this turd picks another law to enforce his edict. The parents affected are suing the county now.

Yeah it really is a disaster. A lot of the schools I work with fucked up their ability to even do distance learning because the board of eds dragged their feet when approving budgets for laptop purchases. Now students and staff won't get laptops in time because they are all back ordered.

The public schools I work with are so afraid of lawsuits they will bend to the squeaky wheel parents no matter what the cost from fear of getting sued. So all you parents who will be upset when schools close down again... look to those in your town who are making a stink.

A school nurse at one of the districts I work with got sued last year because an 8th grader (13 years old) burned themselves with an ice pack because they held it on their leg for too long after the nurse gave them specific instructions on what to do. The parent sued and won.

[MPOWER5266]

If I had school aged kids, they would be transferring to a private school that is opening as normal and out of our local district. I know of several families that having to either do this or one of them is having to quit or take leave from their job to stay home with the kids. I have on friend in particular that started a business right before covid hit and he and his wife are struggling already and now his wife has to cut back to part time because the kids are only going to school 3 days a week. Hes delivering pizzas 4 nights a week after working 12 hour days.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Yeah it really is a disaster. A lot of the schools I work with fucked up their ability to even do distance learning because the board of eds dragged their feet when approving budgets for laptop purchases. Now students and staff won't get laptops in time because they are all back ordered.

The public schools I work with are so afraid of lawsuits they will bend to the squeaky wheel parents no matter what the cost from fear of getting sued. So all you parents who will be upset when schools close down again... look to those in your town who are making a stink.

A school nurse at one of the districts I work with got sued last year because an 8th grader (13 years old) burned themselves with an ice pack because they held it on their leg for too long after the nurse gave them specific instructions on what to do. The parent sued and won.

Are you serious? Well, I think the nurse should be covered under the liability insurance of the school or at least the nurse should be. When I was doing volunteer EMS work, I was covered by my station's liability insurance and layered on top of that was the Good Samaritan Law.

[smyles]

I think schools that are closed (=distance learning) for the start of the school year, will remain so for the entire year. First, they'll wait till November. Then, regardless of the election outcomes, they'll find a way to delay any decisions for another month or two. By then the regular flu season will kick in, and voila - "we can't risk... blah... blah...blah".

Interesting dynamic in DC metro area. Many parents pulling their kids from the public systems in favor of private and homeschooling, and/or trying to organize alternative 'pod' schooling. Impact of all that is becoming noticeable even to usually 'teflon' county officials, as even they realize the $$$ stream may weaken.

[VisualEcho]

Stupidity IMO, they're just going to close almost immediately anyway.

My 6-year-old is going to do virtual learning, and daycare is now the grandparents.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

The public school system asked parents to vote on if they want distance learning or a hybrid approach. Votes were cast but the school system chose to ignore the 40% (their admitted number which with all that has happened I question if it can be trusted) of parents that voted for a hybrid approach. This left me scrambling at the last minute to secure a spot for my daughter in the kindergarten program in the private school she is currently going for pre-k/day care.

Here 76% of the largest district voted for a hybrid approach but the DM Superintendent is an idiot and went 100% virtual for all levels.

I think the kids really need the interaction and not having in person school is going to just hurt the underprivileged kids WAY more than the affluent ones. I am sure that domestic abuse will also continue to be under reported as well.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

One of my best friends is a teacher that argues that schools shouldn't open, while simultaneously working as a bartender at a private country club... that nobody wears masks at.
People need to revolt against this shit. Kids only grow up once.

[smyles]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

...
The public school system asked parents to vote on if they want distance learning or a hybrid approach. Votes were cast but the school system chose to ignore the 40% (their admitted number which with all that has happened I question if it can be trusted) of parents that voted for a hybrid approach...

If you're talking about Fairfax county, the number was close to 60%. i.e. majority of parent voted for hybrid. It should also be noted that full time in-school wasn't even an option on the survey.