Steve Breen for July 18, 2020

How about learning in a crowded school during a pandemic? Who does that harm?

Since when has America ever worried about students who need the most help?

You can’t help them if they’re dead.

Orphans

Is it safe for your state or the federal Congress to meet right now?

Than it isn’t safe to send kids to school, either

As Giap never said to Westmoreland: that is true, but it is also irrelevant.

MAYBE kids aren’t so susceptible to the virus – but that’s what people were saying about 18-30 year-olds back in April.

fusilier

James 2:24

trumps actions created the problem.. but don’t be expecting much help from your government to fix it.. trump is moving on

I’m sure those districts who decide to reopen the schools will also have a waiver ready so the school and/or district cannot be sued if a healthy child contracts the virus and is sickened or dies. This will extend to the teachers as well. And probably the school bus drivers. And the cafeteria workers. And they will be a requirement to any one attending any school functions or events. Hey, if it’s good enough for a Trump Rally, it should be good enough for the offspring of the 90% who can’t afford private schools, tutors, and stand-in test-takers, shouldn’t it? And Ms. DeVos will defund schools that don’t comply.

However, there are ample “thoughts and prayers” for the dead and dying. There. Problem Solved. /s

Steve, we all agree that kids do learn better in an in person situation. Problem with this tho, the little germ filled rugrats need adults teaching them. Some adults have been trying to protect themselves from the virus. YOU may want to consider to be a volunteer teacher in one of the overcrowded schools in your area. You could still work on the cartoons while the kids are at recess and in the lunch room. Be a sport and take one for the trump teaching team!

There is an irrational reluctance to accept the new normal and a somewhat delusional wish to return to the way things were. Those who can adapt to change survive, … just as the novel coronavirus will when it adapts to a plethora of new hosts [of school aga].

“Family death harms students who need help most” …. and continues the progress of the pandemic.

Trump doesn’t care, kids don’t vote.

Some face to face instruction may be needed for math that might require hands on guidance. But, other subjects like history, literature, and English grammar might best be learned online. This hybrid arrangement might make it possible to follow the government mandate for face to face schooling as it would allow also for much smaller classes and greater distancing.

Of course kids can go back to school, once the necessary procedures and programs are in place to make it safe! Same story, same story. This far along in the pandemic there is STILL not enough testing, test results are still too slow, and money to support the hospitals, first responders, and to do the modifications needed for schools is still lacking. This is how Trump has mishandled the problem from the beginning: Say something will happen, but do nothing to make it happen. Instead, shift blame, point fingers, declare Obama and Biden stopped testing (?), try to discredit science, give billion dollar contracts to companies that have never produced any product. And elected republicans go along with the charade. Vote them all out!

In-school learning exposes teachers, staff, and students to a pandemic they can then pass along to family, friends, and other students.

Perhaps the solution is to improve the means to conduct remote learning to those who need it most.

Nobody has a perfect solution. A combination of a limited return to the classroom and continued stay at home learning might be the only answer for some time. Not a great solution. Trump’s and his minions answer of full speed ahead is beyond idiotic. Trump is only about himself. His solution should be tossed out immediately, like the rest of his ideas.

As a teacher, the most dreaded words from an administrator are “But we’re here for the kids”. That phrase tells me that I’m about to be asked to do something that anyone in another profession would just say no to. To quote a line from “The Green Mile”, they use your love to hurt you.

It’s true that kids don’t get as sick as adults do, but that doesn’t stop them from being vectors. Worse, they are likely to be asymptomatic, so the thermometer at the school house door isn’t going to help. They will spread the Corona Virus to their classmates, the teacher and then into the community. That’s why we closed the schools in the first place. And, as far as I know that hasn’t changed.

If everyone had worn a mask for 4 to 6 weeks the covid would be over.

Would expect conservatives to love the forced school-at-home directives – that lessens kids’ exposures to “liberal teachers”…

According to the CDC:

From 2-1-20 to 7-11-20, there are 14 Covid related deaths in the age group 5-14. In the entire nation.

Compared to 72 from pneumonia and 47 from influenza.

Age group 15-24 has 157 Covid deaths, 267 from pneumonia and 51 from influenza. In the entire nation.

Pneumonia and influenza deaths exceed Covid deaths for all age groups.

https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Death-Counts-by-Sex-Age-and-S/9bhg-hcku/data

Kids going to school fearful of a mass shooting wasn’t enough for parents . . . . Trump has now “Doubled Down” . . . so to speak. Just imagine how another 4 years could Make America Greater than it is now.

It is apparently true (and seems real from my memory of youth) that younger kids need more direct teaching. Certainly by the time I was really adult, I was not just able but more effective learning what I needed to know by reading, research, and occasionally asking a mentor. In between: Different amounts of face to face vs (semi) self-directed learning.

We see that some (European, Asian) countries have been successful at keeping/returning kids to school without exacerbating the spread of Covid-19. All it takes is: Covid infections must be somewhat rare; there must be rapid, accurate contact tracing which leads to actual effective self-isolation; kids and teachers need to wear effective masks… full time; and a social matrix that expects and gets people to help each other. Based on what I’m seeing in the USA, that’s: ABYSMAL-FAIL, FAIL, PROBABLE-FAIL and ABYSMAL-FAIL. Bottom line: This looks like yet another way for this serious problem (Covid-19) to be a disaster, here.

It’s really going to be tough on the kids no doubt. Parents, too.Turns out this is tough on all of us. When there is a war on, you do what you have to do. You don’t say “I’m not making ammunition for the front line”. You say “how can I help”.

Pandemic aside, I wish to note that the Law of Unintended consequences might come into play here:

States like Alaska use distance learning when roads are treacherous, and have done so for years. When school boards see how much diesel gas costs they saved by not transporting students, there will be pressure to retain at-home methods. After the C-19 mess, cost cutting measures will go wild.

The old Normal is not available anymore, and the new normal won’t be pretty by comparison. Our only real choice is how we shape that new normal under realistic constraints…..

Walk forward, not backwards, but keep a rearview mirror handy….

Andylit: So, here’s another anecdotal observation for you. ~ No one wants to see our schools closed or the students away from their classrooms and the teachers. To say that anyone is advocating for this position is ludicrous. ~ Speaking from my own experience, I have been working since June (when our 2019 – 2020 school year wrapped up) on a committee to develop a reopening plan for our Pre-K to Grade 8 school here in NH. The committee is made up of Administrators, Staff, Teachers, Nurses, Parents and School Board members (like me). Covering every aspect of facilities, cleaning, transportation, curriculum, health and communication. ~ Solving a puzzle that will allow us to resume classroom instruction while also ensuring the safety of the teaching staff and the students and their families is complicated and frustrating. We are making progress, given the “guidance” from the Fed’s and our State and groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, toward a workable plan to return to classroom instruction. But there are issues outside of our control (like a spike in community infections) so we also have to provide a fall-back plan and other workable solutions. ~ I am just so grateful that so many people are all working so hard to figure out a solution that is built on the best interests of our children. ~ Educating them, nurturing them and protecting them (and their families) is a sacred trust. Trust me, this isn’t easy… and we take this charge very seriously.

Death harms even more.