Teacher Posts What Will Happen When Schools Reopen In An Alarming Twitter Thread
Interview With Author
As the back-to-school date in the US is coming closer, schools are weighing the risks of reopening amid the recent surge of Covid-19 cases. And while many school districts are playing it safe with virtual learning to start, others are letting parents decide.
Cultural analyst and blogger Melissa Hillman has joined in the debate and laid out a not-so-unlikely scenario we may see if schools reopen on her Twitter account. And honestly, things are not looking good. From a shortage of teachers and union strikes to deaths that could have been easily avoided, these are sobering points to think through before it gets too late.
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Melissa has listed all the things we could see if schools get reopened in this scenario on Twitter
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Bored Panda reached out to Melissa, a writer and educator who has spent over 25 years in the classroom as a university lecturer and the last seven years as a private high school teacher. Melissa, who created this viral thread, agreed to elaborate on the risks of letting students and teachers back to school.
First of all, Melissa explained that one of the first things any new K-12 teacher learns is that you’ll be sick more often than you’ve ever been in your life: “Schools are notorious petri dishes.”
She added: “It’s just common sense that we are much more likely to see the kinds of infection clusters we’ve seen from churches, weddings, parties, and other gatherings.”
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Melissa also believes that “You can’t safely reopen schools when a third of your parents are not following the basic directives that keep the local community safe.”
At this point, she said that she has been hearing from teachers all over the country that they’ve been asked to prepare for distance learning and hybrid classes “with no more support than that single sentence.”
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Melissa said that she or any experienced teacher could have made a workable, low-cost, nationwide plan for reopening in times of pandemic.
All of this could have been done “with a team of 10 classroom teachers and access to the CDC, as long as they represented a variety of regions, at least two were SpEd, and at least half were of color.”
Unfortunately, Melissa claims that “teachers are the last people anyone listens to when creating ed policy.”
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With coronavirus cases spiking, many major school districts are refusing to open their doors to the public until cases start to drop. However, these plans can change any time based on the rapidly changing situation of the pandemic.
As of July 20, CNN reports that virtual learning through online classes will be employed in these districts: Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. Meanwhile, New York, Chicago, Miami-Dade, New Orleans, and Greenville County, South Carolina are leaving the decision on returning to school or attending classes online to parents.
Other countries around the world are also wrestling with whether to reopen schools after 60% of schools across 186 territories were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. After a month of lockdown, Denmark was the first to open school doors to its pupils on April 15.
In South Korea, schools have taken a cautionary approach to reopening with mandatory mask policies, temperature checks at entrances, and frequent hand-washing. Israeli children returned to school on May 3, but by June 3, 2,026 students, teachers, and staff tested positive for coronavirus and the schools were shut down again.
More people joined the thread to comment on whether reopening schools is worth the risk
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While Covid-19 is a global problem it seems that due to the total incompetence of the current US administration, the US suffers more and longer of the pandemic and all the side effects. It's an outrage that the Greedy Old Parasites stand by and let the delusional, senile, megalomaniac narcissist continue to kill people and make a mess of an entire nation by their refusal to impeach him. Everyone trying to deny that Tweety the tangerine toddler has lost all his marbles must be equally insane.
Wil, we're federated, not parliamentarian. Don't just blame the top. The rot is down to the local level.
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Who's going to pay the parents to sit home and teach their children. What do u do when a child doesn't have a tablet or computer to use. Libraries are still closed here. I live in a fairly poor city where some children don't have access to the internet. Some parents can't afford it. Food is also a big issue. A lot of children rely on meals at school, they may not be getting at home? Many children are being abused at home Who's going to report abuse if the child is home all the time with the abuser. It may worsen if a child is there ALL day and night. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors. It's terrifying. Parents may have to quit their jobs to stay home with their kids and be their teacher. Who's paying the rent and utilities, food? Either way it's a cluster f**k.
All of these are very good points. But we should be looking at the root cause of these problems. It's not as simple as making the schools stay open. if the US had a proper social support system in place these risks would all be significantly less than they currently are. Look at the countries with safety nets - they have all fared significantly better, at least in part because people are not afraid of starving or becoming homeless due to lockdown. Planning on having schools closed also means that proper arrangements can be made. In the Netherlands for eg. special arrangements were made for kids at risk and children of essential workers (healthcare, emergency services and supermarkets). The US really needs to get its act together and start working as a team.
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My wife is a teacher here in Canada. The problem is the same. However, there is an issue that should be addressed in all of this. First, just FYI, I believe that teachers should be paid well and taken care of, as you want good teachers teaching your child ( you don't want leftovers who couldn't find jobs elsewhere being the ones spending all day with your kids teaching them). BUT....The teachers and their union have previously bullied their way into many contracts all the while saying "it's for the kids". It has happened so many times, that the excuse isn't valid anymore. Now, that they really have a REAL issue, many people don't care to hear their sob story anymore. It's basically "The boy who cried wolf" scenario in real life. It's unfortunate, but if teachers chose their battles better instead of always saying it's for the children (while hiding many really nice items into the contracts), people would be more inclined to listen.
@N G , in the UK teachers have been suffering pay cuts for thirty years, they would like to get some more money so that they have enough to actually LIVE OFF FOR GODS' SAKE, and you might have noticed that during that 'vacation' they A. Most likely don't have enough money to pay for a holiday, and B. Need to plan the next years' teaching, plus do the reports.
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This is an American thread, but resonates with many of us around the globe. We ARE and want to be considered essential workers. If they don't provide safety measures for teachers, many of us will either retire early or swift to other fields. We're not usually appreciated and this might be the last straw.
I’m a high school student living in the north east us and I’m scared about going back to school, because even if the numbers in our states are going down, I’m still worried about getting sick and bringing it home to my immunocompromised parent. Online school was really hard and it took a tole on my mental health, but in person schooling doesn’t seem safe enough.
I am so sorry that you are having these kind of issues put on your shoulders. I know online schooling was hard last school year, but I hope that with more time and planning, it will be better in the fall.
Load More Replies... I am supposed to be going into middle school this year, and I’m terrified and sad both ways around. If we go back in one hand, I’ll be with people and able to get an education, but on the other hand I could and probably would get COVID again (I had this June) and spread it to my family. But it’s not like anyone is asking the kids who are going back what they think so what does it matter.
#2: I'll volunteer to come out of retirement. I was overqualified and too expensive back then, so I was pushed out to pasture. I can teach pretty much anything save for algebra. #7: I'm gonna die soon anyway, I'll volunteer to go back to the classroom. Already bought my plot at the cemetery, and I have life insurance. #12: This is not a problem for academic subjects taught for older kids, this is more for the under-13 crowd. -Dr M, re-tired (like a bad steel-belted radial)
I live in a state that is currently spiking in cases. My school district just announced their plan yesterday. Basically, half the students will come monday and wednesday, half will come tuesday and thursday. Teachers will be expected to teach kids online AND in person everyday. The district plans for kids to come in person 5 days a week in september, but they will stay with their homeroom class all day. Just those 20-30 kids. IT makes me think back to when they closed schools because there were 2-3 cases in the county, and now they want to reopen them when there's 3,000+ cases? It doesn't make sense. I hate online learning as much as the next person. I don't think I learn as well online. But as difficult as online learning is, reopening the schools will probably be worse. It's hard to know the right thing to do and what will be best in the long run, but I don't see reopening the schools going well in any circumstance.
I don't know anyone who is sending their kids back to school, even if the schools are open. They're filling out the paperwork for home/remote schooling, even if it means taking reduced hours at their jobs, or having a parent change shift to keep someone home for the kids durin gthe day.... All because the US couldn't spend a tenth on its citizens that it does on its military. I was raised conservative, and won't vote GOP again, due to conscience. And this is why. YOu can create a nation with strong infrastructure and strong education to support a strong economy... or this BS. B/c, y'know. Millionaires can't possibly lose a few bucks.
What about bus drivers, lunch servers, and playground monitors (many retired and older)? I'm a custodian and we've spent the summer in all the area schools removing desks and setting up socially distant classrooms, but I've heard no plan on cleaning or sanitizing rooms between classes (in high schools).
I'm surprised she didn't end with "Low level officer in SATCOM Nuclear ICBM Silo gets Covid, and during a coughing fit, accidentally launches 150 ICBM's toward Moscow. Moscow retaliates. Total thermonuclear annihilation".
I am an aide at a school for at-risk children, from several cities. I am probably going to take the year off, because I don't want to get sick, or bring it home to my mom. I am really struggling with this decision because I love the kids, and sometimes we at school are the only positive influence in their life. I have come to accept that the kids will be there next year, as hard as it is to not be there for them this year.
The US Secretary of Education Betsy Davos is dedicated to the destruction of America's free public education system. She has refused to forgive loans made to students who attended fraudulent universities (including ones run by herself and Donald Trump) in defiance of court orders. Her family owns 6 mega-yachts all of which are registered in other countries to avoid taxes even though they're docked in the US (4 are on the Great Lakes and incapable of getting to the ocean). Her brother runs Blackwater, the mercenary outfit that has repeatedly been charged with war crimes. The family money comes from the Ponzi scheme known as Amway.
A parent already selfishly sent their kid to daycare, knowing full well the kid had COVID, and made many ill. (Which, the patent should be charged with assault, or something similar, btw). You don't think that same s**t isn't gonna happen once school starts?
I'm a teacher and I am not teaching next year for other reasons and now I am so relieved I quit before all this started. Anyone one who thinks you can socially distance kids in a school all day, has clearly not dealt with a group of kids standing in line, sitting in class, playing outside, well, anywhere really.
I don't get it. Learning your ABC's is nowhere near that important that you'd die for it. Just don't go!
my son's school district (the largest in southern Arizona)has decided to only do online learning until further notice. But there are still problems with the plans...When they are ordered by the governor to open, they will keep the online option for those (like my son)who want to continue exclusively online BUT they will add in school spaces for kids whose families aren't working at home and need the child supervision. The teachers will be doing all their teaching from home via video- The (masked)kids "in school", will be watched by adult monitors /human sacrifices in small class groups in socially distanced rooms. Ok, BUT.....How many minutes do you want to bet before some mischievous kid yells "CORONA!" and pulls their classmate's mask off? think they're not going to touch each other? Most adults don't have that kind of control. I fear this fall will be flat out disastrous...I pray I'm wrong
Perhaps children are less likely to catch COVID. It only takes on person to start an exponential spread. Perhaps children will seldom get seriously ill--but some will, and some will die. The virus is still out there, big time. Giving it lots of people crowded into a small space will create outbreaks. It won't help the economy, since the bad economy is a direct result of the pandemic. I taught school for several years. Every fall, right after school started, I got sick. That was only a head cold, but I hated it year after year. It is one reason I left teaching. I would not risk in-person teaching during a deadly pandemic. I wish politicians could learn, but they just get dumber and more desperate.
First things first - getting rid of Corona is the key to return to normal practice ANYWHERE. Schools are no exception, but schools should remain closed, because it will tremendously increase the chance of picking up that damned virus. In germany, here, stuff went a lot less f****d up than in the US - because we had strict rules, basically not enforced but obeyed by people who understood there is no other way to stay safe. I hope we won't risk breaking this success just because some capitalists think that money is more important than survival.
Some of these governors are insistent that we return to school 5 days a week face to face. They say how important it is. Then, in the same breath, they say enough students will go to online learning or private schools which will create the space needed to social distance. Let's review that. School is so important, but we are counting on half of the public school students not being there. That is the logic we are dealt.
What is really sad about this is that people with the means to keep their children at home, will. And people that NEED to send their kids to school will be forced to do so. When this all started people were saying that Coronavirus was the great equalizer because it spread indiscriminately. Which couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, you are much more likely to get Covid and die of Covid if you are a person of color or poor or both.
Load More Replies... Yes all of this is true. We had a plan, then the president and the governor suddenly changed everything on a dime. Here are some facts. No water fountain use, no use of playground equipment, as little paper and pencil work as possible, no computer lab usage. Students must stay with only their class at recess. PE, art, music, and meals all come to their classrooms. So small children will be expected to be in the same room six or more hours a day. There is no way to social distance, we do not have the space, and masks are encouraged but not required. Temperature checks will only be done in schools if then. That means a sick child can and will get onto a crowded school bus. If I could leave, believe me, I would. We are endangering children. Yes, children unfortunately have illnesses such as diabetes, severe asthma, and high blood pressure, just to name a few.
I'm certified for kindergarten but I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole right now. I'll keep my job where it's safe.
My mother was a teacher for 26 years. She retired when my father got really sick. My father is incredibly immunocompromised and I can't begin to imagine what it would be like for my mother to still be a teacher now. I bet that she would retire rather than put my father in serious risk. Right now it isn't about how bad public schools are or how bad teachers' unions are, it's about keeping teachers, students, and their families healthy.
My mum is a reception teacher- so here's another one: In the younger years, five year olds will NOT social distance because they physically can't.
Here in L.A. a majority of students are far below gov't median for poverty. Can their parents afford more than 1 mask per child? Will that 1 mask be washed daily, or even weekly? Do they have access to a computer, much less a quiet place at home to learn? For at home teaching, the teachers have a special portal. Only permanent full time teachers got the full training on it. Most of the initial training was spent teaching older teachers how to computer - sign on, minimize windows, save files, make columns. The subs, who will be taking over much of the work as most of the older teachers leave/retire, are trying to get fully trained on the system, they are ready and willing to do online teaching. It is doubtful that schools will reopen here until fall of 2021.
I work at a university in Canada. Our province declared a state of emergency when we got our first case. Now we're at dozens a day but that's not stopping anybody from moving forward with re-opening. The university is being very careful, we've already announced the Fall semester (Sept-Dec) will be remote, and faculty and staff are off-campus when at all possible. Normally we have the population of a small city (many from outside of the country) passing daily through a space the size of a few blocks. We stuff 100 students into a classroom for over an hour. I am so relieved that we are doing this properly because otherwise we would be such a vector for the spread of Covid. 1/2
What I don't understand is why the elementary schools aren't being treated with the same care. Yes it's fewer people, yes it's localized to neighbourhoods, yes they can shut down more quickly & easily if they need to... but everybody knows that colds and flus spread like wildfire through schools, kids aren't capable of being careful enough about these things. One kid gets sick and it's going to spread to most of their classmates within a few days, to teachers and those teacher's students (e.g. music or gym teacher) and classmates' parents by the time symptoms show up. It is madness that we are even considering this..... and the numbers in my province are downright minuscule compared to most places in the US. I worry for our southern neighbours. I hope people start seeing sense before it actually comes to this. :( 2/2
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I’m so happy our country is only opening schools if social distancing is possible and classes must be in person (like labs). Everything else is online. I work at a uni (not a teacher) and have been working from home since March and will do so until at least January, but possibly even for the whole schoolyear, so July next year. Just so there is more room in school for teachers and students that need in person contact for certain classes.
My mom is 2 years from retirement. Her school FINALLY said they were going all online this week, and I am so thankful. They were pressuring her that if she wasn't willing to be in the school every day, she should take an early retirement. This would mean lower benefits for the rest of her life. I have several other teachers in the family and am praying that all their schools go online.
And then schools in the US will hire Filipino teachers instead (which they've already done) and people will say that Filipinos are taking their jobs. School boards will be blamed as well for hiring Filipinos but the people complaining and shouting won't look at themselves and say we allowed this.
Anyone in the Philippines hiring? Let me know...
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I would 100% black we the teachers and teachers unions! What other profession can you have 100% full pay full benefits for not working? It's time to get kids back in school so their parents can go back to work also. The kids generally don't get COVID and there is not a single case in the WORLD where a student passed COVID to a teacher. I'm so sick of teachers patting themselves on the back and putting "A Hero Lives Here" yard signs in their yards. Teachers don't care about their kids, they care about their pay, their 100% free Cadillac heathcare, their full pay pension, having off every weekend, having off every holiday and 2 months off in the summer, and their early retirement. And yes, I do know teachers. I have 2 in my family and 4 friends that are teachers. I know what they think. They're not even embarrassed to talk about it.
There is probably no case in the world where a student has passed covid to a teacher because schools have been closed in areas with large outbreaks, and places that are open have the virus under control with proper safety measures and contact tracing.
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All sounds so doom and gloom huh? Well teachers had to think fast and adapt after spring break and then finish the year online. Then...they just took the summer off. They did not plan, they did not think of the best way to proceed. Nope. They got together on zoom with their unions and devised a plan to only comply with reopening schools if the local government defunded the police. So erm...yeah. Figure it out and you might all get fired anyway. PS When she was listing all the things kids would miss out on, did anyone silently add "no group projects" to that list as a pro? I sure did.
You don't know what you are talking about. Teachers, administrators and unions have been working on plans since June. There are daily meetings, curriculum writing, making plans for emergency closings, setting up classrooms to meet CDC standards, making sure students will have technology, and free wifi for those who don't have or can't afford it etc... etc.....
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Truck drivers are isolated in a truck most of the day. Farm workers are outside. Grocery store workers are contracting Covid and dying. Also, what teachers aren't working? They still had to create lesson plans and teach classes last school year.
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How many seniors are being hugged by adorable little disease vectors all day at their jobs?
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Actually she's not describing a centralized government system like many social democracies (that are doing great right now), but about the current administration's complete mismanagement of the pandemic within the setting of a regressive taxation system, no social safety nets, defunded public education, and basically every other Republican/conservative political platform. In fact, strong centralized governments that prioritize the welfare of the people have been the most effective at combating COVID-19, and are safely reopening schools with well-appreciated and decently paid teachers who have no need to fear for their lives.
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Some charter schools are, in fact, better than some public schools. Some are worse. In my state, charter schools are free for students to attend, but the parents have to provide transportation, which makes charter schools out of reach for many working parents. Public schools also offer more options for sports, music, and expanded extracurricular activities than do most of the charter schools in my (large metropolitan) area.
Load More Replies... While Covid-19 is a global problem it seems that due to the total incompetence of the current US administration, the US suffers more and longer of the pandemic and all the side effects. It's an outrage that the Greedy Old Parasites stand by and let the delusional, senile, megalomaniac narcissist continue to kill people and make a mess of an entire nation by their refusal to impeach him. Everyone trying to deny that Tweety the tangerine toddler has lost all his marbles must be equally insane.
Wil, we're federated, not parliamentarian. Don't just blame the top. The rot is down to the local level.
Load More Replies... Who's going to pay the parents to sit home and teach their children. What do u do when a child doesn't have a tablet or computer to use. Libraries are still closed here. I live in a fairly poor city where some children don't have access to the internet. Some parents can't afford it. Food is also a big issue. A lot of children rely on meals at school, they may not be getting at home? Many children are being abused at home Who's going to report abuse if the child is home all the time with the abuser. It may worsen if a child is there ALL day and night. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors. It's terrifying. Parents may have to quit their jobs to stay home with their kids and be their teacher. Who's paying the rent and utilities, food? Either way it's a cluster f**k.
All of these are very good points. But we should be looking at the root cause of these problems. It's not as simple as making the schools stay open. if the US had a proper social support system in place these risks would all be significantly less than they currently are. Look at the countries with safety nets - they have all fared significantly better, at least in part because people are not afraid of starving or becoming homeless due to lockdown. Planning on having schools closed also means that proper arrangements can be made. In the Netherlands for eg. special arrangements were made for kids at risk and children of essential workers (healthcare, emergency services and supermarkets). The US really needs to get its act together and start working as a team.
Load More Replies... My wife is a teacher here in Canada. The problem is the same. However, there is an issue that should be addressed in all of this. First, just FYI, I believe that teachers should be paid well and taken care of, as you want good teachers teaching your child ( you don't want leftovers who couldn't find jobs elsewhere being the ones spending all day with your kids teaching them). BUT....The teachers and their union have previously bullied their way into many contracts all the while saying "it's for the kids". It has happened so many times, that the excuse isn't valid anymore. Now, that they really have a REAL issue, many people don't care to hear their sob story anymore. It's basically "The boy who cried wolf" scenario in real life. It's unfortunate, but if teachers chose their battles better instead of always saying it's for the children (while hiding many really nice items into the contracts), people would be more inclined to listen.
@N G , in the UK teachers have been suffering pay cuts for thirty years, they would like to get some more money so that they have enough to actually LIVE OFF FOR GODS' SAKE, and you might have noticed that during that 'vacation' they A. Most likely don't have enough money to pay for a holiday, and B. Need to plan the next years' teaching, plus do the reports.
Load More Replies... This is an American thread, but resonates with many of us around the globe. We ARE and want to be considered essential workers. If they don't provide safety measures for teachers, many of us will either retire early or swift to other fields. We're not usually appreciated and this might be the last straw.
I’m a high school student living in the north east us and I’m scared about going back to school, because even if the numbers in our states are going down, I’m still worried about getting sick and bringing it home to my immunocompromised parent. Online school was really hard and it took a tole on my mental health, but in person schooling doesn’t seem safe enough.
I am so sorry that you are having these kind of issues put on your shoulders. I know online schooling was hard last school year, but I hope that with more time and planning, it will be better in the fall.
Load More Replies... I am supposed to be going into middle school this year, and I’m terrified and sad both ways around. If we go back in one hand, I’ll be with people and able to get an education, but on the other hand I could and probably would get COVID again (I had this June) and spread it to my family. But it’s not like anyone is asking the kids who are going back what they think so what does it matter.
#2: I'll volunteer to come out of retirement. I was overqualified and too expensive back then, so I was pushed out to pasture. I can teach pretty much anything save for algebra. #7: I'm gonna die soon anyway, I'll volunteer to go back to the classroom. Already bought my plot at the cemetery, and I have life insurance. #12: This is not a problem for academic subjects taught for older kids, this is more for the under-13 crowd. -Dr M, re-tired (like a bad steel-belted radial)
I live in a state that is currently spiking in cases. My school district just announced their plan yesterday. Basically, half the students will come monday and wednesday, half will come tuesday and thursday. Teachers will be expected to teach kids online AND in person everyday. The district plans for kids to come in person 5 days a week in september, but they will stay with their homeroom class all day. Just those 20-30 kids. IT makes me think back to when they closed schools because there were 2-3 cases in the county, and now they want to reopen them when there's 3,000+ cases? It doesn't make sense. I hate online learning as much as the next person. I don't think I learn as well online. But as difficult as online learning is, reopening the schools will probably be worse. It's hard to know the right thing to do and what will be best in the long run, but I don't see reopening the schools going well in any circumstance.
I don't know anyone who is sending their kids back to school, even if the schools are open. They're filling out the paperwork for home/remote schooling, even if it means taking reduced hours at their jobs, or having a parent change shift to keep someone home for the kids durin gthe day.... All because the US couldn't spend a tenth on its citizens that it does on its military. I was raised conservative, and won't vote GOP again, due to conscience. And this is why. YOu can create a nation with strong infrastructure and strong education to support a strong economy... or this BS. B/c, y'know. Millionaires can't possibly lose a few bucks.
What about bus drivers, lunch servers, and playground monitors (many retired and older)? I'm a custodian and we've spent the summer in all the area schools removing desks and setting up socially distant classrooms, but I've heard no plan on cleaning or sanitizing rooms between classes (in high schools).
I'm surprised she didn't end with "Low level officer in SATCOM Nuclear ICBM Silo gets Covid, and during a coughing fit, accidentally launches 150 ICBM's toward Moscow. Moscow retaliates. Total thermonuclear annihilation".
I am an aide at a school for at-risk children, from several cities. I am probably going to take the year off, because I don't want to get sick, or bring it home to my mom. I am really struggling with this decision because I love the kids, and sometimes we at school are the only positive influence in their life. I have come to accept that the kids will be there next year, as hard as it is to not be there for them this year.
The US Secretary of Education Betsy Davos is dedicated to the destruction of America's free public education system. She has refused to forgive loans made to students who attended fraudulent universities (including ones run by herself and Donald Trump) in defiance of court orders. Her family owns 6 mega-yachts all of which are registered in other countries to avoid taxes even though they're docked in the US (4 are on the Great Lakes and incapable of getting to the ocean). Her brother runs Blackwater, the mercenary outfit that has repeatedly been charged with war crimes. The family money comes from the Ponzi scheme known as Amway.
A parent already selfishly sent their kid to daycare, knowing full well the kid had COVID, and made many ill. (Which, the patent should be charged with assault, or something similar, btw). You don't think that same s**t isn't gonna happen once school starts?
I'm a teacher and I am not teaching next year for other reasons and now I am so relieved I quit before all this started. Anyone one who thinks you can socially distance kids in a school all day, has clearly not dealt with a group of kids standing in line, sitting in class, playing outside, well, anywhere really.
I don't get it. Learning your ABC's is nowhere near that important that you'd die for it. Just don't go!
my son's school district (the largest in southern Arizona)has decided to only do online learning until further notice. But there are still problems with the plans...When they are ordered by the governor to open, they will keep the online option for those (like my son)who want to continue exclusively online BUT they will add in school spaces for kids whose families aren't working at home and need the child supervision. The teachers will be doing all their teaching from home via video- The (masked)kids "in school", will be watched by adult monitors /human sacrifices in small class groups in socially distanced rooms. Ok, BUT.....How many minutes do you want to bet before some mischievous kid yells "CORONA!" and pulls their classmate's mask off? think they're not going to touch each other? Most adults don't have that kind of control. I fear this fall will be flat out disastrous...I pray I'm wrong
Perhaps children are less likely to catch COVID. It only takes on person to start an exponential spread. Perhaps children will seldom get seriously ill--but some will, and some will die. The virus is still out there, big time. Giving it lots of people crowded into a small space will create outbreaks. It won't help the economy, since the bad economy is a direct result of the pandemic. I taught school for several years. Every fall, right after school started, I got sick. That was only a head cold, but I hated it year after year. It is one reason I left teaching. I would not risk in-person teaching during a deadly pandemic. I wish politicians could learn, but they just get dumber and more desperate.
First things first - getting rid of Corona is the key to return to normal practice ANYWHERE. Schools are no exception, but schools should remain closed, because it will tremendously increase the chance of picking up that damned virus. In germany, here, stuff went a lot less f****d up than in the US - because we had strict rules, basically not enforced but obeyed by people who understood there is no other way to stay safe. I hope we won't risk breaking this success just because some capitalists think that money is more important than survival.
Some of these governors are insistent that we return to school 5 days a week face to face. They say how important it is. Then, in the same breath, they say enough students will go to online learning or private schools which will create the space needed to social distance. Let's review that. School is so important, but we are counting on half of the public school students not being there. That is the logic we are dealt.
What is really sad about this is that people with the means to keep their children at home, will. And people that NEED to send their kids to school will be forced to do so. When this all started people were saying that Coronavirus was the great equalizer because it spread indiscriminately. Which couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, you are much more likely to get Covid and die of Covid if you are a person of color or poor or both.
Load More Replies... Yes all of this is true. We had a plan, then the president and the governor suddenly changed everything on a dime. Here are some facts. No water fountain use, no use of playground equipment, as little paper and pencil work as possible, no computer lab usage. Students must stay with only their class at recess. PE, art, music, and meals all come to their classrooms. So small children will be expected to be in the same room six or more hours a day. There is no way to social distance, we do not have the space, and masks are encouraged but not required. Temperature checks will only be done in schools if then. That means a sick child can and will get onto a crowded school bus. If I could leave, believe me, I would. We are endangering children. Yes, children unfortunately have illnesses such as diabetes, severe asthma, and high blood pressure, just to name a few.
I'm certified for kindergarten but I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole right now. I'll keep my job where it's safe.
My mother was a teacher for 26 years. She retired when my father got really sick. My father is incredibly immunocompromised and I can't begin to imagine what it would be like for my mother to still be a teacher now. I bet that she would retire rather than put my father in serious risk. Right now it isn't about how bad public schools are or how bad teachers' unions are, it's about keeping teachers, students, and their families healthy.
My mum is a reception teacher- so here's another one: In the younger years, five year olds will NOT social distance because they physically can't.
Here in L.A. a majority of students are far below gov't median for poverty. Can their parents afford more than 1 mask per child? Will that 1 mask be washed daily, or even weekly? Do they have access to a computer, much less a quiet place at home to learn? For at home teaching, the teachers have a special portal. Only permanent full time teachers got the full training on it. Most of the initial training was spent teaching older teachers how to computer - sign on, minimize windows, save files, make columns. The subs, who will be taking over much of the work as most of the older teachers leave/retire, are trying to get fully trained on the system, they are ready and willing to do online teaching. It is doubtful that schools will reopen here until fall of 2021.
I work at a university in Canada. Our province declared a state of emergency when we got our first case. Now we're at dozens a day but that's not stopping anybody from moving forward with re-opening. The university is being very careful, we've already announced the Fall semester (Sept-Dec) will be remote, and faculty and staff are off-campus when at all possible. Normally we have the population of a small city (many from outside of the country) passing daily through a space the size of a few blocks. We stuff 100 students into a classroom for over an hour. I am so relieved that we are doing this properly because otherwise we would be such a vector for the spread of Covid. 1/2
What I don't understand is why the elementary schools aren't being treated with the same care. Yes it's fewer people, yes it's localized to neighbourhoods, yes they can shut down more quickly & easily if they need to... but everybody knows that colds and flus spread like wildfire through schools, kids aren't capable of being careful enough about these things. One kid gets sick and it's going to spread to most of their classmates within a few days, to teachers and those teacher's students (e.g. music or gym teacher) and classmates' parents by the time symptoms show up. It is madness that we are even considering this..... and the numbers in my province are downright minuscule compared to most places in the US. I worry for our southern neighbours. I hope people start seeing sense before it actually comes to this. :( 2/2
Load More Replies... I’m so happy our country is only opening schools if social distancing is possible and classes must be in person (like labs). Everything else is online. I work at a uni (not a teacher) and have been working from home since March and will do so until at least January, but possibly even for the whole schoolyear, so July next year. Just so there is more room in school for teachers and students that need in person contact for certain classes.
My mom is 2 years from retirement. Her school FINALLY said they were going all online this week, and I am so thankful. They were pressuring her that if she wasn't willing to be in the school every day, she should take an early retirement. This would mean lower benefits for the rest of her life. I have several other teachers in the family and am praying that all their schools go online.
And then schools in the US will hire Filipino teachers instead (which they've already done) and people will say that Filipinos are taking their jobs. School boards will be blamed as well for hiring Filipinos but the people complaining and shouting won't look at themselves and say we allowed this.
Anyone in the Philippines hiring? Let me know...
Load More Replies... I would 100% black we the teachers and teachers unions! What other profession can you have 100% full pay full benefits for not working? It's time to get kids back in school so their parents can go back to work also. The kids generally don't get COVID and there is not a single case in the WORLD where a student passed COVID to a teacher. I'm so sick of teachers patting themselves on the back and putting "A Hero Lives Here" yard signs in their yards. Teachers don't care about their kids, they care about their pay, their 100% free Cadillac heathcare, their full pay pension, having off every weekend, having off every holiday and 2 months off in the summer, and their early retirement. And yes, I do know teachers. I have 2 in my family and 4 friends that are teachers. I know what they think. They're not even embarrassed to talk about it.
There is probably no case in the world where a student has passed covid to a teacher because schools have been closed in areas with large outbreaks, and places that are open have the virus under control with proper safety measures and contact tracing.
Load More Replies... All sounds so doom and gloom huh? Well teachers had to think fast and adapt after spring break and then finish the year online. Then...they just took the summer off. They did not plan, they did not think of the best way to proceed. Nope. They got together on zoom with their unions and devised a plan to only comply with reopening schools if the local government defunded the police. So erm...yeah. Figure it out and you might all get fired anyway. PS When she was listing all the things kids would miss out on, did anyone silently add "no group projects" to that list as a pro? I sure did.
You don't know what you are talking about. Teachers, administrators and unions have been working on plans since June. There are daily meetings, curriculum writing, making plans for emergency closings, setting up classrooms to meet CDC standards, making sure students will have technology, and free wifi for those who don't have or can't afford it etc... etc.....
Load More Replies... Truck drivers are isolated in a truck most of the day. Farm workers are outside. Grocery store workers are contracting Covid and dying. Also, what teachers aren't working? They still had to create lesson plans and teach classes last school year.
Load More Replies... How many seniors are being hugged by adorable little disease vectors all day at their jobs?
Load More Replies... Actually she's not describing a centralized government system like many social democracies (that are doing great right now), but about the current administration's complete mismanagement of the pandemic within the setting of a regressive taxation system, no social safety nets, defunded public education, and basically every other Republican/conservative political platform. In fact, strong centralized governments that prioritize the welfare of the people have been the most effective at combating COVID-19, and are safely reopening schools with well-appreciated and decently paid teachers who have no need to fear for their lives.
Load More Replies... Some charter schools are, in fact, better than some public schools. Some are worse. In my state, charter schools are free for students to attend, but the parents have to provide transportation, which makes charter schools out of reach for many working parents. Public schools also offer more options for sports, music, and expanded extracurricular activities than do most of the charter schools in my (large metropolitan) area.
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