public schools reopening

 

For those of us who have kids, are you for it? I'm finding that likely our interests are very different based on the ages of the kids.

For the first time in my life, I did a board of ed Zoom. Wow. Lots of whining from all fronts.

But what I would say is different today, than in my time, is that it could not be more clear, that sports > academics. My hunch is they are very necessary to go to elite colleges.

But also, very few parents seem to want schools to not be open 5 days a week, which I find surprising.

An immunologist who was on the call does appear to be for reopening, but he emphasized he does not look at things educationally, that's not his expertise. Not one thing has changed regarding the virus since March, only the rates of infection etc.

P.S. I googled my public HS and found it ranked in the low 300's nationally. My cousin who lives in MASS, his in the high 100's. Where I live today? There are two that are 211 and 229 respectively, and they're not our township That's not bad for PA, which overall isn't very good (we have to face facts)

Statistically speaking there is a tendency for the highly ranking schools to be a bit small--the 211 is actually large, which to me, adds weight. My dad always felt it's what you make of it. Today, I'm told it's student, parents, and teacher, takes all 3. Things are not easy for the class of 2032--I think it was comparatively easy for us.

Stupid is as stupid does

The coronavirus is highly contagious and spreads through aerosol transmission. Putting people in high density indoor situations is pure stupid.

Sit back and wait for the numbers to rise.

Colleges had to shut down after being open just a couple days and switch to online learning this fall. Further proof that people can not gather in large numbers and the coronavirus is transmitted by aerosol.

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When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is only difficult for the others. It is the same when you are stupid.

Many Points of View

When it comes to schooling, everyone has a slightly different set of circumstances. I sympathize with all parents of school age children during this Covid age. These decisions are indeed difficult to make.

Anytime people gather in groups, masks and social distancing offer marginal virus protection at best. There is always some risk even if these precautions are followed. Children are notorious for not following rules and educators can't watch all of them all the time. I suppose each of us must assess the risk and decide how much of a gamble they are willing to take.

One question we all should ask ourselves however is how much a human life is worth if, heaven forbid, our actions result in the loss of even one soul.

Aren't we there and beyond?

bdhsfz6 wrote:

...

One question we all should ask ourselves however is how much a human life is worth if, heaven forbid, our actions result in the loss of even one soul.

I think we've been way past that number and the worry now is that people are becoming immune to the significance of the growing daily tallies. The US has had over 205,000 deaths from Covid-19 infections so is 300,000 going to be a shock? I wonder.

the interesting thing

Is here on this thread, the response is to err on the side of caution. But on a board of ed zoom, it's as if it's irresponsible for the school district to remain closed and say that they are doing online learning. It felt like parents were saying they're getting ripped off--paying all these taxes and kids not learning.

Again, I've never attended any board of ed meeting and likely never will again. I've never belonged to a homeowner's association but I got the feeling it was like that, power, posturing, liking to be able to say whatever, and not being measured at all on effectiveness.

It all depends on how you do it

My two granddaughters (one a sophomore and the other in 8th grade) went back to school the day after Labor Day and have had no issues. They were excited to get back in the classroom. They said that they can learn better in a classroom setting than with on-line learning. They did not like on-line learning at all. If the proper precautions are taken, there should not be an issue. Their school is even having football games with limited attendance without any issues. So, it can be done safely. I attended one of their football games and everyone was wearing masks, every other row was kept open, and people were practicing social distancing. From what I observed, it has worked out pretty good and they have not had any outbreaks of Covid. Common sense is all it takes. Of course, as Forrest Gump said in the movie, ‘You can’t fix stupid ‘.

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With God, all things are possible. ——State motto of the Great State of Ohio

My wife is a school teacher

My wife is a school teacher in a Bucks County, PA school district. She teaches stringed instruments/orchestra for elementary students.

Her school is doing a combo of internet and in person, but she is in person at school every day. She found out when schools went virtual last school year it's nearly impossible to teach kids how to play as well as how to tune their instrument without hands on instruction.

The last half of last year, virtually, was pretty much a waste in my eyes, the kids recorded themselves, playing out of tune, stuff they already knew, couldn't teach anything new.

I myself am in the high risk category if I was to catch the CONVID virus. I work construction, drive a dump truck, we were one of the first allowed back to work, it's easy for me to avoid contact, but her, she is right in it, hope were all ok when/if this thing passes.

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. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Admiration and Appreciation.

To all the essential workers including teachers, school custodians, health workers, garbage collectors, grocery clerks, and everyone else doing their best in these difficult situations to keep this world and the economy operating. I spent my career in K12 education, and it is hard to imagine what the current generation of workers are going through. It is a blessing to be old and retired in these terrible situations.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Reality

Schools provide a day care function. Most households are now two wage earners, if not a single parent. This makes it very difficult for parents that can not work from home.

This pathogen is highly contagious

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When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is only difficult for the others. It is the same when you are stupid.

before

before I had a kid, I was simply like oh that school avg 1400 on the SATs (3 parts) terrible school and terrible system and teachers (read on).

Back in 2015, we stayed with my wife's aunt on the north shore of Chicago, where all those 80's films were set (all of them Risky Business, St. Elmo's Fire, Breakfast Club). I said to the husband who is a teacher, wow, you guys do a great job the avg SATs are like almost 2100, and that's median. He pointed out, it's really not the teachers. The median income here is well into the mid 200s and many kids have $400/hr tutors and the high scores are resultant. hmmmm

Then the GMC dealer shuttle driver was an ex HS principal. He told me, today? The results are a combination of kid, teachers, and parents, together, not just one or the other which may have been true in your day (my mom said it's all up to the kid, period).

Having a 6 y.o. child? I too have an admiration for teachers. My wife is on a first name basis with my son's teacher they text each other all the time. We even went over to her house before school started to drop off a small gift (my wife is good at that) and wore masks etc. imho teachers are in their occupations because they want to be. It's not money, recognition, blah blah blah. Hats off to them. And I see the same problems as is typical of public service--wants are unlimited. Resources are not. Ever since college I thought that of the USPS whenever they are slammed. They have to deliver to every address, many of which private cos. won't go to.

Agreed !!

alandb wrote:

To all the essential workers including teachers, school custodians, health workers, garbage collectors, grocery clerks, and everyone else doing their best in these difficult situations to keep this world and the economy operating. I spent my career in K12 education, and it is hard to imagine what the current generation of workers are going through. It is a blessing to be old and retired in these terrible situations.

+1

This is nothing new

johnnatash4 wrote:

Back in 2015, we stayed with my wife's aunt on the north shore of Chicago, where all those 80's films were set (all of them Risky Business, St. Elmo's Fire, Breakfast Club). I said to the husband who is a teacher, wow, you guys do a great job the avg SATs are like almost 2100, and that's median. He pointed out, it's really not the teachers. The median income here is well into the mid 200s and many kids have $400/hr tutors and the high scores are resultant. hmmmm

This is nothing new. I grew up in West Virginia, which is not exactly considered a hotbed of superb education. However, Union Carbide Chemical (now part of Dow Chemical) had its research center in my home town, which resulted in an abnormally high percentage of highly educated people in the area. Those parents were not able to afford the kind of tutors you describe, but they were constantly pushing the teachers to demand more from the kids, and the norm was to make sure that homework was getting done.

My senior year of high school (more than 60 years ago) that school district had the highest percentage of National Merit Scholarship finalists of any public school district in the country. As you might expect, the local Chamber of Commerce went around beating their chests and taking the credit - although they DID give us a dinner at the local Rotary club smile. Looking at it from the inside, those results were the result of a team effort between the teachers and the parents.

- Tom -

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XXL540, GO LIVE 1535, GO 620

According to the latest

According to the latest information we are getting from research studies, most of the school going kids are not going to be seriously ill by the virus because of their more active innate immunity. However, their parents and senior relatives at home can get the virus and will have higher probability of getting seriously ill from the disease.

The cheapest and easiest way to prevent the virus: Mask. It's going to take couple more months before we can see the first batch of any vaccine.

good schools

When we moved to CO I asked a buddy from my youth who was Asst. Director of Schools in a modest sized county in eastern MA how to judge schools. He explained that you find good schools where parents demand them. Not a great deal of help. Trying to follow that I found out that CO had a high college graduate population (mainly people moving in?). We tried to find where folks lived who had jobs demanding education and made our best guess. We did OK with living in one of the better school districts in the state. Not great,,, but OK.

My logic may have failed when I equated educated with demanding good schools. Last I checked (a while ago) CO was 48th in per student funding for both K-12 and higher education. I don’t believe that there are really a great number of ski bums (which come in many flavors) but I’ve wondered if many of the college graduates here are ski bums.