Pediatricians call for in person school this fall

[win1forthe]

Very few, if any, districts will pay teachers to sit out a year. School Boards and taxpayers will not tolerate that.

And while higher unemployment is usually really good for filling sub pools, not at this time, though. I have a permanent sub position in my building that I cannot fill because no one will accept it.

 

[artradley]

Very few, if any, districts will pay teachers to sit out a year. School Boards and taxpayers will not tolerate that.

And while higher unemployment is usually really good for filling sub pools, not at this time, though. I have a permanent sub position in my building that I cannot fill because no one will accept it.

Congress should assist. Better to have a number of targeted assistance programs than throwing out checks en masse.

 

[Jim Grizzly]

If we're completely honest. The #1 job of public schools is daycare so parents can work. Obviously, there are many other aspects that are important but there's a reason most HS have a 97% graduation rate.

It will be an interesting year!

 

[RileyHawk]

When did pediatricians become experts on pandemic disease spread? Or education? I get that they should be pretty knowledgeable but they aren't the go to experts for either of those areas.

That said, in person schooling where it is safe is a given. I don't think anyone has a reasonable argument against that. The question is about safety and for whom. Children are one category but not the only of concern. And if we're allowing teachers to opt out who are at risk, who is going to take those jobs on that are qualified to teach?

 

[mcgrawfsu]

For middle school and up I don’t think it’s difficult for teachers to maintain distance.

For elementary school, it would probably be better to pay the at-risk teachers to sit out the year than to tell the millions of children to sit out.

Any way you slice it, unemployment among teachers is going to be massive, so there will be a pool of available replacements.

A lot of districts are providing a virtual option for high risk kids. Let the vulnerable teachers teach the virtual classes. I’d also consider letting those who are eligible retire a year or two early.

 

[haw-key]

So what you’re saying is we really don’t know what’s going to happen.

Does anyone?

 

[mcgrawfsu]

When did pediatricians become experts on pandemic disease spread? Or education? I get that they should be pretty knowledgeable but they aren't the go to experts for either of those areas.

That said, in person schooling where it is safe is a given. I don't think anyone has a reasonable argument against that. The question is about safety and for whom. Children are one category but not the only of concern. And if we're allowing teachers to opt out who are at risk, who is going to take those jobs on that are qualified to teach?

my wife is a teacher. From my observation the at risk teachers have no problems going to restaurants, Home Depot, church, and other places that are just as likely to spread the virus.

Also, every single teacher under 50 at her school is hopeful they are allowed back in the classrooms.

 

[haw-key]

my wife is a teacher. From my observation the at risk teachers have no problems going to restaurants, Home Depot, church, and other places that are just as likely to spread the virus.

Also, every single teacher under 50 at her school is hopeful they are allowed back in the classrooms.

My wife is a teacher as well. And is under 50. And is also hopeful classes resume as normal.

Grade school kids will not respond to virtual learning in the way HS kids could. I'm not passing on my opinion but hers.

 

[mcgrawfsu]

My wife is a teacher as well. And is under 50. And is also hopeful classes resume as normal.

Grade school kids will not respond to virtual learning in the way HS kids could. This isn't my opinion. It is hers.

Same here. Wife teaches 5th. Also, the virtual public HS in our county was a disaster. And we live in one of the better districts in FL.

 

[artradley]

When did pediatricians become experts on pandemic disease spread? Or education? I get that they should be pretty knowledgeable but they aren't the go to experts for either of those areas.

That said, in person schooling where it is safe is a given. I don't think anyone has a reasonable argument against that. The question is about safety and for whom. Children are one category but not the only of concern. And if we're allowing teachers to opt out who are at risk, who is going to take those jobs on that are qualified to teach?

Well, Fauci is not an expert on the ramifications of massive shutdowns and the ensuing societal ills. I said the from the beginning it's beyond foolish to only listen to people whose only expertise is minimizing health care risks. We should have had a panel of health care experts, mental health experts, economists, etc. to create a strategy that balanced everything in our approach to battling the pandemic. Sacrificing children to save the elderly is not a wise or caring strategy.

At least this group is trying to find that balance.

 

[artradley]

My wife is a teacher as well. And is under 50. And is also hopeful classes resume as normal.

Grade school kids will not respond to virtual learning in the way HS kids could. I'm not passing on my opinion but hers.

My wife performs school-based physical therapy for special needs kids. These children are entitled, by law, to have physical and occupational therapy provided by the school. She's been performing online therapy sessions for the few students who a)have the resources and available adults at home to assist, and b)are high-level enough to perform online therapy. For those students it is inadequate. All of the others are left out completely.

Too many people's thinking is too simplistic, and they don't understand the ramifications of some of our actions.

 

[BioHawk]

I would bet there’s gonna be a graph that shows direct correlation between the kids’ time spent at home during this crisis to the spike in pre-diabetes many will have due to the extensive period of inactivity.

It’s all bad. This sucks.

Maybe, but those pre-diabetes kids will likely end up pre-diabetic anyway, pandemic or no pandemic. That has more to do with the way we feed ourselves.

 

[BioHawk]

Very few, if any, districts will pay teachers to sit out a year. School Boards and taxpayers will not tolerate that.

And while higher unemployment is usually really good for filling sub pools, not at this time, though. I have a permanent sub position in my building that I cannot fill because no one will accept it.

Teachers will not be "sitting out". It will be more distance learning, which actually took a considerable amount of time and effort. I spent a full day working and could easily have spent many more hours if I needed to.

The problem with remote learning is students not participating, which happens for multiple reasons. However, I think you will see people give a "well, that's their problem" response before they will say, "We need to wait until everyone can get back in school", for education. After all, the college bound students, the ones that will most likely be in positions to make decisions in the future will still be doing the work no matter where the learning is taking place.

 

[ironside1]

First, schools will not be the cause off 100k in deaths.

Second, you are pretty casual about throwing an entire generation of children under the bus - not to mention the cascading societal misery and unemployment that goes with that. Pretty damn heartless and short sighted.

We have already witnessed what opening up too early did to the country with cases. That was with only a portion of people disregarding masks and social distancing. My family has continued to wear masks when out and only go to the grocery store. If/when school starts my wife (a teacher) will go to a school with 700 people. My oldest son will go to a different school with 400. My two youngest children will go to a different school with 300 kids. Then they will all come home everyday where I am working from home. I don’t know the math but home many people will we be in contact with everyday? Now compound this by every family with children or family that has a teacher ,counselor, school nurse, facilitator, janitor, cafeteria worker in their household.

I guess I don’t really think I’m just “throwing out” the number of 100k loosely. Also, with 3 children and my wife being a teacher I feel as if I have thought about it a lot.

 

[win1forthe]

Anyone who works in education knows the best way to teach and learn is in person, especially with younger students. I believe it’s too simplistic, though, to say just let all of the kids back in the building. Social distancing in a school is unrealistic. Schools weren’t built to have 25 first graders, or any age student, stay 6 feet apart.

Our Health Office typically deals with kids And adults spreading colds, flu, strep throat, lice, and pertussis and all of those are treatable, for the most part. This virus is different and the unknown is scaring the crap out of parents.

The items mentioned in the article are all things most schools are already talking about and planning for, there were zero new recommendations in that article. Schools are just trying to provide the safest environment possible for all students, staff and families, recognizing that schools need to be very aware that parents need to get to work, until a vaccine is available.

 

[artradley]

We have already witnessed what opening up too early did to the country with cases. That was with only a portion of people disregarding masks and social distancing. My family has continued to wear masks when out and only go to the grocery store. If/when school starts my wife (a teacher) will go to a school with 700 people. My oldest son will go to a different school with 400. My two youngest children will go to a different school with 300 kids. Then they will all come home everyday where I am working from home. I don’t know the math but home many people will we be in contact with everyday? Now compound this by every family with children or family that has a teacher ,counselor, school nurse, facilitator, janitor, cafeteria worker in their household.

I guess I don’t really think I’m just “throwing out” the number of 100k loosely. Also, with 3 children and my wife being a teacher I feel as if I have thought about it a lot.

Then I would suggest your wife take a year off and home school your children.

 

[ironside1]

Then I would suggest your wife take a year off and home school your children.

Well that sure would help only our family

 

[shank hawk]

I put as much stock in Joe's Place's opinion as I do OIT's

@OiT is a thick-skinned guy that doesn’t take himself too seriously, which we need more around here.

On the other hand, Joe demands that we give him respect and take all his serious conjecture ultra-seriously.

Easy choice to me.

 

[damayason]

Does anyone?

No, nobody does. So hope for the best, plan for the worst. But I fear there will be no planning for things going wrong.

 

[artradley]

Well that sure would help only our family

We are supposed to be making our public policy based on the experts. The experts say we should open schools. But nobody is forcing you to follow that advice. If it's more risk than you can bare, you can stay home.

But it is intolerable for you to both ignore the advice of experts and in so doing remove the choice of others, and inflict the ills upon them that they wish to avoid.

 

[shank hawk]

Is there any reason Sweden should be concerned about school this year? They took almost no preventive measures and this thing has burned itself out.

124 out of 57,000 cases are considered serious and deaths are way down. Guess CNN/WHO/CDC/Fauci/Trump were way off there.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/

 

[ironside1]

We are supposed to be making our public policy based on the experts. The experts say we should open schools. But nobody is forcing you to follow that advice. If it's more risk than you can bare, you can stay home.

But it is intolerable for you to both ignore the advice of experts and in so doing remove the choice of others, and inflict the ills upon them that they wish to avoid.

Haha, no where did I say I was making the decision for everyone. I just wanted to have a discussion.

That article also states that a lot of things need to happen that can’t. Like others have said in the thread above, social distancing in schools is impossible with full capacity.

 

[Run&Blade]

Is there any reason Sweden should be concerned about school this year? They took almost no preventive measures and this thing has burned itself out.

124 out of 57,000 cases are considered serious and deaths are way down. Guess CNN/WHO/CDC/Fauci/Trump were way off there.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/

That is exactly what the United States is doing. Just going to take 5 years.

 

[shank hawk]

That is exactly what the United States is doing. Just going to take 5 years.

It’s inevitable; don’t think there’s anything that could be done to drag it out that long though.

 

[blhawk]

I think statistically children are more likely to get shot at school than die of Coronavirus.

You're probably correct....righties would like to up the odds of both

 

[tarheelbybirth]

High school and college aged kids are more likely to commit suicide than die of Covid19. But, hey, let’s refuse to let them go to school and socialize so they don’t spread the disease to their grandparents. That will be healthy for them.

How about this? You host 25 kids in your living room for 9 hours a day starting now. They get to socialize and their parents need to go back to work. You have to spend the entire time in their company so you might want to plan activities to keep them occupied.

 

[BBHawk]

So now we ignore the experts?

Did I ssy that?

 

[Joes Place]

In before Joe’s Place informs you that the AAP is a bunch of anti-science whack jobs.

Did u miss the "safely" qualifier?

 

[Joes Place]

So now we ignore the experts?

The experts qualified their statement with "where it can be done safely".

Areas where the virus is spreading unchecked probably do not reasonably meet this criteria.

 

[Joes Place]

We are supposed to be making our public policy based on the experts. The experts say we should open schools "where it can be done safely".

Fixed

 

[LBoogie28]

Hopefully this group wasn’t using OP’s previous death projections/case totals to make this recommendation.

 

[Joes Place]

Hopefully this group wasn’t using OP’s previous death projections/case totals to make this recommendation.

LMAO!!!!

Yup.

 

[tumorboy]

Same here. Wife teaches 5th. Also, the virtual public HS in our county was a disaster. And we live in one of the better districts in FL.

Virtual schools are great for high achievers. The rest not so much.

 

[Tom Paris]

We are supposed to be making our public policy based on the experts. The experts say we should open schools. But nobody is forcing you to follow that advice. If it's more risk than you can bare, you can stay home.

But it is intolerable for you to both ignore the advice of experts and in so doing remove the choice of others, and inflict the ills upon them that they wish to avoid.

You do realize actual EXPERTS are saying to open schools safely and not in some haphazard way, right? We're going to open, but it isn't going to look like it did last October. You're making it sound like open as normal...which would be stupid.

 

[tumorboy]

How about this? You host 25 kids in your living room for 9 hours a day starting now. They get to socialize and their parents need to go back to work. You have to spend the entire time in their company so you might want to plan activities to keep them occupied.

Theories of Cinema . I'd need an entire new A/V system a new room added to the house. At tax payers expense of course.

 

[artradley]

You do realize actual EXPERTS are saying to open schools safely and not in some haphazard way, right? We're going to open, but it isn't going to look like it did last October. You're making it sound like open as normal...which would be stupid.

They are saying in-person classes. That is the point of emphasis. They weighed the pros and the cons, and believe in person causes the less damage.

 

[Joes Place]

They weighed the pros and the cons, and believe in person causes the less damage.

That is not what they said.

They said reopen "where it is safe".
If your community has the virus spread dropping/under control. That is NOT the majority of locations right now.

 

[artradley]

That is not what they said.

They said reopen "where it is safe".
If your community has the virus spread dropping/under control. That is NOT the majority of locations right now.

You think their recommendation is for the majority of schools to be online? Come on.

Btw, it is under control in the vast majority of school districts across the country.

 

[Joes Place]

You think their recommendation is for the majority of schools to be online? Come on.

Their recommendation is basically you have a couple months to get your infection rates low enough that it's "safe", and that SHOULD be our priority.

 

[Joes Place]

I find it rather odd (and concerning) AAP repeats the claim that "Covid-19" does not affect children severely, but have completely ignored the outbreaks of MIS-C that are occurring.

And, still, the CDC Demographics page indicates a 5% CFR for infants/toddlers 0-4 years old. We're at 2 weeks where that data has not been corrected or addressed.

CDC has not updated their info on this in over a month now. It would seem a fool's errand to "reopen" schools willy-nilly unless we have a clearer picture on this syndrome, which will not show up for 4 weeks AFTER infections have spread thru a population of children.