So, how do you reopen schools? (Preschool to High School & even College)

[visionary]

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by visionary

[visionary]

 

[purbeast]

What the ****?  Where the hell did this come from?

 

We have some zoom class tonight for my 5 year old's kindergarten stuff and then tomorrow we meet his teacher online.  Then he starts virtual kindergarten on Monday.

 

What the hell does this even mean?

[visionary]

 

Maybe Hogan is getting pressure from up the food chain.

Edited August 27, 2020 by visionary

[visionary]

 

 

 

I wonder if we will have some spread in the area from Trump and Pence's speeches.

[EmirOfShmo]

44 minutes ago, visionary said:

Maybe Hogan is getting pressure from up the food chain.

You know damn well he is. 

[visionary]

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by visionary

[China]

Dropped my son off at college this past weekend.  He had a negative COVID test before he left, and has taken another one after his arrival (still negative).  Cornell has a tracking website which shows that they have had 4 positive tests in the last week (out of about 7,750 tests).  I'll be monitoring the situation closely, as hopefully will they.

[JCB]

It’s the Wild West at NC State. All the dorms got ordered to clear. Student staff, TAs, mentors having their contracts terminated. So grossly unethical. The students are completely reeling.

[dfitzo53]

Yeah the Hogan announcement caught us all (Maryland teachers) by surprise. I assume he's being leaned on, but I'm not sure by whom. It seems like Trump's influence, especially over moderate Republicans like Hogan, is waning.

 

Hopefully he's out in two years. His record on education is mostly talk and massaging the numbers.

[Xameil]

9 hours ago, China said:

Dropped my son off at college this past weekend.  He had a negative COVID test before he left, and has taken another one after his arrival (still negative).  Cornell has a tracking website which shows that they have had 4 positive tests in the last week (out of about 7,750 tests).  I'll be monitoring the situation closely, as hopefully will they.

If Cornell is following the same rules as the NYS Universities and the rest of the state for that matter, they will...

[China]

A university is offering scholarships for you to do absolutely nothing

 

How would you like to win a scholarship for doing nothing? A German university is soliciting submissions for just that, and three people will be awarded a $1,900 stipend.

 

On Wednesday, The University of Fine Arts in Hamburg announced a call for applications for their "Scholarships for Doing Nothing," between now and September 15.

"The world we are living in is driven by the belief in success, in growth, in money. This thinking was leading us into the ecological crisis -- and social injustice -- we are living in. We wanted to turn that upside down -- giving a grant not for the 'best' and for 'doing a project,' but for doing nothing," said Friedrich von Borries, a professor of design theory at the university and creator of the scholarship project.

Von Borries told CNN that applicants from all over the world and all walks of life are welcome to present their ideas.

The submission questionnaire asks applicants to think about an activity they do not want to do, how long they don't want to do it for, why it is important to not do the specific thing in question, and why they are the right person not to do it.

The idea is that refraining from doing something may actually benefit others, who would otherwise be impacted by the negative consequences of our actions.

"We played with the term 'doing nothing' but we are meaning, to be more precise, 'not doing something anymore,'" von Borries said, speaking about the conscious decision to pursue "active inactivity."

All applications will be anonymously featured in an upcoming exhibition at Hamburg's Museum of Art and Design called "The School of Inconsequentiality: Exercises for a Different Life," focused on the idea of sustainability.

Three cash prize winners will be announced at the opening of the exhibition on November 5, and winners will be required to produce a report about their experience to be featured at the exhibit.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[purbeast]

My son started his virtual kindergarten this morning.  I know they are trying hard, but I mean this is going to be a ****ing disaster.  He has to go from 9-11:30, then 90 minute break, then 2 more hours from 1-3.  Around 10am he's already getting bored and not paying attention.  I just went upstairs to get a drink and my wife told me how he told the teacher he's bored after he finished a drawing.  Then when I'm up there I hear the teacher giving instructions and he's just not listening/following at all.

 

I know it's day 1 and all and I hope he adjusts, but I just don't see this being a realistic way to teach 5 year olds for the first semester.  I hope I am wrong though.

[Springfield]

15 minutes ago, purbeast said:

My son started his virtual kindergarten this morning.  I know they are trying hard, but I mean this is going to be a ****ing disaster.  He has to go from 9-11:30, then 90 minute break, then 2 more hours from 1-3.  Around 10am he's already getting bored and not paying attention.  I just went upstairs to get a drink and my wife told me how he told the teacher he's bored after he finished a drawing.  Then when I'm up there I hear the teacher giving instructions and he's just not listening/following at all.

 

I know it's day 1 and all and I hope he adjusts, but I just don't see this being a realistic way to teach 5 year olds for the first semester.  I hope I am wrong though.

 

This is the exact reason that we are doing home school kindergarten for ours. He's easily distracted and gets bored when things aren't challenging enough. There's no way a virtual teacher will be able to keep him on track. Now... If my wife and I can keep our own sanity while trying to teach him is another question. That and if there's enough time in the day after we both get off of work to teach.

 

It sucks all around.

[purbeast]

15 minutes ago, Springfield said:

 

This is the exact reason that we are doing home school kindergarten for ours. He's easily distracted and gets bored when things aren't challenging enough. There's no way a virtual teacher will be able to keep him on track. Now... If my wife and I can keep our own sanity while trying to teach him is another question. That and if there's enough time in the day after we both get off of work to teach.

 

It sucks all around.

Yeah there is no way we can homeschool him either.  I have to work and we have a 3 week old in the house with us.  Neither of us are trained to be teachers either so I just don't see how we could realistically do that.

[tshile]

So, got to get a little inside baseball on how my county wound up so screwed up dealing with this. Used to blame county officials for putting teachers in a bad spot. Used to be very pro-teacher. 
 

but it’s the teachers that made this a **** show. Far beyond what they portray publicly. Even went out of their way to **** up the daycare programs they had the ability to **** up (which does not involve teachers at all they’re just being petulant little ****s about it)

 

They’re good at putting on a pretty face. Previously I would have not supported anything anti-teacher. Now I’m going to until this group changes/is out of here. 

Edited August 31, 2020 by tshile

[China]

 

So risk of Legionnaire's isn't limited to office buildings but schools as well:

 

Reopened Schools Find Health Risks in Water After Covid-19 Lockdowns

 

A number of schools found the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease in their water, and experts say more should expect to see it.

 

The new coronavirus is not the only illness that teachers, students, parents and staff will have to worry about as some schools attempt to reopen this fall. Legionella could lurk in the water supplies of school buildings, and some measures to keep people in schools safe from coronavirus may even increase risks from deadly illnesses caused by the bacteria.

 

Last week in Ohio, officials found Legionella at five schools in an assortment of towns. On Friday, a district in Pennsylvania also announced it had found Legionella at four of its schools.

 

“It is unusual to hear about nine schools in a one-week period having a detection of Legionella,” said Andrew Whelton, an associate professor of civil, environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University in Indiana who has been studying the effects of lockdown on water systems. He said that more schools may be testing for the bacteria than in a typical year.

 

Legionella, usually Legionella pneumophila, is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, a respiratory condition. It can form in stagnant water and then disperse through the air and be inhaled when, for example, a shower or tap is turned on. It can be fatal in one in 10 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although young children are less at risk of Legionnaires’, older students, adults and people with compromised immune systems are vulnerable.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[dfitzo53]

3 hours ago, tshile said:

So, got to get a little inside baseball on how my county wound up so screwed up dealing with this. Used to blame county officials for putting teachers in a bad spot. Used to be very pro-teacher. 
 

but it’s the teachers that made this a **** show. Far beyond what they portray publicly. Even went out of their way to **** up the daycare programs they had the ability to **** up (which does not involve teachers at all they’re just being petulant little ****s about it)

 

They’re good at putting on a pretty face. Previously I would have not supported anything anti-teacher. Now I’m going to until this group changes/is out of here. 

That sounds like a strange situation and not at all how teachers here are handling it.

 

What were they supposedly doing to mess up daycare programs?

[just654]

3 hours ago, tshile said:

So, got to get a little inside baseball on how my county wound up so screwed up dealing with this. Used to blame county officials for putting teachers in a bad spot. Used to be very pro-teacher. 
 

but it’s the teachers that made this a **** show. Far beyond what they portray publicly. Even went out of their way to **** up the daycare programs they had the ability to **** up (which does not involve teachers

at all they’re just being petulant little ****s about it)

 

They’re good at putting on a pretty face. Previously I would have not supported anything anti-teacher. Now I’m going to until this group changes/is out of here. 

 

As a husband of a teacher in PG County. And everything she has gone through. I would like to know more. If this is about the unions, I can understand your frustration. But the teachers themselves I am going to need some more details. 

[mammajamma]

college-aged was the highest demographic for positive cases in the last month or 2 during summer break. so what'd they expect to happen when they put everyone in that demographic all together in 1 area? college courses are also the most equipped for distance learning, so if these kindergarten teachers can figure it out, why are they cramming thousands of people that aren't taking it seriously all together?

[tshile]

It’s the union and some of the teachers. 
 

im not sure what details I can relay so I’ll just stick to what I said. 
 

I have no qualms with my kid’s teachers. They appear to be trying very hard to do their best and my wife and I appreciate it. 
 

but there’s a reason why my county didn’t go fully virtual until the last minute. And in doing so, they created a situation where there was an inadequate solution in place for the children to use. Previously I had assumed that was the board and other county power wielder’s fault - in fact I specifically assumed that the political ideology of those people (or the people that are responsible for voting these people in. Ie: their constituents) caused them to try a power play to force schools to be open against the teachers will. 
 

but what I’ve now been told is that wasn’t the case at all. Instead it was the teachers union and a group of teachers that went out of their way to screw the whole system up and create the chaos our children are now trying to navigate. 
 

additionally they’re using their “powers” to screw up child care set up for the underprivileged in ways that mean they’re in situations that I believe are inadequate for learning. Additionally, it’s causing facilities to be shut down that serve these children so who knows what that means for them and their parents. 
 

spinning up virtual learning on the fly over 3 months when so many other districts are trying to do the same thing is hard enough. Doing it in 2 weeks is impossible. And there’s fault for that. And while I previously would have refused to believe that the teachers would do such a thing, it has become apparent that they have. And what’s going on with the child care situation, and who’s saying what on each side, also flies in the face of what I would have otherwise assumed. 
 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by tshile

[techboy]

6 minutes ago, just654 said:

 If this is about the unions, I can understand your frustration. 

 

There aren't any unions in Virginia... It's a right to work state. There are "professional organizations", with precisely zero actual power, and further they're splintered into two major and several minor groups. Teachers in Virginia can't do more than complain loudly and hope PR gets someone with actual power to listen.

 

I don't know what the situation @tshileis referencing encompasses, but short of whining and getting their way from someone with actual authority, I don't see what teachers could have done to sabotage child care, which would still leave another target, i.e. actual decision makers.

 

Maybe it's an unusual situation.

[tshile]

3 minutes ago, techboy said:

There aren't any unions in Virginia... It's a right to work state

This is not true. There are teachers unions here. There are unions for other public entities as well
 

Virginia bars those unions from collectively bargaining on salary and compensation. 
 

But they’re trying to change that

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virginia-public-school-teachers-poised-to-gain-collective-bargaining-rights/2020/02/18/3820c30c-4da3-11ea-9b5c-eac5b16dafaa_story.html

 

[techboy]

5 minutes ago, tshile said:

This is not true. There are teachers unions here. There are unions for other public entities as well
 

Virginia bars those unions from collectively bargaining on salary and compensation. 
 

But they’re trying to change that

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virginia-public-school-teachers-poised-to-gain-collective-bargaining-rights/2020/02/18/3820c30c-4da3-11ea-9b5c-eac5b16dafaa_story.html

 

 

AFT and NEA call themselves unions, but in this state, they have no power. Zero. Zilch. None. People join for the  insurance.

 

Collective bargaining is what makes a union a union, and it's what a layperson thinks of when he hears the word "union", so using the term is misleading in my view.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the Democrats now in control change that, but it hasn't happened yet.

Edited August 31, 2020 by techboy

[tshile]

5 minutes ago, techboy said:

short of whining and getting their way from someone with actual authority, I don't see what teachers could have done to sabotage child care, which would still leave another target, i.e. actual decision makers.

No what they did was agree to a plan with the board and the county such that the entire summer was spent facilitating that. Then at the last minute they told everyone they would quit if the plans weren’t changed dramatically.  And then some started quitting. 
 

if they had said that back in June they would have been replaced. And they knew that. So they waited until the last minute because the county can’t replace that many people right now. 
 

and then they used their powers to force underprivileged children in an affordable/subsidized daycare situation to go from using unoccupied individual rooms so that they can be guided in their school work, to be forced into one big area with individual desks. It’s chaotic and I don’t see how it’s safe with the number of kids we’re talking about. 
 

and because that’s not good enough for them, they’re now forcing some of them to be shut down. 
 

my kids school isn’t having this problem that I’m aware of. But at least a few others are.