More than 40 school principals in northern California have quarantined after they were exposed to the coronavirus during an in-person meeting held by a local school district.
Trump wants capital punishment for SARS-CoV-2.
Ā·
Despite record new US case numbers, Trump claims the coronavirus is āgetting under control,ā then goes on a weird rant about how the virus has āgot a life, and weāre putting out that life, because thatās a bad life that weāre talking about.ā
The biggest problem with reopening schools this fall isnāt the children, it is the teachers.
And they want to reopen the schools. SMH. Anyone think they have a workable practical plan for what to do when teachers and students test positive? I donāt.
Closer to home (Iām on the East Coast), Iāve watched the situation in Virginia, where Fairfax and Loudoun counties want parents and teachers to commit to either 100% distance learning or part time in-person instructionāwithout having most of the details ironed out that would give parents and teachers the information they need to make that choice. They have to commit to one choice or the other, and they have to do it by July 10 in Fairfax County and July 13 in Loudoun County. Teachers are not guaranteed to get their choice, at least in Loudoun County (not sure about Fairfax), but they must choose one or the other if they wish to be employed by the school system for the coming year.
I get that the administrators need a long lead time to plan what will undoubtedly be a complex scheduling situation in a fluid environment, but if I were a parent or teacher, I would not be able to make the choice without a lot more information than the administrators have provided. Distance learning might be safest, but that requires at least one parent to be at home, which might not be feasible for the parents. And Fairfaxās distance learning was a big mess in the spring, and it isnāt clear that it was every really fixed to the point that itās ready for the coming semester.
Monday I submitted my letter of resignation to my principal instead of waiting to retire from teaching next June. Everything Iām seeing about Covid right now makes me way too uncomfortable to return to the classroom- the numbers, the pressure, the behavior of people (which will include students and parents). I just couldnāt do it. And this news item just reinforces that I made the right decision.
(however the next day I got a call to see if I want to do an online middle school teaching assignment ā¦so I may not actually be retired. Waiting to see if that will actually happen.
āBad hombresā, āBad applesā, āBad livesāā¦ it all adds up to a not-so-good term in Office, right Mr. Current Occupant?
In the district Iām leaving, plans have been changing almost weekly. The district has a modified calendar (almost year round) and typically would return July 20. The board voted to return to school later, August 10, and then the governor said schools would not reopen in person until Aug 17, so they are starting virtually on August 10. Between the risk factors and the challenges of trying to implement new science standards but not the way they need to be implemented, all of the necessary changes to try to keep kids safe and the uncertainty of how the year will go- it wasnāt worth it for the last yearās salary. I sure hope that teachers and kids are going to be able to navigate this but it seems so uncertain.
I wonder who heās really talking about. He has a tendency to project, and he also has a habit of blabbing about something he isnāt supposed to talk about by making this kind of comment with hidden meanings. Or maybe heās just so incapable of saying anything coherent anymore that Iām reading too much into this one.
I hope that works out for you. At least you have some control over what you will and wonāt do now. What a mess! I sympathize greatly with parents, children, teachers, and administrators. There are no good solutions in this situations.
Stella Kemp is what you call a bad boss.
He forgot to mention āBad Current Occupant in the White House.ā
Thank you -
There are absolutely no good options right now!
OT: Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested.
Good for you. If you can distance teach, and you want to, so much the better.
Just another reminder that SARS CoV-2 is in the same viral family as the common cold and at least as infectious.
Many schools will not be opening on schedule and many that open will close soon thereafter.
More than 40 School Principals Quarantinedā¦
Former school administrator here.
What was the Superintendent thinking?
From my well-informed perspective, trying to open school in a face-to-face manner this August/September is utter madness. Districts/States that persist in this approach will have dead kids and adult staff as a result. This is completely avoidable. Donāt do it.
If Blue state Cali has school principals quarantinedā¦
What will those Red and Very Red/Trumpian states do when some students would have Covid Party and bet on who gets sick first?
āCOVID partiesā with their friends and gambling on who will get sick first,
Terrible judgment call, Superintendent. She was pushing her luck to make a point that thereās very little risk involved in this, she gambled and lost. No way she keeps her job now, especially if any of those folks get sick.
Switzerland set on a mandatory group size, any age, of 5 at the peak of the epidemic. This simple measure significantly improved the countryās covid suppression efforts, even as it shared a border with northern Italy. Denmark and Finland have limited class size, which has meant putting some other facilities into services and having some classes outside. Hand-washing and hygiene are stressed, although masking is not. The US could safely restart schools once the virus daily infection rate falls for a month or so and the R is well below 1. Since US classes are hugely overstuffed, only a percentage, say half of students, perhaps determined by lot, can return to normal classrooms. If say the average class size is 24, 12 could come back. Every time the school could create additional safe conditions for another 12, another class could return, etc. You could also rotate, or have at least one day a week where the other half of the class comes in for face time. The problem is deep and structural, and wonāt be solved overnight. I agree it would be insane to convene large classes again. The US tried that with premature āreopeningā and howās that working out?
Yes, I thought about that too.