Are you sending your kids to school next month?

[spiders]

So, basically, you are looking at school as babysitting and the parents have more rights to say what a teacher has to do (risk getting COVID) than that teacher herself?

They didn't say that...you said that.

The teacher has every right to quit, just like every single essential worker has had since the very beginning.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Day before metro Atlanta school set to open, principal reports COVID-19 cases on football team

If schools are going to open, they need to not have sports.

 

[Mango7100]

this statement right here would be why I would not send a child to that school. I understand the need for services in religious-based schools, but putting half of your student body together just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Lots of churches have done virtual services, couldn’t the school do the same with their students?

I agree, that part was a sticking point for me. Usually they have a all school church with K-8 but now they are doing K-4 one day and 5-8 the other. They have to wear masks and distance but still...I wasn’t comfortable with that ye, not with our current numbers. We haven’t been to church since they opened back up in June and don’t plan on it for awhile...

 

[Colleen27]

Day before metro Atlanta school set to open, principal reports COVID-19 cases on football team

If schools are going to open, they need to not have sports.

No kidding! Two football programs and a marching band near me have positives already - during the first full week of practices. With more than a month before the schools open, I'm seriously concerned that the decision to allow fall sports to begin more or less as normal is going to end up being the tipping point that ends up keeping the schools closed.

 

[gwynne]

Day before metro Atlanta school set to open, principal reports COVID-19 cases on football team

If schools are going to open, they need to not have sports.

Sports or no sports, It's going to be nearly impossible to keep covid out of schools in places with lots of disease.

 

[gwynne]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1290084802373095425

 

[JM23457]

Doors also have to be closed and locked in case there is an active shooter or a person who just shouldn't be there.

No, they don't. Doors have to be locked, but they can stay open. You just close them if the need arises, and since they're pre-locked, no additional locking is needed.

 

[monsterkitty]

No, they don't. They have to be locked, but the door can stay open. You just close them when the need arises, and since they're pre-locked, no additional locking is needed.

No, actually they have to be closed and locked in accordance with state rules. Trust me, I fought and lost. No A/C in a room with no windows and temps ranging from 90-106, I fought tooth and nail to have my door open.

 

[JM23457]

No, actually they have to be closed and locked in accordance with state rules. Trust me, I fought and lost. No A/C in a room with no windows and temps ranging from 90-106, I fought tooth and nail to have my door open.

Not in our state. Every state is different.

 

[White_Rabbit18]

I don’t understand how they throw teachers and store workers all in the same basket when they talk about risks. We can all be incredibly grateful for what they have done in the last few months but at the same time appreciate that teachers are entering in an environment with more risks.

1.) I don’t go into the shop and hug or stay in the personal space of the workers. Little kids have absolutely no concept of personal space and even if we remind them, it will slip their mind 5 minutes later and they will be back next to you. I imagine that the vast majority of adults are able to follow the instructions of keeping a distance and if not most places now have plexiglass to protect some of the workers. People won’t except people working in stores to give them a small hug if they are feeling sad or upset. What will teachers do if a little kid cries? Walk away?

2.) Stores are usually bigger and allow for more social distancing. Shoppers are all the time moving around and not staying hours in the same store.
Now compare that to a small classroom of 20+ kids and an enclosed space for many hours.

3.)Most kids are probably better at complying with wearing a mask but how good are they with storing them and keeping them clean when they put them on and taking it off.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Very thorough article in NYMag about the NYC DOE's closure in March and the plans for the fall.

 

[jlwhitney]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1290084802373095425

The key in that headline is OR.......for all we know only 5 actually are positive but most people will read it and think that 260 are are actually positive. Like most news they don't lie necessarily but they word things to get people to think a certain way. So in the end it may not be nearly bad as it sounds.

 

[Turn the Page]

So, basically, you are looking at school as babysitting and the parents have more rights to say what a teacher has to do (risk getting COVID) than that teacher herself?



Look around your area - do the stores have plexiglass around the cashiers? At restaurants? If so, make a list of all these places and submit that to the fire marshall. How can it be safe in those places but not in a school?



Isn't participating in band one of the most risky behaviors to catch COVID right now? Blowing through instruments - how are they going to wear masks?

They are currently in marching season so they are outside. Also, DD14 is in color guard. Those flag poles are nearly 6 feet long in and of themselves so social distancing is baked right in. I'm not sure what their plan is for concert season. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Both of my children are teachers. As of now, they will be teaching online but may be required to return to the classroom after Labor Day. They teach elementary children, who we all know do not know how to wear a mask or social distance. I know many will disagree with me, but I do not feel that teachers are essential workers. An essential service is one that is needed for the safety and welfare of the public. We could close schools for the entire school year if necessary and do online schooling. It may not be the best solution but it would be safer for all concerned. I feel like my daughters are being called into a war zone. I know they have a choice. They could quit. But teaching is not just a job for them. It is their calling and their passion. They just want to do it without unjustified risk to themselves and to their students.

 

[Renarr]

The key in that headline is OR.......for all we know only 5 actually are positive but most people will read it and think that 260 are are actually positive. Like most news they don't lie necessarily but they word things to get people to think a certain way. So in the end it may not be nearly bad as it sounds.

Yes and no. While I agree that the headline is more alarmist in the sense of implying 260 infections than it needs to be, 260 staff to be out and not permitted to be at work for the time being is a huge burden on the substitute pools of even large districts. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There aren't even any students in the building.

 

[Turn the Page]

My DM was.....displeased with our decision to keep the kids home. She has jumped on the social interaction bandwagon and feels they need to go to in person classes for that reason. I agree social interaction is important but school is not going to look like school this year. They're going to be in masks 6 feet apart and can't even eat lunch with their friends. How is that better than staying home and texting with their friends?

Tragically, a recently graduated student committed suicide earlier this summer and my mother has now convinced herself it is due to the covid induced social isolation (I have heard absolutely no allegations that this is the case) and thinks DD14 will become suicidal doing online school in the basement (aka her fully finished bedroom with en suite full bathroom) 5 hours a day.

 

[Turn the Page]

Yes and no. While I agree that the headline is more alarmist in the sense of implying 260 infections than it needs to be, 260 staff to be out and not permitted to be at work for the time being is a huge burden on the substitute pools of even large districts. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There aren't even any students in the building.

My good friend lives in that district and has been ranting for weeks over the entire situation. They finally decided to keep their kids home and can't figure out why the schools are planning to open in person.

 

[kdonnel]

My good friend lives in that district and has been ranting for weeks over the entire situation. They finally decided to keep their kids home and can't figure out why the schools are planning to open in person.

The Gwinnett County Public Schools are NOT opening in person. They are opening 100% digital on a delayed start of August 12th. That has been the decision for several weeks now.

 

[GreatLakes]

I miss social interaction with my friends too but this is only temporary. My wife, my child, and I will all be socially active again when it is safe to do so. Forcing kids back to school for "social interaction" in the face of health dangers is short sighted. Play the long game. When my son is 40 not being socially active 6 or 12 months of his life 30+ years in the past isn't going to matter but anyone he carried this disease to could still be impacted by either still being dead or still having what appear to be lingering side effects of the disease.

Is it a pain to have our son at home all day in need of entertainment while both my wife and I work? Of course it is. Some days it is terrible but it is still just a short moment in time that will pass.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I miss social interaction with my friends too but this is only temporary. My wife, my child, and I will all be socially active again when it is safe to do so. Forcing kids back to school for "social interaction" in the face of health dangers is short sighted. Play the long game. When my son is 40 not being socially active 6 or 12 months of his life 30+ years in the past isn't going to matter but anyone he carried this disease to could still be impacted by either still being dead or still having what appear to be lingering side effects of the disease.

Is it a pain to have our son at home all day in need of entertainment while both my wife and I work? Of course it is. Some days it is terrible but it is still just a short moment in time that will pass.

While I don't at all think kids should be in school, the argument that they should isn't just because of social interaction. Some parents have to go back to work and can't leave small kids on their own all day. Other kids (with IEPs or who are low income, or experiencing homelessness) are going to suffer longterm or permanent consequences from a year without school.