Hey @TrickHog - if this isn't the right place for this, please feel free to move. I went to put it in the NSR area, but saw the last post there was from like a year ago. Plus there was COVID stuff in here earlier, so thought I'd give it a go. Would anyone be willing to tell me what their local K-6 schools are doing this fall? I'm super frustrated in this department. I have a two year old so it's not going to impact me too much (hoping to start preschool soon, even if at a reduced days), but my niece is 5 and was due to start kindergarten this fall. Having read about kids and transmission (looking like they are not heavy transmitters according to several studies https://explaincovid.org/post/kids-and-covid-19/iNR6ns6TY6OqDPfWrcqg) - what frustrates me is the lack of research into the US school system. Seriously - we have more guidelines about restaurants than ABOUT SCHOOL. We're assuming kids are like adults (which I don't understand being data oriented and seeing the path this virus has taken), and thus schools are making some decisions for the school year that I find bewildering based on assumptions. Listen - I get that we have to make some assumptions, but seems like this could have used a task force...somewhere. Anywhere. As a single mother, I don't get how parents are supposed to home school for upwards of 2-3 days per week when the school year starts. This is the assumption, and it's an assumption that mostly falls on women - who are now leaving the workforce. It's mind boggling to me. I'm hearing basically smaller class sizes, masks (for a 5 year old?!), lots of alone time, and rotating days and distance learning. Who is supposed to be at home doing the teaching when work keeps going I don't know. Also, whomever thinks 5 year olds will stay away from one another clearly hasn't seen how kids operate. There aren't enough nannies to go around, there aren't enough home schoolers to go around. And last I checked, I'm not a teacher and not trained to home school children. My sister is talking about a parent co-op, and learning how to teach on top of everything else going on makes me exhausted. Plus, that means parents taking continual days off work. I'm not in a work situation to go part-time. Plus, in the Bay Area, hard for me to afford going part-time as the single bread-winner. So I'd love to hear how your districts are going about things. Anyone handling it well with some actual data/research? Or is it all a freaked out guessing game based on worse case scenarios? Again - I get it. No one wants a sick child. Ever. I just literally don't understand how folks expect parents to pick up the load and hold down full time jobs without one parent leaving the workforce. And for single parents? Not an option. Thoughts welcome. EDIT: Also frustrated that K-12 being treated the same. Way different age groups in that spread. EDIT x2: I do think we need a plan to protect teachers, in particular older ones.
You have my sincere sympathies. This situation is far worse than anything my wife and I had to deal with and we thought that was pretty hard. Unfortunately, America still operates like the Cleaver family is the norm. I think your statement about it being a guessing game is spot on. FWIW, I haven't seen anything about children being immune to the Covid-19 virus, what I have seen is they are much more likely to be asymptomatic and hence be spreaders. Please correct this if you have more up-to-date information. I think that there may be more teachers looking for work then you think. My daughters have friends who are substitute teachers. Both were let go and are not sure when or if they will be rehired. Both are doing ad hoc tutoring going to their student's homes. I recognize that this isn't a realistic solution for most. One of them tutors kids from 2 families together.
We had an orientation Zoom (side note will this generation of kids get called Zoomers? I have thoughts) and the answer was basically a big shrug. My optimistic self says due to the summer holiday there’s more time to formulate a plan that will in some ways be more difficult to implement than restaurant and retail. My pessimistic self has had way too much screen time lately so I’ll skip the details.
FWIW Right now my neighbor, a teacher, is operating on Zoom. The last time I saw her, she was about to start a Zoom meeting with 18 5-year-olds! The mind boggles. I could be dead wrong, but I THINK I heard that there was not a single confirmed case of an adult contracting COVID-19 from a child. Even if accurate, I am not sure what age ranges constitute "adult" and "child" in that statement. I also am under the impression that school closures were a matter of the Governor's order in California. Local districts were not given any choice. If that is right, Berks, your question is best directed to Gavin N. If you contact the Governor's office and pose the question, I would be very interested to see what, IF ANY, response you get. Some commentator was saying we CANNOT get the economy functioning again until the schools are open - for exactly the reasons that Berks has outlined. The long and short of it is that people are being damaged NOW by the shut down. Suicides are up. Alcoholism is up. Spousal and child abuse is up. I have never seen any attempt by any of the governing bodies to measure the damage we are now suffering against the damage a less restrictive shut down would cause. We do know that virtually EVERY "model" on which policy is being based has been wildly wrong, but we keep acting as if there is no cost to keeping the state closed down. And the burden of single-mindedness is falling on people like Berks. Some businesses are simply never coming back as a result of damage already inflicted by government policies. When we have a "cure" and it is "safe" there are people who will have no job to go back to. Where are the models projecting what happens to them? Look, I am in a target group because of my age and other health concerns. I know I will need to change my behavior even if things open up. Barring a medical breakthrough, the isolation I now have is likely to BE my new normal. So maybe older teachers will need to be given early retirement from that profession or be be placed in administrative positions where their contact with others is limited. Or maybe all that needs to happen is that older teachers will need to mask up. As Berks mentioned, the governmental genius who thinks 5-year-olds will mask up and keep social distance is so stupid that he or she should be canned. But I bet that person is continuing to draw a paycheck. This screed has gone on too long. Sorry.
It would be reassuring if in conversations with those who run our schools there was evidence of thinking through in a serious way how to have effective education given a variety of possible scenarios.... with a strong emphasis on "effective". But I've seen nothing of the kind. Instead what I have seen is displays of obfuscation, reports of all that being "above my pay grade", and a consistent search for someone else than them, anyone else than them, to bear officially the burden of stating what will be done. At so many levels of our education system the "leadership" class consists of careerists who have made it a holy principle to never ever allow the buck to stop anywhere near their neighborhood. And this is very much the polite version of how I would characterize the vast lot of them.
So it sounds like in the next few days, we will learn if Garber's plan to host a MLS tourney in Orlando is going to happen or not.
Unfortunately, the public school system in California is extremely troubled, even before a situation like this. My partner worked at various levels of the public school system and all throughout there were systemic issues that made it hard for the people that want to do good work and serve their students. We decided for that reason some time ago to homeschool. Last story I heard about the public school system was from a friend who found out after the fact that her kids school refused to shut down during asbestos abatement, some of which was taking place in classrooms with students in the (it became a big scandal). The long decline of California public school -- once tops in the country / world -- is just one more symptom of the erosion of our public / civic infrastructure. I think some kind of learning / care co-ops (which we'd already begun looking into) are going to play a big role.
I am a Public school teacher. So many different issues here. Many of our public schools are amazing places that still deliver some of the best educations in the world. Every school is of course different, and it depends where you live. I would argue the U.S. educates more of its population than any other comparable country (Sweden and Norway are a tiny fraction of our size). China still doesn't educate large sections of their society, we just never hear about it. Please don't believe every horror story the press tells you. Like so much in our society today, it's all about dividing people for political gain. The decision to reopen is up to (L.A.) County officials, and the Governor. Most teachers I know want to go back. We love the kids and want to do our job in person. I personally don't think a hybrid model will be effective. As always the issue will be money, who will pay for the masks, hand sanitiser etc required to reopen? Bearing in mind we are already being told to expect a 7-10% reduction in school funding. LAUSD alone has over 600,00 students - that's a lot of masks and sanitiser. My classes are typically 36 students in a tight space.... Berks - to not answer your question, we still have no idea what schools will look like 10 weeks from now. But I agree with you that to open the economy, schools must open.
It’s a shame how our nation has systematically cut back spending on public education as a priority since the 1970’s. Having to teach classes with 36 students and having no money to spend on supplies is shameful. And this was before the pandemic. I feel for all those affected. Parents like Berks. Teachers like JPAR. And of course all the kids/students growing up in this weird time. An organized, compassionate and thoughtful national and local leadership would help but that seems in short supply these days. Truly stressful times we are living in. Hang in there friends.
Thanks! Kids are definitely not immune. But they are not looking to be the super spreaders that folks purport. Check out the link I had in the initial post, more data and actual research there. Interesting thought on substitute teachers. That's an idea I'll pass along to my sister. Awesome.
If you've got time, check out the studies in the link I posted. Very, very interesting. And something that someone should have been looking at in education. The state superintendent perhaps? It didn't take me long to find the studies... We're about to get an update this week apparently. Will be interesting what the orders say. I did hear though that actual processes were up to the district. I attended a state webinar last week where the first speaker said her school would be open 5 days a week - because her community couldn't afford any different. This was somewhere in Riverside. But it's disheartening that there seems to be a pass the buck down the chain of command. I think overall what bums me out the most is that with something THIS BIG, in the private sector a special project would have been formed, and folks would have been moved to be staffed against it. Sort of like an acquisition or strategic initiative. The best minds would have been moved to accommodate something so important. Now this might absolutely be happening. But so far I've seen zero evidence of it, and I've seen zero evidence of anyone doing some actual research. Our Secretary of Education is a waste, so not even bothering in that department. And the fact that women are now taking more leaves of absence and shouldering the load has basically been met with a colossal: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks for the response.
Thank you for your service! If there's ever a time to appreciate teachers, it's now!!!!! And I very much want my kid to go to school and that's why I'll be sending her when preschool opens. She badly needs the socialization skills. I'm done with the nanny. SO DONE that I'm willing to take on masks, social distancing etc. She needs to see OTHER CHILDREN. Example: one of the questions on the autism screener provided by pediatricians at 18 months and 2 years is whether or not she interacts with other children. How the hell would I know? She hasn't seen anyone besides her cousins in three months! And even her cousins was recent. Thanks for the inside nuggets. This is what I thought was happening, which is depressing. See my comment about the private sector. Anyhoo, thanks everyone for entertaining my sidebar. Looks like in general we still don't know, and districts are still figuring it out...and it will be the districts no matter what the governor says. EDIT: And we're doing okay y'all. I'm luckier than some, and have combined germ clusters with my sister. Also got together with the grandparents (outside with masks and 6' apart from adults) to celebrate the end of Ramadan. That one outing made all the difference in the world. The grandkids were OVER THE MOON to see their grandparents and vice versa.
Let me second what JPAR is saying. My daughter is a high school history teacher in San Diego. She has taught in several different schools. She was almost in tears when the schools were shut down because, she said, the satisfaction she got from the profession was from dealing personally with the kids. She is now learning more than she ever wanted to know about Zoom and remote learning. Essentially the the school district has put her in an impossible situation. The only permitted "grades" are "complete" and "not complete" and the district places pressure on the teachers to say "complete" if a kid does ANYTHING in a course. It's not that grades are the be-all and end-all, but how does my daughter communicate to the kids that they are or are not learning the subject matter? There will be a ripple effect here. Eventually this will catch up with some kids who will be asking, in effect, "Why didn't anybody tell me I was missing the boat?"
Yep, many small businesses are not going to come back or are already gone as I notice around town the many signs of retail spaces now available. Wont be too long until the snowball effects hits middle and large business. I have a suspicion this is part of what happened with LAFC and the Banc pullout. The school question is one of my biggest worries. The grownups in my family are one thing. We are all gonna have to embrace the new normal wether we want to or not and take our chances albeit with caution. The kids however and this huge system of education we have developed especially in California with the highest averages in terms of school enrollment numbers and in particular class sizes. It is very disconcerting to know that most likely, with a few safety protocols, they will just open them back up to hundreds and in many places thousands of kids. Just throw them back together as if kids are going to be careful. Careful just does not come naturally to kids. Masks are irritating to the point I can only wear one a couple of hours before they become a bother. We have all seen the first responders with those mask rashes. Shopping around or doing business I see people just brush by me without any thought. How are kids in high school, middle and elementary going to cope? I fear this is where the second wave might begin its swell.
That a great Comet appears in the sky. That the Fate of Mankind depends on a ragtag collection of oil- drilling women -chasing thrill- seeking rapscallions and scofflaws who ride dirt bikes, pump steroids, and cash in on an MIT PhD just to piss off the coppers and bond with their bald boss. That NASA still has two space shuttles hanging around, and Nuke 'Em High finally has its day..... why do you ask?
Tuesday is the deadline for a compromise on reduction of salaries. Both parties are pretty far apart. https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-l...training-monday-amid-owners-threat-of-lockout Also the proposed tournament and health and safety would preclude Vela and Chicharito from competing as both of their partners are pregnant.
It appears we are set to go for July in Orlando in a WC-style tournament and maybe regular season play later on. "The Major League Soccer Players Association announced Wednesday that it has finalized plans to resume the coronavirus-ravaged 2020 MLS season following a vote by its membership. The deal avoids what would have been the first work stoppage in league history. According to reports by ESPN and The Athletic, MLS had threatened to lock out its players beginning this week in the absence of a compromise. Following the tournament in Orlando, MLS is hoping to conclude its season later this year in its own stadiums, almost certainly without fans in attendance. MLS Cup, originally slated for November, could be pushed to late December or even into early 2021 and played at a neutral site."
How in the world is this gonna work? I guess the players are gonna have to be away from home and their families for a while.