Teachers are in a no win situation

Maybe this is an urban myth but i had heard dont kids need to get their hands dirty so to speak and be out side and playing with other kids doesnt this help them build immunity to the other illnesses out there that we have forgotten about??

originally posted by: American-philosopher
a reply to: smurfy

I mean it goes to the point of how important do we think schools are?

Are schools essential?

We are talking 15 kids who will be okay from the virus to 1 teacher depending on the age might be affected.

Yes I think we should look at mitigation and protective factors as far as older teachers go.

But we have to have schools in our society.

You have the wrong end of the stick, it's exactly that, of course we need schools....but, there is nothing coming down from above to try and help square the circle, vis-à-vis how to reopen, what the US is getting is crackpot stuff from Trump, and even more crackpot stuff from Devos...the schools have to open..end of message, in fact I'm beginning to think that Devos is even worse than Trump, and that coming from me, is saying something.
Still, they are both rats in the swamp...of total ignorance.

In edit, something I forgot to add in my last post, that teacher I talked to, (in March)
was quite specific that their school would not reopen until September..all being well....as in the observance of what they were doing to mitigate infections, and the overall state of the pandemic as it would be in September. That's a primary school teacher..d'yuh ever hear Trump talking like that?

Schools are going on as planned here. Parents are divided on it. Some don't want their kids to go back and are all for the online/home schooling option. Others just want things back to normal and kids in classes. As far as I know, the college my daughter was attending is going almost fully online for classes this coming fall semester, though they are offering campus living for kids who need the place to stay. They'll still be essentially doing all classes from their dorm room though.

Teacher here, public school system. It's a huge issue, It is an insanely difficult job, the pay sucks, and I want to go back very badly. I miss my students, and they miss their teachers.
The clear consensus among my colleagues is that online teaching is simply not as effective as in - person. It is a heartbreaking situation for both students and teachers.
I have been in so many conversations about this my ears and eyes bleed, bottom line I think is there absolutely needs to be
a "back in the classroom" solution with whatever modified constructs we can come up with. one good idea I heard recently was to lower the number of students per day, 2 groups, an every - other day scenario, so 1/2 the students in the building, could give a chance. I don't know. My district is still trying to figure it out. It is a rough question with no perfect answer yet. And so much of any students success is based on their parenting...... and the reality is so many parents don't seem to care much.....

a reply to: Subrosabelow

So, you're getting a tuition break for college classes, right? I mean, you're not getting what you paid for?
How do they do class participation? Math problems?

Also, any word on how things like science labs would be handled?

a reply to: Lr103

If kids only go two days a week, how do they reconcile number of school days per year needed for attendance?

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe

Also, any word on how things like science labs would be handled?

Oh, wow!

well here is this 3 arizona teachers who shared the same classroom all catch covid 1 died caught it last month the other 2 are still struggling.. all 3 wore PPE including masks and gloves hand sanitizer and social distancing www.dailymail.co.uk...

I read somewhere else that a school was going to cut the class size in half on any given day 15 would be in the classroom the other 15 would be home doing the school on line ..next day they switch

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: JAGStorm

Online might be fine for high school kids but for elementary kids it not going to work very well.
Our schools have already allowed athletes to practice too.

Besides,,,,masks prevent the disease so as long as the teachers wear masks they are totally safe....ha

a reply to: research100

You mean the masks didn't prevent the spread of covid 19?
Inconceivable..

a reply to: Bluntone22

No one claims the protection is 100%.
It's a matter of reducing risk.

a reply to: Phage

So I hear.

a reply to: JAGStorm

How many teachers are 65 and older or have pre-existing medical conditions? Those ones should be worried and stay home...the others well they have no real reason not to return to work.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: Subrosabelow

So, you're getting a tuition break for college classes, right?

Bahahahha if anything I'd bet students are paying double tuition to cover 'hardship costs' or some bull#. If there's one thing I remember most from school, it's how much they loved to take our money.

originally posted by: KKLOCO

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: KKLOCO
Good luck with that.

It's time to reassess this. I'm not going to get into detail on what I pay in taxes but it's absurd and close to 80% of it goes to the school budget. If they aren't doing their jobs they shouldn't get paid.

Totally agree.

If schooling goes online, they should sell the schools and give the taxpayers back their money.

But it will never happen, unfortunately.

“ if they aren’t doing their jobs they shouldn’t get paid. “

Which job is that? Making sure the kids learn the course subject, or babysitting your little darlings while you’re at work?

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: American-philosopher

Opening schools does not just put the teachers at risk.

It's a very difficult situation. For the Administration to threaten the use of a stick instead of a carrot is reprehensible. (Yes, I know I have the metaphor screwed up but it's commonly used in this way.)

It's just got worse than that, Trump appears to be now saying that he will fund schools that reopen...I mean...WTF.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: Lr103

If kids only go two days a week, how do they reconcile number of school days per year needed for attendance?

Here is how Milwaukee is proposing:
www.tmj4.com...

My fiancee is back teaching 5 year olds in groups of 10. Extra cleaning duties, increased risk to health, zero extra compensation.


I hope she doesn't get sick for my elderly mother's sake

FWIW, I still believe just jumping back into in classroom learning has to happen. It truly is a #ty situation

a reply to: JAGStorm

originally posted by: Lr103
Teacher here, public school system. It's a huge issue, It is an insanely difficult job, the pay sucks, and I want to go back very badly. I miss my students, and they miss their teachers.
The clear consensus among my colleagues is that online teaching is simply not as effective as in - person. It is a heartbreaking situation for both students and teachers.
I have been in so many conversations about this my ears and eyes bleed, bottom line I think is there absolutely needs to be
a "back in the classroom" solution with whatever modified constructs we can come up with. one good idea I heard recently was to lower the number of students per day, 2 groups, an every - other day scenario, so 1/2 the students in the building, could give a chance. I don't know. My district is still trying to figure it out. It is a rough question with no perfect answer yet. And so much of any students success is based on their parenting...... and the reality is so many parents don't seem to care much.....

I had to take a survey for my district.
That was how my suggestion went.

Let me say that no situation is going to be ideal.

I suggested staggered start times with half day school.
My daughter had 21 kids in her class last year.

I figure we could get a morning class of 10 and an afternoon class of 11.

Half day school. As much as I hate it I say toss out music and art. Focus on the essentials.
Hope parents can make up the arts on the back end.

I know in my house we will.
We have a piano, a couple guitars, a bass, a ukulele and a few other random instruments. We play together all the time.
Art supplies out the ass.

If kids did half day in school maybe we could also get a couple hours online where 1 teacher could have 21 kids on session.

Either way it is going to be a nightmare. I am sure the schools will do the best job they possibly can but it is the parents I am worried about.
Maybe little Johnny's parents are anti mask covid hoax type people that take zero precautions. Then their daughter goes to school and spends all day in a room with my kid?
I don't like that.

I am looking into virtual online school but that is not ideal either.

I really don't want my daughter sitting at a computer 5 hours a day. It is just not the same.

This is a terrible situation.

Too bad there are so many idiots out there that think there is no problem at all.

originally posted by: tovenar

originally posted by: KKLOCO

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: KKLOCO
Good luck with that.

It's time to reassess this. I'm not going to get into detail on what I pay in taxes but it's absurd and close to 80% of it goes to the school budget. If they aren't doing their jobs they shouldn't get paid.

Totally agree.

If schooling goes online, they should sell the schools and give the taxpayers back their money.

But it will never happen, unfortunately.

“ if they aren’t doing their jobs they shouldn’t get paid. “

Which job is that? Making sure the kids learn the course subject, or babysitting your little darlings while you’re at work?

Working parents pay taxes that provide income for teachers. If they don’t go to work, how do we pay the teachers?

originally posted by: Granby

This is a terrible situation.

Too bad there are so many idiots out there that think there is no problem at all.

That's all you needed to say really..the thing is, who is the cultural progenitor of a, 'no problem at all' scenario.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe

Many don't do well with online schooling....with no parental oversight they will be playing WOW or something.
Many will not flourish without the classroom debates.
Many will wither and some will die without socialization with their peers....and will suffer greatly developmentally, socially, emotionally and mentally for the rest of their lives.

I'm shocked this post has so few stars because it's certainly true, some kids develop ok with homeschooling but we cannot expect all kids to develop properly. If you think the number of introverted people is high now just imagine that magnified by 100x or more, no one will ever leave their homes in 50 years if kids are unable to develop their social skills properly. It might sound harsh but perhaps those teachers who feel they are too old to withstand covid-19 should consider retirement. At some point we need to stop being scared to live our lives, that is my main problem with all this fearmongering, it's conditioning people to be scared of the outside world.