# Schools can’t open safely......



## PopsnTuff (Jul 23, 2020)

But no losses should be acceptable when they are entirely avoidable. By now, we know enough about the risks of the coronavirus to realize that simply declaring that schools are safe is an exercise in *fantasy. *There are some things public health experts agree present extraordinarily high levels of risk, and schools combine several of them. The administration is taking advantage of parents’ understandable eagerness to get kids back to school to push ahead with its program to *pretend everything with the pandemic is fine.* The result is a new movement to ignore reality, pretend schools present no risk and imagine that the virus will magically conform to our needs by Labor Day — *while utterly disregarding the moral implications of putting teachers, administrators and other school employees in danger. *

The arguments for reopening are obvious, and as the mother of a 5-year-old, I understand them viscerally: Children need to learn, and isolation is not good for their mental health. People also need to return to work, and many can only do that if their children are in school or they have some other safe place for them to be during the day. At the same time, there is no conceivable way to reopen all schools safely. Discussion about school safety has been largely centered around the ostensibly low transmission rates of covid-19 for children, as if children attend school in an adult-free vacuum. Where the lives of school workers, teachers and administrators are taken into consideration at all, people argue that they’re acceptable losses ...

More on: www.washingtonpost.com
https://www.aedaily.net/en/posts/sc...nding-they-can-only-helps-trumps-gaslighting/

(Wording in bold is intentional from me as I totally agree with this....in our county they still haven't posted any schedules to parents or in the local newspapers of what's going on but saying school will open August 11th, pfffttt....I hope it keeps getting postponed each month into next year)


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 23, 2020)

Pops. There's a big kerfuffle here in Canada right now over the same.

Scary to think about.


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## Don M. (Jul 23, 2020)

No matter what kind of "rules" the schools try to implement, getting young kids to adhere to them will be fruitless.....try asking a 7 yr. old to wear a mask for several hours, or staying seated at a desk several feet from his/her friends....good luck on that.  Even if this virus isn't severe on young kids, they still can carry it to their parents, and the teachers.  "Social Distancing" for an active little child????....won't happen. 

We have 4 little great grandkids who, along with their parents, will be at risk in the very near future.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 23, 2020)

Don M. said:


> No matter what kind of "rules" the schools try to implement, getting young kids to adhere to them will be fruitless.....try asking a 7 yr. old to wear a mask for several hours, or staying seated at a desk several feet from his/her friends....good luck on that.  Even if this virus isn't severe on young kids, they still can carry it to their parents, and the teachers.  "Social Distancing" for an active little child????....won't happen.
> 
> We have 4 little great grandkids who, along with their parents, will be at risk in the very near future.


Couldn't agree more with you Don, not to mention getting them to use sanitizer all day along with washing their hands, and god only knows what will happen in the cafeteria.....is there really gonna be a thorough sanitizing of all these classrooms and restrooms each night.....dont think so.
My 13 y.o. gr'daughter will not be coming back here to visit anytime soon if her mom decides to send her back instead of online classes...


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## Butterfly (Jul 23, 2020)

Don M. said:


> No matter what kind of "rules" the schools try to implement, getting young kids to adhere to them will be fruitless.....try asking a 7 yr. old to wear a mask for several hours, or staying seated at a desk several feet from his/her friends....good luck on that.  Even if this virus isn't severe on young kids, they still can carry it to their parents, and the teachers.  "Social Distancing" for an active little child????....won't happen.
> 
> We have 4 little great grandkids who, along with their parents, will be at risk in the very near future.



Absolutely!  I wonder why this is so difficult for some folks to accept.  Perhaps they've never been around little kids.

Even if you could force them to behave in class, once they are out the door-- not a chance.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 23, 2020)

As school districts across the United States consider whether and how to restart in-person classes, their challenge is complicated by a pair of fundamental uncertainties: No nation has tried to send children back to school with the virus raging at levels like America’s, and the scientific research about transmission in classrooms is limited.

The World Health Organization has now concluded that the virus is airborne in crowded, indoor spaces with poor ventilation, a description that fits many American schools. But there is enormous pressure to bring students back — from parents, from pediatricians and child development specialists, and from President Trump.

“I’m just going to say it: It feels like we’re playing Russian roulette with our kids and our staff,” said Robin Cogan, a nurse at the Yorkship School in Camden, N.J., who serves on the state’s committee on reopening schools.

Data from around the world clearly shows that children are far less likely to become seriously ill from the coronavirus than adults. But there are big unanswered questions, including how often children become infected and what role they play in transmitting the virus. Some research suggests younger children are less likely to infect other people than teenagers are, which would make opening elementary schools less risky than high schools, but the evidence is not conclusive.....read on.....

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/health/coronavirus-schools-reopen.html?


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## Keesha (Jul 23, 2020)

In Ontario they are discussing three options for schooling.
1/. Go back to school with no more than 15 children per class. 
2/. Keep doing home schooling
3/. Don’t know the third option 

Whatever they choose the parents have to also be in agreement or it won’t work.
Poor kids. School is tough enough. I can’t image this type of pressure put on kids but I really hope they do ok.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 23, 2020)

As the School Year Approaches, Education May Become the Pandemic’s Latest Casualty....

In much of the U.S., that’s not what will be happening. In recent weeks, more and more districts have announced that schools will reopen only remotely this fall. Money and time are too short to sort out the complicated logistics as the pandemic worsens in many states, spreading at rates that make in-person instruction too dangerous.

Parents and teachers overwhelmingly back the decisions, saying they are not comfortable sending kids back to classrooms under current conditions. “I’m just afraid that they’re really pushing schools to be this thing that saves us, that allows us to get the economy going again and get things back to normal,” says Megan Ake, a high school English teacher in Fenton, Mich. “I want to be done too. But I’m just so worried that we’re going to be like a giant test case.” Parents left to their own devices are struggling to find work-arounds, making informal arrangements with friends and neighbors or turning to a burgeoning array of service providers to supplement online learning, like tutors offering group instruction at $80 per hour for “pods” of families.....read on....

https://www.yahoo.com/news/school-approaches-education-may-become-100823588.html


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## Tommy (Jul 24, 2020)

It seems that many people are having difficulty accepting the fact that there are no "good" solutions to this problem.  It's a case of identifying and evaluating the possible options and then choosing the "less bad" one.  To compound the problem, that option will likely be different for different locations.  That makes it tough, and leaders know that, no matter what path they choose, some damage will occur and there will be those who will cry bitterly that they messed up.

I pray that the Lord wil be with our decision-makers through this difficult time.


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 24, 2020)

If we are not careful COVID19 could be the death blow to the public education system as we know it.

Betsy DeVos and others have been working to change our public education system over to some sort of voucher system that would turn public education into a for-profit education industry made up of private/charter schools.


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## StarSong (Jul 24, 2020)

PopsnTuff said:


> As the School Year Approaches, Education May Become the Pandemic’s Latest Casualty....
> 
> https://www.yahoo.com/news/school-approaches-education-may-become-100823588.html
> In much of the U.S., that’s not what will be happening. In recent weeks, more and more districts have announced that schools will reopen only remotely this fall. Money and time are too short to sort out the complicated logistics as the pandemic worsens in many states, spreading at rates that make in-person instruction too dangerous.



This article's characterization of education being "the pandemic's latest casualty" is defeatist and overblown in my humble opinion. The next few months are going to be a challenge, for sure, but it's a challenge that parents, children and school systems are going to have to face.

My daughter & SIL are teachers (MS & HS) with two young children; one going into 3rd grade, the other entering kindergarten. They're preparing for remote learning now. 

Instead of watching Netflix in the evenings, DD & SIL are on line gathering information and learning techniques for effective remote teaching. They're also picking up tips on how to fill in the educational gaps their kids will be facing - fine motor skill development using scissors for the kindergartner, for instance. Plenty of physical activity for both. 

Parenting is loaded with unexpected challenges. Many far worse and long-lasting than home schooling for a while. If your kid develops cancer, diabetes, learning disabilities, resistance to showering or brushing their teeth, bedwetting problems, being bullied, whatever, parents have to suck it up, learn what they can, and help pull their kids through. 

The difference here is that there will be a lot of people navigating their own boats in this same storm at the same time. Lots of support.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 24, 2020)

Let us know how they weather out this schooling situation @StarSong, for the good, bad or ugly.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 24, 2020)

Got my wish today....our county's schools are delayed till August 27th cuz they still haven't figured out a concrete plan for all involved mostly referring to the safety of the staff from catching the virus.....school bus schedules are a mess too.....


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## HazyDavey (Jul 24, 2020)

Opening of in class schools at this time is pure folly. I wish they could see that.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 24, 2020)

More good news....decision announced today all virtual stay-at-home classes only for my 13 y.o. gr'daughter! We were hoping for this decision   
She'll be in eighth grade....but other grades have different schedules being hybrid.


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## MarciKS (Jul 24, 2020)

PopsnTuff said:


> But no losses should be acceptable when they are entirely avoidable. By now, we know enough about the risks of the coronavirus to realize that simply declaring that schools are safe is an exercise in *fantasy. *There are some things public health experts agree present extraordinarily high levels of risk, and schools combine several of them. The administration is taking advantage of parents’ understandable eagerness to get kids back to school to push ahead with its program to *pretend everything with the pandemic is fine.* The result is a new movement to ignore reality, pretend schools present no risk and imagine that the virus will magically conform to our needs by Labor Day — *while utterly disregarding the moral implications of putting teachers, administrators and other school employees in danger. *
> 
> The arguments for reopening are obvious, and as the mother of a 5-year-old, I understand them viscerally: Children need to learn, and isolation is not good for their mental health. People also need to return to work, and many can only do that if their children are in school or they have some other safe place for them to be during the day. At the same time, there is no conceivable way to reopen all schools safely. Discussion about school safety has been largely centered around the ostensibly low transmission rates of covid-19 for children, as if children attend school in an adult-free vacuum. Where the lives of school workers, teachers and administrators are taken into consideration at all, people argue that they’re acceptable losses ...
> 
> ...


I've actually heard a nurse @ work say that the kids are required to spend 7 hrs online learning & since she knows her kids won't do that she's perfectly ok with sending them to school. OMG!


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## StarSong (Jul 25, 2020)

I'm hearing lots of general predictions that unless things change dramatically, schools won't open up until after the first of the year.


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 25, 2020)

In New York state, each public school district has to submit a three-part plan to provide a basic public school education by July 31st.

The plan needs to include remote learning, hybrid learning, and traditional in-school learning.

The state is using the area infection rates to determine which districts will be able to open and remain open.  The region where the school is located must be in Phase IV and maintain a daily infection rate of 5% or lower over a 14-day average.  If the infection rate is at 9% or over the school must go to remote learning but will still be required to provide basic public education.

The local university is requiring students from various states and countries to report on August 2nd and begin a 14-day self-quarantine before being allowed to return to campus.  Freshmen will be quarantined in dorms, returning students will self-quarantine in local hotels or in their off-campus apartments.  We are all holding our breath about the influx of students from around the country and the world to see if we experience a spike in new infections/hospitalizations.


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## Sunny (Jul 25, 2020)

And it's not only elementary-high schools and younger kids. How about the colleges?

From what I understand, some of them are partially reopening, some are opening strictly online, some give the students choices, etc.  What a confusing mess.  My granddaughter is starting her freshman year next week, online. I feel so sorry for her and all the other kids who were looking forward to their first big adventure away from home, meeting all those new people, living in dorms, enjoying the community and all it has to offer.  Instead they are staying in their parents' home, sitting in front of a computer or a phone all day, hour after hour.

And who knows for how long?  I know life is unfair, but this kind of unfairness is really sad.


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## Sassycakes (Jul 25, 2020)

Honestly I think it would be foolish to open the schools. Why put children,teachers and school nurses in danger of catching the virus.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 25, 2020)




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## PopsnTuff (Jul 30, 2020)

Teachers Are Wary of Returning to Class, and Online Instruction Too....

Unions are threatening to strike if classrooms reopen, but are also pushing to limit live remote teaching. Their demands will shape pandemic education.

Teachers in many districts are fighting for longer school closures, stronger safety requirements and limits on what they are required to do in virtual classrooms, while flooding social media and state capitals with their concerns and threatening to walk off their jobs if key demands are not met.

On Tuesday, the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union raised the stakes dramatically by authorizing its local and state chapters to strike if their districts do not take sufficient precautions — such as requiring masks and updating ventilation systems — before reopening classrooms. Already, teachers’ unions have sued Florida’s governor over that state’s efforts to require schools to offer in-person instruction.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/teacher-union-school-reopening-coronavirus.html


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 30, 2020)

Here's another good article to read about 'what back to school might look like in the age of Covid 19', with an illustrated guide and pics.....

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/29/us/schools-reopening-coronavirus.html


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## 911 (Jul 30, 2020)

Two weeks ago, I thought Pennsylvania would be in a position to open. Today, I am not so sure. The Governor has put out too many do’s and dont’s and I don’t believe that schools would be able to adapt to his principles. Busing alone would be a huge issue.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 30, 2020)

This is a reality but sooo sad for our teenage girls, boys not as much; they seem to be more content with their video games.....mental therapy is at an all time high for these kids, online.....
I've read this in other places also.....

HELPING GIRLS THRIVE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

*KEY FINDINGS*

*Girls are experiencing newfound fear about their futures since the onset of COVID-19. *Over half (52%) of girls are thinking differently about their futures since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 60% reporting fear or uncertainty regarding what the future will bring.
*Loneliness and isolation are negatively impacting teen girls at alarmingly high rates.* Most girls (80%) are more lonely and isolated since the onset of COVID-19, and a full one-third are much more lonely/isolated.
*The majority of girls found the upheaval associated with COVID-19 detrimental to their ability to organize, concentrate and complete their school work.* Most (59%) reported difficulty with academic executive functioning skills, such as organization and concentration, and more than half struggled to keep up with their school work.
*COVID-19 markedly amplified the stress levels of teen girls.* Nearly half of high school girls report experiencing higher stress levels than before the pandemic with 42% reporting that their life is harder than it was before.



> “I think about if we are even going to make it out of this situation.


— 6th grade girl


> “When am I going to have my life back to normal, or is this the new normal?


— 8th grade girl

https://rulingourexperiences.com/covid19


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 30, 2020)

Between the quarantines and the demonstrations, Crisis Text Line and other mental health professionals see a rise in teen anxiety. 
Some teens have experienced devastating consequences of the pandemic: loved ones losing jobs or becoming ill and dying. And now, like all of us, teenagers are seeing a flood of images and news reports on racial conflict and structural inequality, adding to the distress....read on.....

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/well/family/teenagers-mental-health-unrest-virus.html


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## 911 (Jul 30, 2020)

From the reports that I have been able to get my hands on, it appears to me that the Pandemic is the most important issue on the majority of people’s minds. And, why shouldn’t it be? After seeing what happened to Mr. Cain, it actually hit home with me. It makes me wonder if we’re going to make it through this until we get the vaccine.


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## Knight (Jul 30, 2020)

911 said:


> From the reports that I have been able to get my hands on, it appears to me that the Pandemic is the most important issue on the majority of people’s minds. And, why shouldn’t it be? After seeing what happened to Mr. Cain, it actually hit home with me. It makes me wonder if we’re going to make it through this until we get the vaccine.


 
Making it thru to what? 1st. stimulus added 1 trillion to the deficit. Another will increase that. Then there is the announcement today 7/30/20 that another 1.4 million signed up for unemployment. 

Doesn't look like getting this virus under control is going to happen any time soon. Job loss equals less tax money to local, state & federal gov. We know gov. services both state & federal depend on taxes. That includes the biggest draw by Soc, Sec. on taxes.

I think it's going to be really ugly tax wise for everyone if & when the virus does get controlled.


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## StarSong (Jul 30, 2020)

Knight said:


> *I think it's going to be really ugly tax wise for everyone if & when the virus does get controlled.*


I think you're right on target.  

Of my 3 kids and 3 kids-in-law, 4 are still employed and 2 have been laid off/furloughed. Probably permanently. I know a lot of people in the same situation. Some where both income earners are out of work.


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## jerry old (Jul 30, 2020)

Finally, Teachers Union in Dallas (one segment of union, no all) state there is no
way they can control students in classroom and they will not return to classroom.

We are going to have to write the entire year as one of marking time.

Now, post 25, what are we going to do with the students; more importantly-what are
we going to do with the unemployed.

There are innumerable problems that are going to arise, do we have plans in place
to deal with an unemployed majority and kids without school?


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## jerry old (Jul 30, 2020)

Because we have played in the sun like the grasshopper and ignored the threat of
this plague, we now are going to have to go on a war footing to deal with this
situation.
I no longer trust any U. S. news, watch BBC from Britain (not the U.S. version) 
Link TV news and the news from France (of all places)  They are leery of U.S.
response to Covid 19, predicting depression and deaths in the hundreds of thousands
(not in the millions) bouncing from one nation to another.

South America is being ravaged, one Covid 19 victim is enough to keep the plague active.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 30, 2020)

Hunger in this nation is at an all time high.....so sad.


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## StarSong (Jul 31, 2020)

jerry old said:


> Because we have played in the sun like the grasshopper and ignored the threat of this plague, we now are going to have to go on a war footing to deal with this situation.


I couldn't agree with you more.


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## Sunny (Jul 31, 2020)

> Because we have played in the sun like the grasshopper and ignored the threat of
> this plague, we now are going to have to go on a war footing to deal with this
> situation.



Good metaphor, Jerry. And there are apparently still plenty of those "grasshoppers" out there.

However, whatever the BBC is saying about us, I don't think they have anything to be proud of either, after seeing those pictures of the very crowded beaches in England.


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## PopsnTuff (Jul 31, 2020)

A new study suggests that children can carry at least as much of the coronavirus in their noses and throats as adults — suggesting they are likely to spread the virus, as well.​

“Kids don’t get visibly sick very often, and even when they do, only rarely go on to have complications or to die,” my colleague Apoorva Mandavilli explains. “But many people have — wrongly — extrapolated this to mean that kids don’t get infected.” They do, she added, and they may also pass the virus to others, which is only logical: “Kids are adept at spreading other kinds of viruses, including the flu, so why not this one?”​

As usual, it will be important to see if more research confirms these findings. But the study offers one more reason that reopening schools will be complicated. (This Times map of the U.S. shows where reopenings would create the greatest risks.)​
(Posted in the NY Times)

*I was reading this excerpt about the home-schooled kids being moved outside the home, weather permitting:*


One of our favorites will resonate with many parents, children and teachers: It’s an attempt to hold school in a way that’s both safe and in person.​

Aspire Scholar Academy is a once-a-week school in Provo, Utah, for students ages 12 to 18 who are otherwise home-schooled. It usually operates out of a church, but the school’s leaders were not persuaded that indoor classes would be safe this fall, even if everybody were wearing masks.​


“The kids don’t want Zoom,” Vanessa Stanfill, a member of the school’s board, says. “They want to be together.” The school has told parents that students will need sunblock and (eventually) snow pants, and it plans to incorporate the surrounding nature into lessons.​

A small, once-a-week school obviously has an easier task moving classes outside than a large public school. But before you dismiss Aspire as irrelevant, remember that many New York City schools moved classes outdoors during the tuberculosis outbreak of the early 1900s.​


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## PopsnTuff (Aug 1, 2020)

A School Reopens, and the Coronavirus Creeps In...
As more schools abandon plans for in-person classes, one that opened in Indiana this week had to quarantine students within hours....

Just hours into the first day of classes on Thursday, a call from the county health department notified Greenfield Central Junior High School in Indiana that a student who had walked the halls and sat in various classrooms had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Administrators began an emergency protocol, isolating the student and ordering everyone who had come into close contact with the person, including other students, to quarantine for 14 days. It is unclear whether the student infected anyone else.
“We knew it was a when, not if,” said Harold E. Olin, superintendent of the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation, but were “very shocked it was on Day 1.”

To avoid the same scenario, hundreds of districts across the country that were once planning to reopen their classrooms, many on a part-time basis, have reversed course in recent weeks as infections have spiked in many states.

Those that do still reopen are having to prepare for the near-certain likelihood of quarantines and abrupt shutdowns when students and staff members test positive.....read on.....

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/us/schools-reopening-indiana-coronavirus.htm

(Geez its happening already  )


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## Sunny (Aug 1, 2020)

Definition of stupid:  Knowing we are in the midst of a deadly epidemic, just ignoring it, and opening schools, even though we know "it will be a matter of when, not if."


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## PopsnTuff (Aug 1, 2020)




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## PopsnTuff (Aug 1, 2020)




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## PopsnTuff (Aug 6, 2020)

More cities move to remote schooling....

Chicago, the nation’s third-largest school district, reversed course and said it would begin the academic year remotely in September, after teachers and parents opposed a hybrid plan that would have sent children into classrooms two days a week.

Faced with rising concerns about distance learning during the pandemic, Kenya canceled its entire school year, and will require all students to repeat a grade.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/nyc-schools-reopening.html

All Metro Nashville Public Schools students will start the academic year remotely as coronavirus cases continue to mount, Director of Schools Adrienne Battle announced Thursday.


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## gennie (Aug 6, 2020)

Nevertheless, Florida moves ahead and students will be in classrooms within days.


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## jerry old (Aug 6, 2020)

as we ponder sending our kids off to get the plague, food banks are running out of food,


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## fmdog44 (Aug 6, 2020)

It's all about the economy. If this fails the kids will have to stay home and parents especially single parents will have to stay home as well. How long can the govt. hand out money to ever growing numbers of people?


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## Butterfly (Aug 6, 2020)

gennie said:


> Nevertheless, Florida moves ahead and students will be in classrooms within days.



IMHO, this is just nuts!


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## jerry old (Aug 6, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> It's all about the economy. If this fails the kids will have to stay home and parents especially single parents will have to stay home as well. How long can the govt. hand out money to ever growing numbers of people?


This is the only objection that merits not  shutting down the schools.  Our schools are the nation's largest baby sitting service.  What is the solution?

'We have plans..'.
' One moment'
'Ah, apparently, there all no plans for this crisis, uh, we...


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## StarSong (Aug 7, 2020)

Perhaps this crisis will squash some of the trend toward planned single parenthood.  The parenthood that starts with: "I'm not married or in a deeply committed, long-term relationship.  But gee whiz, I always wanted a baby.  I really don't need a life partner or strong support system willing to take on this commitment with me.  I'm sure it'll all work out just fine.  What could possibly go wrong?"


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## PopsnTuff (Aug 13, 2020)

A Georgia school district returned to the classroom last week. Already, more than 900 students and faculty members have been ordered into quarantine. Some in the community see it as a predictable debacle.....The district began in-person learning August 3, and as of Tuesday reported 59 positive cases. The two-week quarantine period has impacted more than a dozen schools.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/us/georgia-school-coronavirus.htm

Also: More than 2,000 students, teachers and staff members across five states have been quarantined after at least 230 positive coronavirus cases were reported.
It's a scene that has played out in Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Indiana, with school districts there also enforcing quarantines. And it's left many teachers reluctant to return to the classroom.

Dr. Sean O'Leary, vice-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday that coronavirus cases in children should be taken seriously.

"When you see a lot more infections in the general population, you're going to see a lot more infections in children," said O'Leary.
"We all have to take this virus seriously, including taking care of our children," said O'Leary.


(Lots of us here were already expecting this to happen, so sad and foolish  )


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## Sunny (Aug 13, 2020)

And not only are the kids becoming infected with the virus; it's also their parents, grandparents, and anybody else they come in contact with. So expect the death statistics to go up even higher.


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## OneEyedDiva (Aug 13, 2020)

My youngest grandson is 15, a good mannerly boy who means well. I don't think he's ever sassed his mother or my son. But his mother said when they were out shopping the other day, she had to keep telling him to pull his mask up over his nose once they got out of the car and went into the stores. And she made beautifully designed, very breathable custom masks for all of us, so I doubt it was uncomfortable. But despite his height of almost 6'2, he's still a goofy teenager who probably just forgets to adhere to this new normal. He's been home most of the time for months due to his severe, often debilitating myalgia.  I say all this to say that children are so busy being children that it will be impossible to make sure they are always wearing their masks, especially around their friends in school. 

There's quite a resistance with teachers here in N.J. who don't want to go back in the classroom. So our governor decided to leave the option for remote learning open to the discretion of parents when school reopened in September. But yesterday, the school board voted to close the schools until a tentative date of November 1st.  In mid October, another assessment will be made to see if that date is feasible.


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## Sunny (Aug 13, 2020)

That's interesting, Diva. I imagine that many other states are going through a similar problem in deciding what to do. The thing is, nobody really knows.


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## Treacle (Aug 15, 2020)

I am not making a judgement here about whether schools should open or not, I just want to outline what my o/h's sister has told me what they have to do. (She teaches maths (math) in a secondary school). 

They will all wear visors, hers is slightly different because she wears glasses.

Her face covering 'cotton' mask is 5 layers 

Students will be in twos, share a book and have a partition between each bubble of two.

When the lesson has finished the group will be escorted via the fire exit to the next lesson and another group will come in via a different entrance.

Students will use white boards. 

The teacher with have a rectangle space which she cannot move out of.

The teacher has hand gel and  wipes for her computer.

Any student that does not follow procedure does not simply stand outside the classroom or go to the head. They are sent home.

These are just a few things she mentioned as our PM is determined to get children back to school.

As I said this does not contain my opinion. I just wanted to share with you what measures have been taken by some schools in England, well her school.


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## Becky1951 (Aug 15, 2020)

Students of 2 share a book? Isn't there enough books for each student?
What if one student gets the virus (after being tested) and has no fever that morning when checked, the other child is then exposed and possibly exposing their family.


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## PopsnTuff (Aug 15, 2020)

An Arizona school district canceled its reopening plans because too many teachers refused to show up....

The J.O. Combs Unified School District in Arizona canceled plans to reopen on Monday, August 17, after widespread backlash from teaching staff.
"Due to these insufficient staffing levels, schools will not be able to reopen on Monday as planned," Superintendent Gregory A. Wyman said in a Friday statement.
Virtual classes will also be suspended until further notice, Wyman said.
The district had voted to resume in-person classes last Monday. Following the vote, 109 out of 250 teachers had reported that they would be absent, the Arizona Republic reported.


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## StarSong (Aug 15, 2020)

What happens when students or teachers test positive or get sick, @Treacle?  What about restrooms, lunch periods, recess, etc?  Are desks sanitized between classes?  

How odd that students are sharing books, COVID or no COVID.


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## Treacle (Aug 16, 2020)

StarSong said:


> What happens when students or teachers test positive or get sick, @Treacle?  What about restrooms, lunch periods, recess, etc?  Are desks sanitized between classes?
> 
> How odd that students are sharing books, COVID or no COVID.


@StarSong I only spent a short time with her so not all the questions you have posed came up. You all make very valid and important points. There are enough books but I think the amount circulating is being kept to a limit and like our libraries will be sanitized.  Again, I was merely giving an insight into some of the procedures that her school is following.  ☺


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## Sassycakes (Aug 16, 2020)

*I truly believe that if the schools are being opened the virus will spread more and more. No one will be safe,children,parents the elderly and the teachers. I hope the country has enough sense to keep the schools closed.*


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## Sunny (Aug 16, 2020)

Treacle, it would be interesting to know how effective all those measures are. Keep us posted if you learn any more. 

My guess is that all these draconian measures will probably help to keep the spread of virus down. But wouldn't it be a lot easier, and less risky, to just use the online option instead, and keep the kids home?


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## Treacle (Aug 16, 2020)

Sunny said:


> Treacle, it would be interesting to know how effective all those measures are. Keep us posted if you learn any more.
> 
> My guess is that all these draconian measures will probably help to keep the spread of virus down. But wouldn't it be a lot easier, and less risky, to just use the online option instead, and keep the kids home?


@Sunny . Schools are due to open in England in the first week of September. There is  strong opposition from parents and Teacher unions. Schools are under pressure from our PM who has made it clear that children must attend school come September. Will update if and when I can.  ☺


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## StarSong (Aug 16, 2020)

Treacle said:


> @Sunny . Schools are due to open in England in the first week of September. There is  strong opposition from parents and Teacher unions. Schools are under pressure from our PM who has made it clear that children must attend school come September. Will update if and when I can.  ☺


So your PM has the final word on whether schools open?  Interesting.


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## Treacle (Aug 16, 2020)

@StarSong I don't know whether these links will work but if they do you will note his insistence on schools opening and his rationale. There have been many U turns by his government and although he is insisting schools open it may be another U turn due to the parents refusal to send their children to school and the Teaching Unions opposition.
www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53707912
www.cityam.com/pm-boris-johnson-says-schools...


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## StarSong (Aug 16, 2020)

Treacle said:


> @StarSong I don't know whether these links will work but if they do you will note his insistence on schools opening and his rationale. There have been many U turns by his government and although he is insisting schools open it may be another U turn due to the parents refusal to send their children to school and the Teaching Unions opposition.
> www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53707912
> www.cityam.com/pm-boris-johnson-says-schools...


It appears this fall there will be numerous grand experiments across the globe.  Guess we'll all just have to wait, see and hope.


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