Poll of the Day > should public schools be open this fall

(+) Yeah! (+)

for me nope leave them closed for extended vacation recess til the corona virus is 99.98% gone

Who needs an educated population anyways.

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we are all dying who gives a damn about school at a time like this?

Yes but then lock them in.

Schools already opened over here and with the numbers still receding, I have no issue with that.

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No.

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From a technical standpoint, if all grades halted by a year, I wonder how major of an impact there'd be on the overall education since on one level you'd simply be rolling back students' lives by a year. However, backslide is obviously an issue, as is the fact that public education is basically glorified babysitting so parents would need childcare anyway.

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Yes, studies show kids are not as much at risk as adults, and not everyone has technology to do distance learning.

retro_9980 posted...

Yes, studies show kids are not as much at risk as adults, and not everyone has technology to do distance learning.

recent studies are actually showing that while kids dont exhibit as many symptoms, their lungs are actually even more severely damaged by the virus

plus like most diseases, kids are the carriers

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No, studies show kids are at risk, but less than the adults who would be at greater risk while teaching. Schools should provide technology to do distance learning to those that don't already have it.

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God I hope so.. my kid needs to go back

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I am not smart enough to make this decision.

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As a teacher, I hope so, but only if it's safe. Recording YouTube lessons and doing Zoom meetings was tolerable as an emergency measure for 3 months, but not nearly as good as in-person classes where I can actually assess what my students are understanding on the fly.

Assessment was the biggest problem with online learning. With over 100 students in total to balance, there is no way for me to accurately assess what they all know. The standard "everyone does the same test" approach is absolutely worthless without supervision (for one, there's nothing stopping students from Googling answers, but that's not my main concern. I know damn well that students were sharing their responses with each other to minimize their already measly 30 minute per day workloads). Using projects as assessment is great, but projects don't always translate well to all curricular outcomes.

I won't know until August 1st what the plan is for school in the fall. I doubt it'll be a continuation of online-only learning. It might be a blend of the old and the new.

One thing's for sure, though. For years, people have wondered if traditional schools will soon become irrelevant, and whether stay-at-home online learning will become the norm. The past three months have been the final nail in the coffin of that idea for at least the next 30 years, it's been an overwhelmingly negative experience for literally everyone.

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retro_9980 posted...

Yes, studies show kids are not as much at risk as adults, and not everyone has technology to do distance learning.

Ok, but what about the adults that have to teach them? You ever been in a room full of children...even in the best of times they can't keep their hands off each other or cover their mouths when they cough/sneeze.

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Yep. This year has been a write off. Even more so for the education year. Things have to keep moving.

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wwinterj25 posted...

Yep. This year has been a write off. Even more so for the education year. Things have to keep moving.

The problem is kids can be germ factories.

I honestly wish teachers around here cared as much as the one who posted, to be bluntly honest the amount of care they talked about putting in is above and beyond what happens around here. Online classes actually work better in most cases for our schools sadly. All the same attention, no worrying about not having cool enough clothes or being bullied for whatever other reason.

I am sad to hear that it's not working well for everyone. Don't get me wrong.

I think it's absurd that places like casinos are allowed to reopen but schools can't. But I guess it does sort of make sense because governments collect taxes from establishments like these, and on the other hand, public schools use public funds to be run. Then again, I am worried about older teachers/professors who could get put at risk.

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Yes, they need to.
The public school nearest to me handed out diplomas this year for absolutely no reason. The vast majority of the students do not have access to a computer/laptop to be able to take online courses...so they just passed every single one of them.
We already have too many uneducated people in this country, we don't need more.

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Nichtcrawler X posted...

Schools already opened over here and with the numbers still receding, I have no issue with that.

Are you in the US? Because cases only seem to be dropping in DC and Rhode Island, while the other 49 states are increasing or leveling off.

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IDK, but I do remember that the coronavirus started spreading in my county because the school not to far from my house had a teacher who was the wife of the first known case in my county, and she ended up spreading it to basically the entire school.

I am a big proponent of homeschooling, but I also know that most people aren't going to put in the time and effort to do it the right way, and the districts certainly aren't going to give parents the right tools and training to do it the right way. I think you are going to have to, but force everyone to wear masks the entire day (good luck with forcing a kid to do that!)

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They damn well better since I work for the schools and have been on unemployment since like April. In the meantime I've been stuck in the house for months with my two annoying children pretty much 24/7...and did thier shit tier cobbled together online classes.

IDGAF what is going on for everyone else or what they're whining about here. Coronavirus can just do its thing...if they dont open the schools I'll be out thier actually holding a protest sign like I never believed I would before

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DrYuya posted...

IDGAF what is going on for everyone else or what they're whining about here. Coronavirus can just do its thing...

Well there's a well-reasoned, measured response to a worldwide pandemic. I'm surprised you aren't recruited for the coronavirus task force.

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On this subject, if a corona vaccine comes out I wonder if it'll be mandated for school. I know everyone's immediate reaction will be "it better be," but even if you ignore antivaxers and conspiracy twits, there's going to be a large group of people skeptical about the first wave of vaccines because of the rush on it. It's not an irrational concern, iirc the poll here about getting the first vaccine was pretty even between yes and no, so it'd be pretty whack to force it on kids like that. Then there's supply concerns, if the vaccine runs out do you keep kids unlucky enough to get a shot out of school? That's not fair either.

This will definitely be a point of drama when a vaccine drops.

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Clench281 posted...

Are you in the US? Because cases only seem to be dropping in DC and Rhode Island, while the other 49 states are increasing or leveling off.

People here keep asking, but no. I am in the Netherlands as I have been for most of my life.

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I really my school is, but I have a feeling it won't be.

I'm not good at online classes at all, so I think I'll have to sit a semester out.

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jramirez23 posted...

I think it's absurd that places like casinos are allowed to reopen but schools can't. But I guess it does sort of make sense because governments collect taxes from establishments like these, and on the other hand, public schools use public funds to be run. Then again, I am worried about older teachers/professors who could get put at risk.

People choose to go to a casino.

Public school is, in most cases mandatory, and you are asking parents to possibly send their kids (and by virtue themselves) into a risky situation.

The number of infected are actually still very small in the US apart from specific areas (like NYC). There are 300 million people in the US, and about 3 million have been infected (about 0.01% of the population - it is probably larger than this, just going by latest confirmed numbers).

Schools are a really tough call, and there are no good answers.

kukukupo posted...

There are 300 million people in the US, and about 3 million have been infected (about 0.01% of the population -

you're off by a factor of 100 there

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This is really something that should be decided on a district-by-district basis. In areas with no cases at all (particularly if that area doesn't see enough tourism for travel-related transmission to be an appreciable risk), there's no reason to continue compromising education to protect against a virus that isn't even there. In areas where the virus is under reasonable control but still present, it's probably possible to get away with some precautions (such as splitting classes in half and having the other half do the work online, alternating daily or weekly), but that's going to be a more difficult judgement call that will need to be made in close consultation with public health officials (possibly even on a class-by-class basis). In areas where the virus isn't under control at all, no.

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faramir77 posted...

One thing's for sure, though. For years, people have wondered if traditional schools will soon become irrelevant, and whether stay-at-home online learning will become the norm. The past three months have been the final nail in the coffin of that idea for at least the next 30 years, it's been an overwhelmingly negative experience for literally everyone.

Given that supervision is needed for accountability, I can't imagine things moving to an at-home-only approach for at least the lower grades... well, that and the fact that public education is basically free childcare

jramirez23 posted...

But I guess it does sort of make sense because governments collect taxes from establishments like these

Do they? I thought they were mostly on native land, so they'd exempt or something (although I guess the white owners would have to pay?)

Clench281 posted...

Well there's a well-reasoned, measured response to a worldwide pandemic. I'm surprised you aren't recruited for the coronavirus task force.

Sounds like he'd do a better job than the WHO.

Veedrock- posted...

On this subject, if a corona vaccine comes out I wonder if it'll be mandated for school.

Seems like a duh, considering other mandated vaccines. Even if it has a low success rate, it'd likely be mandated.


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ChaosAzeroth posted...

Online classes actually work better in most cases for our schools sadly. All the same attention, no worrying about not having cool enough clothes or being bullied for whatever other reason.

It's not viable to expect parents to look after their own spawns 24/7 though.

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wwinterj25 posted...

It's not viable to expect parents to look after their own spawns 24/7 though.

I genuinely hope this is as sarcastic as it reads to me.

ChaosAzeroth posted...

I genuinely hope this is as sarcastic as it reads to me.

Partly. The chavs around my area just shove their kids on the street while they sit on their obese arses on deckchairs yelling at them. School at least gives me a break from that. I'm also thinking about parents who work. My sisters boyfriend works so she looks after the kids. She's lucky to have that setup so she can decide to send the kids back to school or not when they open. Other folk are not as lucky.

Edit: Also education and socialising is important for kids. Home schooling sounds great but that would be something parents must learn too and the kids will probably miss their friends and the social aspect of school. I know my Nephew(he's 10) does. All he has is fortnight to keep in contact with them.

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With how terrible and inefficient schools are for actually teaching I don't feel like theres any need to rush back in. They just exist to condition you to work on tedious stuff for 8 hours a day anyway.

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Depends on what happens in the next month or so, but if things don't get better, NO, the public schools should not open in the US.

The rest of the world is doing pretty well, but the US is actually having more confirmed cases now, then in the past, and the worst part is not even 1% of the pop has been infected yet (from testing at least, probably actually 2% or so has).

The reason that is bad, is...well it's pretty obvious, 98% of the population can STILL BE INFECTED and if that happens quickly, we don't have near the medical facilities to deal with it.

I keep telling my friends who are going out and eating etc, that this is actually the most dangerous time to go out at all, but nobody seems to care because THINGS ARE OPENING UP!!! YEAH!!!

But I mean seriously we are at the start of July right now, schools open in mid august, so like 6 weeks away, and we are having around 50k new cases per day in the US. Unless things drastically change, there should be alternative plans being made right now.

As far as online learning etc, last year it was an emergency measure with no planning etc. We still have time to actually set things up better at this point. Use some of the normal school budget for busses, administration, lunches etc to pay for ipads/labtops or whatever to allow all the students a way to learn online and be part of a group class. Hire more teachers to teach the classes as well (including substitute teachers, teachers who have not been credentialed yet etc), and reduce class size to a much smaller/managable level so that teachers are each working with a group of 10 kids or so max.

There are a ton of things that can be done to make a decent at home learning experience for kids for the next school year, and that is what the focus should be on for now I think.

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wolfy42 posted...

I keep telling my friends who are going out and eating etc, that this is actually the most dangerous time to go out at all, but nobody seems to care because THINGS ARE OPENING UP!!! YEAH!!!

It seems me and your friends would get on well. Places open up more this weekend for us and I'm certainly going to be using them. Social distancing and other safety measures are put in place but honestly I value my mental health more than my physical. While having things closed doesn't effect my life all that much it's still nice to see more normality. Also jobs are at risk the longer things stay closed. If I recall right though you hardly leave your home. That's can't be healthy at all.

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wwinterj25 posted...

It seems me and your friends would get on well. Places open up more this weekend for us and I'm certainly going to be using them. Social distancing and other safety measures are put in place but honestly I value my mental health more than my physical. While having things closed doesn't effect my life all that much it's still nice to see more normality. Also jobs are at risk the longer things stay closed. If I recall right though you hardly leave your home. That's can't be healthy at all.

But your not in the US wwinter, your over seas where numbers are waaaaay down. We have had more cases per day every day for almost the last week, topping off at about 50k. I mean the total pop of the US is only 300 mill, 50k more cases a day is .05% of the population a day, that is pretty crazy.

I REALLY wanna go out as well, so tired of being in my freaking dungeon/basement, but yeah, it invalidates all the time I already spent down here if I go out right now.

That aside, yeah, from knowing you on here, I do think you and my friends would get along swimmingly:)

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wwinterj25 posted...

Partly. The chavs around my area just shove their kids on the street while they sit on their obese arses on deckchairs yelling at them. School at least gives me a break from that. I'm also thinking about parents who work. My sisters boyfriend works so she looks after the kids. She's lucky to have that setup so she can decide to send the kids back to school or not when they open. Other folk are not as lucky.

I've had rocks thrown at me by kids that the parents let run wild and then when they come to collect them you can tell they honestly don't want them. So yeah, I get that.

And I get the child care thing too.

Just that wording, expect and their own spawns. Kinda sounded like people shouldn't be responsible for their own kids to me, which is what I was hoping was sarcasm.

I'm the oldest of 5 as well as a parent. I definitely know you can't stop kids from doing stupid stuff 24/7 as well.

My sister who lives with me is close in age and had the police threaten her over our brother jumping off the roof like a dumbass. Problem was, the only way to stop him considering he was a teenager and physically fit would have been to have the police duct tape him to a chair. Boy went through periods of not listening to anyone for anything.

They also acted like my sister should be directly up the asses of 3 different children, even though that's impossible unless you're treating 2 teens and a pre teen like babies and have the physical ability to move them.

I love my brother, I miss him, but I'd be lying if I said the kid didn't have issues. I was trying to get him to behave once and he flipped down on the floor, only to try to kick me in the stomach when I walked over. I was like 6 months pregnant or so at the time.

But yeah, it was just the wording that struck me very much like those parents who act like they have zero responsibility to keep their kids behaved at all I guess.

wolfy42 posted...

But your not in the US wwinter, your over seas where numbers are waaaaay down.

I don't know man. The media keeps telling me farting gives me Corona so I'm sure I'll die soon.
Honestly though they do keep reporting the death toll. Many things can kill you and I'm more likely to die of a heart attack than Corona.

I REALLY wanna go out as well, so tired of being in my freaking dungeon/basement, but yeah, it invalidates all the time I already spent down here if I go out right now.

I mean I get out for a walk everyday. Even if it's a short one. I need those and would even do it if I was told to stay in my house. I'd rather take that risk than live in fear and that's ironic coming from someone who has apparently got chronic anxiety like myself.

ChaosAzeroth posted...

But yeah, it was just the wording that struck me very much like those parents who act like they have zero responsibility to keep their kids behaved at all I guess.

Some parents sadly are that way.

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I had parents who literally waited around 2 hours because their kid didn't wanna stop playing with legos. Some parents are REALLY not meant to be parents ......AT ALL. It SUCKS for teachers today lol.

But yeah, I need to go out and walk more, probably late at night (I live in a crowded city and alot of people are not taking the virus seriously). If I do it at like 3 am though I should be ok.

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wolfy42 posted...

If I do it at like 3 am though I should be ok.

Til you get mugged.

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