Upset > hospitalized
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And yes, we are intentionally ignoring you. Because I canât evenâŚ
Darn you, 2020!
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I understand there is a politically active group of parents. Earlier you spoke of the students in lower economic areas. I donât think these kids and families are driving the back to school focus.
Harvard against homeschooling? In Massachusetts? Thatâs hilarious. I know a number of home schooling students enrolled in Harvard Extension classes (have you looked at those)?
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We have overlapping issues that in the course of a forum look like comments are going the wrong way.
Iâm aware that the obstacles an underserved urban parent might be facing in regards to education are multifactoral and it seems tone deaf to point to the concerns of homeschool parents who are absolutely on the gentler side of economic and social concerns. BUT I do believe one of the reasons NY shutdown a lot before they got to schools was not only to preserve services for needy students, but also not to appear to willing to accept home education as an acceptable alternative.
I do not either.
I think middle America suburb mom and dad are the ones who want their status quo back.
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The âpodâ model would not work here, nor would I be willing to send my kid there even if the state suggested it. Into houses where what happens after the kids go home is anyoneâs guess - we simply take their word that itâs being cleaned? At least I know the schools are doing it where I live.
Also, doesnât work for special education at all. Kids in special education need teachers that have extensive training. Not to mention the speech therapist, physical therapists, behaviorists, etc. I just donât see it happening.
Plus, Iâm honestly weirded out by the idea of some rando parent teaching my kid⌠Not trying to be offensive, but weâre pretty hardcore atheists, and I donât need my kid getting a free religion lesson.
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Yes. The way it works for me in real life is sending my kids to do school with classmates - some of the parents Iâve known for years. Where I see it working is where itâs parent and not school driven. I also wouldnât drop my kids off with a stranger.
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My son is in self contained special education class labeled âMixed Disabilities.â Heâs in a class with 9-11 other kids ranging in age from kindergarten though 4th grade, all with different developmental and physical handicaps. I wouldnât know any of the kids other parents if I ran into them in the street. So for me, theyâre ALL strangers.
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I donât see online schooling working unless they are required to do standardized tests⌠in person. Maybe those tests are staggered, but itâs the only way to avoid cheating and actually see if the students have learned anything. Around here there were notices that teachers were seeing a lot of cheating - both parents doing the work and kids sharing work. Thatâs not helping the kids get an education.
There is the European model of only doing exams at the end of your high school years, but then, if a student is falling being, it wonât be caught in time to help them.
Any chance of hiring more teachers and finding more spaces to spread out schooling? What about community centers? Even church basements, if necessary? Itâs not ideal, but is there a will to spend the money?
Also, the pod idea sounds good on paper, but you get all kinds of problems, like economic divides, which often look like racial/ethnic divides. Thatâs the last thing kids need right now.
Maybe the idea of marks is altogether rethought? Itâs about educating the kids, not marking the kids. But the marks - a 100+ year idea - seems to be the only way we judge that education.
@PrincipalTinker , you have a tough job. I can see why you are having sleepless nights.
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This.
One size may not fit all, going forward. For a bit.
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Turning the conversation back to the Coronavirus for a second (
), if anyone needs an optimistic spin on the news of the day, I have something for you.
Using the IHME model website, I ran two graphs - one of confirmed cases over time and the other of estimated cases. The estimated cases adjusts for undiagnosed / asymptomatic, etc. cases:
The confirmed case graph makes it look like weâre worse off now than we were when thousands of people were dying every day back in April. We may yet get back there, but thereâs still time to stave off that outcome.
To be clear, there are places (TX, AZ, FL, CA, etc.) where drastic action is needed to reduce the spread. In AZ, the governor just closed bars, gyms, and theaters again, for example. But weâre better off now than we were in April because we have more and faster testing, so we can respond more quickly to changes on the ground. Hopefully local officials will use that data to their benefit.
Some perspective is helpful because if people see only negative news, it will have the opposite of the intended effect and cause people to become fatalist and complacent, rather than realizing that just a few small changes (like universal mask wearing) could solve most of the problems weâre facing.
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My quote is not working. Do you think of a COVID conversation only focused on cases and not the impact to lives and society? I am truly interested.
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I was just teasing. I think the discussion weâre having on school policy is completely appropriate for this thread. But my post was off topic so I was just trying to segue. 
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Oh, I could see the other side (that any other discussions- like the schools conversations- are off topic) , so I was curiousL
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Itâs insanely complicated.
@PrincipalTinker has been front lines schools.
Iâve been super focused on consequences to health care.
Some have helped highlight the concerns of high risk people.
Others whoâve not appeared as often (or recently) help see the economic trials.
This is âone for the ages.â
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I knew this. 
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@PrincipalTinker, @eightyeightkeys, et al
The main uncertainty is viral load.
Either for early elementary teachers, or students in middle and high school and their teachers.
And possibly early elementary students.
Reducing the probability of viral load is vital.
Can stand alone good quality air cleaners be a solution? @amvanhoose_701479?
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I really have no idea. I wonder how well theyâre tracking office spread where they have re-opened?
The main sticking point would be could good quality HEPA air filters remove the virus from the air. Are the filters that fine. Stand alone.
Even if air cleaners were a solution, my district wouldnât be able to pay for them. They are already considering paying teachers extra to stay after school for an hour or two to take over many duties of janitors to help reduce costs. Our district is having to make decision to account for around one million dollars less to operate on this coming year.
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