Posts by urbantinker8

driftingtinker said:I’m pretty much done with Plenki Fuchs. CNN is reporting that after yesterday's "absolutely not," he's already pivoted to "definitely maybe." 🙂

It feels like schools are the only way to limit mobility without everyone losing their minds and screaming about it.

A three-week stretch away from school might actually be a decent call, especially once people start getting sick from holiday gatherings and the heat starts kicking in.

If I heard correctly, they're even looking at shutting down restaurants in four different states.

Just a bunch of clueless idiots.☕

driftingtinker said:Schools in 10 counties might switch to remote learning starting Monday, and Fuchs is sounding the alarm on how this hits kids mentally

President Biden said The Administration is going to hash out whether we need to roll out the C-model nationwide

Quote:>

Word on the street is that high schoolers and older middle schoolers in the NYC area—minus the seniors—might be heading to Zoom classes this Monday. Nothing's set in stone yet, obviously, but we're hearing it’ll likely get the green light at the local Headquarters this Friday. If it happens, students would be stuck on the C-model through Thursday, right before the spring break kicks in on Friday.

>

Man, I don't know, maybe not🤦🤦
back when the numbers were triple what they are now in November, we all just kind of played dumb and stuck to these quarantine schools because, well, everyone thought they knew better and assumed schools could just handle anything.🙄
I suppose things should ideally return to a normal, in-person routine this coming week, and then hopefully, during the holiday break, everything might finally start to settle down a bit.

Austin Garcia said:And honestly, it shouldn't just be a one-time thing at the start; regular assessments would be so beneficial. There are certain teachers who seem to completely burn out after only a couple of years on the job 🙄
I can't help but recall a statement made by a certain "educator" here, claiming everything remains under control at an educational institution as long as there aren't more than half bad teachers. Apparently, having up to fifty percent subpar staff is acceptable, and only when it exceeds that threshold should any action be taken 🤦
It really serves as proof for how many treat this as nothing more than a paycheck—hardly a noble calling or a passion they choose to highlight unless it's convenient for them...
It is quite difficult to witness when they fail to engage in the shaping of young minds, missing the chance to provide guidance that could mean the world to some, or to offer the kind of encouragement that helps others solidify their life plans and gives them momentum... children often form deep bonds with their mentors, seeing them as much more than just someone who puts up with them because it's a job...
I don't want to sound hyperbolic, but the lives of these children do depend on them, as they serve as such vital components in the process of molding independent individuals...
Of course, I am certainly not referring to everyone, as I personally know several wonderful day teachers, but there are enough people who remain perpetually dissatisfied with everything that the students end up being the ones who suffer...

I think you might be slightly misremembering what that professor said, rather than a teacher.
I specifically wrote that for me (meaning strictly me, I wasn't laying down a universal law for all humanity, much less for sensitive American parents) it would be manageable if my kid in elementary school (not high school, one should probably look up the difference between elementary and secondary ed) ended up with a few subpar teachers, and if they were fewer than half, I wouldn't make a massive scene about it.

So, really, I was just talking about myself and my own family.
I suppose I'm not entirely sure why that somehow managed to upset you or cause such a stir, honestly.

Why do I feel this way? You probably aren't interested, but I guess I'll briefly explain.
Life isn't perfect. Schools aren't perfect. No workplace or environment is ever truly flawless.
Because of that, I don't feel any particular need to keep my child wrapped in a bubble or demand accountability from every single person they encounter who doesn't perform their job to an exacting standard.
A child eventually learns that there are good people and bad people, lazy teachers and dedicated ones, polite clerks and rude ones.
Regarding schools specifically, whatever they actually care about, they can likely pick up throughout their lives without needing a teacher to be one hundred percent engaged at all times. Similarly, the things they aren't naturally gifted at or simply find boring, they probably won't master even with the most brilliant instructor on the planet.
So, I don't view any of this through a particularly fatalistic or nihilistic lens.
There's a bit of everything in the world, and I guess you just have to accept that.
The one thing I would never tolerate, though, is anyone mistreating a child or being outright disrespectful toward them.
But teaching and the transfer of knowledge is such a complex, multi-dimensional thing that I don't see the point in losing my cool over every poorly explained lesson or misunderstood lecture.

Anyway, I hope that clarifies things for you.

mellowskipper said:What does security have to do with anything, and why on earth would you even bring that up? And what "millions" are we actually talking about here?

Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Tapatalk

I suppose I can't help but wonder why some people feel this sudden, pressing need to be so loud and persistent—often quite unpleasant, really—with people they don't actually know anything about.
Unfortunately, you aren't the only one.
And when you consider the type of security firms involved here...
If you were a more pleasant and constructive person to talk to, maybe I’d bother explaining things to you, but just now, I don't really feel up to it.🐔

nimbleranger17 said:It's for the exact same reason they weren't granted access to remote learning classes.

We have made progress, we have modernized 🤷

Of course it isn't. I personally know a mountain of professors and even more teachers who go out of their way to accommodate their sick students. Thankfully, most educators aren't quite like urbantinker8.

Fortunately, urbantinker8 actually goes above and beyond for all their students—both healthy and those facing health challenges—and they certainly appreciate it.
However, dropping by a sick student's house isn't really one of the ways urbantinker8 chooses to show that support.
I suppose urbantinker8 feels that doing something like that encroaches too much on privacy, potentially compromising the very person trying to be helpful just so the other party can claim their "rights."
And if I might circle back to the whole COVID-19 situation, because the broken leg argument here feels a bit misplaced: would you and your crowd honestly find it acceptable if professors were required to visit students in Chicago just so someone wouldn't face discrimination when applying to college?🍿

nimbleranger17 said:And let's be honest, I don't expect urbantinker8 to come trekking out to some sick student's house; that's hardly in her job description, given she isn't exactly known for her deep concern for the youth or their bright futures...

Well, obviously they won't, because asking that would be, I don't know, just monstrous.
honestly, I feel like everyone here has sort of lost their way with these twisted expectations.

I mean, does anyone actually go into a client's or a student's private space when they're ill for business purposes?
unless you're a doctor or a priest, I suppose?🐔

nimbleranger17 said:After twenty years in the education system (elementary, high school, and college)

I have been surrounded by thousands of students over those two decades.

That is my lived experience, along with the experiences of many others I know.

When it comes to the big ones—the exams that determine whether you pass a grade or, say, nail the SATs—people showed up even with a fever of 104 or 105...
They pushed through whatever ailment they had because these are the milestones that dictate the trajectory of your entire year, if not the next five to ten years of your life...

...but what if that random illness ends up costing someone more than just a few years, but maybe their entire life?

The very definition of altruism, I guess.🙂🙏

Pamela said:I suppose if people want to act outraged because a teacher might not have the heart to supervise a student they’ve taught for four years, well, maybe some folks just value their own health more than their job description.
Not everyone forms an emotional bond with their students, and honestly, I don't think they necessarily should, nor have all students actually earned that kind of connection.
...
On one hand, the government tries to convince us we're basically bio-terrorists if we drive around during a lockdown, yet on the other hand, there's no way this same government is going to stop someone from forcing employees to spend hours stuck in a small room with a sick person, otherwise, apparently, they're being cold-hearted or just plain Pamela.

Bravo!🙏🙏

It sounds paradoxical, believe it or not, but if my entire faculty lounge were hauled before a judge and forced to volunteer to sit in a cramped cafeteria for six hours with someone in isolation, I guess I would be the first to raise my hand without hesitation.
It isn't because I think some high school graduation is the most important event in the universe or that the whole world needs to halt everything and sacrifice itself—even at the cost of needing a ventilator—but rather, in the midst of this messy, illogical situation of coercion and mandates, I'd probably face less risk of catching something or passing away alongside older colleagues nearing retirement, or those dealing with autoimmune issues or recovering from cancer.
So, I guess I'd do it purely out of professional solidarity, rather than any pedagogical sentiment.
Though, I really do hope the Department of Education shows even a shred of realism and sobriety during my career and doesn't just throw its "subordinates" under the bus.

Isn't the idea of spreading a potential infection something that already borders on criminal law?🤔

Amanda Hughes37 said:Of course they can—this whole debate only kicked off because urbantinker8 reacted to the news with a single 🤮 emoji, implying people aren't sane for actually expecting something from their professors.

Maybe we could finally get some actual reading comprehension around here.😉

Garf, I’m not entirely sure if you deleted your post yourself or if the mods stepped in, but I can still see it being quoted by Amanda Hughes37.
I don't mean to sound like I'm making light of the whole thing, because honestly, I find the entire situation pretty repulsive.

But look, if this rule about social distancing or isolation isn't applied universally—meaning some people end up getting penalized just because they were minding their own business, while others get a free pass nine times out of ten by claiming, "this is my right and I'll do what I want"—then I guess the whole system might as well just fall apart.
We should probably just scrap this whole concept of "self-isolation," which feels like a non-existent, irrelevant category that everyone interprets however they feel like, and just let people go wherever and whenever they please, sort of like back in the old days.
There really isn't any middle ground here.
Either the rule applies to everyone equally, or it doesn't apply to anyone at all.
Some people have a high school graduation, others have an overseas flight, some need to hit up a CVS, and some are heading to a funeral.
If we're going to be inconsistent, then I suppose everyone should just just go about their own business.

Drew Johnson2 said:Has there really been absolutely no way to pivot or adjust this over the course of the last year?
It is just your classic American bureaucracy... endless red tape, a thousand different complications, yet not a single coherent solution in sight.

But I suppose you're asking me, aren't you?
That feels like just one more question for the NCVVO pile. Are you keeping track?

Amanda Hughes37 said:I honestly can’t wrap my head around anyone suggesting that missing high school graduation exams due to COVID—and consequently losing out on college admissions—is even worth debating.

The government has known about this situation for an entire year now; if we can’t manage to organize testing for these kids, then they should just hand over the reins to a state-appointed manager...

Personally, I believe someone like urbantinker8—if they actually went public with the stance that finding a way to administer these exams isn't a priority or a big deal—should be fired from their institution immediately. It’s no different than a doctor refusing to treat a patient, blaming them for their own illness, and acting like withholding necessary care is just a minor inconvenience.

A teacher is the absolute last person on earth who should even imply that missing a chance at your dream university after years of hard work and planning isn't a massive deal.
This is infinitely worse than those people who just mock education and intelligence in general.

If I were a teacher and knew my school or the state failed to provide a way for a student to take their exams because of COVID or some other issue, I think Oprah would be calling me for an interview all the way from Sussex after hearing from Britney.

Unbelievable!!!

Wow, you really are something else—so incredibly wise and profound, aren't you? I guess I should probably take notes.
I think we should bump this post back to the top of the thread, just so everyone gets a quick refresher on Katarina Rijecka. It’s worth revisiting, especially when you see her sitting there on the couch with Oprah, talking about that whole heartbreaking situation with the national exams back home and all those monsters who basically stood in her way.😂😂

Drew Johnson2 said:So, it appears my suspicions were correct after all; it isn't merely a solo act...

Actually, it really is just one person.

I mean, if the coordinator is still around and doing fine, a substitute doesn't get any kind of access to the exam materials at all. They shouldn't even be getting anywhere near them until the actual day of the test arrives.
They aren't allowed to print out the questions, they can't sign anything, and they definitely can't take possession of any documents. It’s not part of their responsibilities, I suppose. They don't have the authority to handle things like the duty schedules either.
A substitute is really only someone you trust to step in during those extreme, outlier situations where the exam coordinator is objectively unable to perform their duties.

Nicholas King said:"It’s just impossible."

"Absolutely impossible."

"Simply out of the question."

Lock this thread already. You people clearly have no clue what you're talking about, and frankly, nothing here is even remotely possible.

In the States, people find ways to do just about anything, including wandering through high school hallways even when they're supposed to be in quarantine.🤣
So, I don't see much point in locking anything down. We'll probably end up reading about every possible scenario here eventually anyway.

Drew Johnson2 said:But what if that person happens to be on vacation the day the high school seniors take their exams? Does the entire national testing schedule just get canceled? Is there really no backup plan?

There actually is.
I suppose there are protocols in place for when a coordinator is unable to carry out their duties.

mellowskipper said:urbantinker8, let's settle this once and for all.
Tomorrow—though God forbid, of course—you might be operated on by a surgeon, while being monitored by an anesthesiologist who, according to protocol, stepped out of quarantine and is under heightened surveillance. And you wouldn't even know. So, sleep soundly.

I am sleeping perfectly fine, and honestly, I can't quite believe what I'm reading.

Susan James said:I’d say it feels more like a deep desire to punish those who happen to be in quarantine.
It starts with the assumption that they got sick partying, or perhaps they caught it from parents who—instead of making sure their kids are studying for finals—are out grabbing lattes on a patio.

Quarantine is becoming a preventative measure that’s losing its purpose, mainly because people are starting to hide their contacts. They're hiding everything from pay cuts to missing out on activities, like working on a thesis or prepping for a big competition.
Lately, people have even been hiding contacts from three months ago because nobody wants to deal with another round of isolation once they've recovered and the risk of getting sick again is slim.

Think about it this way: if Student X comes to school for two days while having an infected family member at home, and then eventually develops symptoms herself, forcing her entire class into quarantine—despite everyone wearing masks and keeping windows open—just seems wrong. If that's the case, then Mary, the history teacher, and Barbara, the math teacher, should have been the ones in isolation if they were in that classroom that day. If they weren't sent home, then clearly the masks and social distancing are doing their job.

Even if the teachers didn't get sick, they might have passed it to their families (leading to those posts on Reddit about how kids bring the virus into school where it spreads invisibly everywhere).
If they kept working and grabbed coffee in the lounge or shared a pizza, they might have passed it to the geography, English, art, or PE teachers. Even if those teachers stayed healthy, they could pass it to their students, who then take it home. And suddenly, you see more posts on Reddit blaming the school for spreading the virus through the kids. But of course, in these arguments, it’s never blamed on Mary, Barbara, or a cup of coffee—it's always blamed on Student X.

At this point, mandatory isolation is losing its logic, and preventing someone from taking a standardized test on schedule is frankly inhumane. People are hiding their exposure. A student could end up stuck in isolation because of a parent or a sibling, where they actually have a higher chance of catching the virus and truly getting sick, rather than being forced into it just because of a classmate. With these kinds of rigid attitudes, people will simply stop reporting their exposure to protect a healthy student from unnecessary isolation.

I'm not talking about someone who is genuinely ill and can't sit for an exam due to a 104 fever, a broken arm, or stomach issues. No one would have shown up for an exam in 2014 under those conditions either. So, if someone happens to wake up sick on the day of the test, well, that's just life.

🤣🤣🤣
That's coming from the person who, over thousands of posts since last September, has rambled endlessly about daycare teachers shaving their kids' heads and bringing viruses into the center because, apparently, a virus couldn't possibly originate anywhere else.
oof, you really stepped in it this time.🐔🙂

I’m not talking about someone who is genuinely ill and can't sit for an exam because they have a 104 fever, a broken arm, or severe stomach issues. That person wouldn't have even left the house back in 2014. So, if someone happens to get sick on the day of the exam, well, that's just life, I guess.

And what exactly was the big tragedy there? Why wasn't there any flexibility or makeup dates provided for things like stomach flu, especially when we're looking at isolated cases? And why didn't those students just enroll in Psychology during the next semester?🙂

I have an idea.
Why don't professors just hang out at the apartments of students dealing with stomach bugs, ear infections, bronchitis, or anyone stuck in the ICU?
Maybe then they could take their exams instead of the ones with broken arms, since, heaven forbid, they might end up losing a whole year anyway.🕺

Drew Johnson2 said:And there simply aren't any elementary schools available, nor are there municipal spaces that could be repurposed for this purpose for those few days.
It seems there are nothing but problems and absolutely zero solutions... quite typical, really.

Maybe you could just ask them while you're signing up as a volunteer why the DM never holds these things at local elementary schools.

Anyway, there’s this specific role called the exam coordinator, and there is only one assigned to each school, so it’s basically impossible for them to be in two places at once. They’re responsible for picking up, handing out, and collecting all the tests, handling all the tedious paperwork once everything wraps up, and then printing and distributing certain test questions (HJ) that arrive right before the exams actually start.
They also have to be physically present on-site for the entire duration of the testing period just in case anything weird happens or some issue pops up.
So, I really don't see how they could manage running multiple locations for a single school.
This person has these duties baked into their yearly workload, so it isn't really feasible to just appoint several people on the fly at every school, or to rely on volunteers—not that I'm trying to get ahead of anyone's suggestions here.
And, just to stay ahead of Nicholas King's complaints about how overly sophisticated or complicated everything is: I suppose that person doesn't need to be Einstein, but they probably should have the ability to be in two places at once.🤔

Nicholas King said:The claim that there isn't enough suitable space is, frankly, nonsense.

Even in the past, high school graduation exams weren't strictly limited to high school classrooms.

You really don't have a clue what you're talking about. Not even a little bit.

Feel free to keep rambling away in your usual high-brow style; you've clearly got your followers, and I guess that's all you really need anyway.👍

Drew Johnson2 said:My mother was recently in touch with the CDC, and she actually took the liberty of asking one of their epidemiologists what the protocol would be if she started showing symptoms; apparently, she’d be required to travel all the way out to a remote town like 16 miles just to get tested, which presents quite a dilemma since she doesn't drive... The specialist advised her that taking a Greyhound bus might be an option, provided she wears two masks simultaneously and attempts to find a vacant corner of the bus far from any other passengers—and, of course, she must carry a doctor's note confirming the referral to ensure she isn't intercepted by authorities along the way.

If such a convoluted ordeal is considered feasible, then I suppose even passing the SATs should be a breeze...

It's absolute nonsense, really.🤦
I'm just hoping someone in her inner circle ended up giving her a lift to the testing site in a private car instead.