Posts by Sean Stewart

I work in the school system, and from where I sit, the biggest culprits behind these mass isolations are the school doctors—specifically those handling student health. They tend to send everyone into isolation just because... well, they're kids. They aren't working, so there's no need to worry about paying out sick leave or benefits; it’s easier to just have them stay home "just in case." It's a funny thing—I have quite a few retirees in my family, and I've noticed general practitioners always push them into isolation, too. But when it comes to actual employees, they suddenly become very selective about who counts as a "close contact," presumably to save a buck on those disability payouts.

We've seen some truly bizarre situations at my school. For instance, we had a German teacher test positive, and instead of managing it logically, they sent the entire class into isolation—even the students who were only in that teacher's English period. When people tried to point out how nonsensical this was, the doctors wouldn't hear a word of it. They literally told us that with the current pressure of COVID-19, they are practically begging to be relieved of their duties; they claimed they simply don't have the time to babysit every single child's specific situation. If a teacher is infected, the whole class goes home, and that's that.

There was another instance where a student spent an entire week in isolation because his brother tested positive. That student was supposed to return to school the following Monday, but in the meantime, his entire class ended up being ordered into isolation because of yet another student. Of course, the isolation mandate applied even to the kid who had been stuck at home all previous week without any contact with the infected individual. The doctor gave us the same old line: they don't have the bandwidth to deal with cases individually, so it's better if everyone stays home "just in case."😵😵😵.

On the flip side, whenever a student actually tests positive, us teachers are conveniently spared from isolation. They conduct these incredibly detailed investigations into our level of contact, and everything somehow gets classified as a "non-close contact." The logic? "You're adults, you wear masks, we know you're being careful." In other words, they go out of their way to ensure a teacher doesn't have to isolate—likely to prevent a total system collapse that would force the entire school into remote learning.

The daycare staff and elementary teachers usually end up in isolation because of their students, but I honestly can't name a single teacher who was forced into isolation due to a middle schooler or a high schooler. Apparently, since we maintain some semblance of distance from the older kids, we're suddenly exempt from the chaos.

Larry Walker24 said:finally 🙏🙏🙏

That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to get across this whole time—COVID wasn't the first disease ever to hit us. High school graduation, much like many other milestones in life, is designed so you get one shot at it every year, or maybe even less frequently; if someone dies on that specific day, or your bus catches fire on the way to campus—it happens. I once had a bus 62 miles leaving Washington, D.C., on my way into Washington, D.C., and ended up rushing into a last-minute exam; I actually split a taxi with the other passengers just to ensure we all reached our destinations on time. And people have stories—real ones—ranging from waiting a year for a medical specialist to attending child custody hearings...

As for those appalled by the idea of a teacher having the heart to refuse supervising a student who tested positive—after teaching them for four years—well, some people simply value their own health more than their job description.
Not every educator is emotionally tethered to their students—nor should they be—and certainly not every student has earned that level of devotion. Personally, I don't live in fear; I'm fairly certain I could breeze through COVID without a single symptom, but I have elderly parents at home with compromised immune systems. There is absolutely no way I'm letting anyone force me into a three-hour room session with someone who is infectious. Then again, when I was in isolation myself—feeling perfectly fine—I wasn't even allowed to walk to an ATM a block away or ride my bike through the woods where there was nobody else around.
On one hand, the government treats us like bio-terrorists if we move around while infected, yet on the other, that same government won't dare force its employees to spend hours in a room with a sick person, lest they be labeled a person or accused of being heartless.

I'm not suggesting seniors should be under house arrest before graduation, but if they avoid massive gatherings, the likelihood of someone reporting them as a contact is slim to none.

Or perhaps the best move is for everyone to just catch it preventatively now, so they're safe by June 😁 😁. How did this brilliant strategy escape everyone's notice until now 😁 😁?

nimbleranger17 said:And honestly, if these kids are perfectly fine—no fever, no coughing, not even a sniffle—but they happen to flag positive on some test, then who gives a damn?
They might as well stay stuck at home rotting away for an entire year, even if they were feeling absolutely stellar the moment they sat down for their finals, all because of a single positive result from a test that's notorious for spitting out false positives.

And let’s be real—what sane person is going to babysit a student who tested positive? A teacher isn't there to act as a diagnostic judge to determine if a result is a fluke or the real deal. Graduation exams are a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it’s a massive problem if you're unlucky enough to get hit with a positive test on that specific day. It’s like if someone had crashed their car in a crosswalk back in 2013—they’d miss their window through no fault of their own. Or if a dog bit them on the way to school. Those are rare scenarios now, I suppose, though I suspect it’s equally rare for someone who actually took precautions to end up in isolation—and even rarer for it to be a false positive. But this isolation issue isn't just about students or schools; it affects everyone. Positive tests mean people are sidelined from everything—traveling, attending funerals for loved ones, you name it.

If a student plays it smart before finals and avoids large crowds, theoretically, they shouldn't even end up in quarantine—after all, who’s going to report them as a contact? These exams take place long enough after regular classes end that being stuck in isolation because of a classmate or a teacher isn't really an issue.

As for other situations, plenty of adults take precautions a few days before major events just to stay healthy—say, so they can head back to work in Germany or somewhere similar. I know people in my circle who work in Austria, Germany, and places like that; they come home maybe once a month, and during those few days, they skip the birthdays and the restaurants just to avoid catching anything. If they test positive, they can't fly back to their jobs, and many of them are looking at pay cuts or even losing their positions entirely, especially since most are on fixed-term contracts.

You simply cannot force a teacher, or anyone else for that matter, to gamble with their own health by hosting a student who has a confirmed positive test.

Paul Kern12 said:Exactly. Test results can be inaccurate, and frankly, requiring a test before every single day of the SATs is just not feasible. The testing window runs from early June through the end of the month—and since there are multiple exam dates—you have to multiply that by the number of students... we are talking about hundreds of thousands of individual tests.
Here is the updated SAT schedule:
https://docs.google.com/viewerng/vie...AN-B.pdf&hl=en

I wasn't suggesting testing every single graduate—just those currently in isolation who are requesting to sit for the exam. I'm certain there aren't hundreds of thousands of those cases.

Amanda Hughes37 said:Look, I’m not even going to debate the merits of self-isolation or the virus itself right now... what I find impossible to wrap my head around is how nobody is trying to find a way for these kids to actually complete their work. We had plenty of ways to protect teachers here, but instead, we have someone deciding that having children write assignments is somehow represented by this emoticon 🤮

The fix is quite simple, much like what I mentioned before: let any teacher who wants to get vaccinated go through the standard channels—if they don't want to, fine, no one is forcing them—but that shouldn't be an excuse to dodge proctoring duties altogether. As for the high school seniors, just run a quick test before they sit for their exams; if they're healthy, let them take the test.

Nicholas King said:Well, I suppose that’s exactly why this is such a heated debate—people are practically fighting tooth and nail against any possibility of letting quarantined students sit for their exams.

BTW, comparing this to missing a flight is a massive reach, and claiming that you have to wait an entire year to retake an exam just because you were sick? That's simply not true.

Some universities don't even follow strict deadlines—it's all that credit-hour bureaucracy and red tape. Sure, a doctor's note carries weight if you're hospitalized or dealing with a chronic condition, but do you honestly think anyone is going to believe a student was sidelined by a sudden bout of stomach flu right before an exam? Nobody's going to admit they couldn't leave the bathroom in time to sit for a test.
I remember being a student myself—I've definitely sat through exams while dealing with a bladder infection, essentially armed with nothing but heavy-duty pads. At many colleges, professors just do whatever they feel like; some might offer a makeup quiz for those who are genuinely ill, but they'll make the questions so impossibly difficult that you'd almost rather stay sick than face them.

As for why the missed flight comparison fails—well, missing a flight can derail your entire life, whereas for some, missing a high school exit exam isn't even a major setback. A huge number of seniors show up to these tests just as a tourist attraction—simply because it's local and free. Most parents, teachers, and principals just nudge them to go through the motions so they don't live with "what ifs" later on.

I find all this dramatic fuss over missing the state exams a bit ridiculous, honestly. We’re essentially conditioning kids—or rather, students—to believe the world will bend over backwards for them, constantly accommodating their every whim. Then, once they actually step out into the real world, they hit the pavement hard.

Look, regardless of COVID-19, there are plenty of other ailments that might sideline you, and frankly, nobody cares. If you end up with a stomach bug right before a massive exam at a university like NYU, do you really think the professor gives a damn? They’ll just tell you, "Better luck next year, buddy." They aren't going to reschedule an entire midterm just because one student is feeling under the weather. If you're late to a job interview that could have been a career-defining moment—well, sorry, but they’re just going to hire whoever actually showed up. If you miss your flight for any reason at all? Too bad. Catch the next one.

Adult life isn't filled with sympathetic homeroom teachers or principal figures who collect excuse notes and hand out tenth chances to someone like Mark, who has spent nine consecutive history exams dealing with sudden nausea.

Don't get me wrong—it’s unfortunate when a student gets hit by COVID-19 right during finals, or during any major life milestone—be it a sister’s wedding or a driving test. But who exactly is going to organize a secondary testing window for everyone? It’s unmanageable. My mother’s friend spent weeks quarantined in her house, barely leaving to go to work, just to ensure no one in the family caught it—all so her daughter could test negative before traveling abroad to find a better life. If that girl had tested positive, do you really think anyone would have offered her a second chance? Or take my acquaintance who couldn't even attend her grandmother's funeral because she was stuck in isolation.

Personally, I've had quite enough of the panic surrounding the virus—this whole idea of locking people down while, on the flip side, everything seems fair game if you happen to be a celebrity or a loyal voter for Bloomberg's crowd.

In my view, the solution would be simple: allow students in isolation to take a test before their exams. If they're negative, let them sit for the test alongside everyone else. And it shouldn't just be for students; if you're stuck in quarantine, pay for your own test and get back to your life.

It honestly makes zero sense—I can see just about everything else through my official government portal, from my supplemental insurance status to when my car registration expires or even exactly which local polling station I’m assigned to, but this? This is nowhere to be found. Everyone else seems to have access to my quarantine status—pharmacists, police officers, even the lady at the DMV check it—yet somehow, I’m the only one who can't actually view my own records.

mellowskipper said:When my daughter received her decision regarding her IEP—it said, for instance, that the period runs from December 6th through the 15th, 2020, and then she can return to school on the 16th—it was pretty clear... I mean, it seems obvious that the final day mentioned is definitely included in that timeframe.

It’s all just... strange, I guess. A colleague of mine was just out on sick leave because her son caught COVID—they live under the same roof, obviously—and she ended up getting ten days off. But here is the thing—it feels a bit odd—her computer has been acting up since the very first day he started showing symptoms. Maybe there is some connection there? I don't know. It just seems a little suspicious.

Sent from my iPhone model using Reddit

As for me, I never received any official notice regarding sick leave at all.

Is there any way to actually view my official isolation order—you know, the actual paperwork? Is it posted somewhere on a portal like MyChart or something similar? To be honest, I didn't quite catch everything the doctor was saying regarding my isolation period; she gave me a date, but now I'm sitting here wondering if I'm cleared to head out on that specific day, or if I'm technically stuck indoors until midnight. Since it's right in the middle of the holiday season, I don't really have anyone to call—I'm sure the public health officials are absolutely swamped right now, and the last thing I want to do is bother them just to clarify whether I can step foot outside or not.

Personally, I’m worried that someone behind the scenes made a massive profit off this whole e-portal rollout—and now we’re stuck dealing with these permits indefinitely just so they don't have to admit they wasted taxpayer money if they were scrapped in a week.
The moment they first announced they were building the system, I had a gut feeling this wasn't about phasing out the permits, but rather gearing up to make them a permanent fixture of our lives.

So, according to the logic floating around, anyone of us who hasn't seen their partner, kids, or grandparents in weeks is just a complete fool. While some people are apparently allowed to crowd through the aisles at Walmart or Target because there’s a sale on power tools or pajamas, others aren't permitted to see a loved one living just 1.2 miles away in a different county—and before the critics jump down my throat, I truly believe that if someone who only hits the grocery store once every few days drops by to see a person living alone who hasn't left their house in two weeks, they aren't exactly fueling an outbreak.

Essentially, it’s fine—nobody is going to give me a hard time if I swing by a coworker's house to see her three kids—but if I visit my uncle who lives by himself, or my boyfriend in the next county over? No, no, absolutely not. That's strictly forbidden.

I’ve been chewing on the logic behind these penalties lately, and frankly, it feels completely backwards. It makes zero sense that some idiot who ignores their quarantine orders just to wander around town gets hit with a mere $2667 fine—while someone actually following the rules, stuck in some tiny rural county where they can't even access basic services, ends up facing a $30 $0.00 penalty just because a local official decided their permit wasn't "essential" enough.

I gave that a shot too—visually expanding my silhouette until I looked like some old grandma wearing those oversized housecoats. Truth be told, tight, bodycon dresses actually look great on me—provided, of course, that I remain perfectly stationary. 😁 But I actually need to be able to move. Given that I have an hourglass figure—specifically, a very prominent backside—wearing those kinds of dresses makes me look less like I’m heading to the office or even a crime scene, and more like I’m about to start grinding on a pole at a club. 😁
So, I’m looking for something more like this one on the far left (though, naturally, I prefer models that are just a touch longer): https://dresswithpress.files.wordpre...les-shapes.png
Anything wider than that just makes me look so bulky I end up resembling one of those cartoon grandmas from Tom & Jerry.

I might not fall into the "plus-size" category strictly speaking—I’m about 167–168 cm and weigh around 75 kg—but I usually settle for a US size 8 or 10. Most clothes fit me perfectly fine, with one glaring, frustrating exception: dresses and skirts.
See, my issue is this massive, rounded backside. When I’m in a dressing room trying on a dress, I look at my hourglass silhouette and think, *wow, okay, I actually look great*—but the second I lift my arms or try to stretch, the back of the dress hitches up so high it practically reaches mid-back. It's ridiculous. If I'm standing still, the front might hit my knees, but the back barely manages to cover my rear.
I’ve tried going up to a size 12, 14, even a 16, but it’s a losing game. If I grab a 12 to accommodate my hips and butt, the bust area just looks like two inflated balloons—not that I have tiny breasts (I'm an 85C, which is decent), but compared to my hips and that wide pelvic line, they look nonexistent.
I’ve experimented with A-line cuts and flared skirts too, but those just tighten so aggressively over my rear that I end up looking twice as wide as I actually am.
It’s become a total nightmare trying to dress up for special occasions. Honestly, I’m starting to feel self-conscious showing up to work every day in just pants and tops, when all I really want is to wear a nice dress once in a while. I’ll see these adorable tunics on a mannequin that look like they’d hit mid-thigh, but the moment I put my actual size on, the hemline ends up halfway down my butt.😁
Buying jeans or shirts? No problem at all. I’m always a solid 8, maybe a 10 if the cut is slim.
To any women out there dealing with this same anatomical struggle: please, help. Where can I actually buy a dress that accommodates my curves without making me feel like I’m trapped in a cage? I’ve bought several pieces that looked perfect in the mirror, only to realize later they’re a disaster. It’s a constant fear that something will slip or shift, leaving me unable to even bend down to pick something up off the floor—because if I do, I might as well walk out the door completely naked.😁 😁 😁