Second Semester 2020/21 School Year

Betty Gonzalez912 said:Why was there never any massive testing done for the flu?
Kids need to stay in school. If a kid gets sick, they just stay home. Why is that such a huge issue?...

Well, they don't even perform mass testing for COVID-19.

nimbleranger17 said: It seems like we’re seeing a heartbreakingly steady climb in anxiety and depression among kids here in Washington, D.C., especially after everything they’ve been through with the recent tremors and the fallout from the pandemic

The article totally missed the point that when it comes to anxiety, experts actually recommend getting kids out and hanging with their friends as much as possible.

I mean, what’s even the point of writing a piece like this if they aren't going to offer solutions, nobody seems to care about the kids' future, and we're all just looking at another round of remote learning anyway.

Kids aren't stupid; they see that everyone is staying cooped up inside while all their activities keep getting canceled.

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What is the issue if the director of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia stated in yesterday's edition of The Wall Street Journal that children are being unfairly blamed for being asymptomatic spreaders?

coastalorca43 said:What is the issue if the director of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia stated in yesterday's edition of The Wall Street Journal that children are being unfairly blamed for being asymptomatic spreaders?

The real kicker is just that nobody actually takes her seriously.
It feels like it's all just noise—endless statements, advice, and news stories where pediatric experts talk a big game but don't actually move the needle on anything.

I was just reading somewhere that they might even roll out new restrictions in Washington, D.C., just to set an example for the rest of the country.
Like, is that even sane, especially if we're looking at a return to remote learning?

Paul Kern12 said:My partner mentioned that their teachers have already hinted at the possibility of moving classes online—though, granted, that's only for the seniors—and a girl I know from another high school said her teachers are saying the exact same thing. There’s also some very strong talk about an extension to the spring break (Spring Break/Easter period).

Does anyone happen to have any actual information?

nimbleranger17 said:Honestly, those are just nothing more than the petty whispers and little rumors of a few professors...

I’m actually working on this project with a high school over in Chicago, where I’m scheduled to teach some live sessions during that first week right after the Easter break. We actually sat down this past Friday and hammered out the details with the teacher there; she’s fully on board with me coming into the building to teach the kids in person...

copperharbor59 said:If we're talking about a spring break extension, I find that hard to believe... based on how often that actually happens, it sounds more like wishful thinking than anything else.

The FEMA office in Kansas, acting on the recommendation of the lead regional epidemiologist Dr. Taylor Swift, issued a decision today proposing to FEMA and the U.S. Department of Education that schools in the Kansas area transition to online learning for grades 5 through 8, as well as high schoolers excluding those in their final graduating year.

So, there you have it regarding the "rumors being spread by certain teachers" and the "wishful thinking."

Kenneth Brown5 said:The real kicker is just that nobody actually takes her seriously.
It feels like it's all just noise—endless statements, advice, and news stories where pediatric experts talk a big game but don't actually move the needle on anything.

I was just reading somewhere that they might even roll out new restrictions in Washington, D.C., just to set an example for the rest of the country.
Like, is that even sane, especially if we're looking at a return to remote learning?

It’s about time all these mental health specialists for kids finally started actually working with children instead of just venting through the media, stirring the pot, or egging the public on to boycott measures under the guise of "protecting children."

I mean, okay, you know we're in a pandemic, and you know there are certain epidemiological protocols in place—not that I want to get into the logical inconsistencies or whether specific mandates are even justified right now, since that's a whole other rabbit hole—but you also know that kids are struggling. So, maybe, I guess, instead of just making grand statements, filling out spreadsheets, or crunching statistics, they could just... get to work.🙂

urbantinker8 said:It’s about time all these mental health specialists for kids finally started actually working with children instead of just venting through the media, stirring the pot, or egging the public on to boycott measures under the guise of "protecting children."

I mean, okay, you know we're in a pandemic, and you know there are certain epidemiological protocols in place—not that I want to get into the logical inconsistencies or whether specific mandates are even justified right now, since that's a whole other rabbit hole—but you also know that kids are struggling. So, maybe, I guess, instead of just making grand statements, filling out spreadsheets, or crunching statistics, they could just... get to work.🙂

It would be great if we could just let them do their jobs. But unfortunately, thanks to a few paranoid hysterics like you, that isn't happening. Because of mindsets like yours, myself and a ton of other parents have to take forced vacation days next week just to watch our kids at home, even though we haven't had a single student show up to school since last November.

I suppose you could say they’re barking up the wrong tree here; I wouldn't call myself a panic merchant by any means, but I honestly doubt these experts have spent more than a fraction of their careers actually working face-to-face with kids.
for the most part, their entire existence seems to revolve around filling out spreadsheets, crunching numbers, and drafting endless recommendations, reports, manuals, and textbooks while hiding behind a computer screen.
so, it makes sense that they're spiraling now that they're being forced to step away from their paperwork and finally engage with children in the real world, eye-to-eye.

So, is there actually any news regarding changes starting this Monday, or are we just stuck with everything staying exactly as it was this week? I caught bits and pieces of the announcement while I was driving, though I wasn't exactly paying full attention...

Nothing’s changed really, everything is still playing out exactly how they described it yesterday.

I caught every word of it, so I'll let my girl know she should probably clear out her closets if she needs to.

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urbantinker8 said:I suppose you could say they’re barking up the wrong tree here; I wouldn't call myself a panic merchant by any means, but I honestly doubt these experts have spent more than a fraction of their careers actually working face-to-face with kids.
for the most part, their entire existence seems to revolve around filling out spreadsheets, crunching numbers, and drafting endless recommendations, reports, manuals, and textbooks while hiding behind a computer screen.
so, it makes sense that they're spiraling now that they're being forced to step away from their paperwork and finally engage with children in the real world, eye-to-eye.

I don't get how you can do any of that without actually seeing the kids? You can't just pull statistics out of thin air; you need data, and you have to collect that data from real life...

Same goes for the reports. They have to be based on actual facts. You can't just make things up.

nimblelynx7 said:I don't get how you can do any of that without actually seeing the kids? You can't just pull statistics out of thin air; you need data, and you have to collect that data from real life...

Same goes for the reports. They have to be based on actual facts. You can't just make things up.

Look, imagine one five-year-old child who needs help.
They end up networked with all these other specialists who are also talking to just one five-year-old at a time, so they spend their time swapping data points and conducting research, drafting theories, and basically just playing around with numbers.
And that’s just during "peaceful times," when there isn't some massive pandemic going on.
Now, I guess they might only actually see one out of every fifteen kids.
Because, ultimately, it seems the most important thing to them is leaving a paper trail; everything else feels like it's secondary to that.🙄 So, by the time they've finished writing everything down and filling out all the paperwork, there probably isn't much time left over for actually working with the children.
I'm referring to the professional staff across all our educational institutions—you know, the pedagogues, the psychologists, the special education experts.
Maybe the clinical staff are a little more agile in some ways, but even they aren't anywhere near where they ought to be.

nimbleranger17 said:So, I’ve got this lecture scheduled at a school during the week right after the holidays, and my professor mentioned yesterday that everything is proceeding exactly as planned—just a standard, in-person session, no need to worry about any disruptions... NYC, of course, so we all know how that goes.

Larry Walker24 said:Then he hops online just one week after the holiday

nimbleranger17 said:Honestly, those are just nothing more than the petty whispers and little rumors of a few professors...

I’m actually working on this project with a high school over in Chicago, where I’m scheduled to teach some live sessions during that first week right after the Easter break. We actually sat down this past Friday and hammered out the details with the teacher there; she’s fully on board with me coming into the building to teach the kids in person...

Paul Kern12 said:

The FEMA office in Kansas, acting on the recommendation of the lead regional epidemiologist Dr. Taylor Swift, issued a decision today proposing to FEMA and the U.S. Department of Education that schools in the Kansas area transition to online learning for grades 5 through 8, as well as high schoolers excluding those in their final graduating year.

So, there you have it regarding the "rumors being spread by certain teachers" and the "wishful thinking."

Here is what happens when manchild and sivko try to act like they know what they're talking about:

He noted that about 200 students in middle and high schools have been infected, so for now, there hasn't been a shift toward remote learning.

"We are going to wait a bit before switching to the remote model, we will monitor the situation over the next four weeks before making a final decision," said Schumer.

When I tell you that things aren't moving to online classes in New York City, I say it because I actually know what is happening on the ground.

nimbleranger17 said:Here is what happens when manchild and sivko try to act like they know what they're talking about:

He noted that about 200 students in middle and high schools have been infected, so for now, there hasn't been a shift toward remote learning.

"We are going to wait a bit before switching to the remote model, we will monitor the situation over the next four weeks before making a final decision," said Schumer.

When I tell you that things aren't moving to online classes in New York City, I say it because I actually know what is happening on the ground.

You can't possibly know what the situation will look like three weeks from now.
Unless, of course, you're some sort of hybrid of Milan and Vanga.

I must say, I also interpreted Fuchs’s point quite differently yesterday...

Classes in NYC are still running as usual.

Paul Kern12 said:

The FEMA office in Kansas, acting on the recommendation of the lead regional epidemiologist Dr. Taylor Swift, issued a decision today proposing to FEMA and the U.S. Department of Education that schools in the Kansas area transition to online learning for grades 5 through 8, as well as high schoolers excluding those in their final graduating year.

So, there you have it regarding the "rumors being spread by certain teachers" and the "wishful thinking."

You're right, I really need to take a step back and reflect on this.
Honestly, just obsessing over the numbers on USA is pretty mindless.

driftingtinker said:Classes in NYC are still running as usual.

Exactly, and I’ve been making just that point here for two weeks now. There isn't even a whisper of remote learning happening in NYC; everything is proceeding exactly as it always has, completely business as usual.

copperharbor59 said:You're right, I really need to take a step back and reflect on this.
Honestly, just obsessing over the numbers on USA is pretty mindless.

The numbers might not look massive, but the outbreaks are happening specifically within schools.

Paul Kern12 said:The numbers might not look massive, but the outbreaks are happening specifically within schools.

Yeah, because it's *only* the schools, right? I mean—Madison Square Garden and NYC are absolutely packed; you can't find a single parking spot, people spend an hour over a single coffee, and then they're out drinking late into the night. But sure, let's just blame the schools. In my fifth grader's class, everyone caught COVID, yet there was zero transmission between the kids themselves—they all picked it up from their parents.