because parents and children aren't organized, aren't assured sources of political funding, and generally only get to exert political power every other year

you're emasculated

Our education system sucks already. Distance learning or reduced class time will only make that gap wider.

If public schools continue to respond to this situation in such a poor and inept way, I believe we will see more and more neighbors banding together to create pods/cohorts which are led by privately funded teachers.

weird how the resistance to close schools and reasons given in NYC back in March have completely evaporated

CowtownEng said:

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If public schools continue to respond to this situation in such a poor and inept way, I believe we will see more and more neighbors banding together to create pods/cohorts which are led by privately funded teachers.

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Exactly. Know for a fact that parents in Highland Park were doing this within 24 hours of the Dallas County announcement.

And largely Highland Park can afford to do that. More power to them.

nai06 said:

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The_Fox said:

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nai06 said:

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The_Fox said:

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AggieYankee1 said:

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cone said:

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I'll disagree slightly

this crash course in home schooling is making me question the overall value

if that factors into expendability, well that's part of the cost

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How about we as a community come together and remind ourselves of how priceless teachers really are to our community and then agree not to make them walk to plank... deal?

The quality of their education is measureD against the quality of the environment they are in - and right now they are in an environment that is spreading a deadly novel virus that can kill somebody with high blood pressure diabetes over the age of 50 and a cancer survivor And that describes a hell of a lot of teachers doesn't it?

ALL LIVES MATTER!!! RIGHT???

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Then they can quit and the school can hire a younger teacher.

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The problem is there aren't a whole lot of young teachers (or really any demographic) to hire right now. The subset of people wanting to teach for the amount of pay and the stuff you have to put up with is pretty small.

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Then pay teachers that want to teach in person more money. There has to be a solution. I pay $34k for my 2 kids to attend elementary school. A few families with similar aged kids could pay a teacher over $100k to teach and would happily do so. My youngest has to be at school this year. She did not learn via distance learning.

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LOL. Nothing get out the pitchforks and torches like suggesting to pay teachers more. Don't you know that teachers are just overpaid babysitter?

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That is not the way my family views education and educators.

I am lucky enough to work at a small private school. Admin and teachers have been working hard to put together a solid plan for in school learning that keeps everyone safe and for remote learning. It's my personal opinion that those school districts that are choosing to do all virtual schooling for the first few weeks are lazy (looking at you HISD). It's going to take a lot of work for in school learning plans.

Overall, every choice sucks right now and nothing is ideal. Parents start telling your kids NOW that school will look different in the fall. Teachers don't need any complaining from the parents this year, their job will be hard enough this year.

Bennettag06 said:

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I am new to TexAgs. Can you tell me what F16 is?

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There are serious people who believe we don't do enough of it already. No teacher can differentiate instruction for individual students as well as online learning can, not when you have 20-30 students in your class. They see a future where most learning is done online (and for younger kids, less structured learning and more unstructured play time), with teachers being more of either tutors, lab instructors, or working with students with special needs.

Ragoo said:

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Keegan99 said:

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And it won't be the children of the upper middle class and upper class that suffer. Those parents will pay for private teachers and tutors to get the results they need.

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systematic racism

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YOU RANG?

Leather Tuscadero said:

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Is it not also just as comical to think we can sit them in front of a computer at young ages and they will also learn?

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If it turns out that online education == classroom education, teaching K-12 as we currently know it may become obsolete.

Patriarch said:

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Bennettag06 said:

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I am new to TexAgs. Can you tell me what F16 is?

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The Politics "forum'.

katlong said:

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Yes, it definitely feels like a lose-lose. Both "comical" things can be true at the same time. I think the more helpful thing to do is stand by your desire to have kids in school, but stop overly simplifying the hesitations teachers currently have or equating schools to restaurants or other places of work. Schools have lots of unique dynamics that most people don't understand. That doesn't mean you don't get an opinion. It just means we should be careful to not oversimplify.

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Restaurants and other places like HOSPITALS have dynamics that schools don't have. Gyms, massage parlors, and tattoo shops have dynamics schools don't have.

This is hand-wringing. I get it, teachers are nervous. The answer is to get back in the classroom and learn how to do it. I had to work this whole time and i just had to go DO IT. I think its just the time spent sitting on ones hands and stressing about the future that is exacerbating this. Future-tripping is always a recipe for anxiety. That anxiety is real.

BUT

The hesitant teachers have provided nothing persuasive at all to convince me that they are at extra super duper risk. All they've done is try and make me feel bad for teachers. That's not an argument, its a guilt trip. This is the type of crap I'm seeing come into my timeline.





Theres no way to walk into the classroom fully prepared for everything they will encounter. It was the same way with me, same way with everyone who has had to park their car, take a deep breath, unbuckle their seatbelt, open the door, and step out to reclaim their life from this ****ing evil bug. Perfectionism here means never getting out of the car. Except to make mistakes and learn along the way.

because if they DON'T



they will be to blame

twk said:

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BBRex said:

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I'm not a teacher, but I work at a school district. We started in June bringing back workers to central office and the campuses. And we started having upticks in COVID-19 cases. After three weeks at 50%, the district shut it back down. Other districts said they were seeing similar problems.

You have to remember that even schools have to have janitors, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other support staff. The people are vital, but often make low hourly wages. Without them, the rest of the school doesn't run, and many of them are making so little that they can quit and find a similar paying job somewhere else.

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Where are these support staff folks going to work where they are safer than at school? They aren't going to be able to work from home. Millions of essential workers, often low paid, have been working every day throughout the pandemic, taking the same risk, or greater, than what these folks would be taking. How is it that grocery stores and Walmart can operate throughout the pandemic but schools cannot?

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i want to echo this because it keeps coming back to this. Why is it different? The case is not being convincingly made that its different.

My theory is that the future-tripping over a start date weeks in the murky future is amplifying anxiety day-by-day until it seems like its an insurmountably risky task, when thats not the reality. This future-tripping has teachers convinced that schools are different from walmart. From piercing salons. From daycares. That just can't be the case.

As far as I know schools are providing two options.

So for the teachers that are concerned they can pick online teaching.

So all this sentiment is mute at this time.

Schools are moving forward, putting things in place and getting ready to start the school year. Last thing they need is more distraction from leaders this late in the game.

Or when a young teacher dies of flu, like this person in early Feb.
https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/waterbury-flu-teacher-death/520-39334e11-928e-4225-8c96-ac2863de69f4

You know that if a teacher dies of any kind of flu, it will be national news and shut schools down.

You're free to try. I'm guessing you aren't working from home? Because that's what teachers are asking to do. I'm sure other businesses are finding aspects of wfh inconvenient, too.

BBRex said:

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You're free to try. I'm guessing you aren't working from home? Because that's what teachers are asking to do. I'm sure other businesses are finding aspects of wfh inconvenient, too.

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Working from home doesn't work for teaching as a whole. Businesses will cut loose employees if they aren't getting work done, but that isn't happening in education. KIds learned next to nothing once in person classes stopped. That lack of production will not be allowed to continue, and there is no way to remedy it without returning most kids to the classroom.

people are generally paid for value add

I guess that's where you guys have us by the balls - "you're free to try"