- Joined
- Sep 20, 2017
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Kids not bring in school is hurting them and it is more than just learning.
Contact tracing data locally has failed to show a single case of "supersprading". Meanwhile, schools around the world is mounting and places like India, Japan, Thailand, South Africa, and Vietnam are finding that opening schools did not contribute to “superspreader” events. In Sweden, there is zero mortality from the virus in the 1.8 million children who stayed in school in the spring. It makes you question our decisions.
Totally agree on schools contributing an essential social learning aspect to kids development.
Home-schoolers might dissent, but I send my kids to school and clubs to primarily help them develop social and communication skills.
But you are misinterpreting the circumstances around schools re-opening for in-person learning.
Data point #1: Three (3) towns around mine, as well as our own school district, had gone all-virtual for at least one day to conduct contract-tracing after someone at school had tested positive for cov-2. All nearby school districts have implemented 50-50 class split with mandatory masks worn by students and teachers, to allow for 6+" if distancing in the classrooms. As a result, all Cov-2 positives were traced to events outside of school, and in-class instructions resumed. That includes a dozen+ teenagers who held a Labor Day party in someone's garage (house of a school district employee), all of whom got infected.
Data point #2: One of the neighboring towns never opened for in-person schooling, as did many other school districts in NJ, because they could not get enough teachers to commit to show up. Enough teachers have threatened to call-in sick to make in-class education untenable. They have gone into 100% virtual (pun intended) learning mode.
Data point #3: Our school district can not secure enough substitute teachers, for the first time ever. Admins have publicly announced that fact, and at least once already my kids were left without instruction doing "online labs" when one of the teachers got sick and a qualified substitute could not be found.
Data point #4: Many of friends whose kids go to private schools report that enrollment this year fell 30-50% off from the prior year. A few private schools have not opened at all. Parents who are able to afford $35+55K/year/kid for private schools, have shifted those funds into hiring private tutors instead. Which further exacerbates points #2 and #3.
Data point #5: For the first time, EVER, my kids are actually looking forward to going to school, in-person.
Now that Cov-2 positives are spiking throughout the country, and hospitals are starting to fill up again (with the inevitable consequences that will follow, with some lag), I am NOT too optimistic that we will manage to stay safe and continue with in-person learning throughout the year.
In September, 242 out of ~600 NJ school districts were forced into all-remote opening mode due to teachers shortages and parents' concerns.
https://www.nj.com/education/2020/0...e-opening-all-remote-hybrid-or-in-person.html
Since then, many more shifted into online-only mode.
I'm holding my breath for when we will be next.
Pretty good with social distancing. In fact, social distancing may be a superior prophylactic.
Only if you wash your hands, right ?!