They won’t listen to parents who just say to open up. I am sure they are looking at all the different things they need before they open up and what they need if they open up.
Opening up won’t be pretty, at least for the teachers and custodial crew that need to wipe down all surfaces every day after class and after school.
And, they hybrid system is not as good as you think.
And yet, all the districts around us are opening. Hmmm. Maybe you should think a bit more.
LimeRidge Larry
October 22, 2020 - 5:07 PM 5:07 PM
Watch out! Brian Lawrence is not going to like this at all. He gets very angry when peons like us defy him.
Bill
October 22, 2020 - 5:09 PM 5:09 PM
Our condo pool is closed because if someone gets sick and sues, then it will cost the association too much.
Just think about what a parent will do if their child gets sick ??? Probably sue. It is more than just wanting your child in school, there is also the costs to run a school with the protocols that need to be in place. It is going to likely take the hiring of additional custodial staff to accomplish that.
So, fear of being sued and fear of spending more money are key factors not addressed in this petition.
And, to falsely say that teachers are being silenced by their peers is the worse kind of anecdotal writing I have heard on this subject.
If they hire more custodial staff don’t let them join the union. That way if they don’t do their job they can be fired. The custodians that are in the union now know that don’t have to do much work because the union protects the lazy ones.
The condo swimming pool closed through the whole summer too here. Or else the HOA fee will have to go up in order to comply with the county regulation in order to let renters/owners to go swimming and SURE that everyone want to avoid paying the extra fee.
Did you read the article you linked? It doesn’t say anything about legal liability at all. And it contains this quotation, which goes exactly against the moral you are trying to draw from it apparently:
“People need to understand (coronavirus cases are) not a reflection of the schools, it’s a reflection of Woodbridge and Middlesex County and the U.S. If the number of cases in the community is rising, then based on probability you’re going to have more cases in schools,” Zega told NJ Advance Media.
Cellophane
October 22, 2020 - 5:32 PM 5:32 PM
Sure wish we could tar and feather people in office who abuse their power.
That’d get the idea that acting like a bunch of (insert appropriate explitive here) isn’t acceptable.
Instead all we can do is vote them out.
All of them, every election until they do what the people want.
Why would anybody live their life according to the cancel culture? Cancel them and take away their feigned power…
Aunt Sue
October 22, 2020 - 6:27 PM 6:27 PM
So if some parents decide to keep their kids home and there is not enough children to fill ‘classrooms’ will the district begin combining classes and consolidating campuses??
Alan
October 22, 2020 - 6:44 PM 6:44 PM
Teacher safety should be one of the main priorities, don’t be selfish people!
Well, good luck with **that**. I don’t think MDUSD will allow ANY students back in school until after Christmas Break. MDUSD is happy to pay the teachers & staff full-time wages for part-time work. BTW, have you seen the attendance scores? TERRIBLE. Parents who work & have young children are heading for a nervous breakdown, trying to hold down the jobs, the kids, the house, etc. I really really REALLY feel sorry for these young families.
The Academy of Pediatrics stated they all would recommend sending kids back to school, as they are the lowest risk, they need the structure of a school days and they miss their friends!
Remember when Newsome said “give us a few weeks to figure things out”? Seven months later and we’re still wearing masks and staying home.
Part time?!!! Are you kidding me!!!! Follow me around and you will see how part time I am. Why do people who don’t know what they are talking about spew out false claims?. I guess working 10 hour days 6 days a week is part time. Truly insulting!!!
SB
October 22, 2020 - 7:52 PM 7:52 PM
Got some bad news for those of you who want schools open again. It could be worse than distance learning at home. Not because of the actions of anyone in your school district local to Claycordia, but because it will include all of the heath guidelines that are currently in place.
Imagine if you will, painted six foot squares on the floor of the classroom with one student at a desk, the teacher at the front of the room, and everyone has to keep 6 feet apart. Now put a group of kids in this situation who are younger than ten years old. Will they really keep six feet apart? Will they wear face masks? Will they refrain from all the behaviors that we remember engaging in at their age? Teachers presently frustrated that they cannot work side-by-side with their students, and they still won’t be able to in the new model. Even with half of the students in the classroom at one time and the other half at home, it may prove more difficult to manage than one online class now. Plus, we are now in an enclosed space, increasing the health risk for everyone in the school and community.
The efforts of the superintendent, board, teachers, and all others involved is definitely commendable, but I am concerned that we are creating a third education delivery model that may prove less effective than our current distance education model. Additionally, we risk losing a lot of teachers and support people who may choose to take a leave of absence to avoid contracting the highly contagious respiratory illness. This lose of talent will be felt in our schools right here in our community. There is already a shortage of teachers in our district; a reopening during this pandemic may make matters worse.
You’re talking about like it’s something that has to be imagined. We know that schools can reopen because many are open – private schools here and publics elsewhere. And yeah, it’s not great, but it is better than what public school kids are getting right now in CCC!
“The efforts of the superintendent, board, teachers, and all others involved is definitely commendable, but I am concerned that we are creating a third education delivery model that may prove less effective than our current distance education model.”
WOW their efforts have been negligible at best and you want to commend them…are you Brian Lawrence in disguise?
Fed Up
October 22, 2020 - 7:52 PM 7:52 PM
So, are the folks going to this rally also signing up to teach? I think there should be sign up sheet for all those with college degrees to get emergency teaching credentials so they can go teach in unventilated classrooms with too many kids and not enough PPE. Be my guest.
Stay home, Karen and Ken.
I agree, there should be a way to quickly hire teachers who will teach in person! But guess what the union would say about that… It’s impossible because of the unions and their control, not because there aren’t people out there who would jump at the chance. There’s a lot of unemployed educated Californians right now, FYI
Yes! Actually I would happily do so! It’s funny that you meant this sarcastically but the truth is that this is the EXACT answer we need! This is the definition of a free market! I’m a mom of three kids and am a HUGE advocate of getting them back in the classroom! If our district was capable of innovative ideas like this then I would apply and I would also appreciate the extra income :). There are MANY teachers who want to go back but the ones who don’t should be replaced with people
in the community who have no problem being around kids and are willing to do what it takes to get them back in the classroom. Sign me up!
Good idea. These teachers are all about training kids to be marxist activists in the classroom. Let’s see how many of them will bring it to the streets with violence when faced with having their union busted up by parent protesters. I can see it now, Brian Lawrence and his pack of extremists throwing molotovs yelling black power at the parents trying to educate their children. They have operated in the shadows for decades using subversion on our youth, now they openly issue a list of communist demands. I’ll be willing to bet some of these teachers have been marching in the streets already. Didn’t a teacher get 3 years for beating someone with a lock at a protest? Yeah we know you.
Great idea! I’m a retired hospital consultant, had my own business and successfully ran multi-million dollar contracts for Medicare, Dept of Defense Health and private healthcare companies.
Happy to teach whatever you need: math, science, history, politics (Libertarian), literature and special education. As with many teachers, nurses and public services staff, I have a very strong immune system, so this silly virus won’t bother me.
The “gig” economy can thrive if y’all vote YES on Prop 22.
I would teach. As others have said, you meant your comment as sarcastic, but many of us would be happy to do it.
If a teacher can go to Hawaii, Walmart, Costco, participate in protests and feel safe there .. they should feel safe in a classroom.
Maybe WhoDatGurl should apply to take over Brian’s job … or the next board position that vacates. We need new and smart people on that board who care about educating children.
Oh, I wish all of you would find a way to teach, please. I love a good dumpster fire. To the person espousing that’s you would teach libertarian politics specifically, how is that any different than saying you’d teach Democrat or Republican politics? (PS- There is no “politics” class. The closest you’ll get is US government, where the teachers share ALL SIDES rather than focus on their personal politics… I’m sure that “Sam” or “ZZ” will come along and claim that all the teachers are indoctrinating the kids with liberal ideals, despite having no evidence of this).
If you’d be “happy” to teach, and you genuinely think the education system is so bad, WHY AREN’T YOU TEACHING? Don’t want the paltry salaries? Don’t want to deal with entitled parents? Can’t hack the 10 hour days and additional work on the weekends? Why aren’t you getting your credentials and fixing the problem instead of CONSTANTLY complaining in your safe echo chamber that is the local digital newspaper? I need to stop reading and commenting, it’s a waste of time and energy, but y’all got me heated. Everybody is a critic. Put your money where your mouth is, folks. The district is sorely lacking in substitute teachers as well, might as well sign up (you’re going to love it! Subs get even better treatment than regular teachers, haha!).
I am teaching. College. Which is a lot more high risk than teaching elementary kids, for this virus.
Old Concordite
October 22, 2020 - 9:24 PM 9:24 PM
So will Lynn Mackey show up and actually do something constructive as the elected official at the County Office of Education?
Will she?
Doubtful…….
Never has – why start now?
S
October 23, 2020 - 8:29 AM 8:29 AM
3PM on a Sunday????
Won’t that building be empty? People who make the decisions won’t be there.
Wouldn’t a more visible location greater effect?
Chuq
October 23, 2020 - 9:16 AM 9:16 AM
What is the plan for when a student becomes exposed to COVID-19? Does the entire class and all their family members have to quarantine for two weeks? What about the administrators that student’s teacher interacted with?
That’s a lot of people out every time a student is exposed to the virus. Sounds kind of disruptive but would be open to hearing the plan this group is proposing to handle that.
School nurse on duty to take temps and check for snot upon entering.spray with sanitizer andplay the 6 feet masked bandit game..
Should take up half the day. They can eat lunch, sanitize again and go home with piles of homework return and repeat.
Concordjete
October 23, 2020 - 10:17 AM 10:17 AM
Nah, keep the school closed and remain virtual learning. this is the sign that parents want to learn the hard way that their kids will get sick at school if schools reopens.
C
October 23, 2020 - 2:23 PM 2:23 PM
Should we tell all our nurses to stay home because the virus is out there? The care for people in need and we have asked for them to be committed to their jobs and show up everyday. Guess what……they do it. Now as a society we are asking our teachers to return because our children NEED to return. Some of our children are not being able to be successful in distant learning and we are neglecting their need to return. If as a teacher you don’t want to return….then don’t. Those that know that the real reason they are teaching is for the and their needs will return. Shout out to all essential workers, teachers who want to return, and parents doing all they can to try and make this all work.
Here’s the difference: if we had no nurses, people would die. If we return before it is safe, people will die. Teachers know how important their job is, but they also know how ineffective the district is, so they refuse to put their lives in the hands of the people they know would steamroll them and force them to go back without appropriate and effective safety measures. You have to understand and sympathize with that, can’t you? If your company wanted you to return to work, but did not make certain you would be safe, would you go back? What about if you or a family member was high risk? Teachers WANT to return. They want to do it as safely as possible, why is that so offensive to so many?
Define “certain you would be safe.” If you want perfect certainty of perfect safety, that means you’re sacrificing kids’ education and well-being on the altar of your fear. Are school districts everywhere else that schools are open really so much more capable and caring of their staff’s safety than MDUSD?
I get not trusting the district to do this well. But this is October, and the union is making an opening move in negotiations. That’s not good faith. Pure obstruction.
an iota of maturity
October 24, 2020 - 12:22 PM 12:22 PM
Instead of bullying teachers, why aren’t these LOVING DEVOTED CONCERNED parents tutoring their kids? They want daycare slaves and they want it tax-free.
No…..because I work. I have to go to my job. Just like teachers should have to go to their jobs. I get free day care with and provide tutor services to my children during the day. The cost has nothing to do with it….the fact that my children are struggling because no 2nd grader can really succeed with distant learning. Hell…..I’ve tried for years to limited their screen time so that they interact with each other and others personally!
It’s not about teachers, it’s about the union. (And the district too.)
People *are* tutoring their kids. Homeschooling is exploding. And so many people would turn to online-program charter schools that your precious unions had to push through a bill (way back in June, when they took care of stuff that was high priority, unlike this statement about reopening) to protect their funding from being siphoned away with all the departing students…
Anyway, some people have to work *and* on top of that they’re supposed to tutor their kids and be happy about it when private schools are open and the teacher’s union is talking about February at earliest! Come on, how can you not understand this. It’s become clear that schools aren’t particularly high risk. And yet they *are* particularly important to kids and families. The union doesn’t act as if that’s true. Don’t blame people for being frustrated with a total institutional failure.
I don’t think you are trying to understand C’s point: the 2nd grader is *required* to be on the computer to do his/her school. That’s the whole point: the district is stuck in Zoomland and between them and the union, they have no exit plan. Even though the health officials says it is okay, and the data supports that.
Fed Up
October 25, 2020 - 1:28 AM 1:28 AM
Gee, I wonder why California, specifically the Bay Area shows such low numbers compared to the rest of the nation? Some of the logic in these comments absolutely astounds me. We are one of a handful of states that is seeing a decrease in cases, and folks see that as a reason to open back up, and shove kids back in a classroom. THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS! We have more rigorous mandates as well as a larger number of folks who see mask wearing and social distancing as a courtesy to others and a way to stay safe (obviously not in the Claycord comments section, but within the state as a whole). The negative trends IN NO WAY justifies opening back up again, it means that we are doing things right and should continue. If you aren’t completely brainwashed to distrust all media, here’s an article to help you understand. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/coronavirus-spreading-uncontrollably-in-much-of-us-—-but-not-california-heres-why/ar-BB1adUdt
Good luck, everyone. Stay home. Mask up. Wash your hands. Don’t be a jerk.
Fed Up, you think you’re more informed than the mere peons who lack the exalted education of a teacher (that’s sarcasm, btw) … but you are actually uninformed. The CA chief public health official says they have not seen upticks in response to school reopenings. That’s consistent with nationwide data. It’s consistent with data from many other countries, some of whom never closed their elementary and middle schools. You are assuming with no evidence that school closures explain the Bay Area’s relative success with Covid numbers. Not only is there no evidence of that, but it makes no sense as a theory – we had better than average numbers even in the late spring and summer when no schools were open nationwide.
Your position apparently is that when numbers are high, schools should be closed. And when numbers are low, schools should also be closed. The bottom line is that you won’t accept any risk, however small or theoretical, as justified by the needs of kids for a real education. That’s dogmatic, irrational, and fundamentally selfish.
Check out the recent articles in the New York Times and NPR.org on this subject – it’s finally broken through to the major media outlets what experts have been saying for some time: schools are not major drivers of Covid spread, particularly elementary schools. You are the one who refuses to learn from data and expert guidance, not the commenters you so evidently despise.
They won’t listen to parents who just say to open up. I am sure they are looking at all the different things they need before they open up and what they need if they open up.
Opening up won’t be pretty, at least for the teachers and custodial crew that need to wipe down all surfaces every day after class and after school.
And, they hybrid system is not as good as you think.
And yet, all the districts around us are opening. Hmmm. Maybe you should think a bit more.
Watch out! Brian Lawrence is not going to like this at all. He gets very angry when peons like us defy him.
Our condo pool is closed because if someone gets sick and sues, then it will cost the association too much.
Just think about what a parent will do if their child gets sick ??? Probably sue. It is more than just wanting your child in school, there is also the costs to run a school with the protocols that need to be in place. It is going to likely take the hiring of additional custodial staff to accomplish that.
So, fear of being sued and fear of spending more money are key factors not addressed in this petition.
And, to falsely say that teachers are being silenced by their peers is the worse kind of anecdotal writing I have heard on this subject.
If they hire more custodial staff don’t let them join the union. That way if they don’t do their job they can be fired. The custodians that are in the union now know that don’t have to do much work because the union protects the lazy ones.
And yet, other districts all around us are opening. And all over the nation.
I am very, very sure that the government would protect itself from being sued. Governments tend to be really good at that.
They could sign a consent form.
Yes they are.
https://www.nj.com/education/2020/10/36-students-teachers-positive-for-covid-19-in-nj-district-forcing-4-schools-to-go-all-remote.html
The condo swimming pool closed through the whole summer too here. Or else the HOA fee will have to go up in order to comply with the county regulation in order to let renters/owners to go swimming and SURE that everyone want to avoid paying the extra fee.
@MDUSD Parent /Teacher,
Did you read the article you linked? It doesn’t say anything about legal liability at all. And it contains this quotation, which goes exactly against the moral you are trying to draw from it apparently:
“People need to understand (coronavirus cases are) not a reflection of the schools, it’s a reflection of Woodbridge and Middlesex County and the U.S. If the number of cases in the community is rising, then based on probability you’re going to have more cases in schools,” Zega told NJ Advance Media.
Sure wish we could tar and feather people in office who abuse their power.
That’d get the idea that acting like a bunch of (insert appropriate explitive here) isn’t acceptable.
Instead all we can do is vote them out.
All of them, every election until they do what the people want.
Don’t you know that the Tar and Feather saying has been canceled? lol
Wasn’t my call.
Why would anybody live their life according to the cancel culture? Cancel them and take away their feigned power…
So if some parents decide to keep their kids home and there is not enough children to fill ‘classrooms’ will the district begin combining classes and consolidating campuses??
Teacher safety should be one of the main priorities, don’t be selfish people!
Read some data. It’s safe for them reopen now. It’s not zero risk, but nothing is zero risk.
The same can be said for your response Alan
Well, good luck with **that**. I don’t think MDUSD will allow ANY students back in school until after Christmas Break. MDUSD is happy to pay the teachers & staff full-time wages for part-time work. BTW, have you seen the attendance scores? TERRIBLE. Parents who work & have young children are heading for a nervous breakdown, trying to hold down the jobs, the kids, the house, etc. I really really REALLY feel sorry for these young families.
The Academy of Pediatrics stated they all would recommend sending kids back to school, as they are the lowest risk, they need the structure of a school days and they miss their friends!
Remember when Newsome said “give us a few weeks to figure things out”? Seven months later and we’re still wearing masks and staying home.
Happy Halloween y’all.
Part time?!!! Are you kidding me!!!! Follow me around and you will see how part time I am. Why do people who don’t know what they are talking about spew out false claims?. I guess working 10 hour days 6 days a week is part time. Truly insulting!!!
Got some bad news for those of you who want schools open again. It could be worse than distance learning at home. Not because of the actions of anyone in your school district local to Claycordia, but because it will include all of the heath guidelines that are currently in place.
Imagine if you will, painted six foot squares on the floor of the classroom with one student at a desk, the teacher at the front of the room, and everyone has to keep 6 feet apart. Now put a group of kids in this situation who are younger than ten years old. Will they really keep six feet apart? Will they wear face masks? Will they refrain from all the behaviors that we remember engaging in at their age? Teachers presently frustrated that they cannot work side-by-side with their students, and they still won’t be able to in the new model. Even with half of the students in the classroom at one time and the other half at home, it may prove more difficult to manage than one online class now. Plus, we are now in an enclosed space, increasing the health risk for everyone in the school and community.
The efforts of the superintendent, board, teachers, and all others involved is definitely commendable, but I am concerned that we are creating a third education delivery model that may prove less effective than our current distance education model. Additionally, we risk losing a lot of teachers and support people who may choose to take a leave of absence to avoid contracting the highly contagious respiratory illness. This lose of talent will be felt in our schools right here in our community. There is already a shortage of teachers in our district; a reopening during this pandemic may make matters worse.
You’re talking about like it’s something that has to be imagined. We know that schools can reopen because many are open – private schools here and publics elsewhere. And yeah, it’s not great, but it is better than what public school kids are getting right now in CCC!
“The efforts of the superintendent, board, teachers, and all others involved is definitely commendable, but I am concerned that we are creating a third education delivery model that may prove less effective than our current distance education model.”
WOW their efforts have been negligible at best and you want to commend them…are you Brian Lawrence in disguise?
So, are the folks going to this rally also signing up to teach? I think there should be sign up sheet for all those with college degrees to get emergency teaching credentials so they can go teach in unventilated classrooms with too many kids and not enough PPE. Be my guest.
Stay home, Karen and Ken.
I agree, there should be a way to quickly hire teachers who will teach in person! But guess what the union would say about that… It’s impossible because of the unions and their control, not because there aren’t people out there who would jump at the chance. There’s a lot of unemployed educated Californians right now, FYI
Yes! Actually I would happily do so! It’s funny that you meant this sarcastically but the truth is that this is the EXACT answer we need! This is the definition of a free market! I’m a mom of three kids and am a HUGE advocate of getting them back in the classroom! If our district was capable of innovative ideas like this then I would apply and I would also appreciate the extra income :). There are MANY teachers who want to go back but the ones who don’t should be replaced with people
in the community who have no problem being around kids and are willing to do what it takes to get them back in the classroom. Sign me up!
I think YOU are the one who should stay home 😬
Good idea. These teachers are all about training kids to be marxist activists in the classroom. Let’s see how many of them will bring it to the streets with violence when faced with having their union busted up by parent protesters. I can see it now, Brian Lawrence and his pack of extremists throwing molotovs yelling black power at the parents trying to educate their children. They have operated in the shadows for decades using subversion on our youth, now they openly issue a list of communist demands. I’ll be willing to bet some of these teachers have been marching in the streets already. Didn’t a teacher get 3 years for beating someone with a lock at a protest? Yeah we know you.
Great idea! I’m a retired hospital consultant, had my own business and successfully ran multi-million dollar contracts for Medicare, Dept of Defense Health and private healthcare companies.
Happy to teach whatever you need: math, science, history, politics (Libertarian), literature and special education. As with many teachers, nurses and public services staff, I have a very strong immune system, so this silly virus won’t bother me.
The “gig” economy can thrive if y’all vote YES on Prop 22.
I officially nominate WhoDat Gurl for MDUSD president.
FED UP
I would teach. As others have said, you meant your comment as sarcastic, but many of us would be happy to do it.
If a teacher can go to Hawaii, Walmart, Costco, participate in protests and feel safe there .. they should feel safe in a classroom.
Maybe WhoDatGurl should apply to take over Brian’s job … or the next board position that vacates. We need new and smart people on that board who care about educating children.
Oh, I wish all of you would find a way to teach, please. I love a good dumpster fire. To the person espousing that’s you would teach libertarian politics specifically, how is that any different than saying you’d teach Democrat or Republican politics? (PS- There is no “politics” class. The closest you’ll get is US government, where the teachers share ALL SIDES rather than focus on their personal politics… I’m sure that “Sam” or “ZZ” will come along and claim that all the teachers are indoctrinating the kids with liberal ideals, despite having no evidence of this).
If you’d be “happy” to teach, and you genuinely think the education system is so bad, WHY AREN’T YOU TEACHING? Don’t want the paltry salaries? Don’t want to deal with entitled parents? Can’t hack the 10 hour days and additional work on the weekends? Why aren’t you getting your credentials and fixing the problem instead of CONSTANTLY complaining in your safe echo chamber that is the local digital newspaper? I need to stop reading and commenting, it’s a waste of time and energy, but y’all got me heated. Everybody is a critic. Put your money where your mouth is, folks. The district is sorely lacking in substitute teachers as well, might as well sign up (you’re going to love it! Subs get even better treatment than regular teachers, haha!).
If you know your teachers’ politics, then they ought to be fired.
Hey Fed Up,
I am teaching. College. Which is a lot more high risk than teaching elementary kids, for this virus.
So will Lynn Mackey show up and actually do something constructive as the elected official at the County Office of Education?
Will she?
Doubtful…….
Never has – why start now?
3PM on a Sunday????
Won’t that building be empty? People who make the decisions won’t be there.
Wouldn’t a more visible location greater effect?
What is the plan for when a student becomes exposed to COVID-19? Does the entire class and all their family members have to quarantine for two weeks? What about the administrators that student’s teacher interacted with?
That’s a lot of people out every time a student is exposed to the virus. Sounds kind of disruptive but would be open to hearing the plan this group is proposing to handle that.
School nurse on duty to take temps and check for snot upon entering.spray with sanitizer andplay the 6 feet masked bandit game..
Should take up half the day. They can eat lunch, sanitize again and go home with piles of homework return and repeat.
Nah, keep the school closed and remain virtual learning. this is the sign that parents want to learn the hard way that their kids will get sick at school if schools reopens.
Should we tell all our nurses to stay home because the virus is out there? The care for people in need and we have asked for them to be committed to their jobs and show up everyday. Guess what……they do it. Now as a society we are asking our teachers to return because our children NEED to return. Some of our children are not being able to be successful in distant learning and we are neglecting their need to return. If as a teacher you don’t want to return….then don’t. Those that know that the real reason they are teaching is for the and their needs will return. Shout out to all essential workers, teachers who want to return, and parents doing all they can to try and make this all work.
Here’s the difference: if we had no nurses, people would die. If we return before it is safe, people will die. Teachers know how important their job is, but they also know how ineffective the district is, so they refuse to put their lives in the hands of the people they know would steamroll them and force them to go back without appropriate and effective safety measures. You have to understand and sympathize with that, can’t you? If your company wanted you to return to work, but did not make certain you would be safe, would you go back? What about if you or a family member was high risk? Teachers WANT to return. They want to do it as safely as possible, why is that so offensive to so many?
Define “certain you would be safe.” If you want perfect certainty of perfect safety, that means you’re sacrificing kids’ education and well-being on the altar of your fear. Are school districts everywhere else that schools are open really so much more capable and caring of their staff’s safety than MDUSD?
I get not trusting the district to do this well. But this is October, and the union is making an opening move in negotiations. That’s not good faith. Pure obstruction.
Instead of bullying teachers, why aren’t these LOVING DEVOTED CONCERNED parents tutoring their kids? They want daycare slaves and they want it tax-free.
No…..because I work. I have to go to my job. Just like teachers should have to go to their jobs. I get free day care with and provide tutor services to my children during the day. The cost has nothing to do with it….the fact that my children are struggling because no 2nd grader can really succeed with distant learning. Hell…..I’ve tried for years to limited their screen time so that they interact with each other and others personally!
I read your comment. You have a 2nd grader, you have work paid daycare and tutors, and you can’t get your 2nd grader off the computer?
Hey Iota,
It’s not about teachers, it’s about the union. (And the district too.)
People *are* tutoring their kids. Homeschooling is exploding. And so many people would turn to online-program charter schools that your precious unions had to push through a bill (way back in June, when they took care of stuff that was high priority, unlike this statement about reopening) to protect their funding from being siphoned away with all the departing students…
Anyway, some people have to work *and* on top of that they’re supposed to tutor their kids and be happy about it when private schools are open and the teacher’s union is talking about February at earliest! Come on, how can you not understand this. It’s become clear that schools aren’t particularly high risk. And yet they *are* particularly important to kids and families. The union doesn’t act as if that’s true. Don’t blame people for being frustrated with a total institutional failure.
I don’t think you are trying to understand C’s point: the 2nd grader is *required* to be on the computer to do his/her school. That’s the whole point: the district is stuck in Zoomland and between them and the union, they have no exit plan. Even though the health officials says it is okay, and the data supports that.
Gee, I wonder why California, specifically the Bay Area shows such low numbers compared to the rest of the nation? Some of the logic in these comments absolutely astounds me. We are one of a handful of states that is seeing a decrease in cases, and folks see that as a reason to open back up, and shove kids back in a classroom. THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS! We have more rigorous mandates as well as a larger number of folks who see mask wearing and social distancing as a courtesy to others and a way to stay safe (obviously not in the Claycord comments section, but within the state as a whole). The negative trends IN NO WAY justifies opening back up again, it means that we are doing things right and should continue. If you aren’t completely brainwashed to distrust all media, here’s an article to help you understand. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/coronavirus-spreading-uncontrollably-in-much-of-us-—-but-not-california-heres-why/ar-BB1adUdt
Good luck, everyone. Stay home. Mask up. Wash your hands. Don’t be a jerk.
Fed Up, you think you’re more informed than the mere peons who lack the exalted education of a teacher (that’s sarcasm, btw) … but you are actually uninformed. The CA chief public health official says they have not seen upticks in response to school reopenings. That’s consistent with nationwide data. It’s consistent with data from many other countries, some of whom never closed their elementary and middle schools. You are assuming with no evidence that school closures explain the Bay Area’s relative success with Covid numbers. Not only is there no evidence of that, but it makes no sense as a theory – we had better than average numbers even in the late spring and summer when no schools were open nationwide.
Your position apparently is that when numbers are high, schools should be closed. And when numbers are low, schools should also be closed. The bottom line is that you won’t accept any risk, however small or theoretical, as justified by the needs of kids for a real education. That’s dogmatic, irrational, and fundamentally selfish.
Check out the recent articles in the New York Times and NPR.org on this subject – it’s finally broken through to the major media outlets what experts have been saying for some time: schools are not major drivers of Covid spread, particularly elementary schools. You are the one who refuses to learn from data and expert guidance, not the commenters you so evidently despise.