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Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

Schools- your thoughts?

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AandEM View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AandEM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 13 2020 at 7:32pm

Several large corporations in Indiana moved on-line. There will likely be more, but I feel like some will play chicken. The problem with waiting is parents and teachers can't plan I dont see the ones opening in person staying open. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 13 2020 at 9:30pm

Originally posted by BeachMama BeachMama wrote:

My husband and I talked today, and we made the difficult decision of keeping our kids online for the fall. Our son has been suffering from extremely bad anxiety due to being home from school due to his Asperger’s — and their school freaking SUCKS so he’ll lose his Theater 3 elective. They’re pushing for an entirely normal approach to school and their in person program won’t even involve any type of social distancing, no masks, still having 30 kids in a classroom, etc. 

Despite that, we feel that the SAFEST place for them to be is at home. I’m going to give them the option of doing the school’s virtual program, or having a full-on homeschool approach. Whatever they want of the two, they’ll get — if it will keep them happy and engaged, and LEARNING!

Thanks for sharing, BM!   These are difficult times for everyone....our students, who will now fall even further behind the world-population in terms of subject mastery than they already were; our parents, who must do double-duty to teach and encourage their own children; and our education infrastructure including teachers like me (STEM, Grades 6-12 and University Undergrad/Grad).  

It really feels like time to experiment with new learning techniques at all levels - the "Socratic" method of teaching (teacher in front of classroom, going on & on) is drawing to a close.  When I recently taught Biology, I employed graduate school level brainstorming tools I learned in an MBA class, and the HS sophomores really got into it!  

I'd love to teach this fall, but I am personally at high-risk due to health conditions, and cannot think of a way to do this safely.  Maybe a "maestro" approach using Zoom?  The instructor having a whole classroom of virtual students, and jazzing up the lesson with engaging clips, surprise lessons, etc.?   Entice them to want to tune in and watch the show! 

I can dream, can't I?  Stay safe, Chuck in AZ (you have probably heard about us lately!!   )

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Little House Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2020 at 3:42am

LA and San Diego not going back this fall.  

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/507067-la-san-diego-school-system-postpones-reopening-will-continue-online

This may pave the way for smaller districts to do the same.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2020 at 4:09am

ABC News: Al-Taqwa coronavirus outbreak raises questions about schools' safety during pandemic.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-14/al-taqwa-coronavirus-outbreak-schools-reopening-questioned/12452266

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2020 at 11:39am

'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2020 at 1:07pm

                                                           

How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2020 at 1:32pm

I'm STEM-Certified in AZ, Grades 6-12, and also lecture at universities, from undergrad to PhD students.  I love to teach and use very innovative techniques. 

However, I'm also at high risk for serious COVID-19 complications, so I'm staying out of the classroom this year. 

This is very cautionary:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/14/us/arizona-teachers-coronavirus-survivors/index.html

Let me emphasize this - the US population is NOT taking this seriously!!  Our present surge of cases and deaths is a result of the breakdown in closures, social distancing and other precautions traceable to the Memorial Day weekend.   

Since the incubation period for SARS-CoV2 is up to 14 days, we are only now beginning to see the effects of the lax public attitude towards COVID-19 during the July 4th holiday, with all the famous beach parties etc..   We will start to see a crush of cases around July 18th, and some early ones are already showing up.  Just wait, folks. 

Of course, Mr. Trump is desperate for ANY positive economic activity, and he's freaking out that so many parents have to stay home and home-school their kids.  I've struggled to see if I could come up with an alternative teaching paradigm at the grade school/high school level and cannot.  One of our forum teachers suggested Prenda, which I investigated, and it is somewhat close, but not nearly safe enough to protect vulnerable adults from children carriers of COVID-19.

In Arizona, we are cursed with the "digital divide," and many of my students at Walden Grove High School did not have broadband access at home, nor did they own adequate technology (not even tablets).  

We need a national broadband policy, where all citizens have access to broadband at little or no cost.  The Internet Service Providers like Cox and Comcast will scream blue murder, but tough cookies, we need parity with other nations like South Korea, Taiwan etc. who offer this to their citizens.  Our economy would SURGE with low cost or free Internet.   

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AandEM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2020 at 8:47pm

I agree 100%. Internet should have been a high priority  all along, but especially starting in March. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ViQueen24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2020 at 10:12am

And think about the surge in employment if we're out there stringing more internet cables, etc.!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote BeachMama Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2020 at 12:10pm

It’s this kind of innovative thinking that is NOT taking place, either in the private sector or in the public education system!  As a teacher, I see the resistance to changing things from the status quo. People are big fans of “the way it’s always been done.”  We are adaptable creatures, it’s how we survived without fangs or claws — we can certainly adapt to this, IF our traditionalist preferences don’t demand otherwise. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AandEM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2020 at 12:15pm

Excellent point. Where's our Anerican ingenuity? We should be unleashing innovative solutions.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2020 at 2:33pm

Well, we just lost a professor from Old Dominion University, (my son's alma mater) one of the colleges in my area-  today to Covid. He was only 55


'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BeachMama Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2020 at 4:07pm

Tabitha, I am so sorry to hear that.   

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2020 at 4:23pm





Our last labor government 

Implemented a fibre optic roll out, every house was supposed to get fibre to the house, 

Next came a Librel government that changed that as it was to expensive,

we Now have a mixture if to the node(end of street)and the copper to your house, or some have fibre to the house,

Before all this happened people thought it a waste of money,

Now we could not have done aswell IE.people working from home,

This has changed the way people work .

Heaps of people now only going into the office twice a week, saves company money,

No travel time /expenses......

I'm Just waiting for the "office space " rentals to crash.....

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Penham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 16 2020 at 8:44am

[QUOTE=Tabitha111]

Well, we just lost a professor from Old Dominion University, (my son's alma mater) one of the colleges in my area-  today to Covid. He was only 55


[/QUOTE 

I used to live in the housing area, Larchmont, about 4 blocks from ODU.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 16 2020 at 12:40pm

I also posted under "funny" but...it belongs here too...

'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 16 2020 at 12:44pm

Oh wow....small world Penham.

My son lived on campus freshman year then moved to a house around 45th street with a bunch of international students. (he gravitated towards them and set up a soccer team with them) When he got married he had friends flying in from all over the world, Denmark, Australia, Costa Rica...

I live in the Virginia Beach area. Didn't want him to commute even though we did live so close, I wanted him out of the house ...LOL...we had homeschooled up to college and it was time for him to fly away!

'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote roni3470 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 20 2020 at 1:49pm

Just listened to the Colorado Dept of Ed recommendations.  They are letting the counties decide what is best for their area but they are saying that K-8 will have no limit for class size.  Really?  30 kids in a room is ok.  Shaking My Head!!!

NOW is the Season to Know

that Everything you Do

is Sacred
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 20 2020 at 1:55pm

Originally posted by carbon20 carbon20 wrote:

I find it interesting that schools supply meals for the children,

Here all kids take their own lunch box,

Teachers look through it to see if it's a balanced meal, IE,no candy etc..... 

Parents gets sent letter if not a balanced meal.....

Carbon, in the USA, many of our students are from impoverished households.  In many cases, the ONLY food they receive is that which is served to them in our public schools.  School meals are, many times, the only meal they receive all day. 

I could rant on about this, but will spare all of us.  We are a mess over here, the inequality in income is daunting. 

In 2018, school cafeterias served nearly 5 billion lunches, with nearly three-quarters of the lunches free or at a reduced price. ERS-sponsored research found that children from food-insecure and marginally secure households were more likely to eat school meals and received more of their food and nutrient intake from school meals than did other children (see Children's Food Security and Intakes from School Meals: Final Report).

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/child-nutrition-programs/national-school-lunch-program/

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 20 2020 at 2:51pm

Originally posted by CRS, DrPH CRS, DrPH wrote:

Originally posted by carbon20 carbon20 wrote:

I find it interesting that schools supply meals for the children,

Here all kids take their own lunch box,

Teachers look through it to see if it's a balanced meal, IE,no candy etc..... 

Parents gets sent letter if not a balanced meal.....

Carbon, in the USA, many of our students are from impoverished households.  In many cases, they ONLY food they receive is that which is served to them in our public schools.  School meals are, many times, the only meal they receive all day. 

I could rant on about this, but will spare all of us.  We are a mess over here, the inequality in income is daunting. 

In 2018, school cafeterias served nearly 5 billion lunches, with nearly three-quarters of the lunches free or at a reduced price. ERS-sponsored research found that children from food-insecure and marginally secure households were more likely to eat school meals and received more of their food and nutrient intake from school meals than did other children (see Children's Food Security and Intakes from School Meals: Final Report).

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/child-nutrition-programs/national-school-lunch-program/

When I was at high school in the UK, many moons ago,we purchased tickets at the start of the week, one for each day you wanted lunch(cooked meat,veg,potaoes,dessert),

for those kids that came from poorer families they got a free meal, they had different tickets)

Difficult decisions for parents coming up.....

Be safe all......

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Usk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 20 2020 at 8:09pm

IMy general practitioners of 20 years on an online doc appt recently with me for an ear infection from sinus allergies  told me the schools in Northern  V A are crazy.  He predicts they will last three weeks before they shut down. He has seen so many family groups and  party groups all catch it from children’s birthday parties

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2020 at 8:06am

I am very concerned for my brother and his wife, both school teachers in high schools up in Northern VA.
They are both very fit, but in their late 50's. 

'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2020 at 4:51pm

Just watch Chump on tv

How he can say kids don't carry C19 is beyond me

They Will spread it far and wide....

Has anyone seen the precautions they take in Hong Kong, at the schools....

I can't see any Aussie kids or American kids being so regimented......

Not in our natures.....

I have no answers....go with your gut instincts....

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ViQueen24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2020 at 6:35pm

I concur with Usk's doctor.  Glad as hell I don't have any kids...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2020 at 10:26pm

9News: Coronavirus: Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews appeals to young people as four children hospitalised with COVID-19.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-victoria-premier-daniel-andrews-makes-appeal-to-young-people-as-four-children-hospitalised/c5c53514-6580-4b9b-9970-95f21190f9ab

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2020 at 10:30pm

Funny how we get the facrs and truth


You get Double talk/speech..........

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WitchMisspelled Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2020 at 4:53am

If you shut out the mixed messaging, we get the truth.  The problem is you have to dig for it in the media.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2020 at 6:30am






I try watch, read news items from all over,

dare I say ,

fox /sky (short doses.......lol)

BBC, CNN

,German,French,Indian,Russian ,Chinese,al Jazeera,Sri Lankan,


Etc......

(Something to do on the train....)

all bulls...t....

LMAO.....

Keep safe all

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kaye kaye Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2020 at 12:07pm

Originally posted by BeachMama BeachMama wrote:

My husband and I talked today, and we made the difficult decision of keeping our kids online for the fall. Our son has been suffering from extremely bad anxiety due to being home from school due to his Asperger’s — and their school freaking SUCKS so he’ll lose his Theater 3 elective. They’re pushing for an entirely normal approach to school and their in person program won’t even involve any type of social distancing, no masks, still having 30 kids in a classroom, etc. 

Despite that, we feel that the SAFEST place for them to be is at home. I’m going to give them the option of doing the school’s virtual program, or having a full-on homeschool approach. Whatever they want of the two, they’ll get — if it will keep them happy and engaged, and LEARNING!

I think it's great you have thought of all the options and are going with what is best for your family. 

keep the joy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Usk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2020 at 12:43pm

Well Fairax caved all virtual until 2nd  quarter

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2020 at 5:16pm

so happy, my brother is a teacher in Fairfax!

Here in Va Beach its virtual for all the schools too...just made the announcement.

I don't feel like it's "caving" at all...its the prudent thing to do!

'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Usk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2020 at 7:36pm

I agree with you 100 percent it just could have been done better. There was no real choice here for anyone with half a brain. Our school board and superintendent gave false hope to parents. More than half the parents knew it couldn’t and shouldn’t happen

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 6:13am

Really interesting article about how some parents are engineering a response to school closures:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/parenting/school-pods-coronavirus.html

I messaged with Beach Mama about this (we are both certified teachers in AZ), and we postulated that small neighborhood schools might be a way to jumpstart the education system.  This seems to be that model! 

However, mixing anyone in close quarters will entail risk - I am old enough that I do not wish to risk COVID-19, and I don't need the teaching income.  Therefore, I support our state and local teachers and follow developments closely.  

We have to consider a "web of exposure" in schools....children are exposed to one another, and also family members, so if you were to draw this out, you'd see that each child actually has multiple exposure routes during the day.  Unless everyone follows extreme social distancing and hygiene, there will be breakthrough infections and outbreaks that will cost lives.  

Therefore, I am not in favor of reopening schools at this time.  Perhaps a "gap year" approach, to teach kids lessons besides purely academic subjects?  This was on a Facebook page, I think it has merit:

Is anybody thinking about giving their kids a “gap year” from

traditional schooling? For example- having a small quaranteam &

teaching life lessons that aren’t taught in a traditional classroom

anymore?


I wouldn’t mind if my soon to be sophomores started their 10th grade

in 2021. Don’t tell them this I just don’t think remote

schooling in a public high school and quality education are

synonymous...


DO NOT get me wrong, this would in no way be a year of sitting

around, like an extended summer of Xbox and sleeping in. This would

be learning computer science/technology, how to maintain a home,

budget money, cook, clean properly, maintain a vehicle, with an

added dose of a “curriculum” consisting of physical education,

language, etc...


btw- I am not privileged OR rich, I am a single mother who hasn’t

seen child support in a decade. I DO have an amazing group of

friends (my “village”) who happen to be my kids friends parents.

NONE of us are “rich”. We only want the best for our kids and think

we could help them grow if we all pull our weight and different

expertise together.


Also, this is ONE of many thoughts...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ViQueen24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 10:19am

I think this is terrific idea, on two counts.

One, I worked for almost 23 years in a turnpike plaza, 2-3 restaurants in the plaza at a time.  Now, I couldn't make the kids I worked with, who comprised about 2/3 of the workplace, have a work ethic.  Their parents either taught them that or they didn't.  Many of them didn't really know how to clean or take care of simple kitchen equipment.  Some of them just expected to show up and be paid.  What good does it do if they can diagram a sentence, or know important dates in their country's history, if they get hired to a job, and can't/won't fulfill the basic requirements of that job?  It helps a lot if someone had acquainted them with the facts of working life before I got them to train them.  A surprising amount of them didn't know how to mop a floor or, going back to another job I had, load a dishwasher!  Someone to teach them about pride in their work, and satisfaction in a job well done.  These kids need so much external approbation, how about teaching them to not rely on other people for that?  I saw so many of them become frustrated and negative because they weren't getting patted on the back enough.  They need to be taught that that is how it is in the workplace!  And that they will have to motivate and approve themselves.  These kinds of intangibles can make kids a lot more employable, no matter what kinds of jobs they seek.

Also, being taught things like how to take care of a car, how to maintain a home.  I would have given my eyeteeth to have learned some of these things!  I still know very little of how to take care of a car, and wish I had someone to teach me now, or better yet, when I was young.  It is not like a young girl is going to be comfortable signing up for an auto mechanics class.  And we want to foster independence.  Frequently a man will teach his sons, but not his daughters how to take care of a car, or pound a nail in straight, drill a hole, etc.  And moreover, impress upon them all that needs to be done in a house.  When my mum got divorced, she told her divorce lawyer, "You get my house for me, I'll take care of keeping it.". All well and fine, except no one taught her to clean the gutters every year, clean out the air conditioner filter, how often to have the duct work cleaned, or the carpets.  And no one taught me.  So several years ago I came around to this house, never having had some of these things done, and my mother complaining the house is "run-down".  All because basically, my mother didn't know what she didn't know.  I have fixed what I can, and paid others to do what I can't.  There still remains the gap of what I could/would do, if I only knew how.  This is the year to teach the kids so they know in theory how to maintain a house, and then the actual skills to do it.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 12:03pm

New U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on education and child care come down hard in favor of opening schools, saying children don't suffer much from coronavirus, are less likely than adults to spread it and suffer from being out of school.

But the new guidelines posted Thursday do recommend that local officials should consider closing schools, or keeping them closed, if there is substantial, uncontrolled transmission of the virus.

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The CDC has been promising new guidelines for more than a week, after demands from President Donald Trump that the agency alter its recommendations for opening schools.

"It is critically important for our public health to open schools this fall," CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said in a statement announcing the updates.

"School closures have disrupted normal ways of life for children and parents, and they have had negative health consequences on our youth. CDC is prepared to work with K-12 schools to safely reopen while protecting the most vulnerable."

They start with an unsigned statement on "the importance of reopening America's schools this fall."

"The best available evidence indicates that COVID-19 poses relatively low risks to school-aged children," the statement reads.

"Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults. To put this in perspective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of July 17, 2020, the United States reported that children and adolescents under 18 years old account for under 7 percent of COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1 percent of COVID-19-related deaths," it adds.

"Scientific studies suggest that COVID-19 transmission among children in schools may be low. International studies that have assessed how readily COVID-19 spreads in schools also reveal low rates of transmission when community transmission is low."

It notes that there are few reports of children being the driving force of transmission within families. "This is consistent with data from both virus and antibody testing, suggesting that children are not the primary drivers of COVID-19 spread in schools or in the community," the statement reads.

"No studies are conclusive, but the available evidence provides reason to believe that in-person schooling is in the best interest of students, particularly in the context of appropriate mitigation measures similar to those implemented at essential workplaces."

https://www.wesh.com/article/new-cdc-guidelines-come-down-hard-in-favor-of-opening-schools-this-fall/33409819

Remember follow the science, listen to the experts? Well here it is.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ViQueen24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 12:18pm

Well, we're going to find out.  I think things are going to look a lot different in a year.  In my area, cases have been surging for the past 5-6 weeks.  They are trying to mitigate, but basically, everyone here I know that has kids is pretty scared for what the next couple months will bring.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WitchMisspelled Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 6:58pm

Sad but true, ViQueen.  Whether or not the science is accurate or not.  And since anyone who actually follows this knows there's a lot more entailed in the science of opening schools other than "kids don't carry corona".  That science is clearly changing with the new data of child infections.  8% of all infections.  They might not get as sick, but their parents, grandparents and teachers will.  
https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/


What I find most heinous about this rhetoric is that the RNC has been cancelled because it's not "safe".  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote ViQueen24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 7:44pm

And like I keep saying, we have no idea what is coming down the pike with this virus.  What happens to the survivors later?  Does this virus lodge in the body and lay waste to it in 2, 5, 20 years?  This virus is not a specialist, wasting "only" the lungs or one part of the body.  This virus is an equal opportunity destroyer, capable of doing significant damage to any system of the body, or several or all.  My bet says it's stealthy enough to bide its time and deal a knockout blow later.  

This still haunts me:


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (3) Thanks(3)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 24 2020 at 11:36pm

My wife and I went through the local McDonald's drive-through, and the young man who gave us our order recognized me as "Mr. Stack," his sophomore biology teacher!!  It's been a year since I taught, and it was great to see Beau again! 

Folks, we HAVE to get this right!!  Stuffing kids into classrooms so that Mr. Trump can have an economic bump is really bad policy - I'm sure it must really stink to have the kids underfoot and not be able to work like before, but nobody has immunity to this virus, and I have a feeling that mingling young people with adult teachers will just open the gates of Hell. 

Teaching kids the fundamentals of life would be a good thing.  In my stone-age era, we did some of that through the Boy Scouts, where I first learned how to prepare food, cook, clean dishes etc.   Let's put aside the academic subjects for now and focus on life subjects.....there will be time enough to catch up on the math/science etc. eventually.  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote ViQueen24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 25 2020 at 7:54am

"Open the gates of hell."  That is the perfect way to put it!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote roni3470 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 25 2020 at 7:16pm

Our local district in Colorado had insisted on a 100% in person return and after so many complaints, have now decided to go to a hybrid model where students go for 2 days then have 3 days off alternating so not so many are at school.  I am still worried but more comfortable with this than an all in person option!

NOW is the Season to Know

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 25 2020 at 9:14pm

I think the teachers should be moving from classroom to classroom,not kids moving enmass every 40 mins or so.....

And classes of kids should be kept separate from each other.....

That might mitigate transmission......

Stressing MIGHT..!!!!!!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AandEM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 28 2020 at 2:37pm

I've been putting it off... thinking it wasn't really going to happen... but, it's time to start preparing for whatever this year looks like. In person, 5 days a week, 33 kids per class. Enough room to distance 20. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 29 2020 at 1:54am
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 29 2020 at 3:47pm

ABC: Sydney news: At least three Sydney schools, preschool, close today amid 

coronavirus fears.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-30/sydney-news-morning-briefing-thursday-july-30/12505462

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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