@@ August Covid

[underwaterrhymes]

Yeah the “COVID is over!” post in this thread made me want to throw my phone across the room.

Y’all know that entire cultures have masked during cold and flu seasons for way longer than COVID has been around and the kids are doing fine with that, right? I mean, I’m less salty about the mask mandates being gone now that all kids can be vaccinated (although mine will still be wearing theirs), but c‘mon. Choosing to mask indoors and continuing to take the health of others into consideration is not living in fear and it’s bullshit that some of you are still peddling that message.

[abs]

Aug 7, 2022 14:59:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 7, 2022 12:20:05 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

What does protecting the vulnerable, forward from this point in time, practically speaking, actually look like? What are the sensible measures that don't force more businesses into closure, or detriment mental health?

I would absolutely like to see more money invested in indoor air quality, but that's still not a panacea. Some UV air cleaner in the vent is not necessarily gonna spare you from someone shedding virus next to you for an hour, and you can put several Corsi-Rosenthal boxes in a classroom or a restaurant but no one will be able to hear each other talk.

Practical: normalizing masking in healthcare settings and public transit, or when you are symptomatic with a respiratory illness but not stay-home level sick. Having grocery or big box stores offer certain dedicated days or hours where masks are required and crowds restricted. Also making it easier for people to reschedule travel without incurring enormous hassle and cost. And easier for sick people to stay home from work.

Not practical: Requiring or expecting someone with a cough or cold symptoms but no fever who feels fine to not leave their house for 10 days. Requiring people with no signs of illness to wear a mask in all public settings at all times, especially for several consecutive hours. Expecting people to avoid indoor social gatherings or travel for the indefinite future until Covid disappears.

How about ask and listen to the teachers? Cause right now everyone is telling the teachers what is practical or not, and that shit ain't flying. I really really don't think people understand that we're at the edge of a precipice. Schools are hanging by a thread. It's not going to take much to shove the entire thing into chaos.

Agree schools are hanging on by a thread. That was true before Covid and is certainly even more true now. Most teachers I know are unhappy and nervous (rightfully so in case it needs to be said) due to stagnant pay, constant testing, policing of reading material provided in schools, fear of being shot, and I could go on and on. As a parent I’m equally unhappy about all of it and gun culture keeps me up at night worrying. One thing my teacher friends aren’t unhappy about? Covid protocols. They are all pretty happy to see more of a return to normal. I’m sure this depends on where you live though. Yes we need to be listening to actual teachers. We aren’t so the teacher shortage will only get worse. Can’t blame it all on Covid though.

[pixy0stix]

Aug 7, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 7, 2022 14:59:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

How about ask and listen to the teachers? Cause right now everyone is telling the teachers what is practical or not, and that shit ain't flying. I really really don't think people understand that we're at the edge of a precipice. Schools are hanging by a thread. It's not going to take much to shove the entire thing into chaos.

Agree schools are hanging on by a thread. That was true before Covid and is certainly even more true now. Most teachers I know are unhappy and nervous (rightfully so in case it needs to be said) due to stagnant pay, constant testing, policing of reading material provided in schools, fear of being shot, and I could go on and on. As a parent I’m equally unhappy about all of it and gun culture keeps me up at night worrying. One thing my teacher friends aren’t unhappy about? Covid protocols. They are all pretty happy to see more of a return to normal. I’m sure this depends on where you live though. Yes we need to be listening to actual teachers. We aren’t so the teacher shortage will only get worse. Can’t blame it all on Covid though.

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

[abs]

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5 abs said:

Agree schools are hanging on by a thread. That was true before Covid and is certainly even more true now. Most teachers I know are unhappy and nervous (rightfully so in case it needs to be said) due to stagnant pay, constant testing, policing of reading material provided in schools, fear of being shot, and I could go on and on. As a parent I’m equally unhappy about all of it and gun culture keeps me up at night worrying. One thing my teacher friends aren’t unhappy about? Covid protocols. They are all pretty happy to see more of a return to normal. I’m sure this depends on where you live though. Yes we need to be listening to actual teachers. We aren’t so the teacher shortage will only get worse. Can’t blame it all on Covid though.

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

Also for my area I’m not wrong. Teacher support and low pay are the main reasons we are losing teachers at a higher rate than normal.

www.texastribune.org/2022/07/25/texas-teacher-shortage/amp/

[pixy0stix]

Aug 7, 2022 15:26:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

We can talk about ideas that are based in fact, not anecdotes. Google works as well for you as it does for me. The article I posted was in direct contradiction to what you said. It was based on a poll of actual teachers. Instead of getting your knickers twisted, bring a factual conversation to the table. You said we need to listen to teachers and then when presented with evidence you shut down and start crying that it's not fair. Lol! Prove me wrong. Is there an updated poll that says a majority of teachers are fine with kids returning to a classroom untested but symptom and fever free after 24 hrs?

[pixy0stix]

Aug 7, 2022 15:26:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

Also for my area I’m not wrong. Teacher support and low pay are the main reasons we are losing teachers at a higher rate than normal.

www.texastribune.org/2022/07/25/texas-teacher-shortage/amp/

Did you read the article? Covid and health concerns factor pretty heavy into the article. No one is saying it's not everything else, too. We're saying that teachers continue to worry about their health, which this article supports.

[pizzaandtulips]

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5 abs said:

Agree schools are hanging on by a thread. That was true before Covid and is certainly even more true now. Most teachers I know are unhappy and nervous (rightfully so in case it needs to be said) due to stagnant pay, constant testing, policing of reading material provided in schools, fear of being shot, and I could go on and on. As a parent I’m equally unhappy about all of it and gun culture keeps me up at night worrying. One thing my teacher friends aren’t unhappy about? Covid protocols. They are all pretty happy to see more of a return to normal. I’m sure this depends on where you live though. Yes we need to be listening to actual teachers. We aren’t so the teacher shortage will only get worse. Can’t blame it all on Covid though.

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

I’ve read the NEA article twice now. I don’t see it saying anywhere that the mass exodus of teachers is due to Covid mitigations. It mentions that many teachers are concerned about ventilation, but it didn’t say that as the reason why people are leaving. It lists burnout and general pandemic stress as being the main concerns, which is what teachers in this very thread are saying. Teachers are extremely overworked in large part because of mitigations over the last 2+ years. General pandemic stress shows itself in many ways in schools, not just in the mask, quarantine, and vaccine debates. Maybe you read pandemic stress as being mostly about the stress of the disease and mitigations. As a teacher, I read it differently to include all the things that have happened since 2020 in schools. Like a PP said, there is nothing fun about teaching anymore.

I’m not saying that things like ventilation aren’t a real concern; I just don’t see that article as saying it’s the cause of a national teacher shortage like you seem to be implying.

[fortnightlily]

Also, that article with the poll was from 2/1/2022, so right in the Omicron surge.

Here's an article from this week.

www.edweek.org/leadership/as-students-head-back-to-school-covid-protocols-wane/2022/08

"The national teachers’ unions, which have pushed for COVID-19 precautions in previous school years, have been less vocal about issues like masking as classes resume in many parts of the country. Neither the American Federation of Teachers nor the National Education Association had released a statement about rumored CDC guidance Thursday.

At the NEA’s July 5 convention, one member proposed that the union’s members call for “a national policy of mandatory masking and COVID-19 vaccines in schools,” but 84 percent of delegates voted against the proposal."

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 14:37:39 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Aug 7, 2022 11:16:15 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

And the word is being weaponized by the very people in the OP, including the elected officials that are catering to their every want. I saw DeSantis saying he wasn’t going to declare a state of emergency in Florida for monkeypox because he’s tired of “fear” and used that word about a million times in his speech. My state is in a state of emergency for monkeypox but it’s not like that means we are on lockdown. But, DeSantis knows that but all he cares about solidifying his base for 2024. Never mind that monkeypox is spreading in his state too.

Exactly! I feel that it’s been weaponized so much that even using it casually is tainted. 

But I do think often about how those that accuse people still wearing masks of living in fear are also probably carrying a gun for “protection.” 

It’s weaponized in this thread. 

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 12:20:05 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

What does protecting the vulnerable, forward from this point in time, practically speaking, actually look like? What are the sensible measures that don't force more businesses into closure, or detriment mental health?

I would absolutely like to see more money invested in indoor air quality, but that's still not a panacea. Some UV air cleaner in the vent is not necessarily gonna spare you from someone shedding virus next to you for an hour, and you can put several Corsi-Rosenthal boxes in a classroom or a restaurant but no one will be able to hear each other talk.

Practical: normalizing masking in healthcare settings and public transit, or when you are symptomatic with a respiratory illness but not stay-home level sick. Having grocery or big box stores offer certain dedicated days or hours where masks are required and crowds restricted. Also making it easier for people to reschedule travel without incurring enormous hassle and cost. And easier for sick people to stay home from work.

Not practical: Requiring or expecting someone with a cough or cold symptoms but no fever who feels fine to not leave their house for 10 days. Requiring people with no signs of illness to wear a mask in all public settings at all times, especially for several consecutive hours. Expecting people to avoid indoor social gatherings or travel for the indefinite future until Covid disappears.

really like your rescheduling one.

Require masking in healthcare settings and public transit.  Enforce it.
Incentivize with tax credit an overhaul of ventilation and filtration, grants for small business to do so. Paying for schools to do so. Oversight of its completion. 
Continued free testing. Incentivizing it in workplaces. 
Some form of test to stay. 
Continued remote work. 
Vaccine incentives. This can be done through taxes, workplaces,  and/or insurance companies themselves. I say mandates but I don’t even know the legal waters of this anymore.  
Treating vaccine resistance and refusal as a public health crisis that requires research to arrive at effective and culturally responsive messaging
Similar with masks ⬆️
Science-based public health plans for moving to endemic. Maybe these are being crafted but I haven’t heard of it.
Immediate stop to all “well they had comorbidities” commentary from every official and every individual.
Address disability bias in health care and healthcare training / schooling. Teach disability studies in K12 education. 
Center  disability in every move made related to Covid.
the big social nets: PTO, etc.


I don’t even know what to say about addressing continued positive tests after when quarantine ends, but it’s clear that no one, from the CDC on down, cares- so I don’t know if that just means people aren’t infectious anymore on day 15 (Biden) or if it’s capitalism and politics talking.

macmars45 gave her wish list already, but it was ignored. 

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 15:26:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

Also for my area I’m not wrong. Teacher support and low pay are the main reasons we are losing teachers at a higher rate than normal.

www.texastribune.org/2022/07/25/texas-teacher-shortage/amp/

So the problem is, “I’m moving on from Covid” and “I’m ceasing my own mitigations because society is doing fuckall” are not really a different viewpoint, at least not ones that are truly reasonable. 

I also can’t believe that we’ve arrived at how masks are harmful. We can’t accomplish fortnightlily’s goal of normalizing masking in transit places and such if we are now saying that they are inherently problematic. 

[jeaniebueller]

Aug 7, 2022 8:19:45 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 6, 2022 21:41:50 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

I can’t name any but there have been discussions on this board in the last few months where people have expressed exasperation over candidates not talking enough about Covid or for ‘acting like the pandemic is over.’

Correct? There are areas of the country where the hospital systems are still functioning at above capacity, and school districts where teachers are reporting that there have not been enough changes to keep them safe... But yes, let's just not talk about it. Even though there's a massive teacher shortage in part because of the ongoing pandemic.

and I get this but realistically candidates who talk about masking, lockdowns, etc., at this phase aren’t going to have much support. Even many educated people who are pro vaxx are done talking about it. That’s the current reality. Healthcare, education, child welfare, law enforcement, public service, social services, childcare, the court systems, are all fields that are in shambles since the pandemic. It’s a mess. I get that too.

[NewOrleans]

I know we’re breezy and moving on from Covid, but a long CDC study was released this week showing all the increased risk to kids post-Covid: blood clots, myocarditis, etc. (Ironically as they prepare to reduce Covid mitigations further)

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7131a3.htm?s_cid=mm7131a3_w

[underwaterrhymes]

I get that people are done with COVID. It’s really too bad COVID isn’t done with us.

[fortnightlily]

Aug 7, 2022 17:38:35 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

I know we’re breezy and moving on from Covid, but a long CDC study was released this week showing all the increased risk to kids post-Covid: blood clots, myocarditis, etc. (Ironically as they prepare to reduce Covid mitigations further)

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7131a3.htm?s_cid=mm7131a3_w

You will find critics and defenders of this study among the Twitter Medical community (depending on who you believe is an expert or who you believe is a hack, I suppose), but this part of the summary made me head-tilt.

"Patients with COVID-19 were less likely than were patients without to experience respiratory signs and symptoms, symptoms of mental conditions, muscle disorders, neurological conditions, anxiety and fear-related disorders, mood disorders, and sleeping disorders."

[jeaniebueller]

Aug 7, 2022 15:26:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

Also for my area I’m not wrong. Teacher support and low pay are the main reasons we are losing teachers at a higher rate than normal.

www.texastribune.org/2022/07/25/texas-teacher-shortage/amp/

I could share stories of the teaching staff our area schools have lost over the having the mask mandates(as in people I know personally) to show that teachers aren’t a monolith (we also had head start classes close over teachers and aides quitting over the vaxx mandate and they still cannot fill these positions), but since I know how these discussions always go around here, I’m not bothering. You truly cannot have a nuanced discussion on this board about Covid without being condescended to, being accused of being anti science or having people suggest you don’t care about other people.

[pixy0stix]

Aug 7, 2022 17:52:47 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:26:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

Also for my area I’m not wrong. Teacher support and low pay are the main reasons we are losing teachers at a higher rate than normal.

www.texastribune.org/2022/07/25/texas-teacher-shortage/amp/

I could share stories of the teaching staff our area schools have lost over the having the mask mandates(as in people I know personally) to show that teachers aren’t a monolith (we also had head start classes close over teachers and aides quitting over the vaxx mandate and they still cannot fill these positions), but since I know how these discussions always go around here, I’m not bothering. You truly cannot have a nuanced discussion on this board about Covid without being condescended to, being accused of being anti science or having people suggest you don’t care about other people.

So back up your point. How many teachers quit over vaxx mandates? Bring the data and we can have a discussion.

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 17:50:48 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

Aug 7, 2022 17:38:35 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

I know we’re breezy and moving on from Covid, but a long CDC study was released this week showing all the increased risk to kids post-Covid: blood clots, myocarditis, etc. (Ironically as they prepare to reduce Covid mitigations further)

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7131a3.htm?s_cid=mm7131a3_w

You will find critics and defenders of this study among the Twitter Medical community (depending on who you believe is an expert or who you believe is a hack, I suppose), but this part of the summary made me head-tilt.

"Patients with COVID-19 were less likely than were patients without to experience respiratory signs and symptoms, symptoms of mental conditions, muscle disorders, neurological conditions, anxiety and fear-related disorders, mood disorders, and sleeping disorders."

I go back and forth on whether I even believe the CDC is even a legitimate institution anymore or just another political arm of oppression. 

I don’t know who Twitter medical folks are so I don’t know what criticisms or supports there are. 

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 17:52:47 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:26:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Ok. So no. We can’t talk about it. We can’t offer up different viewpoints here. We can’t discuss what we could do differently next time. I always forget.

Also for my area I’m not wrong. Teacher support and low pay are the main reasons we are losing teachers at a higher rate than normal.

www.texastribune.org/2022/07/25/texas-teacher-shortage/amp/

I could share stories of the teaching staff our area schools have lost over the having the mask mandates(as in people I know personally) to show that teachers aren’t a monolith (we also had head start classes close over teachers and aides quitting over the vaxx mandate and they still cannot fill these positions), but since I know how these discussions always go around here, I’m not bothering. You truly cannot have a nuanced discussion on this board about Covid without being condescended to, being accused of being anti science or having people suggest you don’t care about other people.

And you can’t have a medical condition without being expendable and gaslit.

[jeaniebueller]

Aug 7, 2022 17:59:05 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 7, 2022 17:52:47 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

I could share stories of the teaching staff our area schools have lost over the having the mask mandates(as in people I know personally) to show that teachers aren’t a monolith (we also had head start classes close over teachers and aides quitting over the vaxx mandate and they still cannot fill these positions), but since I know how these discussions always go around here, I’m not bothering. You truly cannot have a nuanced discussion on this board about Covid without being condescended to, being accused of being anti science or having people suggest you don’t care about other people.

So back up your point. How many teachers quit over vaxx mandates? Bring the data and we can have a discussion.

I assure you I’m not making this up. It was a news story locally last winter when the mandates were enforced about the number of parents who were scrambling for child care after Head Start shut down their kids class over staffing. But sorry, I’m not willing to doxx where I live, leading to me doxxing myself, on a public message board, so I’m not linking to the various news articles local to me about this. I just want to make clear that I think the people who quit over mask mandates and vaccines are clowns. My point wasn’t to be that the majority of teachers don’t want mitigation but that their willingness to mask and follow other recs was probably regional and that not all teachers have the same opinions.

But here are links from other parts of the country about lithe issues with head start:

www.k12dive.com/news/head-start-classrooms-close-as-vaccination-mandate-looms/611566/

www.idahostatejournal.com/townnews/education/unvaccinated-district-25-head-start-teachers-dismissed-from-jobs/article_a617abdf-0ef8-5446-bf53-b435a61d8c77.amp.html

www.the74million.org/article/head-start-in-limbo-over-mask-and-vaccine-mandates-looks-to-congress-for-help/

amp.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/community/cambrian/article257605663.html


And we continue to have serious staffing shortages that are not related to Covid in education and public service—but more likely to lack of housing, childcare and pay.

[erbear]

Aug 7, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 7, 2022 14:59:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

How about ask and listen to the teachers? Cause right now everyone is telling the teachers what is practical or not, and that shit ain't flying. I really really don't think people understand that we're at the edge of a precipice. Schools are hanging by a thread. It's not going to take much to shove the entire thing into chaos.

Agree schools are hanging on by a thread. That was true before Covid and is certainly even more true now. Most teachers I know are unhappy and nervous (rightfully so in case it needs to be said) due to stagnant pay, constant testing, policing of reading material provided in schools, fear of being shot, and I could go on and on. As a parent I’m equally unhappy about all of it and gun culture keeps me up at night worrying. One thing my teacher friends aren’t unhappy about? Covid protocols. They are all pretty happy to see more of a return to normal. I’m sure this depends on where you live though. Yes we need to be listening to actual teachers. We aren’t so the teacher shortage will only get worse. Can’t blame it all on Covid though.

The teachers I know are hoping for some Covid protocols to remain. Most of us would like to see masking in large groups, testing for kids, and quarantine for household exposure with symptoms. Sure, it’s a pain, but many of us have health concerns and having some mitigation in place is reasonable.

[curbsideprophet]

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/07/covid-school-health-anxiety/

Stress, covid, other school-year worries. Experts give parents tips.
Fauci, pediatricians and other health professionals — some with children of their own — look ahead to the fall semester

By Marlene Cimons
August 7, 2022 at 7:06 a.m. EDT

This articles talks about vaccination, anxiety, masking.

One of the questions and a couple replies from names I recognized (more replies to this in the article).

Q: Under what conditions should kids wear masks in school? Do you mask your kids?

A: Fauci: It depends on the community level of transmission. CDC has guidelines and recommendations on masks depending on how high the level of transmission is in a specific county.

Walensky: We should be open to having people wear a mask anytime they want and create an environment in schools where people don’t feel judged or have to deal with personal questions. They shouldn’t have to explain they wear a mask because “my mom is getting chemo.” They shouldn’t have to explain personal things. Generally, we recommend masks when community levels are high or medium — orange or yellow — although I’ve been seen wearing one when the levels are green, or low, because I am married to a pediatric oncologist and don’t want to get him sick, or his patients.

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 21:42:25 GMT -5 @kar said:

Aug 7, 2022 10:39:54 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

I didn’t want to quote your family’s personal details. Did your child’s school not open at all, even for students with disabilities?  My kids’ schools were open 20-21, but some neighboring districts stayed remote for a while except for students with disabilities and English learners who were always in person.

That’s another huge thing I always need to better remember when talking with people: everyone’s experience with school closure was so radically different due to local control.  It feels like we all lived in different countries.  

I hope that a recovery plan has been enacted for your child’s services.

Thank you for the info and sharing what you saw.  The timeline you describe seems to align with the vaccine reaching educators.

Teachers are not complaining. 

[kiminky]

Aug 7, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 7, 2022 15:11:40 GMT -5 abs said:

Agree schools are hanging on by a thread. That was true before Covid and is certainly even more true now. Most teachers I know are unhappy and nervous (rightfully so in case it needs to be said) due to stagnant pay, constant testing, policing of reading material provided in schools, fear of being shot, and I could go on and on. As a parent I’m equally unhappy about all of it and gun culture keeps me up at night worrying. One thing my teacher friends aren’t unhappy about? Covid protocols. They are all pretty happy to see more of a return to normal. I’m sure this depends on where you live though. Yes we need to be listening to actual teachers. We aren’t so the teacher shortage will only get worse. Can’t blame it all on Covid though.

Hence why I posted the article that polled over 3k teachers that says you're wrong, cause anecdotes don't keep teachers in the profession.

PDQ
I work in a large school district. We currently mask if are in the red zone, which we are. The majority of parents are rallying against it constantly. Our teacher's union took a vote last week to poll the teachers on their opinion on masking. The majority wanted masking to be optional. This was a surprising result because our union is constantly maligned for all of the liberal ills of the school district, so I think the board feels very torn of what to do now with this majority vote.

I work in truancy. I have never seen truancy numbers like this in 16 years. Some of it is fear of Covid, even though our district created an online school for all grade levels after reopening, for those that wanted to participate. Some of it honestly, is some of these kids/families don't know or remember what it is to go to school 5 days a week. It used to be that my "high" numbers in a 175 day school year were 40ish absences, this year it was around 80.

[cherryvalance]

As a teacher, I'm just still cracking up at, "She didn't even disclose that she had a vested interest in keeping schools closed!"

Seriously, I can't. THAT is the shit that's making me think about leaving.

Also, genuine LOL at anyone who's all, "I love and support teachers, it's the UNION that's the problem." (Unless you live in a state with a fake, non-union union)

[NewOrleans]

Aug 7, 2022 21:37:06 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/07/covid-school-health-anxiety/

Stress, covid, other school-year worries. Experts give parents tips.
Fauci, pediatricians and other health professionals — some with children of their own — look ahead to the fall semester

By Marlene Cimons
August 7, 2022 at 7:06 a.m. EDT

This articles talks about vaccination, anxiety, masking.

One of the questions and a couple replies from names I recognized (more replies to this in the article).

Q: Under what conditions should kids wear masks in school? Do you mask your kids?

A: Fauci: It depends on the community level of transmission. CDC has guidelines and recommendations on masks depending on how high the level of transmission is in a specific county.

Walensky: We should be open to having people wear a mask anytime they want and create an environment in schools where people don’t feel judged or have to deal with personal questions. They shouldn’t have to explain they wear a mask because “my mom is getting chemo.” They shouldn’t have to explain personal things. Generally, we recommend masks when community levels are high or medium — orange or yellow — although I’ve been seen wearing one when the levels are green, or low, because I am married to a pediatric oncologist and don’t want to get him sick, or his patients.

So the opposite of everyone’s plans then, as 41% of the country is high community transmission.  
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=CommunityLevels

[curbsideprophet]

Aug 7, 2022 22:41:42 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

Aug 7, 2022 21:37:06 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/07/covid-school-health-anxiety/

Stress, covid, other school-year worries. Experts give parents tips.
Fauci, pediatricians and other health professionals — some with children of their own — look ahead to the fall semester

By Marlene Cimons
August 7, 2022 at 7:06 a.m. EDT

This articles talks about vaccination, anxiety, masking.

One of the questions and a couple replies from names I recognized (more replies to this in the article).

Q: Under what conditions should kids wear masks in school? Do you mask your kids?

A: Fauci: It depends on the community level of transmission. CDC has guidelines and recommendations on masks depending on how high the level of transmission is in a specific county.

Walensky: We should be open to having people wear a mask anytime they want and create an environment in schools where people don’t feel judged or have to deal with personal questions. They shouldn’t have to explain they wear a mask because “my mom is getting chemo.” They shouldn’t have to explain personal things. Generally, we recommend masks when community levels are high or medium — orange or yellow — although I’ve been seen wearing one when the levels are green, or low, because I am married to a pediatric oncologist and don’t want to get him sick, or his patients.

So the opposite of everyone’s plans then, as 41% of the country is high community transmission.  
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=CommunityLevels

I mean if Fauci is actually talking about transmission and not community level, then that is 94% of the country.

covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk

And the combined medium and high community level is not much better.

I feel like WaPo should have linked to the transmission map after Fauci’s comment. They could have linked to the community level map from Walensky’s.

[Velar Fricative]

Aug 7, 2022 22:29:15 GMT -5 cherryvalance said:

As a teacher, I'm just still cracking up at, "She didn't even disclose that she had a vested interest in keeping schools closed!"

Seriously, I can't. THAT is the shit that's making me think about leaving.

Also, genuine LOL at anyone who's all, "I love and support teachers, it's the UNION that's the problem." (Unless you live in a state with a fake, non-union union)

Meanwhile, we want teachers to be paid appropriately. The ones that are paid comparably well are generally those who belong to strong unions. That’s not a coincidence.

[fortnightlily]

Aug 7, 2022 22:29:15 GMT -5 cherryvalance said:

As a teacher, I'm just still cracking up at, "She didn't even disclose that she had a vested interest in keeping schools closed!"

Seriously, I can't. THAT is the shit that's making me think about leaving.

Also, genuine LOL at anyone who's all, "I love and support teachers, it's the UNION that's the problem." (Unless you live in a state with a fake, non-union union)

If she had argued for keeping schools closed from her perspective as a teacher, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. If she'd explained why she felt mitigations were inadequate or said that she's seen virtual working well for all the first-graders she was working with daily, that would've been a valuable perspective. But just being like "I'm just your everyday parent and all is good" felt disingenuous.

[fortnightlily]

Anyway, I'm gonna bow out of this thread unless the topic changes because we're going in circles, but I don't know why masks remain such a flashpoint when they are one of several sets of tools we have to manage life with a virus.

There's been a lot more snark in this thread directed at the parents saying they are comfortable letting their child attend school without a mask than the opposite. No one has said they don't think masking is appropriate in other contexts like grocery stores, or if they're sick. No one has accused anyone who chooses the keep their kids in masks as not having valid reasons to do so, much less "living in fear".

The dismissal of parents and teachers who say they witnessed the downsides of lockdowns and masking and the implications or outright accusations that those people must not be otherwise conscientious and are as bad as rabid antivaxxers or "face diaper" screamers is exactly what radicalized a lot of folks in the original opinion piece at the top of the thread.

If we want a better culture of looking out for each other and protecting others then we're not gonna start by perpetuating a culture of suspicion where everyone is a presumed disease vector and maskhole until proven otherwise.