What Grade Would You Give Americans in Handling the COVID-19 Crisis?

There is only one union pouting in this country and it’s not teachers.

 

One thing that I heard one teacher bring up is that for all the negative aspects of online teaching, she sure does get a kick out of not dealing with misbehaving students and not having to play policeman all day. And she suspects --- without any true evidence to back up her claim, mind you --- that other teachers' reluctance to resume "normal" school is at least partly rooted in the same thing, with "safety" just being the easy cover that no one dare question.

 

I imagine that’s true, yes, for some.

 

Educators started having these discussions in May and June. Democrates in Congress were having it, too. Remember, the House passed a relief bill that included federal funding for schools in mid-May, but Mitch McConnell wouldn't even have the conversation and President Trump ignored the issue entirely.

The rest of the country didn't seem to catch up until a few weeks ago. This should have been a national focus all along. It should have been a top priority from the moment we realized schools weren't reopening in May or June. Schools hae a massive impact on our children and our economy, but the majority of people in this country waited too long to care about reopening them in the fall. A big chunk of that is about leadership. This was one of the many opportunities President Trump missed to be a leader. He should have spoken up in May, set reopening schools as his top priority and insisted on federal funding in a relief package right then. Instead of trying to guess what they could afford to do to reopen safely, federal guidance and funding could have helped put things in place sooner.

Alma's overall point is complete bullshit, as usual, but he's right that we should have started the big, national conversation about this sooner.

 

I don’t think you’re wrong, but May and June got taken over by racist cops. That as much as anything derailed the school conversation.

 

That’s the American way: ignoring shit until the shit can no longer be ignored.

 

I guess I just find what he hasn't done -- the complete leadership void right now, when we desperately need some good leadership, or at least an honest attempt at it -- to be worse than all the dumb things he's said and done, which, frankly, I and a lot of other people are smart enough to just ignore and let it have no influence whatsoever on us.

As this COVID issue and its surrounding effects have gotten worse, and have re-ignited now, Trump has looked to me to be shrinking more and more into the background. That's horrible for a President, but that's what he is to me now -- just so much background noise. He doesn't matter. He has made himself not matter, and he won't matter come election time.

What's more, I think he's starting to get an inkling of that, which is what's making him and his actions seem all the more wild and desperate as time goes on.

 

What a shock. BTE made up a story to help support President Trump's side of things.

I say made up because BTE can't be trusted on such things. I'm sure there are teachers who have those feelings, bit I don't believe for a second that he heard it. I'm sure some teachers might express some frustration that way. I'm sure there are a few who really feel that way, because I'm sure there are bad teachers just as there are bad professionals in every field.

What I've heard, consistently, from the teachers I know is that they hated virtual learning. They missed the engagement with their students. They found they had to spend more time dealing with misbehaving students, but it took the form of virtually chasing them down or reaching out to parents because students were checking out. What I hear about reluctance to return is usually a variation on the same comment. They are worried that the decisions are being made virtually for the safety of the people making them, but teachers are going to be required to return to the classroom in four-to-six weeks (depending on which state they are in.) The reluctance to return is all about safety. You can question if the concerns are all valid or if perhaps there is some paranoia involved, but the talking points of lazy teachers or political motivations are just crap.

 

This is an important point as well. School isn't going to be what it should be or what it normally is even if everybody is there in person. It can't be. You've got districts giving students and teachers plexiglass shields. They will be spending their days in clear cubicles.

Not all schools will do it exactly the way you mentioned. Some will have the students moving from class to class instead of the teachers. The cohort model doesn't always work, especially in high school. I know many people think education is just teachers at the front of the room talking. Many people don't know that isn't what all teachers do, especially in a modern classroom.

 

I get what you are saying and there is definitely a lack of leadership in many ways, but he also set the poor example and told people the wrong thing for months. We are still seeing that influence as well.

 

That is part of it, sure, but isn't that the job of leadership to focus on the important things no matter what crisis is going on? Both things are important. Both should have been getting our attention.

Also, the school conversation wasn't happening before the riots started, not at the level it should have been.

 

IMO the rash of virus cases among children in Texas and Florida are the death knell of any kind of return to school. If a teacher gets sick, parents might want to soldier on, although I doubt it. If a kid does, that'll close schools within hours.
PS: I know this is a horrible outcome, but so is having a child catch a potentially fatal disease.