General COVID-19 Talk #2, NHL Phase 2 begins early June Mod Warning post 1

[Raccoon Jesus]

It's refreshing to actually see a plan, and I would expect a private school to not have all of the issues which comes with the public school teacher's union.

I think this is better than straight "distance learning", and the student accountability will be much better.

When it comes to primary school students, I think the European experience with reopening schools is the road map to follow for the United States.

Public schools are working to avoid straight distance learning, too. Like you say, they're just more subject to oversight via both districts and states as well as local unions. Lotta red tape for whatever the approach may be.

Re primary schools again, I want to agree, but I think that's just denying reality right now. The European experience of reopening schools happened with falling cases to say nothing of better testing and systems as opposed to our currently explosively rising cases, sketchy testing and tracing, and beat up systems. We're not ready.

 

[Fishhead]

It's refreshing to actually see a plan, and I would expect a private school to not have all of the issues which comes with the public school teacher's union.

I think this is better than straight "distance learning", and the student accountability will be much better.

When it comes to primary school students, I think the European experience with reopening schools is the road map to follow for the United States.

Distance learning was so crap, a lot of schools were just handing out grades to avoid parental conflict. I also thinks the European schools are on the right track. Our public system is being exposed here for it's inflexibility, wastefulness, and overwhelming bureaucracy. If your budget is in the hundreds of millions and you can't hire a few teachers to break down your class sizes something is seriously wrong.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Distance learning was so crap, a lot of schools were just handing out grades to avoid parental conflict. I also thinks the European schools are on the right track. Our public system is being exposed here for it's inflexibility, wastefulness, and overwhelming bureaucracy. If your budget is in the hundreds of millions and you can't hire a few teachers to break down your class sizes something is seriously wrong.

Both things are true, though. The beaurocracy sucks and needs focus so the budget money goes further, but the budgets are awful, too.

We've been cutting education in this country for 20 years and asking teachers to shoulder the burden. Asking them to do so in a few weeks in the face of...all this...is brutal.

 

[HeadInjury]

Well, if you are in the need of some good news, admissions at my doctor friend's OC hospital are down 16% from Saturday and down 11% from Saturday at an affiliated San Bernardino hospital. Of course, some of the drop in percentages is due to deaths, but the trend is in the right direction. Not a spike in deaths as there was that one day last week.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I know Business Insider isn't usually a great source for non-stock-market news, but the cites are there at least:

40% of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, a new CDC estimate says

 

[KINGS17]

Distance learning was so crap, a lot of schools were just handing out grades to avoid parental conflict. I also thinks the European schools are on the right track. Our public system is being exposed here for it's inflexibility, wastefulness, and overwhelming bureaucracy. If your budget is in the hundreds of millions and you can't hire a few teachers to break down your class sizes something is seriously wrong.

I was a teacher for a short amount of time in the Long Beach Unified School District back in the '80s (19, not 18). I remember seeing pictures in the district offices of students outside in tents. Schools had been destroyed. I think there is solid evidence the rate of infection and transmission among elementary school children is extremely low. I know this is a completely different situation, but it shows what a "can do" attitude will accomplish when it is shared by teachers, administrators, parents, and students.

We are doing long-term damage to these young children by not having them in school. We need to be asking why some areas of the world have gathered the "science and data" on the virus, and created a plan for young children to attend school, while large school districts in the U.S. dither.

Tent Schools: Education in Long Beach after the 1933 earthquake • the Hi-lo

 

[KINGS17]

Both things are true, though. The beaurocracy sucks and needs focus so the budget money goes further, but the budgets are awful, too.

We've been cutting education in this country for 20 years and asking teachers to shoulder the burden. Asking them to do so in a few weeks in the face of...all this...is brutal.

I would say it is more along the lines of we have been spending more and more money on the educational bureaucracy while short changing the money actually being applied for teaching students. Layers upon layers of administrators both at the district level, and at the school itself. Perhaps it is time to break up some of these mega-districts, like LA Unified, and create smaller, more nimble school districts which are more accountable to the parents.

Of course, none of it works without parental involvement.

 

[KINGS17]

I know Business Insider isn't usually a great source for non-stock-market news, but the cites are there at least:

40% of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, a new CDC estimate says

I found this to be an interesting bullet in your link.

...the estimate was up from the 30% reported in late May, as the CDC also estimated the chance of transmission from people with no symptoms is 75%.

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

I was a teacher for a short amount of time in the Long Beach Unified School District back in the '80s (19, not 18). I remember seeing pictures in the district offices of students outside in tents. Schools had been destroyed. I think there is solid evidence the rate of infection and transmission among elementary school children is extremely low. I know this is a completely different situation, but it shows what a "can do" attitude will accomplish when it is shared by teachers, administrators, parents, and students.

We are doing long-term damage to these young children by not having them in school. We need to be asking why some areas of the world have gathered the "science and data" on the virus, and created a plan for young children to attend school, while large school districts in the U.S. dither.

Tent Schools: Education in Long Beach after the 1933 earthquake • the Hi-lo

It's certainly difficult, I taught myself in LA for a bit and I remember getting sick all the time my first year. While children are less likely to experience the same level of severity they can certainly pass it on to an adult at home and get them sick, while they themselves are asymptomatic.
Kids are notorious for picking their noses, sneezing and not covering etc. IMHO I believe that there is a fair risk to getting adults sick in the same house to warrant a pause in education until this can be further clarified.

Frankly, we just don't know yet and I'd be cautious about just opening up and making things much worse when CA has recently worsened the past few weeks and now testing is falling behind. That said, I would hold off until we do know more AND we get this under better control. I'm keeping my kid home for now until this is squared away, no reason to chance it until conditions have improved. I have little faith in our gov. right now since they can't even keep up and there is admitted interference from the 45 on slowing down testing.

In the hospital, we rely on UpToDate for latest info on educating patients. I consider them highly reputable since 2 of the hospitals I worked at have direct links on our computers for patient education and they actively encourage us to use it. I agree there is damage to kids, I just can't justify going forward knowing the costs could make this scenario worse.

A lot of these countries are further ahead in reducing rates and we are going up every day. I just don't see an end to this until an effective vaccine comes out. Effective being the key word. I think it's being rushed but will need to read the efficacy reports before the hospital administration starts pushing it on us.

UpToDate

Although there is little information about transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by truly asymptomatic (as opposed to presymptomatic) children, there are reports of familial clusters that included asymptomatic children and possible transmission from an asymptomatic girl to a teacher [41,42]. These reports suggest that asymptomatic children may play a role in transmission [43,44]. Asymptomatic transmission by adults is well documented. (See "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Epidemiology, virology, and prevention", section on 'Viral shedding and period of infectiousness'.)

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

I would say it is more along the lines of we have been spending more and more money on the educational bureaucracy while short changing the money actually being applied for teaching students. Layers upon layers of administrators both at the district level, and at the school itself. Perhaps it is time to break up some of these mega-districts, like LA Unified, and create smaller, more nimble school districts which are more accountable to the parents.

Of course, none of it works without parental involvement.

YUP. My former district actually had small problem with embezzlement and had to be run by the state.

 

[Lt Dan]

...the estimate was up from the 30% reported in late May, as the CDC also estimated the chance of transmission from people with no symptoms is 75%.

 

[Lt Dan]

shut back down

New Statewide & County Closures

Effective immediately, California closes some indoor business operations statewide and additional indoor operations in counties on Monitoring List for 3 consecutive days.
Statewide indoor closures include restaurants, bars and breweries, wineries & tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, and cardrooms. County indoor closures include fitness centers, places of worship, indoor protests, offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and malls. County closures apply to counties that have been on the County Monitoring List for 3 consecutive days.

COVID19.CA.GOV

 

[Lt Dan]

The gold areas

 

[KINGS17]

View attachment 353647

The gold areas

You're next user name should be "Gunny Highway", and instead of "Undocumented User" try "Bionic Marine".

 

[Lt Dan]

You're next user name should be "Gunny Highway", and instead of "Undocumented User" try "Bionic Marine".

“You can run me, you can starve me and you can beat me and you can kill me. Just don't bore me.”

 

[Lt Dan]

Shout out to my friend with a first name for a last name who told me that this might be coming Friday.
I hoarded like like a Mongol his weekend including a Costco trip!
I got Bounty and Charmin bitches!

 

[Bandit]

Shout out to my friend with a first name for a last name who told me that this might be coming Friday.
I hoarded like like a Mongol his weekend including a Costco trip!
I got Bounty and Charmin bitches!

Stop hoarding or I’ll send you home with that “just pumped the neighbor’s cat” look...

 

[Lt Dan]

Stop hoarding or I’ll send you home with that “just pumped the neighbor’s cat” look...

Too late

and my neighbors cat thinks I am a great guy

 

[LAKings88]

I teach moderate severe special education at a high school. My students are 18-22 years old. I have to go back four days a week 730-230 with a fifth day of social distance learning. My class has 15 students and 4 adults. Not sure I can even have everyone 6 feet apart in my room. Face mask all day for kids with special needs. Hands on responsibilities, busing, bathroom, etc. I’m 42, my staff is all 15 years older than me. My wife has an autoimmune disease. I won’t be able to have any contact with my widowed mother, even limited social distance. I caught everything this past year. I was out of days before the lockout because teachers catch everything. Haven’t been sick since locking down. Not everyone shares my lockdown views. Can’t control what others do or keep them out of my class. I’d prefer full online as difficult as it is. The issue with Corona is you don’t know how it will be when you get it. I tend to assume the worse when death is involved. Is society prepared for the death of teachers? Many are older with underline conditions.

I’m grateful for my job and have been blessed by its pay. I’ve been able to lock down. That has been a privilege others have not had. I still feel there is a safer alternative to risking peoples lives when cases are going back up and not down. Online education is temporary. Skills can be made back up. I do get the challenges facing working parents too.

 

[Lt Dan]

OC is lagging today . I'll update this late

Good numbers today

540 positive
135 ICU cases

1 death , non-snf

rolling 7 day of non SNF deaths
Mon: 1
Sun: 2
Sat : 3
Fri: 6
Thu:17
Wed:4
Tues: 3

 

[KINGS17]

Here are the demands from the LA Teacher's Union to reopen our schools. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

L.A. teachers union says schools can't reopen unless charter schools get shut down, police defunded

 

[HeadInjury]

There are rumors that LA is going to be going back into shutdown mode.

 

[bland]

There are rumors that LA is going to be going back into shutdown mode.

Already happening.

There is nothing more American than personal irresponsibility.

 

[Bandit]

There are rumors that LA is going to be going back into shutdown mode.

Yeah, not a rumor unfortunately:
Gov. Newsom orders major reopening rollback in attempt to control rampant COVID-19 spread

Already happening.

There is nothing more American than personal irresponsibility.

But "Good times! f*** yeah!"

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Here are the demands from the LA Teacher's Union to reopen our schools. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

L.A. teachers union says schools can't reopen unless charter schools get shut down, police defunded

Really, that was their takeaway?

Here's the full position paper:

UTLA recommends keeping LAUSD school campuses closed; refocus on robust distance learning practices for Fall | UTLA

The first ten pages are a summary of the situation, why teachers feel unsafe, proposals on how to deal with the situation on a school level, and suggestions that several levels of government could do to help based on the specifics of the community.

The above article takes two bullet points from that entire writeup and calls them demands and runs with it. Disgusting and shameful deflection of the main point.

The article also mentions--which we should all remember even though it feels like an eternity ago--that LA teachers were on strike just last year over almost these exact issues. They're basically rehashing 2019 PLUS coronavirus concerns. And here they are inviting attacks on educators in the name of partisan hackery. It's basically the "just open it all up" crowd from April but for schools instead of businesses, running with deliberate misunderstandings of the logistics and concerns to score some bullshit red elephant points.

I guess at least one thing is consistent, and that is society isn't listening to its teachers. I thought this time would be different after people saw what it was like when school was 'out' over the last few months, but I was foolish to think many levels of government and society would see them as anything but babysitters. Didn't think it was possible to imagine worse conditions for teachers, but here we are, not only trying to carefully open schools in a month, but forcefully attacking teachers for being hesistant. Absolute trash.