August Banter 2020

[mappy]

19 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Do you recall which counties, or is there a graphic?

eta: I understand too, just wish he hadn’t sounded so negative on the entire state.

 

[RDM]

2 hours ago, mappy said:

Right? I don't get it... I've seen many of teachers with their complaints

Don't get me wrong, I want my kid back in the classroom too, and Hogan raises valid points -- our metrics are pretty darn good these days. But geez, talk about waiting until the 11th hour to ask they rework their plans. Don't some counties go back next week? 

Lends to the old saying...   "Lead, follow, or get out of the way.  But first and foremost do no harm".  He's really stepping in it with the approach with the potential to not only not help, but to further the chaos and mayhem, which does not good for anyone.  

[mappy]

7 minutes ago, RDM said:

Lends to the old saying...   "Lead, follow, or get out of the way.  But first and foremost do no harm".  He's really stepping in it with the approach with the potential to not only not help, but to further the chaos and mayhem, which does not good for anyone.  

I wish the State had tried to help to begin with, but he made it clear the counties were on their own. They offered recommendations, and left it at that. And now that counties arent doing what he wants, he's making it worse with last minute crap. Frustrating from a parent standpoint. JUST TELL ME WHAT IM DOING WITH MY KID. 

[Inverted_Trough]

1 hour ago, 40westwx said:

China and South Korea were such a bad examples.. they went in to lock down after their peek.. now the rest of the world is paying for it.. I wouldnt be surprised if this was somehow plan all along.. 

South Korea never locked down.

[snowfan]

32 minutes ago, mappy said:

I wish the State had tried to help to begin with, but he made it clear the counties were on their own. They offered recommendations, and left it at that. And now that counties arent doing what he wants, he's making it worse with last minute crap. Frustrating from a parent standpoint. JUST TELL ME WHAT IM DOING WITH MY KID. 

Not to mention that some daycares (or many) didn't do school aged kid summer camps bc of the restrictions in place. I use the same summer camp place for before n after care. If I don't have before n after care and kids go back in person, well......

[mappy]

9 minutes ago, snowfan said:

Not to mention that some daycares (or many) didn't do school aged kid summer camps bc of the restrictions in place. I use the same summer camp place for before n after care. If I don't have before n after care and kids go back in person, well......

yeah, you aren't alone. ive heard similar from my group of friends. thankfully for us, the kid's elementary school has on site before/after care. the will be available if school is open. we made sure we had her registered for it back in June so we wouldn't be scrambling last minute

[40westwx]

47 minutes ago, Inverted_Trough said:

South Korea never locked down.

even better.

[nj2va]

7 hours ago, losetoa6 said:

IMO Hogan wanted to call out the districts that have been obviously  sitting on their hands since March . They've had since March/ April/ May ...to come up with contingency plans for at least a combination of in person/ online .  He also wanted to show..hey..here's the Science metrics ...and they are lookin very good and have been in many counties for months . 

These counties have had Dashboards for months . They know the metrics.  They chose to not use them imo. Nor did the parents voices get heard imo.

I personally am glad he spoke up regardless of timing . 

Agree. I don’t live in MD nor do I have kids but I’m glad he called out the districts. I really feel for parents and the children especially in homes where parents can’t work from home. 
 

[ThePhotoGuy]

 

[psuhoffman]

On 8/27/2020 at 4:43 PM, losetoa6 said:

A couple  things I heard ...

Hogan basically said its unacceptable for the 8 counties who haven't put forth any plan whatsoever for any in person learning through the end of the calendar year . 

Also the 7 lowest metric counties are qualified right now for 100% in person/hybrid if the mitigation parameters can be met .

Also..Md has been under the CDCs 5% guidelines for positivity rate for*( 63 days) well well ahead of the minimum 14 days recommendation. 

 

And the state will give incentives $ to counties that go back hybrid .

My apprehension over Baltimore City going back to soon is known but I do think there are some counties where there is virtually no cases that probably could. However...if a district already announced virtual until 2nd Semester which isn’t until the end of January...why would they then waste resources creating a plan they aren’t going to use for “in person learning this calendar year”. That part of his PC seemed to make no sense except if he simply wants to put it out there he disagrees with their decision. But regardless once it’s been decided why would you make a plan for the option you didn’t go with! 

[psuhoffman]

9 hours ago, 40westwx said:

I think that they are starting to realize that having kids in school is the best way to flush the virus out of the population.  I like the idea of Hybrid approach.  If your child lives with or comes in to regular contact with anyway who is at risk of dying due to complication of corona virus.. it is best to keep them out.  

But if the child and their immediate family is in good health and are young... it is best to send them to school and let them spread the virus around.  In March everyone thought we were gonna somehow wait this thing by hiding..

It took a few months, but common sense is starting to prevail.  

China and South Korea were such a bad examples.. they went in to lock down after their peek.. now the rest of the world is paying for it.. I wouldnt be surprised if this was somehow plan all along.. 

I’m going to ignore some other things I disagree with and just take issue with the absolute worst part here.  What about the estimated 30-40% of school staff that are high risk due to age or health conditions...like me?   If we all go on FMLA the schools can’t operate. Class sizes are out of control already. And I highly doubt they will be able to replace that many teachers in the middle of a pandemic.  And the districts that are trying to go back and Hogan aren’t selling this as “let’s spread it around to get herd immunity”. They are swearing we will be safe. So are you saying they are lying and basically sacrificing us so society can move on?  And if so you’re ok with that?  

[psuhoffman]

I do want to go back so bad.  This is not a picnic for me either. First of all while I’m ok at tech stuff I am not qualified to be tech support to 120 teenagers and parents. But I am now!  And there are no off hours. I’m on call all the time!  And running online classes sucks imo. It’s not my thing.  My work day is more stressful now I than it was before. My hours aren’t any different either. I still have to grade the same work and manage the same students and teach the same class time.  Only now I have to somehow manage my sons online classes also even though I’m supposed to be teaching non stop all day. They want us to implement the IEP interventions and I have no idea how that’s going to work online!  I guess I do avoid my commute but I didn’t mind that. The drive was time for me to reflect and relax and prepare it decompress from the day. 

This really sucks and I want to just go back to normal. So I totally get it. But I also don’t want to die and I know several students, parents, co-workers, and family in my schools community who have contracted Covid recently.  Unfortunately I know a few who have passed away. It’s still around in Baltimore City.  And some of the stuff I’m hearing doesn’t make me comfortable. No satisfying answer on how to ensure students wear masks. Pushes to cut social distancing to 4 feet not 6 because we have classes with 45 and even if we do a/b hybrid that’s still 20+ in very small rooms.  If you saw the example test room you would think it’s just a normal classroom. Fact is our classes are so crowded I typically have to stack the desks together with no space between them to fit them all so for us a “socially distanced” room is 4 feet between desks and anytime anyone moves they are inside 4 feet.  Their answers on other procedures are inadequate also. Frankly they seem like they just want the kids back but don’t have the ability to follow the necessary protocols to do it safely.  But that is all specific to my school.  There are districts with way fewer cases in the community that have way more resources than my school does. So my feelings do not necessarily apply to what all schools should do. 

[JakkelWx]

Im drunk!

[Maestrobjwa]

2 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

I do want to go back so bad.  This is not a picnic for me either. First of all while I’m ok at tech stuff I am not qualified to be tech support to 120 teenagers and parents. But I am now!  And there are no off hours. I’m on call all the time!  And running online classes sucks imo. It’s not my thing.  My work day is more stressful now I than it was before. My hours aren’t any different either. I still have to grade the same work and manage the same students and teach the same class time.  Only now I have to somehow manage my sons online classes also even though I’m supposed to be teaching non stop all day. They want us to implement the IEP interventions and I have no idea how that’s going to work online!  I guess I do avoid my commute but I didn’t mind that. The drive was time for me to reflect and relax and prepare it decompress from the day. 

This really sucks and I want to just go back to normal. So I totally get it. But I also don’t want to die and I know several students, parents, co-workers, and family in my schools community who have contracted Covid recently.  Unfortunately I know a few who have passed away. It’s still around in Baltimore City.  And some of the stuff I’m hearing doesn’t make me comfortable. No satisfying answer on how to ensure students wear masks. Pushes to cut social distancing to 4 feet not 6 because we have classes with 45 and even if we do a/b hybrid that’s still 20+ in very small rooms.  If you saw the example test room you would think it’s just a normal classroom. Fact is our classes are so crowded I typically have to stack the desks together with no space between them to fit them all so for us a “socially distanced” room is 4 feet between desks and anytime anyone moves they are inside 4 feet.  Their answers on other procedures are inadequate also. Frankly they seem like they just want the kids back but don’t have the ability to follow the necessary protocols to do it safely.  But that is all specific to my school.  There are districts with way fewer cases in the community that have way more resources than my school does. So my feelings do not necessarily apply to what all schools should do. 

Praying for you and all the other teachers that have been struggling. It just sucks that the situation is so lose-lose in a lot of school districts.

[yoda]

RIP Chadwick Boseman

[Maestrobjwa]

26 minutes ago, yoda said:

RIP Chadwick Boseman

 

23 minutes ago, WxWatcher007 said:

So sad. So young. 

And he was battling colon cancer all through the Black Panther movie...talk about a true super hero! I've been hearing how medical researchers have been raising the concern about younger people getting colon cancer lately (just look at Trey Mancini, for crying out loud!) I pray they can figure out why...

[Maestrobjwa]

Black Panther was Bozeman's 9th symphony. Some greats make their last crowning work just a few years (or less) before they pass; Black Panther is his! Rest in Power...

[SnowtoRain]

The first 10" of rain this month were pretty cool but the following 6" just seem a bit excessive.

[ravensrule]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/farmers-almanac-winter-weather-forecast-cold-snow-north-midwest-great-lakes-south-dry-rain-west-coast

[Mrs.J]

For those starting school today students and teachers, including the two Miss J's...

Change is never easy. Learning new ways to do things is never easy. Embracing both will broaden your horizons. Take a deep breath and jump in. 

 

[mappy]

22 minutes ago, Mrs.J said:

For those starting school today students and teachers, including the two Miss J's...

Change is never easy. Learning new ways to do things is never easy. Embracing both will broaden your horizons. Take a deep breath and jump in. 

 

good post! hope the girls first day goes great! YOU GOT THIS!

[Eskimo Joe]

1 hour ago, losetoa6 said:

Oldest daughter called me at work and said she missed most of her first dual enrollment zoom class because the wifi wasn't working good enough . 1st day already a fail. 

Rural jurisdictions are desperately behind the times when it comes to equitable access to Internet. The local/state govs need to make this a priority yesterday.

[mappy]

1 minute ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Rural jurisdictions are desperately behind the times when it comes to equitable access to Internet. The local/state govs need to make this a priority yesterday.

i dont know how local/state govt make companies like Comcast and Verizon put the infrastructure needed in places where it doesn't exist. 

[Eskimo Joe]

Just now, mappy said:

i dont know how local/state govt make companies like Comcast and Verizon put the infrastructure needed in places where it doesn't exist. 

The state public utility commissions license internet and cable providers to work in this jurisdiction. They hold a lot more power than people realize. 

[nj2va]

2 hours ago, losetoa6 said:

Oldest daughter called me at work and said she missed most of her first dual enrollment zoom class because the wifi wasn't working good enough . 1st day already a fail. 

I saw that Garrett County received a state (or federal?) grant for hotspots to provide to students without adequate wifi.  The issue also becomes for that student the lack of LTE coverage in some areas of the county.  On a related note, how a county with something like 60 or so total cases can't return to in person learning is beyond my understanding.

[mappy]

3 hours ago, Eskimo Joe said:

The state public utility commissions license internet and cable providers to work in this jurisdiction. They hold a lot more power than people realize. 

well they should work a lot harder... because i can tell you comcast stops just to my north. no one else runs hardware up this way other than comcast. if you're in the really rural part of the county, you aint getting shit for internet. dish network for tv and thats it.

[Chris78]

O's are just playing losing baseball right now. Twice today they had a runner at second and no outs and both times didnt score. I guess no one believes is bunting the runner over to 3rd anymore. 

They don't even try to hit behind the runner to move them over.I thought Hyde was big on fundamentals. 

[nj2va]

1 hour ago, mappy said:

well they should work a lot harder... because i can tell you comcast stops just to my north. no one else runs hardware up this way other than comcast. if you're in the really rural part of the county, you aint getting shit for internet. dish network for tv and thats it.

Yep, I had to spend $7K to Comcast for them to run the line up the hill to our house here in Deep Creek a few years ago to get their service.  Otherwise, I would have had to pay for satellite internet which is capped at 10GB/month (we'd go through that in a day hosting friends).  It was "only" $7K since the houses down the street at the bottom of the hill had service.  If not for that, I can't even imagine the cost.  

It's unacceptable that rural communities are left behind with what should be accessible to all residents at a much cheaper price (for install/etc).

[nw baltimore wx]

27 minutes ago, nj2va said:

Yep, I had to spend $7K to Comcast for them to run the line up the hill to our house here in Deep Creek a few years ago to get their service.  Otherwise, I would have had to pay for satellite internet which is capped at 10GB/month (we'd go through that in a day hosting friends).  It was "only" $7K since the houses down the street at the bottom of the hill had service.  If not for that, I can't even imagine the cost.  

It's unacceptable that rural communities are left behind with what should be accessible to all residents at a much cheaper price (for install/etc).

Seven grand??? That’s insane.

[CAPE]

1 hour ago, Chris78 said:

O's are just playing losing baseball right now. Twice today they had a runner at second and no outs and both times didnt score. I guess no one believes is bunting the runner over to 3rd anymore. 

They don't even try to hit behind the runner to move them over.I thought Hyde was big on fundamentals. 

They have reached their "natural" level. This apparently happens even in a dramatically shortened baseball season. At least they will exceed my predicted win total.