Fall Banter and General Discussion

[Hoosier]

Heading into $hit hitting the fan territory with covid.  3 weeks ago we were just starting to approach 100k cases per day, and today we had about 2000 deaths reported.  Now it's 150-200k cases per day.  What is that going to look like in the death toll a few weeks from now?

[monadnocks]

7 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Who has more COVID exposure: teachers or TSA airport screeners?

Protecting teachers by closing down schools (even it screws the children) seems to enjoy more support than does the idea of shutting down the airports to protect the TSA screeners. Interesting.

If you think of it in terms of the three C's: close, crowded and continuous, the TSA people are probably at less risk than other professions. I think there's so much variation on what schools are doing that it's not an easy answer. 

[NECT]

9 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Who has more COVID exposure: teachers or TSA airport screeners?

Protecting teachers by closing down schools (even it screws the children) seems to enjoy more support than does the idea of shutting down the airports to protect the TSA screeners. Interesting.

It's about protecting everyone and slowing down the spread. If you're referring to my post,  my point is that when people are in direct contact with someone who tests positive,  they have to quarantine.  I didn't mention shutting down schools just to protect teachers and staff.  When there are too many people who have to quarantine, sxhools shut down because there aren't enough people to supervise kids.

[PhineasC]

3 minutes ago, NECT said:

It's about protecting everyone and slowing down the spread. If you're referring to my post,  my point is that when people are in direct contact with someone who tests positive,  they have to quarantine.  I didn't mention shutting down schools just to protect teachers and staff.  When there are too many people who have to quarantine, sxhools shut down because there aren't enough people to supervise kids.

I don't expect the schools to be handled rationally by this country during this pandemic. That's why we chose to homeschool. In-person school is like jail for kids, and remote learning is basically just homeschooling with an overseer watching you on Zoom. 

[Supernovice]

Ok I’ll be the first to say it...that COVID isn’t transmissible between 10pm and 5am is such a lucky gene mutation break. What a sh**show it’d be if that wasn’t the case.

[HoarfrostHubb]

A few points...and some are getting off the rails political...

In Massachusetts at least there has been a centralized curriculum since the mid 1990s. That’s what we all teach from. We are given autonomy to teach it more or less in the way we see fit. Schools are being closed not by unions. That is a right wing taking point that has been disproven numerous times. 
The CDC itself has walked back the push to keep schools open in communities where spread is large    The district I work in now has an overall 14 day positive average of 7.75%. I will have my kids in front of me today. Weekly student and staff positive cases are more than doubling each week. Every day we have more and more parents who had signed up for their kids to be in school pulling them back into remote.   The community decides this. 
 

Fun times

[moneypitmike]

Keep Maskachusetts Free.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

57 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

A few points...and some are getting off the rails political...

In Massachusetts at least there has been a centralized curriculum since the mid 1990s. That’s what we all teach from. We are given autonomy to teach it more or less in the way we see fit. Schools are being closed not by unions. That is a right wing taking point that has been disproven numerous times. 
The CDC itself has walked back the push to keep schools open in communities where spread is large    The district I work in now has an overall 14 day positive average of 7.75%. I will have my kids in front of me today. Weekly student and staff positive cases are more than doubling each week. Every day we have more and more parents who had signed up for their kids to be in school pulling them back into remote.   The community decides this. 
 

Fun times

I mean you’d know better than me, but it seems to me that high ranking union officials were pushing very hard, especially early in the fall, to keep schools remote. 
 

Like I mentioned before, the general sentiment of teachers I don’t believe matches the union positions. However, the union in a lot of places was fighting to keep schools closed, I think that was pretty well documented.

It’s a lose lose proposition at this point I think. People are either getting sick, or mad that schools are not open. Obviously school is not an environment that normally has distancing built in.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

On another note, Massachusetts rejected sports betting, again. I hate this place sometimes. Lawmakers so out of touch with what the majority wants.

I wonder if this is another chuck faker personal vendetta like keeping golf courses closed in the spring.

[WhitinsvilleWX]

5 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

On another note, Massachusetts rejected sports betting, again. I hate this place sometimes. Lawmakers so out of touch with what the majority wants.

I wonder if this is another chuck faker personal vendetta like keeping golf courses closed in the spring.

Massachusetts is still very puritanical in a lot of ways. We’re not that far removed from the blue laws. 

[CoastalWx]

I don’t think many teachers want to go full person and supported remote. 

[Mothman]

Hi all. Long time lurker. Was it a bad choice to start chatting this year? Anyway, here I am. Great banter from you all over the years...since I was in high school. I’ll be asking questions now and again please forgive my ignorance! Be well

[HoarfrostHubb]

Just now, CoastalWx said:

I don’t think many teachers want to go full person and supported remote. 

According to CDC, they consider full in person to be high risk.  
 

My wife is doing full in person other than the kids whose parents kept them home

[Baroclinic Zone]

Spread in schools in MA is here.  Cases fave doubled over the last week, so that means we have community spread ongoing.  While you can't make a direct correlation, deaths have also been rising in the State, so I'm sure schools are playing some part in that increase. 

[STILL N OF PIKE]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mnuchin-pulls-plug-on-some-coronavirus-emergency-lending-programs-over-feds-objections-11605826491?mod=home-page
 

Seems to me Treasury wants the 455 billion back so they can use it toward a stimulus IMO ASAP 
 

Those fed programs were barely being used if I recall correctly , the Fed was not initiating small business loans at all to keep business going W these programs and if they state they wanted them “in case” I have no idea what case they were waiting for to initiate the loan programs but they were way 2 stringent W those particular credit facilities and were holding up 455 B.

[ORH_wxman]

My wife is a teacher. Unions definitely didn’t want full in-person...and for good reason. Having 30 high schoolers packed into a small room with shitty ventilation is about the least ideal setup.  

 Her district ended up doing hybrid. Class sizes stay below 14. Most of her classes are single digits. Kids get broken into cohorts and they go in person 2 days per week with Wednesday being a remote day for everyone (to keep each cohort getting the same number of in-person each week) 

 

[STILL N OF PIKE]

The head of the Mass teacher union sure is a peach 

I have someone close to me who works with all superintendents and  has worked with her since her appointment and calls her appointment a grave mistake As she seems to enjoy a fight a tad too much 

134 Schools begin phase 1 of Abbott rapid sting in Early December , but will be used only on Symptomatic potential carriers .

The amount of variance in teacher opinions regarding school seems on par with the variance in ordinary society with a general lean toward hybrid in person toward elementary and toward hybrid/ full remote for H.S

 

[Baroclinic Zone]

5 minutes ago, STILL N OF PIKE said:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mnuchin-pulls-plug-on-some-coronavirus-emergency-lending-programs-over-feds-objections-11605826491?mod=home-page
 

Seems to me Treasury wants the 455 billion back so they can use it toward a stimulus IMO ASAP 
 

Those fed programs were barely being used if I recall correctly , the Fed was not initiating small business loans at all to keep business going W these programs and if they state they wanted them “in case” I have no idea what case they were waiting for to initiate the loan programs but they were way 2 stringent W those particular credit facilities and were holding up 455 B.

My boss knew about this but it finally came to realization yesterday, he has to pay taxes on the PPP money he took to the tune of 38%.

[STILL N OF PIKE]

18 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

My boss knew about this but it finally came to realization yesterday, he has to pay taxes on the PPP money he took to the tune of 38%.

 He didn’t have to pay back the loan principal itself did he?

I believe as long as so much% was used toward payroll and perhaps “rent” they were more like grants 

Just for clarity (not with you ) but anyone else , The PPP program isn’t what the Treasury just killed , they killed a under used Fed lending facility to small businesses that was not initiating loans and dying businesses don’t want or need regular loans , they need more PPP lending (which isn’t paid back)

[Baroclinic Zone]

1 minute ago, STILL N OF PIKE said:

 He didn’t have to pay back the loan principal itself did he?

I believe as long as so much% was used toward payroll and perhaps “rent” they were more like grants 

Just for clarity (not with you ) but anyone else , The PPP program isn’t what the Treasury just killed , they killed a under used Fed lending facility to small businesses that was not initiating loans 

No.  As long as it was used for payroll, he was all set.

[STILL N OF PIKE]

57 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

I don’t think many teachers want to go full person and supported remote. 

I could tell you there was a significant divide , basically similar to the general public . Thou there were more general willingness to go back in person for youngest kids but still a ton of disagreements .

Reason being almost every single teacher new the level of education via various studies the kids were getting via remote would be (poor) and  Not pretty good or decent (for elementary specifically) but well below average ..but also dependent on kids attention spans and teachers working themselves to death putting extra effort into transforming lesson plans on line in exciting and effective  ways .  Also, that kids with poor attention spans or from lower income (where mom/ day can’t work from home  ) would basically be left behind . That will break many teachers hearts.

So often it came down to teachers age , outstanding health risks , and interaction with older family that couldn’t be avoided ..were factors in the teachers I spoke with who were concerned . 

Some of the teachers who were very well off and concerned simply took the year off,  however given Revenue shortfalls coming and subsequent budget cuts and lack of a stimulus so far ..hopefully they can be rehired next year, but that is up in the air .

 

 

[Baroclinic Zone]

I will say my daughter is thriving thus far taking classes remotely.   I know she's not the norm but she's enjoying her classes and teachers.

[ORH_wxman]

16 minutes ago, STILL N OF PIKE said:

I could tell you there was a significant divide , basically similar to the general public . Thou there were more general willingness to go back in person for youngest kids but still a ton of disagreements .

Reason being almost every single teacher new the level of education via various studies the kids were getting via remote would be (poor) and  Not pretty good or decent (for elementary specifically) but well below average ..but also dependent on kids attention spans and teachers working themselves to death putting extra effort into transforming lesson plans on line in exciting and effective  ways .  Also, that kids with poor attention spans or from lower income (where mom/ day can’t work from home  ) would basically be left behind . That will break many teachers hearts.

So often it came down to teachers age , outstanding health risks , and interaction with older family that couldn’t be avoided ..were factors in the teachers I spoke with who were concerned . 

Some of the teachers who were very well off and concerned simply took the year off,  however given Revenue shortfalls coming and subsequent budget cuts and lack of a stimulus so far ..hopefully they can be rehired next year, but that is up in the air .

 

 

There's been more reluctance to have elementary school age kids go remote here. We've seen the high schools be more willing to cancel in-person and go remote if a case pops up vs the younger kids. It makes sense as the younger kids are hurt more by remote and they can't do it from home by themselves like high schoolers can....they obviously need a parent home. As someone once said, there are no solutions, just trade-offs.

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

We’re not allowed to post how other countries are faring with covid? 

[Baroclinic Zone]

7 minutes ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

We’re not allowed to post how other countries are faring with covid? 

Nope,  That's out of the realm of New England.  We want to keep the discussion as it pertains to here as much as possible.

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

8 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Nope,  That's out of the realm of New England.  We want to keep the discussion as it pertains to here as much as possible.

Gotchya. 

[Cold Miser]

2 hours ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

Gotchya. 

Do it again, and you will get a 30 day ban. Bob is getting restless.
 

[correnjim1]

12 minutes ago, Cold Miser said:

Do it again, and you will get a 30 day ban. Bob is getting restless.
 

i hear Asgard is getting hit pretty hard oops lol

[NECT]

It's surprising how many people who are not teachers nor directly involved in education know so much about how teachers feel about in-person vs. remote teaching. It's also interesting how much people who have never really been involved with teachers' unions know about their activities.

[Baroclinic Zone]

31 minutes ago, Cold Miser said:

Do it again, and you will get a 30 day ban. Bob is getting restless.
 

I'm ruthless.  I toss out suspensions like Pez dispenser.

18 minutes ago, correnjim1 said:

i hear Asgard is getting hit pretty hard oops lol

Thor's not around to save it.