Fall Banter and General Discussion

[Chrisrotary12]

1 hour ago, klw said:

I believe President Trump said he would support this during the campaign and some states have enacted it as state level holiday this year.

Surprise the little fella hasn't claimed responsibility for something that the states governors did.

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

3 hours ago, Cold Miser said:

I just learned today that where I work, Juneteenth is going to become a work holiday starting in June, 2021.

Awesome. As it should. 

[Hoth]

28 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

That was from yesterday and I didn’t see any sites that had that high of a number

Fair enough. I'll issue a retraction.

[HoarfrostHubb]

1 minute ago, Hoth said:

Fair enough. I'll issue a retraction.

It might wind up being true today but probably will be short of that 

[DavisStraight]

2 hours ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

Similar 

Mu guy is $1.50 right now

I'm usually burning wood by now but with the mild weather and cheap oil I haven't bothered yet.

[Damage In Tolland]

 

[weathafella]

150,000+ today and counting.  1088 deaths today and counting.  Thanksgiving in 2 weeks.  Terrible

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

10 minutes ago, weathafella said:

150,000+ today and counting.  1088 deaths today and counting.  Thanksgiving in 2 weeks.  Terrible

It’s unfortunate that the fed govt has given up. It’s down to the states and the local level to do what they can but some areas seem like they are fighting a forest fire with an extinguisher. It is what it is.

[Lava Rock]

Wife had to scold two people on two different flights for setting off in flight bathroom smoke alarm due to vaping. Wtf. How hard up can you be?

[weathafella]

2 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

Wife had to scold two people on two different flights for setting off in flight bathroom smoke alarm due to vaping. Wtf. How hard up can you be?

They’re lucky they weren’t arrested when they landed.   

[PhineasC]

Think twice before begging for lockdowns.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CDCgov/status/1326984370842906625

[Lava Rock]

They’re lucky they weren’t arrested when they landed.   

Yep, she could have reported them

[Inverted_Trough]

9 hours ago, OSUmetstud said:

 Ruin the economy, and then you are dependent on Government.  That sounds...like the direction the globe is headed. What an opportunity for a Reset of Capitalism . I'm being cynical and somewhat tongue in cheek ..but the fact remains their is tremendous opportunity 

Free market fundamentalism is dead.  Although I don't think Covid killed it.  Trump killed it back in 2016.  It's actually kind of refreshing to not have to hear about the trickle-down benefits of a capital gains tax cut.  Nobody buys that nonsense anymore.

[OSUmetstud]

22 minutes ago, Inverted_Trough said:

Free market fundamentalism is dead.  Although I don't think Covid killed it.  Trump killed it back in 2016.  It's actually kind of refreshing to not have to hear about the trickle-down benefits of a capital gains tax cut.  Nobody buys that nonsense anymore.

You meant to quote pickles. I didn't say this lol. 

[PhineasC]

13 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Governor Hogan actually spoke about this today referring to the increase in Md in suicides, substance abuse , domestic abuse,  child abuse. There's your cure worst then the virus.  It's real imo

Too many people are selfish and more concerned about themselves than kids. Keeping kids out of school and isolated has zero to do with keeping them safe. It is all about the adults.

I feel really bad for the only-children who are doing all remote learning. Just crushing isolation since March for them.

[mreaves]

18 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Too many people are selfish and more concerned about themselves than kids. Keeping kids out of school and isolated has zero to do with keeping them safe. It is all about the adults.

I feel really bad for the only-children who are doing all remote learning. Just crushing isolation since March for them.

Honestly, my 16 yo has adjusted pretty well. Of course he is by nature introverted but he interacts with friends from school online and we still did most normal things over the summer other than a big vacation. I understand he may be different than most kids but I think he is doing ok. 

[PhineasC]

1 minute ago, mreaves said:

Honestly, my 16 yo has adjusted pretty well. Of course he is by nature introverted but he interacts with friends from school online and we still did most normal things over the summer other than a big vacation. I understand he may be different than most kids but I think he is doing ok. 

Some kids are probably doing fine. Everyone reacts differently. It also helps that you live in a fairly rural area too. My kids have been doing very well since we pulled them from the school/jail environment and brought them up to rural NH. They were OK before but I have noticed an improvement since then.

An only child from a poorer family in NYC, Chicago, or other urban environment? Likely terrible for them.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Remote learning is great for some kids. But for many many kids it does not work. I just got to meet another cohort of my students today. For the last two months I only saw them through a screen.  I hope we can keep them coming to school but the community spread in the city is soaring. 

[natedizel]

11 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Honestly, my 16 yo has adjusted pretty well. Of course he is by nature introverted but he interacts with friends from school online and we still did most normal things over the summer other than a big vacation. I understand he may be different than most kids but I think he is doing ok. 

Well he is older. The younger kids need a teacher and class.

[PhineasC]

1 minute ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

Remote learning is great for some kids. But for many many kids it does not work. I just got to meet another cohort of my students today. For the last two months I only saw them through a screen.  I hope we can keep them coming to school but the community spread in the city is soaring. 

We pulled our kids for many reasons, but a big one was the fear and paranoia they were being taught in this "new normal." Teachers told them to not share with others, don't talk to others unless in predetermined ways at a distance, don't pick up the pencil your friend dropped, don't pick up that ball at recess, don't even turn your head to look back at students behind you (happened in our former school), and tattle on the rule breakers. It's pretty sick, if you ask me. Basically teaching them to be prison inmates. These are not good lessons. 

There is going to be a noticeable dent in the graph of future success for this generation of kids. It'll show up down the line. Losing a year and a half of school and social interaction is not good. I do not blame the teachers, I know they are trying within the confines of the rules. But remote learning just puts many kids further behind unless they have very diligent parents, and I'm sure you know those parents are in short-supply in many communities that historically struggle even with ample school programs and support structures in place.

We are just totally done with it.

[bwt3650]

I mentioned yesterday that the only position I will take on this so that there is no political implications is that we cannot keep kids out of school indefinitely.  So much damage has been done to them already and while many can adjust to virtual, there are so many who are suffering.  Say what you want about bars restaurants retail etc. (there are reasonable arguments for both keeping them open and limiting them and people can disagree) but Schools are an ESSENTIAL business.  We can find a way to operate Walmart, Home Depot etc., we must find a way to operate schools safely.  

[PhineasC]

3 minutes ago, bwt3650 said:

I mentioned yesterday that the only position I will take on this so that there is no political implications is that we cannot keep kids out of school indefinitely.  So much damage has been done to them already and while many can adjust to virtual, there are so many who are suffering.  Say what you want about bars restaurants retail etc. (there are reasonable arguments for both keeping them open and limiting them and people can disagree) but Schools are an ESSENTIAL business.  We can find a way to operate Walmart, Home Depot etc., we must find a way to operate schools safely.  

Especially since kids are really not at risk from COVID. The global data is clear on this. The flu and car crashes while being driven to school are deadlier to kids than COVID. Shutting down schools is NOT about keeping kids safe. It is basically a conscious choice to trade children's education and mental well-being for a small, possibly dubious increase in "safety" for adults...

[HoarfrostHubb]

The amount of effort put in by our custodial staff, admins, support staff and teacher, on a budget of close to zero, to make our building as safe as possible has been astounding.   I understand it is hard for a lot of kids and parents to accept the way it has been set up, the new rules etc. but if we are going to stay open we have to follow state and CDC guidelines as much as possible    I’m trying to make it fun and close to normal but damn it is hard. And the crap thrown at us by much of the public has been reprehensible.  We are not the ones closing the schools or writing the mandates.  Local elected school boards and health officials determine that 

[PhineasC]

3 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

The amount of effort put in by our custodial staff, admins, support staff and teacher, on a budget of close to zero, to make our building as safe as possible has been astounding.   I understand it is hard for a lot of kids and parents to accept the way it has been set up, the new rules etc. but if we are going to stay open we have to follow state and CDC guidelines as much as possible    I’m trying to make it fun and close to normal but damn it is hard. And the crap thrown at us by much of the public has been reprehensible.  We are not the ones closing the schools or writing the mandates.  Local elected school boards and health officials determine that 

There is only so much you can do. I have seen some teachers basically begging for schools to close and insinuating pretty heavily that having schools open could literally cause them to die, but the majority of teachers are doing everything they possibly can to carry kids forward through this as well as possible.

[bwt3650]

13 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

The amount of effort put in by our custodial staff, admins, support staff and teacher, on a budget of close to zero, to make our building as safe as possible has been astounding.   I understand it is hard for a lot of kids and parents to accept the way it has been set up, the new rules etc. but if we are going to stay open we have to follow state and CDC guidelines as much as possible    I’m trying to make it fun and close to normal but damn it is hard. And the crap thrown at us by much of the public has been reprehensible.  We are not the ones closing the schools or writing the mandates.  Local elected school boards and health officials determine that 

I think much of the "blame the teachers" is a knee jerk reaction to frustration.  Locally, there was a small group of teachers (mostly union reps) right before school was going to start who went into a busy downtown to protest the openings and march in the middle of the street.  Honestly, it left a bad taste to a lot of people and I think it was a mistake.  But we shouldn't group a whole profession by a few, whether you agree or disagree.  What I have seen personally is many teachers, including all three who teach my kids, busting their asses trying to make things work and showing more patience than I probably could.  Most teachers are showing right now that they took the job because they really care.  We should focus the frustration toward the real decision makers, who are often influenced by the few, instead of blaming all teachers.

[ORH_wxman]

Most teachers are frustrated (my wife included) because they feel like the schools are not getting much additional help at all despite the increased stress on the infrastructure and scheduling. 

The school admin in a lot of districts have been very tone deaf and not accommodating. 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

7 minutes ago, bwt3650 said:

I think much of the "blame the teachers" is a knee jerk reaction to frustration.  Locally, there was a small group of teachers (mostly union reps) right before school was going to start who went into a busy downtown to protest the openings and march in the middle of the street.  Honestly, it left a bad taste to a lot of people and I think it was a mistake.  But we shouldn't group a whole profession by a few, whether you agree or disagree.  What I have seen personally is many teachers, including all three who teach my kids, busting their asses trying to make things work and showing more patience than I probably could.  Most teachers are showing right now that they took the job because they really care.  We should focus the frustration toward the real decision makers, who are often influenced by the few, instead of blaming all teachers.

I’ve come to see a lot of this stuff has been pushed by upper level union leadership, not individual teachers. Seems what the union is pushing is not how most teachers feel 

[PhineasC]

Just now, ORH_wxman said:

Most teachers are frustrated (my wife included) because they feel like the schools are not getting much additional help at all despite the increased stress on the infrastructure and scheduling. 

The school admin in a lot of districts have been very tone deaf and not accommodating. 

I have a feeling that some school boards will use COVID as an excuse to cut staff and centralize/generalize/dumb-down the curriculum. I have already heard about layoffs for specialized teachers such as art/music teachers, special education teachers, and speech pathologists. Regular teachers could be next. It makes sense from a budget perspective, and the investments made in remote learning infrastructure will be hard to abandon even when they are no longer needed (sunk cost fallacy).

[Inverted_Trough]

This pandemic has been a goldmine for the Libertarian dream of home schooling the masses.  The Mises Institute and Ron Paul Curriculum are making a boatload of money off this pandemic and peddling their home schooling products.  I used to know quite a few Libertarian activists. Sure, they'd espouse their usual neoliberal philosophies, but they were especially passionate -- and obsessed - with homeschooling.  One o them even started their own company with their own home schooling curriculum.  With every crisis comes opportunity, they say.

[ORH_wxman]

12 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

I have a feeling that some school boards will use COVID as an excuse to cut staff and centralize/generalize/dumb-down the curriculum. I have already heard about layoffs for specialized teachers such as art/music teachers, special education teachers, and speech pathologists. Regular teachers could be next. It makes sense from a budget perspective, and the investments made in remote learning infrastructure will be hard to abandon even when they are no longer needed (sunk cost fallacy).

Yeah for some districts it’s going to be brutal. Luckily, my wife’s district was 1 to 1 (chrome books) even before covid so they didn’t have to invest in the technology. But for places that needed to invest, that’s a massive hole blown in the budget. 

The school administrations have shown to be conniving dipsh*ts for the most part. They are not afraid at all to throw teachers under the bus to cover for their incompetence in planning or delegating resources to this. It has made morale lower amongst the teachers which is exactly what you don’t want to be doing when their workload is drastically increased.

I already didn’t have a high opinion of school administrators before this....