Spring Banter

[PhineasC]

Saw a stat that 80% of teachers are now vaccinated, yet many large districts refuse to return to school. This issue is bigger and more complicated than just "getting jabs in arms"...

[ORH_wxman]

My wife's school district banned any remote learning if you weren't in covid protocol. If you just didn't feel like going to school because you were sick (non-covid), you are absent that day and no remote learning. They just went back full time....previously was a hybrid model.

[PhineasC]

Just now, ORH_wxman said:

My wife's school district banned any remote learning if you weren't in covid protocol. If you just didn't feel like going to school because you were sick (non-covid), you are absent that day and no remote learning.

If you are in "COVID protocol" is there a separate teacher to teach you during that time, or are you on Zoom with the rest of your class?

[ORH_wxman]

Just now, PhineasC said:

If you are in "COVID protocol" is there a separate teacher to teach you during that time, or are you on Zoom with the rest of your class?

You are on zoom with the same teacher. But the reason they banned others from doing that is because they want the teachers to just be teaching the class in-person and not to have to multi-task teaching both in person and remote at the same time. Most teachers don't have any students in covid protocol at any given time.

[Brian5671]

11 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Many, many parents are not even going to get themselves vaccinated, much less vaccinate their 12-18 year old kids...

yeah i get that, but from the school's point of view-we're open, you have the chance to get vaccinated so if you don't that's on you.

[PhineasC]

Just now, ORH_wxman said:

You are on zoom with the same teacher. But the reason they banned others from doing that is because they want the teachers to just be teaching the class in-person and not to have to multi-task teaching both in person and remote at the same time. Most teachers don't have any students in covid protocol at any given time.

That's good. A permanent version of what you described with some students always remote and therefore everyone on Zoom all day is what "in person" means here in MD in most schools. I think many schools are going to remain like this for a long time to come, but I could be wrong.

[PhineasC]

1 minute ago, Brian5671 said:

yeah i get that, but from the school's point of view-we're open, you have the chance to get vaccinated so if you don't that's on you.

If you don't get vaccinated you can't go to school and therefore need to stay remote... that's exactly what I am talking about.

[Lava Rock]

26 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Saw a stat that 80% of teachers are now vaccinated, yet many large districts refuse to return to school. This issue is bigger and more complicated than just "getting jabs in arms"...

this is just the beginning. I'm sure a lot of the remote, work-from-home folks that have been vaccinated still won't feel safe and make a case they should be able to stay home forever.

[Lava Rock]

The maine online vax sign up is log jammed. Every time I try to get a slot, the sites either crash or show an appt time, but by the time you fill out your name and such, it says appt is not avail. Wonder how many people will say f-it.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

2 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

this is just the beginning. I'm sure a lot of the remote, work-from-home folks that have been vaccinated still won't feel safe and make a case they should be able to stay home forever.

People don’t want to relinquish the work from home stuff, that’s at least part of it.

Teachers unions, especially the larger ones, continue to spin the wheel of reasons why teachers can’t go back, citing variants and all that stuff.

If you’re vaccinated and still don’t want to return to classrooms, why is that? Is it safety? Or is it teaching from home on zoom is a good gig, despite everyone trying to tell us it’s harder.

[Hoth]

23 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

My wife's school district banned any remote learning if you weren't in covid protocol. If you just didn't feel like going to school because you were sick (non-covid), you are absent that day and no remote learning. They just went back full time....previously was a hybrid model.

My mother is a teacher, and having to both teach in person and conduct separate remote learning lessons with students who are either in quarantine or staying out of school for other reasons is like having a whole second job. The amount of extra prep work she has to do is unreal. She's working I-banking analyst type hours.

[PhineasC]

8 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

this is just the beginning. I'm sure a lot of the remote, work-from-home folks that have been vaccinated still won't feel safe and make a case they should be able to stay home forever.

The CDC and media will help them make that case by talking about "double mutant variants" that are vaccine-resistant and the hordes of unvaccinated people still out there. It's already in motion.

[BrianW]

To those in CT on wells I highly recommend getting your well tested for Arsenic and Uranium. A friend in Guilford had a well that was dangerously high in Uranium. 

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/usgs-state-health-officials-warn-of-possible-high-levels-of-arsenic-and-uranium-in-some-private-conn-wells/2460394/

[WhitinsvilleWX]

17 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

this is just the beginning. I'm sure a lot of the remote, work-from-home folks that have been vaccinated still won't feel safe and make a case they should be able to stay home forever.

This is true.

I personally know a few people in my division (who haven't been in one time since we got sent home in March 2020) that have said they don't feel safe back in the office even after vaccination. Mean while  my crew and I have been back in the lab since last June. 

I think some have gotten used to staying at home on zoom in their PJ's. 

[Lava Rock]

4 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

This is true.

I personally know a few people in my division (who haven't been in one time since we got sent home in March 2020) that have said they don't feel safe back in the office even after vaccination. Mean while  my crew and I have been back in the lab since last June. 

I think some have gotten used to staying at home on zoom in their PJ's. 

I worked from home last march/apr for ~3 weeks total and went back full time. Can't run lab exps from home.

[Typhoon Tip]

14 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

This is true.

I personally know a few people in my division (who haven't been in one time since we got sent home in March 2020) that have said they don't feel safe back in the office even after vaccination. Mean while  my crew and I have been back in the lab since last June. 

I think some have gotten used to staying at home on zoom in their PJ's. 

Humans are deceptive ... in this case, 'guisers'  

They hide their desire for ease and comforts behind a guise of that concern, a film of virtuosity, purported by a fear of safety aspect - when what they are really after, but feel they need to be dishonest about ...is not having to smell bad breath in a company meeting, and listen to some other workoholic drone on about quarterly mission statements - answer to bosses they loathe in person. Or deal with other people they have to pretend are part of a corporate 'family' in general.  To mention, commuting and giving 45 - per average per capita - hours a week to interior of one's car, or public hustle and bustle of T-stops...etc...etc... in other words, they've found comfort doing their gigs as societal shut-ins and they fear losing it, so instead of being honest, ...they lie, and hide behind that nonsense... 

And the beauty of it is, since we live in a 'WOKE' era now...we are not allowed to challenge other people's 'feelings' or we're shaders -  brilliant!

[WhitinsvilleWX]

4 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

I worked from home last march/apr for ~3 weeks total and went back full time. Can't run lab exps from home.

yea, true enough. The people I'm talking about are all in silico people. My company has made it pretty plain that they expect folks to be in the office 2-3 days a week ones this is over. How one defines "over" is the trick.

Once this dragged on into May, I told my wife it took one day to send everyone home, but it will take 1-2 years to go back. We're already into year 2

[Lava Rock]

4 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

yea, true enough. The people I'm talking about are all in silico people. My company has made it pretty plain that they expect folks to be in the office 2-3 days a week ones this is over. How one defines "over" is the trick.

By why only 2-3 days and not 5 days? I think you're going to say to decrease chance of infection due to fewer days people are exposed, similar to how some schools have done this. But, where's the data that shows that anything less than M-F in-person leads to fewer outbreaks and infections?

[PhineasC]

5 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Don't forget the variant articles out there saying children are in danger. Unions will love this.  Mentions more lockdowns too.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/04/04/biden-covid-official-warns-game-changing-variant-infects-kids-very-readily-and-could-spur-new-lockdowns/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwjLib2vyuzvAhUNFFkFHaVjBdUQFjAOegQIHhAC&usg=AOvVaw0I28usv8cm2t2YtYtkfImj&ampcf=1

Yes, the false dichotomy that will be presented to parents is that they must choose to either (1) risk their children's lives with scary and dangerous variants of COVID or (2) get them injected with an experimental vaccine that is under emergency use authorization only. They will try to force the decision by making the COVID vaccine mandatory to return to school (and do other things, as well).

[WhitinsvilleWX]

5 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

By why only 2-3 days and not 5 days? I think you're going to say to decrease chance of infection due to fewer days people are exposed, similar to how some schools have done this. But, where's the data that shows that anything less than M-F in-person leads to fewer outbreaks and infections?

Doesn't really have anything to do with infections. A lot of companies will go to a hybrid model of work, mine included, because people got used to it. But I don't think they want the majority remote like they are now. Where I work, on any given day, campus census across 5 locations MIGHT be 10-12% of normal, 

[PhineasC]

7 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

yea, true enough. The people I'm talking about are all in silico people. My company has made it pretty plain that they expect folks to be in the office 2-3 days a week ones this is over. How one defines "over" is the trick.

Once this dragged on into May, I told my wife it took one day to send everyone home, but it will take 1-2 years to go back. We're already into year 2

My customer is the Federal govt, and they are showing zero signs of returning to in-person support. This may not change until the administration changes again.

[ORH_wxman]

39 minutes ago, Hoth said:

My mother is a teacher, and having to both teach in person and conduct separate remote learning lessons with students who are either in quarantine or staying out of school for other reasons is like having a whole second job. The amount of extra prep work she has to do is unreal. She's working I-banking analyst type hours.

Yep, they can't stand doing online lessons. It's a lot of extra work to do both.

[ORH_wxman]

10 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

Doesn't really have anything to do with infections. A lot of companies will go to a hybrid model of work, mine included, because people got used to it. But I don't think they want the majority remote like they are now. Where I work, on any given day, campus census across 5 locations MIGHT be 10-12% of normal, 

I was already working from home 3-4 days per week before the pandemic. It was about the company saving money on real estate. They were transitioning to desk-shares or hot-desking which means they can reduce the real estate footprint by like 30-50%.

[PhineasC]

Despite the many "jabs" going into arms, there are fewer students in the Northeast in school five days a week than prior months...

https://apnews.com/article/survey-schools-reopen-many-students-still-learn-remotely-e4d47c469e5bbd96868766771064f620

Quote

As in January, the new results showed dramatic disparities based on region and race. In the South, slightly more than half of all fourth graders were learning entirely at school in February, an uptick from the month before. In the same period, by contrast, the Northeast saw a decrease in the rate of students learning in the classroom five days a week, from 23% to 19%.

 

[CoastalWx]

I think many will WFH due to quality of life issues vs some sort of fear of the rona and variants. I do miss the inter-office talk and there is something to be said about being in person for career growth and mentoring....things like that. I think a fair share will go back into the office, but likely not for 5 days/week. But, many compare it to a quality of life issue. No traffic, more time for personal stuff, time with family etc. Myself and the millions of other people commuting in ern MA certainly do not miss the traffic. For me personally, I do not like being home each day.....but man I am enjoying not having to fight traffic and adjust my daily schedule due to commute purposes. 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

21 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

 They were transitioning to desk-shares or hot-desking which means they can reduce the real estate footprint by like 30-50%.

My company has been doing remodel on all the locations. They are going to open concept. Even the VPs are out with the hoi polloi. They claim it's to "promote collaboration", but the real reason is they can stuff twice as many into the same square footage.   

We've been hot desking since the pandemic. Everyone stored their stuff in boxes. We have "green" desks and "red" desks. Green you can book with the booking tool, red you cant book (distancing issues). 

I got my folks exempted. I moved them to desks that are sufficiently distanced. We do image analysis using AI tools in addition to lab work and need the big huge monitors. That doesn't work to well if someone who pushes papers all day books your desk with a two 32" monitors. 

[PhineasC]

Just now, WhitinsvilleWX said:

My company has been doing remodel on all the locations. They are going to open concept. Even the VPs are out with the hoi polloi. They claim it's to "promote collaboration", but the real reason is they can stuff twice as many into the same square footage.   

We've been hot desking since the pandemic. Everyone stored their stuff in boxes. We have "green" desks and "red" desks. Green you can book with the booking tool, red you cant book (distancing issues). 

I got my folks exempted. I moved them to desks that are sufficiently distanced. We do image analysis using AI tools in addition to lab work and need the big huge monitors. That doesn't work to well if someone who pushes papers all day books your desk with a two 32" monitors. 

Oh god... open concept. 

[HoarfrostHubb]

1 hour ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

People don’t want to relinquish the work from home stuff, that’s at least part of it.

Teachers unions, especially the larger ones, continue to spin the wheel of reasons why teachers can’t go back, citing variants and all that stuff.

If you’re vaccinated and still don’t want to return to classrooms, why is that? Is it safety? Or is it teaching from home on zoom is a good gig, despite everyone trying to tell us it’s harder.

I worked from home for a little bit over the winter.  It was awful for me.  Today is the second to last "full remote" day for my district.  (4 days with kids in the building,1 with kids at home) 

It sucks so much.  I so prefer the kids in person.  I find it pretty close to double the work (we are doing hybrid) - preparing for both in person and at home kids sucks.    

[HoarfrostHubb]

40 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Despite the many "jabs" going into arms, there are fewer students in the Northeast in school five days a week than prior months...

https://apnews.com/article/survey-schools-reopen-many-students-still-learn-remotely-e4d47c469e5bbd96868766771064f620

 

March and April are reversing those trends.. in Mass, all elementary are 5 days a week starting this week (my hometown has been 5 days a week since the start of the school year).  Middle schools and HS by April 28

[HoarfrostHubb]

1 hour ago, PhineasC said:

That's good. A permanent version of what you described with some students always remote and therefore everyone on Zoom all day is what "in person" means here in MD in most schools. I think many schools are going to remain like this for a long time to come, but I could be wrong.

Another option is like what my building is doing.  For parents who want kids home (for the remainder of this school year), a set of teachers is teaching them exclusively.  I will have all of my kids in person (right now I have half at a time...splitting the week) with none of my kids remote.   In the fall, I expect 100% of the kids to be either in the building or in some other type of program... there have been online schools for a while...maybe those that want to stay remote join those?

I got so excited when I had some of my lab tables returned to my room today...even though hands on labs will be near impossible with 28 kids in the room.  

 

Anyway, lunch over...back to work