In this time of Pandemic

[kujonicus]

10 hours ago, ardillacid said:

If the dude at taco (so tasty) (so tasty) (so tasty) Bell is essential, teachers are essential. 

There is no legal definition of “essential worker” at play here. The people who work at my local BurgerFi has the phrase “proud to be an essential worker” on the back of their lime green work t-shirts. Far as I can tell, it’s just a term we’ve used to convey emotional connection with people whose job we want/need them to fulfill.  If we were serious about it, though, and we wanted such people to experience some actual renumeration for all this gratitude we have for them, we could, say, give them tax incentives or state-sponsored bonuses for working in these fields. Maybe even subsidize the health insurance they’re likely to need to make use of, given their larger than average exposure rates. 
 

But we’re not serious. Just like we weren’t serious about “the heroes” after 9/11–you know, the ones who’ve had to go down to Congress and beg for money to take care of medical bills from the cancer they got from working at Ground Zero? That dude at taco (so tasty) (so tasty) Bell is gonna make minimum wage, which unless you live in a blue state, is probably barely enough to pay his cell phone bill at the end of the month. But he’ll have a dope shirt that says “essential worker” on it!

Edited November 24, 2020 by kujonicus

[Didacus]

15 hours ago, elizabeth09 said:

What do you mean "in the long run?"

Yes, teacher are importing, but is it better online, then going to school right now?

Teachers have been having a hard time teaching online especially in the younger ages of students.

I mean 'lomg term' is that kids can forego school all together for 6 months or maybe a bit more, but eventually teachers will be needed to catch up the lost time.

Teachers are essential in the sense that indo not believe society as we know it would survive without them.  Heck i believe teachers should make as much as lawyers or doctors - that's how importsnt theybare in my opinion.

However, faced with a pandemic... doctors have a bit of an edge on teachers - that's just common sense.

[kujonicus]

32 minutes ago, Didacus said:

However, faced with a pandemic... doctors have a bit of an edge on teachers - that's just common sense.

Doctors also get paid quite a bit more than teachers, and also chose to make a career in the medical and public health sector. 

[Jaime]

7 hours ago, kujonicus said:

You’re not a public school teacher, are you? 
 

Because if you were, and you were suffering through “blended learning” / “simultaneous teaching,” you’d never ever say something like “the instructor is working, but the student has to work harder.” That may make sense in your brain, where you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about, but in the real world, it’s very much NOT the case. 
 

At all. Not even a little. 

+ 1 billion

 

Not sure if you watch the show Schitts Creek on Netflix, but there’s a great video someone made about teachers begging for guidance on just what the heck we’re doing this year with blended learning: “Just fold it in”

 

I think through this scene at least 5 times a day. 

I was a public school teacher for five years.  

 

While you may misinterpret my post (and misquote it grammatically) my point was students have to work harder and parents have to work harder than when the student is in class.  Students are suffering with online learning and it's unnecessary.  Parents are as well.  the CDC reports that children from 8th grade and below are unaffected by COVID.  But the damage from this type of learning will be long lasting. 

Still in disagreement?

[kujonicus]

6 minutes ago, Jaime said:

I was a public school teacher for five years.  

 

While you may misinterpret my post (and misquote it grammatically) my point was students have to work harder and parents have to work harder than when the student is in class.  Students are suffering with online learning and it's unnecessary.  Parents are as well.  the CDC reports that children from 8th grade and below 

Still in disagreement?

You were a public school teacher, which means you aren’t one currently, which also means you aren’t in a position to speak on behalf of those of us who are actually in the position of having to teach this year. 
 

As to your thoughts on students and parents having to work harder, tough. We’re all in it. In-person, online, blended, mobile, flex—it’s all brand new, and it’s all extemporaneous. I haven’t seen my 75 year old father, who lives less than 2 miles away from me, since August because I’m exposed every day and he’s immunocompromised. Other teachers are in the same position, or worse. An older teacher in my school district just died (of COVID) after her principal denied her requests to teach virtually to begin the school year.

And you can target my grammar when you clean up that sentence fragment at the end of your post, mmmk?

[Jaime]

5 minutes ago, kujonicus said:

You were a public school teacher, which means you aren’t one currently, which also means you aren’t in a position to speak on behalf of those of us who are actually in the position of having to teach this year. 
 

As to your thoughts on students and parents having to work harder, tough. We’re all in it. In-person, online, blended, mobile, flex—it’s all brand new, and it’s all extemporaneous. I haven’t seen my 75 year old father, who lives less than 2 miles away from me, since August because I’m exposed every day and he’s immunocompromised. Other teachers are in the same position, or worse. An older teacher in my school district just died (of COVID) after her principal denied her requests to teach virtually to begin the school year.

And you can target my grammar when you clean up that sentence fragment at the end of your post, mmmk?

I'm targeting your inability to quote me properly and my inability to not hit the return key with my fat thumb before I'm done.

So I reject the "you're not currently a teacher so you can't have an opinion" argument.  Mostly because it's stupid.  I'm not speaking on behalf of teachers.(and btw you don't get to speak on behalf of all teachers either) I'm speaking about my own thoughts on this. And my thoughts are based on the evidence that has been gathered.  If students aren't at grave risk, they should be taught in school.  The average age of school teachers is 42 which also puts them in the not at grave risk category.  

If teachers are immunocompromised or older than 50, why can't they teach from home while paras maintain classes?  

There are studies that show this type of learning exacerbates achievement gaps.  That it disproportionally affects students living in poor areas and the effects could be irreversible.  

 

If that is all true, is your response still "tough"?

[picchick]

On 11/23/2020 at 10:21 AM, elizabeth09 said:

I think so, because homeschooling is better for the child.

Not in all circumstances.  I know a few families that homeschooling was not better for the children.  

 

I think that teachers can be considered essential.  I think that children need to be educated and not all parents are equipped to educate like a teacher is.  The problem I see right now is that not all children can learn virtually.  My nephew is one of those kids.  He does not grasp a concept as well as he would if he were at school.  It is partially the environment and partially the way school had to throw together a virtual learning resource.

[Jaime]

4 hours ago, kujonicus said:

Doctors also get paid quite a bit more than teachers, and also chose to make a career in the medical and public health sector. 

Teachers get paid quite a bit more than the taco (so tasty) bell worker. Teachers also chose to work in the public sector.  Neither of these points have any relevance whatsoever to the question at hand btw.

[picchick]

On 11/22/2020 at 12:15 PM, Hna.Caridad said:

Essential workers or sacrificial workers?

Why would they be sacrificial?

On 11/22/2020 at 5:30 PM, elizabeth09 said:

Define essential workers

"According to the U..S Department of Homeland Security, essential workers are those who conduct a range of operations and services that are typically essential to continue critical infrastructure operations"

I think it is workers that are needed to keep society running on a basic level.  Think about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

[Didacus]

On 11/24/2020 at 10:15 AM, kujonicus said:

Doctors also get paid quite a bit more than teachers, and also chose to make a career in the medical and public health sector. 

The challenge and effort in becoming a doctor is more so than becomong a teacher as well.

Don't teachers choose to work in public as well?  Although not medical...

[elizabeth09]

I think it is up to the school district to make the call.  If I was one of the people, I might have school online. 

[fides' Jack]

On 11/22/2020 at 4:30 PM, elizabeth09 said:

Define essential workers

Every living person.

On 11/24/2020 at 5:09 AM, kujonicus said:

That dude at taco (so tasty) (so tasty) (so tasty) Bell is gonna make minimum wage, which unless you live in a blue state, is probably barely enough to pay his cell phone bill at the end of the month.

And if you do live in a blue state, the cost of living is so enormously high that the increased "minimum wage" doesn't do a beaver dam thing to help you.

22 hours ago, picchick said:

Not in all circumstances.  I know a few families that homeschooling was not better for the children.  

I could see private schooling can be better for some children.  But public school is worse for all children, 100% of the time.  And, imo, unless there's extreme necessity, sending your kids to public school now constitutes grave matter.

23 hours ago, kujonicus said:

An older teacher in my school district just died (of COVID) after her principal denied her requests to teach virtually to begin the school year.

I no longer believe stories like this.  What other comorbidities did this teacher have?  Did she have terminal cancer at the same time, or something similar?  If so, she didn't die of the wuhan virus, and it's morally corrupt for the CDC to claim that she did.  No other condition has ever been counted the way the wuhan virus has, in terms of numbers of deaths.

[fides' Jack]

On 11/23/2020 at 11:49 AM, Jaime said:

That would be great! I know several families that are homeschooling and it's worked out.  But in real life, very few families have the financial means or the proper skill sets to homeschool.  

As is the case with every single skill, there's only one way to learn.

[picchick]

8 hours ago, fides' Jack said:

As is the case with every single skill, there's only one way to learn.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

8 hours ago, fides' Jack said:

Every living person.

 

Can you explain how you mean every living person is an essential worker?

[Jaime]

I have a nine year old ukulele student who is quite talented and totally adorable

 

 

not an essential worker.  Doesn’t even have a job!