I am an advocate of opening schools. We have enough global research data to know that schools are not major vectors for spreading the virus. The kids and teachers who are getting it are most often getting it elsewhere and not spreading it at school.
Has anyone considered suing the teachers union? They clearly do not have the best interest of our children in mind with this continued lockdown or should I say lockout.
I think you are absolutely correct in making this assertation. There is something not right about a child being so dependent on school that they commit suicide when they cannot be there. Nor can I fathom how a nine or eleven year old are even in a position to consider suicide. Once again, I see a need for raising children in faith, teaching them to be independent and responsible. Kids who commit suicide clearly feel helpless.
Not being a parent...well, of anything that doesn't have hooves or paws...I probably shouldn't comment, but...I DO remember being a kid. Not very well, because it was a very long time ago, and times have changed, but....
Parents are stressed, too...and stressed parents communicate stress to kids, even when they are trying not to do so. Not all parents can be home with them...sometimes older siblings are doing the job of parent because Mommy and/or Daddy are in "essential" jobs, sometimes when the parent is home, they are looking at mounting stacks of bills and dwindling savings and wondering if they can survive. The younger you are, the more your parents being stressed and upset frightens you...and with all normal outlets for release of stress closed by the isolation, a lot of kids are living in what must feel like a permanent state of fear and despair.
I mean, remember, when you were a kid, how endless the stretch of time was between each Christmas?
Erick, I agree and disagree. I do think we have a dearth in parent-child relationships leading to more suicide, a tragedy already recognized in schools as increasing before the pandemic.
While opening schools seems rational, given the evidence accumulating as the pandemic continues, we cannot ignore other warnings in the same studies to suit our inclinations. For example, all of the evidence points to necessary distinctions in age groups, such as high schools that may present a real challenge since transmission rates are often equally prevalent in teenagers at the same rates of adults. Additionally, a critical caveat, which often seems undiscussed in the rhetoric for opening schools - at least from what I have heard - is that safe outcomes with schools remaining seems dependent on the current community status for COVID-19. If the community rates increase, more transmission is likely to occur within schools, and high schools are likely to have the highest risks. Many communities right now are facing dangerously high positivity rates and these factors should be considered with greater weight when discussing school openings.
Agreed. The evidence is pretty clear. Put 'em back in school. And push hard on the vaccines. Meanwhile, I think we can reasonably expect to be back to normal by the new school year (2021-22).
As a professor at UNLV, I teach those Clark County teachers. I can say with authority that a good part of the problem is the uncertainty of it all, not the remote learning. The district leaves decisions to the schools, the schools waver depending on what parents want, and the teachers are blamed for not providing enough support. If districts (around the country) would listen to the teacher and plan instead of react, I think the students would be much better off. I have one teacher (teaching in high school) who was told last semester that they were going back, then not, then remote for the rest of the semester, but students had to be online with cameras on for entire class periods, maintaining the same number of "seat time" minutes as in face-to-face classes. Then, this same teacher was told that if students logged in once on Monday, they had to be marked present for full class periods all week. Then she was informed that no student could have less than 50% (minimum F) on any assignment if they turned in anything--even a blank document. THEN, this same teacher was instructed to have only four graded assignments for the semester. Is it any wonder there are exacerbated mental health issues? Teachers (and students) are building the parachutes after they've been pushed out of the superintendent's airplane.
My daughter teaches elementary here in GA. She is half her students in the classroom and half on Zoom simultaneously. That means kids are on screen for 7 hours a day AND the teacher has to prepare double presentations because what works on Zoom doesn't work as well face-to-face, and what works face-to-face doesn't translate to Zoom. It's ridiculous.
I said back in April that quarantine was an opportunity to redefine school. There was an opportunity to build classrooms and hire teachers so that there were never more than 22 students in a classroom (physical distancing made possible). The options for remote learning should have been handled by teachers who were comfortable with the technology and who understand that screen time needs to be limited so that students can work off line. Zoom fatigue is real for both teachers and students.
Administrators and districts who ignore the studies about what remote education looks like have created this mess. And the mental health issues, in my opinion, are on their shoulders. It was possible to create a new paradigm of education/schooling. It didn't happen. As a result, parents are frustrated and helpless, teachers are frustrated and burnt out, and students don't know where to turn for help.
My child has gone to school this year per "normal" (private school) Masks, distance...zero issues. Distance teaching is simply not that mysterious...sure different, but the lack of flexibility has really astounded me.
Great article, but sad that is about this subject. Parents and (in my case Grandparents) need to get more involved with their children (grandchildren). Our grandchildren love to come to MIMI and PAWPAWs and spend time. They want to learn and we offer them an outlet for that while they are out of school. Our 6 year went back to 1st grade today and we certainly hope he is safe. But more than that, we hope he learns and understands what is going on around him.
I am a psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I earn a living from tragedy and human suffering. I don't have so many suicides in the children that I treat. The thing that worries me is that they are missing out on an education and I fear they will be lost in the future to what they have missed in terms of classroom instruction. Many of the parents are Covid phobic and are pushing the children to stay home when they want to return to the classroom. This occurs especially in certain ethnic and minority populations. I did talk a 10 year old out of committing suicide and he had a plan and ended up going to the hospital only to come to me with depression and thoughts of killing himself again. I used my magic and expertise to help him through his feelings and to become more rational. He is much improved with medication and therapy. He has a committed loving family and a stay at home mom. I am so grateful for the work that I do. It is holy and sacred. I am tired and many of us doing this work are tired and weary and on the edge of burn out. So keep us lifted up so that we can continue to do this work and hopefully be there to prevent someone from committing suicide.
So what if there is more to it than the insane response of this nation to the coronavirus? Absent this it is highly likely that most of these suicides would not have occurred. As the CDC states if Covid is involved in any way whatsoever call it a Covid death.
My friends in Massachusetts who are spooked about covid say they have bars & restaurants limited or closed but the schools have been open. Georgia is the opposite
Has anyone considered suing the teachers union? They clearly do not have the best interest of our children in mind with this continued lockdown or should I say lockout.
I think you are absolutely correct in making this assertation. There is something not right about a child being so dependent on school that they commit suicide when they cannot be there. Nor can I fathom how a nine or eleven year old are even in a position to consider suicide. Once again, I see a need for raising children in faith, teaching them to be independent and responsible. Kids who commit suicide clearly feel helpless.
we simply need to go back to "normal" life. Wear a mask, distance, wash your hands, but get back to normal life. Live.
Yes we do and that looks like it may be happening.
Not being a parent...well, of anything that doesn't have hooves or paws...I probably shouldn't comment, but...I DO remember being a kid. Not very well, because it was a very long time ago, and times have changed, but....
Parents are stressed, too...and stressed parents communicate stress to kids, even when they are trying not to do so. Not all parents can be home with them...sometimes older siblings are doing the job of parent because Mommy and/or Daddy are in "essential" jobs, sometimes when the parent is home, they are looking at mounting stacks of bills and dwindling savings and wondering if they can survive. The younger you are, the more your parents being stressed and upset frightens you...and with all normal outlets for release of stress closed by the isolation, a lot of kids are living in what must feel like a permanent state of fear and despair.
I mean, remember, when you were a kid, how endless the stretch of time was between each Christmas?
Erick, I agree and disagree. I do think we have a dearth in parent-child relationships leading to more suicide, a tragedy already recognized in schools as increasing before the pandemic.
While opening schools seems rational, given the evidence accumulating as the pandemic continues, we cannot ignore other warnings in the same studies to suit our inclinations. For example, all of the evidence points to necessary distinctions in age groups, such as high schools that may present a real challenge since transmission rates are often equally prevalent in teenagers at the same rates of adults. Additionally, a critical caveat, which often seems undiscussed in the rhetoric for opening schools - at least from what I have heard - is that safe outcomes with schools remaining seems dependent on the current community status for COVID-19. If the community rates increase, more transmission is likely to occur within schools, and high schools are likely to have the highest risks. Many communities right now are facing dangerously high positivity rates and these factors should be considered with greater weight when discussing school openings.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/01/three-studies-highlight-low-covid-risk-person-school
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/indicators.html#thresholds
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/risk-comms-updates/update39-covid-and-schools.pdf
https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1473-3099%2820%2930927-0
Well it seems now Biden says, all systems go!
Agreed. The evidence is pretty clear. Put 'em back in school. And push hard on the vaccines. Meanwhile, I think we can reasonably expect to be back to normal by the new school year (2021-22).
As a professor at UNLV, I teach those Clark County teachers. I can say with authority that a good part of the problem is the uncertainty of it all, not the remote learning. The district leaves decisions to the schools, the schools waver depending on what parents want, and the teachers are blamed for not providing enough support. If districts (around the country) would listen to the teacher and plan instead of react, I think the students would be much better off. I have one teacher (teaching in high school) who was told last semester that they were going back, then not, then remote for the rest of the semester, but students had to be online with cameras on for entire class periods, maintaining the same number of "seat time" minutes as in face-to-face classes. Then, this same teacher was told that if students logged in once on Monday, they had to be marked present for full class periods all week. Then she was informed that no student could have less than 50% (minimum F) on any assignment if they turned in anything--even a blank document. THEN, this same teacher was instructed to have only four graded assignments for the semester. Is it any wonder there are exacerbated mental health issues? Teachers (and students) are building the parachutes after they've been pushed out of the superintendent's airplane.
My daughter teaches elementary here in GA. She is half her students in the classroom and half on Zoom simultaneously. That means kids are on screen for 7 hours a day AND the teacher has to prepare double presentations because what works on Zoom doesn't work as well face-to-face, and what works face-to-face doesn't translate to Zoom. It's ridiculous.
I said back in April that quarantine was an opportunity to redefine school. There was an opportunity to build classrooms and hire teachers so that there were never more than 22 students in a classroom (physical distancing made possible). The options for remote learning should have been handled by teachers who were comfortable with the technology and who understand that screen time needs to be limited so that students can work off line. Zoom fatigue is real for both teachers and students.
Administrators and districts who ignore the studies about what remote education looks like have created this mess. And the mental health issues, in my opinion, are on their shoulders. It was possible to create a new paradigm of education/schooling. It didn't happen. As a result, parents are frustrated and helpless, teachers are frustrated and burnt out, and students don't know where to turn for help.
My child has gone to school this year per "normal" (private school) Masks, distance...zero issues. Distance teaching is simply not that mysterious...sure different, but the lack of flexibility has really astounded me.
exactly
Great article, but sad that is about this subject. Parents and (in my case Grandparents) need to get more involved with their children (grandchildren). Our grandchildren love to come to MIMI and PAWPAWs and spend time. They want to learn and we offer them an outlet for that while they are out of school. Our 6 year went back to 1st grade today and we certainly hope he is safe. But more than that, we hope he learns and understands what is going on around him.
Keep up the good work, Erick!
I am a psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I earn a living from tragedy and human suffering. I don't have so many suicides in the children that I treat. The thing that worries me is that they are missing out on an education and I fear they will be lost in the future to what they have missed in terms of classroom instruction. Many of the parents are Covid phobic and are pushing the children to stay home when they want to return to the classroom. This occurs especially in certain ethnic and minority populations. I did talk a 10 year old out of committing suicide and he had a plan and ended up going to the hospital only to come to me with depression and thoughts of killing himself again. I used my magic and expertise to help him through his feelings and to become more rational. He is much improved with medication and therapy. He has a committed loving family and a stay at home mom. I am so grateful for the work that I do. It is holy and sacred. I am tired and many of us doing this work are tired and weary and on the edge of burn out. So keep us lifted up so that we can continue to do this work and hopefully be there to prevent someone from committing suicide.
So what if there is more to it than the insane response of this nation to the coronavirus? Absent this it is highly likely that most of these suicides would not have occurred. As the CDC states if Covid is involved in any way whatsoever call it a Covid death.
My friends in Massachusetts who are spooked about covid say they have bars & restaurants limited or closed but the schools have been open. Georgia is the opposite
The cause of death by suicide is greater than one - just like cancer.
Adults are stressed out also. We are more in control of our lives so we can cope better. Children can’t.
All the closing are about control. Next will be odd and even numbers to drive. (Pertains to waiting in line for gas in 1973).
It took courage to say this