I love the concept of people who refuse to take the vaccine because they think it will harm them also refuse to social distance and wear a mask when the virus is killing literally millions of people. Blows my mind.
Public Service Announcement for Youngsters 55 and older.
- Thread starter fowl_mood
- Start date
In a few months this will be a disease for the people who barely graduated high school who think they know more than a doctor. Hopefully everyone can stay patient and make it until then.
I know that I was required to be vaccinated for smallpox before being allowed to enroll in 1st grade at (the now-defunct) Battery Creek Elementary School in Beaufort.
Just curious - what steps have your child's school taken to safely conduct in-classroom learning?
Most of my elementary school teachers were in their 50s and 60s when they taught me. The youngest was a year or two out of school - she's a Winthrop alumna from Anderson who has some brothers who played on the Clemron football team during the last years of Frank Howard's reign.
Watching the Price is Right all day long is a disease in and of itself. 😉
Let's at least agree that the injections are designed to keep people from getting COVID-19 or at least making their case less severe.
hahnenkampf - Since technically these are not vaccine injections, can you offer an accurate (non-political, non-editorial) term we can use instead of vaccine?
First, let me apologize for calling you "selfish" in my earlier post. You're a decent guy and the personal attack wasn't necessary.
Before you blow the BS whistle, the bolded language above is not what I said. There have been both teachers and students who have tested positive, but no spread that was confirmed to have occurred within the school. Is it possible that someone may have contracted it within the school? Sure. But an aggressive quarantine strategy prevented a super spreader event and has allowed the kids to go back to school. They are in the home stretch now with numbers dropping and everyone hopeful that trend will continue. Is it possible that numbers are underreported? I suppose. But if there was a general feeling among the teachers in the district that they were severely underreported, I'm sure that the local teachers union would have raised hell. To my knowledge, they haven't.
And, yes, I have thanked God several times that we live in an area where the teachers union, the administration, and the parents all agreed that in-person learning was an absolute priority and they worked together to make it happen (with a lot of adjustments). I have also personally thanked the superintendent and the middle school principle for demonstrating courage during this time.
As for your comment about folks in their 60s sitting around watching Price is Right all day, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that's not how you actually view the typical sexagenarian. Most of them I know live pretty active lives. I hear some of them are even teachers.
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The most dramatic difference is the schedule. This is middle school, so the usual schedule would involve 6 classes and a lunch period. Since the school district uses 6 6-week grading periods instead of 4 9-week periods, they altered the schedule so that the students only had 2 long classes each day for each 6 week period. So, they go to one class for 2.5hrs, go to another class for 2.5hrs, and eat lunch at their desks in that 2nd classroom. At the end of the 6 weeks, they take 2 different classes. By the end of the semester, they have had all 6 classes. Then, the schedule repeats itself in the spring semester. Is it a great schedule? No. It's a pain. Especially the 2.5hr math classes. But it's better than online learning, allows some socialization among the kids, limits a teacher's exposure to about 40 or 50 kids. limits the students' exposure to the handful of kids that sit near them in each of the 2 classes, keeps the kids in a routine, and allows for some accountability.
Of course, everybody wears masks.
Everybody sanitizes their desks at the beginning or end of the period, sometimes both.
They have spread out the desks as well as they can, but they can't maintain 6' distance between them. Instead, it works out to about 4'.
If a kid comes to school sick, they are sent home until they have an alternate non-covid diagnosis from a doctor or until they have done a covid-protocol quarantine, whether they ever tested positive or not. Additionally, if they were in a class for more than 15 minutes, the 2 or 3 kids who sit within 6' of them are also sent home for 7-10 days. While at home, kids have to do the online work, of course.
There are no special activities at the school, no after-school activities, parent/teacher conferences are done over the phone, and any parent visits must be scheduled in advance.
Unfortunately, elective classes like band and art were cut out this year. There was just no way to work them into the 2-class schedule.
It's not ideal, but it's infinitely better than the online "learning."
Honestly, when they first announced the changes for the year, most parents were skeptical. We figured the first time a kid or teacher was confirmed positive, it would spread like wildfire and the school would be completely shutdown within a few weeks. But it didn't work out that way. Everybody involved kept their cool and while there were quarantines, there were never so many at any point that shutting down completely looked like the most viable option.
What works at one school or district may not work at the next school or district. Plans have to be unique. And maybe there are individual situation that just aren't workable for in-person learning, but the effort needs to be made. Administrators and educators may have to think out of the box. Heck, maybe in some communities, they will have to utilize convention centers, arenas, or movie theaters that have sat empty for a year now. But instead of articulating any sort of plan, it seems a lot of districts are just throwing their hands up in defeat.
I appreciate it. You are a good poster on here as well. I respect your opinion even if I don’t agree.
No teachers union here, just a loose organization of teachers willing to stand up for their rights. I think you’re seeing teachers all across this country eagerly go back into the classroom once vaccinated, but it should never be a risk ones life to work, especially when there is an alternative (even if you don’t believe it’s as effective which is debatable). Keep in mind we still don’t know the long term effects of catching this virus for those that survive.
I certainly don’t view all 60 year olds that way. Many are teachers. I have parents in their 60s and they both still continue to work full time.
Ill donate my "shots" to a teacher if that puts kids back in school. Not getting it anyway so why waste it.
I doubt that if all teachers were vaccinated tomorrow, they would head back to the classroom. Teachers unions would find some other reason to milk this for more $$$.
I doubt that if all teachers were vaccinated tomorrow, they would head back to the classroom. Teachers unions would find some other reason to milk this for more $$$.
This post qualifies as - STUPID POST OF THE DAY -
The absurdity of teachers thinking they should be paid more money. I guess if they wanted more money, they could just sell some of their BMW or Mercedes' that they have in their McMansions.... or cancel their cruises around the world.
I signed up on Vams website. Got email the next day to fill out the form. Took three - four minutes which also included choosing my shot time two days later.
Walked into Lex Med appx 18 minutes before my appt. time. Signed in by giving her my name and appt time. Three minutes later, I had been given my shot, and was waiting my 15 minutes observation time.
At end of 15 minutes, got my cookie and Diet Coke and walked out the door.
If you didn't complain so much, maybe you would have better luck.
No teachers union here. Teaching virtual this year but I’d have no problems going back next school year.
I think you’re misinformed about the money. There’s a lot of teachers in a school building with a college degree making less than $50,000. Tell me what other profession with a similar education level does that.
Try pricing day care or private school and then let me know if public school is a good deal for you or not.
We spend 15k to 20k per year per student for public education.
Do the math and tell me why a teacher makes 50k.
Its not that more money is needed. Its that its being allocated incorrectly
One would think that those with that level if education could figure that out if they wanted to.
You are correct the money is not allocated well. It ends up in district offices and state departments and very little gets to the teachers who are on the front lines making the real difference in education.
But tell me how this has anything to do with teachers and their unions...especially in a state like SC where there isn’t one.
We began the year on the hybrid scheduled. Teachers taught in person 5 days. Kids were A/B and rotated Fridays. We had several cases of COVID, but could only trace one that possibly spread in the school. When folks see that, they believe that schools are a low risk environment. What is not discussed, is that during that time, half the kids were there. Distancing was easy, as was disinfecting. Bathrooms were easier to manage, as was lunch.
We have since moved into full face-to-face. The first two weeks, we had six cases. Four of those could be traced to in class contact. Distancing becomes difficult when you have 28 students in a class. Students have to be constantly reminded to wear masks appropriately, a behavior usually brought from home because their parents do not believe in the mask. Districts who may not have the money a Greenville County does will not be able to afford proper PPE. Inevitably they will see more school related spread as they return to full classrooms.
The other aspect of the vaccination is this...if the vaccine will keep exposed teachers from quarantine, they will be able to get shoulder to shoulder with kids without worrying about missing 10 days of school because they were in close contact with a carrier.
I will also say this...I know the risk and still gladly go to school every day (vaccine or not) because I love what I do. I also gladly sent my kids to school because believe the risk outweighs the reward. That mindset has cost my children some time with their grandparents, as we do not want to pass it on to either set due to them having underlying conditions.
We have since moved into full face-to-face. The first two weeks, we had six cases. Four of those could be traced to in class contact. Distancing becomes difficult when you have 28 students in a class. Students have to be constantly reminded to wear masks appropriately, a behavior usually brought from home because their parents do not believe in the mask. Districts who may not have the money a Greenville County does will not be able to afford proper PPE. Inevitably they will see more school related spread as they return to full classrooms.
The other aspect of the vaccination is this...if the vaccine will keep exposed teachers from quarantine, they will be able to get shoulder to shoulder with kids without worrying about missing 10 days of school because they were in close contact with a carrier.
I will also say this...I know the risk and still gladly go to school every day (vaccine or not) because I love what I do. I also gladly sent my kids to school because believe the risk outweighs the reward. That mindset has cost my children some time with their grandparents, as we do not want to pass it on to either set due to them having underlying conditions.
Prism portal here also. Had both shots 3 weeks apart at Lexington Medical Center. I was surprised how smoothly everything went. They scheduled my second dose at the time I got the first one.
lighten the mood?
A couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things.
During a check-up, the doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember ..
Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair 'Want anything while I'm in the kitchen?' he asks.
'Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?'
'Sure.'
'Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?' she asks.
'No, I can remember it.'
'Well, I'd like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so as not to forget it?'
He says, 'I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.'
'I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, write it down?' she asks.
Irritated, he says, 'I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream - I got it, for goodness sake!'
Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, the old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment.
'Where's my toast?’
A couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things.
During a check-up, the doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember ..
Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair 'Want anything while I'm in the kitchen?' he asks.
'Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?'
'Sure.'
'Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?' she asks.
'No, I can remember it.'
'Well, I'd like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so as not to forget it?'
He says, 'I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.'
'I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, write it down?' she asks.
Irritated, he says, 'I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream - I got it, for goodness sake!'
Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, the old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment.
'Where's my toast?’
