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Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)

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× A place to talk about stuff that doesn't belong anywhere else.

Coronavirus

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09 Jul 2020 22:30 #311839 by Sagrilarus
Replied by Sagrilarus on topic Coronavirus
I have two left in school -- 12th graders. So they can more or less coast out of this with little negative impact. Younger grades are a whole different story, and the local school districts are keeping their cards hidden on how they're thinking of proceeding. I'm happy to see ideas thrown out there, especially since I have no qualifications in the topic.
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09 Jul 2020 23:44 - 09 Jul 2020 23:46 #311841 by ubarose
Replied by ubarose on topic Coronavirus

Sagrilarus wrote: ... local school districts are keeping their cards hidden on how they're thinking of proceeding. I'm happy to see ideas thrown out there, especially since I have no qualifications in the topic.


The local schools have no cards. Atleast here they don’t. The cards are all in the hands of the state. The most recent dictates here are that face masks will be worn, class size must be reduced to 50%, so that they can social distance in the classroom, and students can only come in contact with the students In their class and one adult (ie their teacher). The logistics of this is left up to the individual school system. They are still trying to figure it out.

Several districts have announced that they are going to 4 day weeks with students attending on alternating days. The state has also provided money to the towns for more remote learning and services - like purchasing subscriptions for online programs - so on the days students aren’t in school they can use those.

They are still trying to figure out how to meet the the requirements for special needs students. Like what about students that require an aide, that would mean that that there would be two adults or more in the classroom. Or students that receive multiple services like OT and speech therapy. The law requires that students who are recommended for evaluation be tested, which means yet another adult over the one adult limit that needs to meet with them f2f. And of course there are all kinds of issues with transportation and buses.
Last edit: 09 Jul 2020 23:46 by ubarose.
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10 Jul 2020 05:51 #311848 by mtagge
Replied by mtagge on topic Coronavirus
So it turns out that I will be going back to China next week. That involves no less than four nasal swabs (one before plane boarding, one upon landing, one a day after landing, and the last one two weeks after landing before being allowed to leave quarantine). I'm not thrilled to be going back, but it is better safety wise.

For schools, if I remained here in the USA the local school sent everyone a survey asking if our children wanted to do 2 days in person 3 distance learning or full distance learning. Frankly there isn't an ideal solution amidst this backdrop. When we go back the kids will be in the classroom every day but the teachers (who aren't allowed entry by the Chinese) will be zooming in each day with the class run by local TAs.

The thing that is the most infuriating about this whole situation is that if 100% of people wore masks 100% of the time outside their house, stopped going to bars/worship/stadiums, kept social distance, sanitized hands after every shop, and showered upon getting home for the day we would lick this thing to the point of only needing contact tracing.
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10 Jul 2020 11:28 #311859 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Coronavirus

mtagge wrote: I'm not thrilled to be going back, but it is better safety wise.


Sure is.
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10 Jul 2020 11:37 #311860 by Joebot
Replied by Joebot on topic Coronavirus
I sometimes like to play a depressing game of "Imagine If We Had a Competent Functioning Federal Government."

Imagine if three months ago, the president had addressed the country to say that being able to safely open schools in September is our primary goal. We're going to spend the summer months doing everything we can -- making plans, making contingency plans, hiring staff, distributing resources -- to this one goal. And then he describes what we as citizens and consumers can do to make that goal a reality (social distancing, wash hands, wear masks in public). Make opening schools into a Kennedy-esque "put a man on the moon by the end of decade" type national goal, then never stop talking about it for the entire summer. Force Congress to pass spending bills to support schools in their efforts. Force manufacturers to shift production to whatever materials are needed -- disinfectant, desks, masks, etc. Make it a focused, nationwide, all-hands-on-deck effort.

Then imagine all the positive side effects. It removes the INSANE politicization of mask wearing. Someone who doesn't wear a mask is basically saying, "to hell with children and their education," and no one would say that (I hope). The economy improves slowly and steadily as people get used to taking the necessary precautions in their everyday life. And workers aren't faced with the impossible choice that's looming over all of us come September -- quit my job to babysit my kids who are stuck at home doing online learning, or continue working knowing that my kids are safe at school.

But unfortunately that kind of inspirational leadership is gone. Instead we've spent three months treading water, and in some cases, going backwards.

I think the best-case scenario is some sort of hybrid model where kids are in school on a rotating schedule. It's going to be a nightmare, and it was all predictable and preventable.
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10 Jul 2020 11:39 - 10 Jul 2020 11:43 #311861 by RobertB
Replied by RobertB on topic Coronavirus

ubarose wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote: ... local school districts are keeping their cards hidden on how they're thinking of proceeding. I'm happy to see ideas thrown out there, especially since I have no qualifications in the topic.


The local schools have no cards. Atleast here they don’t. The cards are all in the hands of the state. The most recent dictates here are that face masks will be worn, class size must be reduced to 50%, so that they can social distance in the classroom, and students can only come in contact with the students In their class and one adult (ie their teacher). The logistics of this is left up to the individual school system. They are still trying to figure it out.

Several districts have announced that they are going to 4 day weeks with students attending on alternating days. The state has also provided money to the towns for more remote learning and services - like purchasing subscriptions for online programs - so on the days students aren’t in school they can use those.

They are still trying to figure out how to meet the the requirements for special needs students. Like what about students that require an aide, that would mean that that there would be two adults or more in the classroom. Or students that receive multiple services like OT and speech therapy. The law requires that students who are recommended for evaluation be tested, which means yet another adult over the one adult limit that needs to meet with them f2f. And of course there are all kinds of issues with transportation and buses.


At my daughter's school (University of Cincinnati), they're planning on reopening. Some classes have been moved to online-only, but all of my daughter's classes are in-person. While the academic calendar is still the same as it was, the kids will be chased out of the dorms on the week of Thanksgiving. Some dorm rooms are reducing the number of students per room, but hers is not because it's already 1 bed/room and 2 roommates/bathroom. Dining halls will still be open, with social distancing and enhanced sanitation in place, etc.

Given the increasing current number of cases, UC's plans look more like wishful thinking than plans. This could be my pessimism about the whole thing, but I suspect that (assuming that Hamilton Co. doesn't get locked down by the state of Ohio by the end of August) it'll all blow up by the end of September. My tinfoil hat says that UC (and a lot of other colleges) are using these plans as fig leaves to get kids back to school to pay in-person rates for a semester of online courses. If the number of cases recedes or stays the same, great. If not, they send everyone back home and refund part of their costs.
Last edit: 10 Jul 2020 11:43 by RobertB.
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10 Jul 2020 11:43 #311864 by hotseatgames
Replied by hotseatgames on topic Coronavirus

Joebot wrote: I sometimes like to play a depressing game of "Imagine If We Had a Competent Functioning Federal Government."


Or we could have a president who likes to tweet about television ratings.

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10 Jul 2020 11:51 - 10 Jul 2020 11:52 #311865 by RobertB
Replied by RobertB on topic Coronavirus

hotseatgames wrote:

Joebot wrote: I sometimes like to play a depressing game of "Imagine If We Had a Competent Functioning Federal Government."


Or we could have a president who likes to tweet about television ratings.


The irony of it is that if that piece of fucking garbage had just blown the dust off the pandemic response plan that was left for him to follow, given it to his underlings, and said, "Do this," he'd be cruising to a reelection. Now his efforts to wish and ignore all this away, while simultaneously wetting his beak in whatever two-bit scheme his crooked-ass minions could concoct, is going to cost him the Presidency. Not that I'm complaining.
Last edit: 10 Jul 2020 11:52 by RobertB. Reason: crooked-ass is hyphenated
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10 Jul 2020 17:16 #311877 by mtagge
Replied by mtagge on topic Coronavirus

Joebot wrote: Imagine if three months ago, the president had addressed the country to say that being able to safely open schools in September is our primary goal. We're going to spend the summer months doing everything we can -- making plans, making contingency plans, hiring staff, distributing resources -- to this one goal. And then he describes what we as citizens and consumers can do to make that goal a reality (social distancing, wash hands, wear masks in public). Make opening schools into a Kennedy-esque "put a man on the moon by the end of decade" type national goal, then never stop talking about it for the entire summer. Force Congress to pass spending bills to support schools in their efforts. Force manufacturers to shift production to whatever materials are needed -- disinfectant, desks, masks, etc. Make it a focused, nationwide, all-hands-on-deck effort.

This paragraph is so difficult to read. Not in an understanding sense, but in a sense that if this happened during any other presidency we would be out of the woods already.
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10 Jul 2020 17:35 #311881 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Coronavirus
Right! Imagine if Congress had passed some sort of huge 300 billion dollar national testing and tracing partnership with states along with the first stimulus re: unemployment insurance and corporate bailouts.
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14 Jul 2020 18:40 - 14 Jul 2020 18:42 #312045 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Coronavirus
Been talking to lawyer friends of mine from Illinois where they practice. Inundated with will business from schoolteachers.

I am strongly considering doing my will stuff which I have never gotten around to (no dependents so I let it slide for a long time) and making sure we have our do not resuscitate instructions in good order. University starts in less than a month. I am supposed to have 20 students in my classes in person at a time, rotating through.
Last edit: 14 Jul 2020 18:42 by Gary Sax.

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15 Jul 2020 16:58 - 15 Jul 2020 17:00 #312095 by JoelCFC25
Replied by JoelCFC25 on topic Coronavirus
With children entering 3rd grade and kindergarten and a wife who teaches 4th grade, I'm a giant ball of anxiety as we enter summer's home stretch. Everyone is basically in limbo waiting for the MN Health and Education departments to unveil their guidance for schools by the 27th.

The broad outlines seem to be in-person school as normal, full distance learning, or a "hybrid" approach with classes separated into A and B groups who attend on alternating days. I'm really curious to see further details on this hybrid plan, because it doesn't seem to hold up to even 30 seconds of mild scrutiny in my head before collapsing due to all manner of impracticalities. My wife is absolutely DREADING it, as it clearly amounts to at least double the workload. On the other hand, distance learning has been an unmitigated disaster and the statistics seem to have borne it out.

Minnesota started out on a decent trajectory but we're tipping back into madness lately, currently missing the mark on 3 of the 5 metrics the administration set for reopening.
Last edit: 15 Jul 2020 17:00 by JoelCFC25.
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15 Jul 2020 18:58 #312101 by Sagrilarus
Replied by Sagrilarus on topic Coronavirus
Our superintendant just ruled out alternate days, but hasn't ruled out two days on, three days off. He said that would lower the amount of cleaning.

Buses would be one kid per row, siblings could share.

Rooms require six feet separation, which he essentially said is unworkable.

I'm half expecting to see a circus tent go up on the baseball field.

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15 Jul 2020 19:05 #312103 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Coronavirus
You could do worse than the circus tent.

We started doing CDC recommended 6 feet of separation, but it became clear to admin that it wouldn't be "feasible" and would require a lot of manpower to measure and mark anyway. So now they've just said the classes will be split in half and it's up to instructors to organize the classroom. So no health logic to our in person arrangement. Honestly fuck off. Like a lot of people, if my job wasn't almost impossible to find again ever I'd refuse to do this. Instead, I'm fucked.

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15 Jul 2020 20:36 - 15 Jul 2020 20:42 #312104 by Hatchling
Replied by Hatchling on topic Coronavirus

Gary Sax wrote: You could do worse than the circus tent.

We started doing CDC recommended 6 feet of separation, but it became clear to admin that it wouldn't be "feasible" and would require a lot of manpower to measure and mark anyway. So now they've just said the classes will be split in half and it's up to instructors to organize the classroom. So no health logic to our in person arrangement. Honestly fuck off. Like a lot of people, if my job wasn't almost impossible to find again ever I'd refuse to do this. Instead, I'm fucked.


Maybe if you make it as easy as possible for your students to stay home and not attend class, this will mitigate this awful situation. For example, you could record your lectures/seminars, put them on a website, make attendance in person totally optional, and make one-on-one zoom or phone remote "check ins" with you part of the grade. In other words, you can do everything in your power to make it as easy as possible for your students to stay home even though classes are technically on.

I am teaching remotely this term for the first time and it is a terribly alienating experience, but I am grateful.
Last edit: 15 Jul 2020 20:42 by Hatchling.

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