flyingpylon wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:41 am
But I have noticed that more moderate users tend not to post at all or have dismissed Facebook entirely, which makes it a big echo chamber most of the time.
Yeah. Exactly. I just perused the high school parents page. Just people on both sides jabbing at each other. It is terrible. I wanted to post something, but have decided not to. It won't appease or help anyone, and I have no interest in starting another chain on another group.
I actually am very close to just not looking at this forum for a few weeks as well. It's fun sometimes (not lately) to bitch and make your positions clear, but in the end we all have nearly zero control over everything we discuss -- the virus, opening schools, gold, stocks, bonds, politics, etc.
Cortopassi wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:37 amIf you are a teacher, I don't know what to say, other than I talk with at least some who are fine with the risk, but also hear of others who don't want to risk it. I think a lot has to do with age.
My first instinct as a response is that if you don't want to teach anymore, then we'll find someone who does to replace you.
Cortopassi wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:37 amIf you are a teacher, I don't know what to say, other than I talk with at least some who are fine with the risk, but also hear of others who don't want to risk it. I think a lot has to do with age.
My first instinct as a response is that if you don't want to teach anymore, then we'll find someone who does to replace you.
It just reminds me of what Ronald Reagan did with Air traffic controllers.
Cortopassi wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:37 am
jalanlong, you are in a dark spot right now, but my feeling is this will not fly. If America rolls over for online school for more than one semester, I cannot imagine the consequences. I, for one, will be out protesting that.
I share this sentiment!
Jalanlong, why don't you go ahead and take action on your own initiative? I think everyone is correct that the school-reopening can will keep getting kicked down the road, to the great detriment of kids like Jalanlong's.
Contact parents of the special needs kids in the class with your child, and ask if they'd like to get together to create a homeschool attached to the online learning from the public school. Something like this: rotate holding classes in different homes, figure out how many parents need to be present and make up a schedule, and have parents teach the online material and help the kids negotiate the online homework, test-taking etc. Schedule in some outdoor activity & games, and maybe some fun field trip-like outings in small groups (as allowed by local law enforcement).
Eventually you could publicize what you're doing which may inspire others to follow your lead, but you will probably want to keep it quiet at least initially. I can imagine that a town that refuses to reopen schools would not be thrilled if they got wind of this.
jalanlong wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:32 am
As an aside, do you think that the users of Facebook and other social media outlets lean liberal? People that I know are all for reopening but I am not sure they are representative of the avg citizen. So I like to sort of gauge what the avg person is thinking about all of this. I am not sure if Facebook is a good barometer or not. While Frisco ISD had 85% of parents choose to send their kids back and the district decided to do online instead, I would say that 90% of the comments to that news on Facebook were something along the lines of "thank you for keeping our kids safe!" or "Thanks Frisco for following the Science!" If that is really the way the avg person thinks then we may never have school again.
My observation of Facebook is that the loudest and most frequent posters absolutely lean left. I consider them to be "progressive", not "liberal". Whether what you see accurately represents the entire user base depends on who you are "friends" with.
But I have noticed that more moderate users tend not to post at all or have dismissed Facebook entirely, which makes it a big echo chamber most of the time.
I like to have a gauge on the way the avg person thinks about stuff so that I can sort of know what might be coming. Should I prepare for a short shutdown or a long one in this case? But it is hard to know how the majority of people feel on this. Generic polling says that people are in favor of shutdowns and closed schools. And social media posts would definitely confirm that. However, when our locals school parents had to actually put pen to paper and say if they were sending their kids back to school or not, close to 80% chose to send them back. is there a "silent majority" out there that is against all of this or no? It's hard to tell.
Cortopassi wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:37 am
jalanlong, you are in a dark spot right now, but my feeling is this will not fly. If America rolls over for online school for more than one semester, I cannot imagine the consequences. I, for one, will be out protesting that.
I share this sentiment!
Jalanlong, why don't you go ahead and take action on your own initiative? I think everyone is correct that the school-reopening can will keep getting kicked down the road, to the great detriment of kids like Jalanlong's.
Contact parents of the special needs kids in the class with your child, and ask if they'd like to get together to create a homeschool attached to the online learning from the public school. Something like this: rotate holding classes in different homes, figure out how many parents need to be present and make up a schedule, and have parents teach the online material and help the kids negotiate the online homework, test-taking etc. Schedule in some outdoor activity & games, and maybe some fun field trip-like outings in small groups (as allowed by local law enforcement).
Eventually you could publicize what you're doing which may inspire others to follow your lead, but you will probably want to keep it quiet at least initially. I can imagine that a town that refuses to reopen schools would not be thrilled if they got wind of this.
Some friends of ours are doing something like this. They believe that their elementary school will at best be constantly fluctuating between being open and closed this year. So they're officially opting for the remote-learning option, getting together with about 8 other kids in their grade, and one of the parents (who happens to be a teacher) is going to be their in-person teacher, rotating among houses, and paid by the group. They're hoping that the school will put all these kids in the same "class" together. I'm not sure why they still need the remote learning from the school district.
Another interesting article on T-cell immunity. With all the colds I've caught over the years I wonder if anything was a "zoonotic coronavirus"? Unfortunately I don't think the antibody test they are currently doing tells you this.
Very interesting indeed! That would argue that there has been past zoonotic coronavirus transmission in humans, unknown viruses that apparently did not lead to serious disease, which have provided some people with a level of T-cell based protection to the current pandemic.
I like to have a gauge on the way the avg person thinks about stuff so that I can sort of know what might be coming. Should I prepare for a short shutdown or a long one in this case? But it is hard to know how the majority of people feel on this. Generic polling says that people are in favor of shutdowns and closed schools. And social media posts would definitely confirm that. However, when our locals school parents had to actually put pen to paper and say if they were sending their kids back to school or not, close to 80% chose to send them back. is there a "silent majority" out there that is against all of this or no? It's hard to tell.
It seems to me, so take it for what is worth.
Psychological warfare is going on, and students are the pawns.
If possible you can home school with a group of friends or start a group.
My neighbor has several children and they belong to a home school group.
They get together for different function and at each other house.
Simonjester wrote:
Parler seems to be gaining some traction, as a twitter substitute, and bitchute for a YouTube substitute, not sure if face book has an uncensored competitor with any legs yet, but at least there some alternatives building a user base,
It's founder was on C-Span. But it seemed to be only a phone thing? No way to engage in it using a computer?
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
Simonjester wrote:
Parler seems to be gaining some traction, as a twitter substitute, and bitchute for a YouTube substitute, not sure if face book has an uncensored competitor with any legs yet, but at least there some alternatives building a user base,
It's founder was on C-Span. But it seemed to be only a phone thing? No way to engage in it using a computer?
Vinny
https://parler.com/ but I think you have to register to see anything, unlike Twitter.
Well, here we go. Schools were supposed to open for in-person instruction 8/5 but it was just announced that classes will be online through Labor Day.
"Based on our local health indicators that are showing an increase in infections in our community and current staffing projections, the first phase will begin with all students attending school virtually." (emphasis mine)
Locally I've heard that some teachers may be opting out. Nationally it appears that some teacher's unions are not letting a crisis go to waste and are making more demands before agreeing to teach in-person. Perhaps teacher shortages will be the deciding factor in all of this.
Simonjester wrote:
Parler seems to be gaining some traction, as a twitter substitute, and bitchute for a YouTube substitute, not sure if face book has an uncensored competitor with any legs yet, but at least there some alternatives building a user base,
It's founder was on C-Span. But it seemed to be only a phone thing? No way to engage in it using a computer?
Vinny
https://parler.com/ but I think you have to register to see anything, unlike Twitter.
Just tried to register. Gave my landline phone number. Sent me a text for a number I need to enter to keep going. My landline does not receive texts. All this leads me to conclude it is phone based only and not to be used on a computer. Anyone here actually on it?
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
flyingpylon wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 3:36 pm
Well, here we go. Schools were supposed to open for in-person instruction 8/5 but it was just announced that classes will be online through Labor Day.
"Based on our local health indicators that are showing an increase in infections in our community and current staffing projections, the first phase will begin with all students attending school virtually." (emphasis mine)
Locally I've heard that some teachers may be opting out. Nationally it appears that some teacher's unions are not letting a crisis go to waste and are making more demands before agreeing to teach in-person. Perhaps teacher shortages will be the deciding factor in all of this.
Why on earth would anyone believe at this point that students will go back after Labor Day? I feel like the only thing that is going to stop this is people just unenrolling their children from the school as a protest.
Simonjester wrote:
Parler seems to be gaining some traction, as a twitter substitute, and bitchute for a YouTube substitute, not sure if face book has an uncensored competitor with any legs yet, but at least there some alternatives building a user base,
It's founder was on C-Span. But it seemed to be only a phone thing? No way to engage in it using a computer?
Vinny
https://parler.com/ but I think you have to register to see anything, unlike Twitter.
Just tried to register. Gave my landline phone number. Sent me a text for a number I need to enter to keep going. My landline does not receive texts. All this leads me to conclude it is phone based only and not to be used on a computer. Anyone here actually on it?
Vinny
It's not phone-based only. I am on it and I can use the website or the app on my phone. You do have to be able to receive a text to get registered.
jalanlong wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm
Also what is also interesting to me is that the 75% choosing to go back goes against earlier questionnaires (and local news polls) where only 50% of parents were planning on sending their kids back. So either the polls were wrong, or parents opinions changed in the last month (with a surge in cases happening) or what parents "want" to do vs what they can actually do are two different things.
Interesting that those polls were that far off. Maybe opinions really have shifted in the past several weeks.
Are the schools going to reopen non-academic and afterschool activities too, or is it just academic classes? I worry that an entire generation of kids is going to be socially handicapped because their public lives are being dramatically curtailed. They're being taught to live in fear and they're spending most of their time on social media or playing video games, and they're not doing what kids normally do to prepare for college, career etc. A few weeks is one thing, but as the duration starts being measured in years, that's something else. I think parents are starting to understand this even though the media and health officials are studiously avoiding the subject.
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
That's why I'm pretty sure the politicians will indeed open the schools.
How are the children going to get their woke brainwashing quotient without publik skools?
jalanlong wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm
Also what is also interesting to me is that the 75% choosing to go back goes against earlier questionnaires (and local news polls) where only 50% of parents were planning on sending their kids back. So either the polls were wrong, or parents opinions changed in the last month (with a surge in cases happening) or what parents "want" to do vs what they can actually do are two different things.
Interesting that those polls were that far off. Maybe opinions really have shifted in the past several weeks.
Are the schools going to reopen non-academic and afterschool activities too, or is it just academic classes? I worry that an entire generation of kids is going to be socially handicapped because their public lives are being dramatically curtailed. They're being taught to live in fear and they're spending most of their time on social media or playing video games, and they're not doing what kids normally do to prepare for college, career etc. A few weeks is one thing, but as the duration starts being measured in years, that's something else. I think parents are starting to understand this even though the media and health officials are studiously avoiding the subject.
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
Well it is a moot point now because even though 75% of parents in my district chose to send their kids back (and some other wealthier districts had upwards of 85% choosing to send their kids back) the districts decided yesterday to start the school year out online, ignoring parents wishes. At this point I do not believe they will have a physical school year at all. I think they will get people acclimated to this with a "goal" of starting physical at Labor Day but it will never happen. I have no idea what I am going to do. My son does not learn sitting in front of a computer doing online math or science games that they call online school. He asks every day when he can go back to school and see his friends.
As an aside, do you think that the users of Facebook and other social media outlets lean liberal? People that I know are all for reopening but I am not sure they are representative of the avg citizen. So I like to sort of gauge what the avg person is thinking about all of this. I am not sure if Facebook is a good barometer or not. While Frisco ISD had 85% of parents choose to send their kids back and the district decided to do online instead, I would say that 90% of the comments to that news on Facebook were something along the lines of "thank you for keeping our kids safe!" or "Thanks Frisco for following the Science!" If that is really the way the avg person thinks then we may never have school again.
I can't find data for Facebook, but according to Pew Research, Twitter users are definitely more leftist than average:
jalanlong wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:32 am
As an aside, do you think that the users of Facebook and other social media outlets lean liberal? People that I know are all for reopening but I am not sure they are representative of the avg citizen. So I like to sort of gauge what the avg person is thinking about all of this. I am not sure if Facebook is a good barometer or not. While Frisco ISD had 85% of parents choose to send their kids back and the district decided to do online instead, I would say that 90% of the comments to that news on Facebook were something along the lines of "thank you for keeping our kids safe!" or "Thanks Frisco for following the Science!" If that is really the way the avg person thinks then we may never have school again.
My observation of Facebook is that the loudest and most frequent posters absolutely lean left. I consider them to be "progressive", not "liberal". Whether what you see accurately represents the entire user base depends on who you are "friends" with.
But I have noticed that more moderate users tend not to post at all or have dismissed Facebook entirely, which makes it a big echo chamber most of the time.
I like to have a gauge on the way the avg person thinks about stuff so that I can sort of know what might be coming. Should I prepare for a short shutdown or a long one in this case? But it is hard to know how the majority of people feel on this. Generic polling says that people are in favor of shutdowns and closed schools. And social media posts would definitely confirm that. However, when our locals school parents had to actually put pen to paper and say if they were sending their kids back to school or not, close to 80% chose to send them back. is there a "silent majority" out there that is against all of this or no? It's hard to tell.
I believe there is a very significant silent majority that is fed up not only with all of the closings (school included) but cancel culture and wokeness in general.
jalanlong wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm
Also what is also interesting to me is that the 75% choosing to go back goes against earlier questionnaires (and local news polls) where only 50% of parents were planning on sending their kids back. So either the polls were wrong, or parents opinions changed in the last month (with a surge in cases happening) or what parents "want" to do vs what they can actually do are two different things.
Interesting that those polls were that far off. Maybe opinions really have shifted in the past several weeks.
Are the schools going to reopen non-academic and afterschool activities too, or is it just academic classes? I worry that an entire generation of kids is going to be socially handicapped because their public lives are being dramatically curtailed. They're being taught to live in fear and they're spending most of their time on social media or playing video games, and they're not doing what kids normally do to prepare for college, career etc. A few weeks is one thing, but as the duration starts being measured in years, that's something else. I think parents are starting to understand this even though the media and health officials are studiously avoiding the subject.
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
That's why I'm pretty sure the politicians will indeed open the schools.
How are the children going to get their woke brainwashing quotient without publik skools?
I don't think you have to go as far as organizing home schools. This would be over tomorrow if the 81% of parents at my school (and the 75% at the other schools) who wanted the kids to go back went to the district tomorrow and unenrolled their kids from school. That would end this right now.
In California, the Orange County Board of Education voted this week to reopen its schools for in-person attendance, but Emperor Newsom overruled their decision today and mandated that those schools (as well as all other schools in counties on his "watch list") must remain online-only this fall.
jalanlong wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm
Also what is also interesting to me is that the 75% choosing to go back goes against earlier questionnaires (and local news polls) where only 50% of parents were planning on sending their kids back. So either the polls were wrong, or parents opinions changed in the last month (with a surge in cases happening) or what parents "want" to do vs what they can actually do are two different things.
Interesting that those polls were that far off. Maybe opinions really have shifted in the past several weeks.
Are the schools going to reopen non-academic and afterschool activities too, or is it just academic classes? I worry that an entire generation of kids is going to be socially handicapped because their public lives are being dramatically curtailed. They're being taught to live in fear and they're spending most of their time on social media or playing video games, and they're not doing what kids normally do to prepare for college, career etc. A few weeks is one thing, but as the duration starts being measured in years, that's something else. I think parents are starting to understand this even though the media and health officials are studiously avoiding the subject.
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
That's why I'm pretty sure the politicians will indeed open the schools.
How are the children going to get their woke brainwashing quotient without publik skools?
I don't think you have to go as far as organizing home schools. This would be over tomorrow if the 81% of parents at my school (and the 75% at the other schools) who wanted the kids to go back went to the district tomorrow and unenrolled their kids from school. That would end this right now.
Can you do that without having another school to send them to? I would think that would be illegal, but I admit knowing nothing about Texas school laws.
jalanlong wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm
Also what is also interesting to me is that the 75% choosing to go back goes against earlier questionnaires (and local news polls) where only 50% of parents were planning on sending their kids back. So either the polls were wrong, or parents opinions changed in the last month (with a surge in cases happening) or what parents "want" to do vs what they can actually do are two different things.
Interesting that those polls were that far off. Maybe opinions really have shifted in the past several weeks.
Are the schools going to reopen non-academic and afterschool activities too, or is it just academic classes? I worry that an entire generation of kids is going to be socially handicapped because their public lives are being dramatically curtailed. They're being taught to live in fear and they're spending most of their time on social media or playing video games, and they're not doing what kids normally do to prepare for college, career etc. A few weeks is one thing, but as the duration starts being measured in years, that's something else. I think parents are starting to understand this even though the media and health officials are studiously avoiding the subject.
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
That's why I'm pretty sure the politicians will indeed open the schools.
How are the children going to get their woke brainwashing quotient without publik skools?
I don't think you have to go as far as organizing home schools. This would be over tomorrow if the 81% of parents at my school (and the 75% at the other schools) who wanted the kids to go back went to the district tomorrow and unenrolled their kids from school. That would end this right now.
Can you do that without having another school to send them to? I would think that would be illegal, but I admit knowing nothing about Texas school laws.
You can indeed. Just unenroll and state that you are HomeSchooling them. I did that when I lived in Downtown Dallas. My son was in 1st grade and his school was terrible.
Update from Texas: the AG/Governor have overridden local ordinances that closed religious schools, as being against the Texas and US constitutions. Such schools can now remain open regardless of the local ordinances.
Simonjester wrote:
Parler seems to be gaining some traction, as a twitter substitute, and bitchute for a YouTube substitute, not sure if face book has an uncensored competitor with any legs yet, but at least there some alternatives building a user base,
It's founder was on C-Span. But it seemed to be only a phone thing? No way to engage in it using a computer?
Vinny
https://parler.com/ but I think you have to register to see anything, unlike Twitter.
Just tried to register. Gave my landline phone number. Sent me a text for a number I need to enter to keep going. My landline does not receive texts. All this leads me to conclude it is phone based only and not to be used on a computer. Anyone here actually on it?
Vinny
It's not phone-based only. I am on it and I can use the website or the app on my phone. You do have to be able to receive a text to get registered.
Thanks for the pointer. Now I will use my cell phone number so that I can receive the text.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
jalanlong wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm
Also what is also interesting to me is that the 75% choosing to go back goes against earlier questionnaires (and local news polls) where only 50% of parents were planning on sending their kids back. So either the polls were wrong, or parents opinions changed in the last month (with a surge in cases happening) or what parents "want" to do vs what they can actually do are two different things.
Interesting that those polls were that far off. Maybe opinions really have shifted in the past several weeks.
Are the schools going to reopen non-academic and afterschool activities too, or is it just academic classes? I worry that an entire generation of kids is going to be socially handicapped because their public lives are being dramatically curtailed. They're being taught to live in fear and they're spending most of their time on social media or playing video games, and they're not doing what kids normally do to prepare for college, career etc. A few weeks is one thing, but as the duration starts being measured in years, that's something else. I think parents are starting to understand this even though the media and health officials are studiously avoiding the subject.
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
That's why I'm pretty sure the politicians will indeed open the schools.
How are the children going to get their woke brainwashing quotient without publik skools?
I don't think you have to go as far as organizing home schools. This would be over tomorrow if the 81% of parents at my school (and the 75% at the other schools) who wanted the kids to go back went to the district tomorrow and unenrolled their kids from school. That would end this right now.
Can you do that without having another school to send them to? I would think that would be illegal, but I admit knowing nothing about Texas school laws.
You can indeed. Just unenroll and state that you are HomeSchooling them. I did that when I lived in Downtown Dallas. My son was in 1st grade and his school was terrible.
Ok, so you do have to say you are homeschooling, but you don't actually have to prove it. Good.
WiseOne wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:19 am
That's why I hypothesized that if schools don't reopen, people are going to start organizing their own homegrown versions.
That's why I'm pretty sure the politicians will indeed open the schools.
How are the children going to get their woke brainwashing quotient without publik skools?
Now that would REALLY make me go the homeschool route, if the required online material included that kind of woke brainwashing.
My brother lives in Berkeley, CA and once proudly took me to visit his daughter's school. She was in first grade at the time. I looked up on the wall and saw a set of posters on the wall that was obviously some kind of art/social studies project. I forget exactly what it said, but it was something like "White people are bad because they have done bad things to black and Hispanic people." I was pretty shocked. My brother didn't understand why I wasn't happy to see that. He's the quintessential Berkeley resident.
