Schools and Covid

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Cortopassi
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Schools and Covid

Post by Cortopassi » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:01 am

Anyone else out there have school age kids?

My oldest is going to be a junior at Notre Dame. So far, they will be going to campus Aug 10th. One of her classes already changed to online. But at least they are giving it a shot.

If you recently saw, Harvard changed their setup where only freshmen and seniors will be on campus, sophomores and juniors will be remote.

I have no idea how any of these schools can expect parents to pay full tuition for an online education. From what I saw, kids would be better learning with Khan Academy which was built to be online, or maybe other online options.

The other concern is I am going to assume within a couple weeks of kids returning, some number will start testing positive. Then what are these schools going to do?

My youngest is a junior in high school. Still waiting for details on that.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by WiseOne » Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:00 am

I have two nieces in college. One is definitely planning to go - she is heading into junior year as an architecture major, so most of her classes can't be online.

The other will be starting as a freshman in engineering at Tufts. She's considering delaying for a year. Who wants to pay $70K tuition to sit in a dorm or at home taking online classes? Most of what you pay for is the networking and social aspect of college, and she (rightly) knows she'd be getting screwed.

(BTW note the STEM majors...go girl power! Actually it's 3 out of the 3 women in STEM college majors in the extended family...another niece in Canada is also engineering.)

Closing schools makes no sense anyway. Yes, colleges may end up with a bunch of COVID infections....but SO THE HECK WHAT????? Every college has things like mononucleosis and flu running around, and COVID will be just another one in the mix. You can argue that mono is a lot worse than COVID for this age group, too. Protecting elderly or otherwise vulnerable professors will have to be done of course. It's pretty easy for the professor to keep a 6 foot distance from students, and they should be able to request that all students wear masks while in class for further protection.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by flyingpylon » Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:07 am

My son will be a freshman at Indiana University (in-state) this Fall. They will finalize plans for classes next week. It's expected that there will be a mix of online and in-person classes, at least partially at the discretion of the instructor. The school has been making a lot of adjustments to de-densify and minimize risk. They have extended the school day to allow for more classes with smaller groups of students, all dorm rooms will be single occupancy except for mutually-requested roommates, masks will be required much of the time, etc. They are also closing the seating areas in dining halls and all food will be to-go (I don't see how that works logistically but what do I know?). Regarding anticipated COVID cases, they have an entire dorm set aside for students to be quarantined.

My son is 100% on-board with going despite the inconveniences and is not concerned about any real or perceived risks. Academic instruction is just one part of the college experience and I expect the students will find all sorts of ways to adapt to and overcome the various challenges. Honestly, he is ready to leave the house and I can't imagine that him staying home would be good for any of us. I think there is some value to plowing ahead and getting on with life despite the circumstances rather than treating college like it's some kind of scripted experience that should only happen a certain way and should be skipped if it looks like reality is going to deviate from the script. We don't know if or when things will ever "get back to normal". That said, I'll acknowledge that we are not paying out-of-state or private tuition and everyone has a different perspective on things.

My daughter will be a sophomore in high school with an August 5th start. We should hear about that this week, and it may be some kind of hybrid solution and almost certainly with masks. But it's clear that the kids need to go back in some capacity. They need the structure and accountability that comes with being physically present, among other things.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by jalanlong » Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:10 am

Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:01 am

The other concern is I am going to assume within a couple weeks of kids returning, some number will start testing positive. Then what are these schools going to do?
I am very afraid that I am going to get my 10 year old all ready to go back to school and see his friends and then 1 child will test positive and they will shut everything down again. My son has high-functioning autism and the online stuff is definitely not working for him. The entire purpose of school for him is the structure, rules and social aspect. Every single thing we were told he needed and the entire reason for sending him there (as opposed to home schooling) is out the window with online school work.

I find it interesting that during the years when we HomeSchooled my son, I was told by so many people (esp those in public education) that by learning online he is missing so many crucial aspects of going to school: the social aspects, extra curricular activities etc. But now that they are shut down, they have spent 5 months selling us on how online education is every bit as good as in person and they are meeting his needs and complying with his educational plans exactly as if he was in school physically.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Tortoise » Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:49 pm

No school-age kids here, but my wife's cousin is a teacher at a private school, and apparently her school's enrollment for the coming academic year is much lower than it typically is at this time of the summer.

The implication seems to be that a lot of the parents just aren't willing to pay the steep private school tuition if their kid isn't going to be getting the expected in-person private school experience.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Mountaineer » Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:29 pm

No school age kids here either. Just received this from WVU:

https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2020/0 ... -to-campus

Quite an extensive list of requirements and guidelines for students and employees.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Cortopassi » Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:36 pm

Mountaineer wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:29 pm
No school age kids here either. Just received this from WVU:

https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2020/0 ... -to-campus

Quite an extensive list of requirements and guidelines for students and employees.
"To protect yourself, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water or use hand sanitizer when touching public surfaces. Humming the chorus of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is an easy way to estimate."

Hah. Always hear Happy Birthday as the song.

WiseOne: So the heck what? I completely agree, I just don't think universities will be on the same page.

Finally, I know this isn't a Trump thread, but I like that he put out schools must open in the fall. But then I get confused with the edict that international students can't come back if schools are online only. I like to think that's some "pressure" from the administration to make schools open?

And there's still on ongoing travel ban from most of Europe, Brazil, China, UK, and Ireland, so how kids could even get back makes no sense.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Kriegsspiel » Tue Jul 07, 2020 4:44 pm

WiseOne wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:00 am
Closing schools makes no sense anyway. Yes, colleges may end up with a bunch of COVID infections....but SO THE HECK WHAT????? Every college has things like mononucleosis and flu running around, and COVID will be just another one in the mix. You can argue that mono is a lot worse than COVID for this age group, too. Protecting elderly or otherwise vulnerable professors will have to be done of course. It's pretty easy for the professor to keep a 6 foot distance from students, and they should be able to request that all students wear masks while in class for further protection.
Stable genius comment from WiseOne. Agree on all points. Add STDs to the list of things that hurt college students more than the Wuhan.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by vnatale » Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:20 pm

flyingpylon wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:07 am
My daughter will be a sophomore in high school with an August 5th start. We should hear about that this week, and it may be some kind of hybrid solution and almost certainly with masks. But it's clear that the kids need to go back in some capacity. They need the structure and accountability that comes with being physically present, among other things.
August 5th!!!!

Is that the norm? Or, special this time around.

In going to school for 18 1/2 years I cannot remember any school on any level starting classes PRIOR to Labor Day!

Vinny
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by flyingpylon » Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:52 am

vnatale wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:20 pm
flyingpylon wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:07 am
My daughter will be a sophomore in high school with an August 5th start. We should hear about that this week, and it may be some kind of hybrid solution and almost certainly with masks. But it's clear that the kids need to go back in some capacity. They need the structure and accountability that comes with being physically present, among other things.
August 5th!!!!

Is that the norm? Or, special this time around.

In going to school for 18 1/2 years I cannot remember any school on any level starting classes PRIOR to Labor Day!

Vinny
I grew up in New England and don’t recall starting before Labor Day either. Every year I have the same “what!!???” reaction to the school start date but it’s pretty much the norm here. On the flip side, the kids are always done in late May whereas I remember being in school until mid June. It’s still 180 days total.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Maddy » Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:34 am

jalanlong wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:10 am
I find it interesting that during the years when we HomeSchooled my son, I was told by so many people (esp those in public education) that by learning online he is missing so many crucial aspects of going to school: the social aspects, extra curricular activities etc. But now that they are shut down, they have spent 5 months selling us on how online education is every bit as good as in person and they are meeting his needs and complying with his educational plans exactly as if he was in school physically.
Great observation. You're right--the asserted harms associated with the supposed missing out on critical social interactions and extracurricular activities have been used as the basis for not only attacking home schooling, but for taking legal action against parents and actually removing children from homes.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Maddy » Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:37 am

In this morning's news, Washington's governor Inslee has declared that schools will reopen in stages, in a manner sensitive to social inequities. White children will be the last to go back. I'm kidding you not.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by vnatale » Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:05 am

flyingpylon wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:52 am
vnatale wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:20 pm
flyingpylon wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:07 am
My daughter will be a sophomore in high school with an August 5th start. We should hear about that this week, and it may be some kind of hybrid solution and almost certainly with masks. But it's clear that the kids need to go back in some capacity. They need the structure and accountability that comes with being physically present, among other things.
August 5th!!!!

Is that the norm? Or, special this time around.

In going to school for 18 1/2 years I cannot remember any school on any level starting classes PRIOR to Labor Day!

Vinny
I grew up in New England and don’t recall starting before Labor Day either. Every year I have the same “what!!???” reaction to the school start date but it’s pretty much the norm here. On the flip side, the kids are always done in late May whereas I remember being in school until mid June. It’s still 180 days total.
So we share the same New England school experience....

Vinny
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."
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Tortoise » Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:34 pm

MangoMan wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:53 am
Maddy wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:37 am
In this morning's news, Washington's governor Inslee has declared that schools will reopen in stages, in a manner sensitive to social inequities. White children will be the last to go back. I'm kidding you not.
Once again, how is this legal?
Can someone provide a link? A quick Google search isn’t turning up any relevant results.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by vnatale » Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:25 pm

Tortoise wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:34 pm
MangoMan wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:53 am
Maddy wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:37 am
In this morning's news, Washington's governor Inslee has declared that schools will reopen in stages, in a manner sensitive to social inequities. White children will be the last to go back. I'm kidding you not.
Once again, how is this legal?
Can someone provide a link? A quick Google search isn’t turning up any relevant results.
Nor does a Bing search.

Vinny
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."
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by flyingpylon » Thu Jul 09, 2020 7:54 am

Tortoise wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:34 pm
MangoMan wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:53 am
Maddy wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:37 am
In this morning's news, Washington's governor Inslee has declared that schools will reopen in stages, in a manner sensitive to social inequities. White children will be the last to go back. I'm kidding you not.
Once again, how is this legal?
Can someone provide a link? A quick Google search isn’t turning up any relevant results.
I recall seeing this on social media (not in a meme or anything) but I'm not sure if it was a proposal or something that was actually enacted. Pretty sure I would have rolled my eyes and kept scrolling, so I have no other details.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Mountaineer » Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:33 am

https://justthenews.com/government/loca ... nts-during

Found using a composite search engine - SearX.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by vnatale » Thu Jul 09, 2020 9:05 am

Mountaineer wrote:
Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:33 am
https://justthenews.com/government/loca ... nts-during

Found using a composite search engine - SearX.

Read it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I read it as "Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal" being behind this and NOT the governor as originally written above. Unless one believes that the action of every employee under the governor is also attributable to the governor.

Vinny
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."
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by flyingpylon » Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:43 am

Regarding SearX, we discussed this in a recent thread:

https://gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/v ... 65#p199965

You can use one of the public instances listed here: https://searx.space/

Or if you don’t trust any of those you can download and run it yourself (for technically advanced users).
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Kriegsspiel » Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:02 am

I've been seeing articles recently about how parents are pooling their money to pay people to teach their kids at home. A few of you guys have mentioned it too. This might be one of the only good developments to come out of the Holocoughs. I've always been casually planning on homeschooling any kids I'd have. One of the essays on Granola Shotgun talked about a family that was doing it:
The house is full of art and music. All manner of skilled trades are in evidence. The couple are well educated and world travelled. They could have taken the usual path of buying a large home in a new subdivision in a sought after school district with a big mortgage and multiple car payments. But instead they chose to live in an older Rust Belt community that had declined for decades, but was slowly making its way back up.
. . .
The children are home schooled and their studies are supplemented by private tutors in music, math, and science. The nearby university provides a steady supply of graduate students in need of part time work. This is the compromise between lackluster public schools and exorbitantly priced private schools.
(really, pretty much everything those people are doing is how I want to set myself up, too)

But that sounds like a really good way to go about it, especially instead of public schools.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by WiseOne » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:53 am

Thought I'd post in this thread instead of coronavirus general discussion....

My brother has two elementary school age kids (age 9 and 6), and staying home with them all day is not an option. He is a single dad, and an architect and small business owner, and has to do things that involve not being at home. So he did exactly what I've been posting about: got together with a bunch of other parents to hire a tutor and set up their own mini-school which he is calling a "pod". A group home-school in other words.

I wonder how this is going to turn out....I suspect some of these parents will see that their kids enjoy these pods more than public school, and they won't want to give them up once schools do reopen. And it could take years for that to happen, especially if the criterion is zero COVID cases in the community. COVID won't disappear even if there is a vaccine on offer, for all kinds of reasons.
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Re: Schools and Covid

Post by Cortopassi » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:56 am

WiseOne wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:53 am
Thought I'd post in this thread instead of coronavirus general discussion....

My brother has two elementary school age kids (age 9 and 6), and staying home with them all day is not an option. He is a single dad, and an architect and small business owner, and has to do things that involve not being at home. So he did exactly what I've been posting about: got together with a bunch of other parents to hire a tutor and set up their own mini-school which he is calling a "pod". A group home-school in other words.

I wonder how this is going to turn out....I suspect some of these parents will see that their kids enjoy these pods more than public school, and they won't want to give them up once schools do reopen. And it could take years for that to happen, especially if the criterion is zero COVID cases in the community. COVID won't disappear even if there is a vaccine on offer, for all kinds of reasons.
My daughter and her two friends seem to be doing very well learning together in my basement. Not tutored, still remote, but seems a heck of a lot better than by yourself.
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