Viral Photo Showing Maskless Students Crowded In School Hallway Leads To Student Suspension (UPDATE ADDED)
[guest post by Dana]
As students across the country return to in-person classes, you would think that the issue of social distancing protocols is at the forefront of administrators’ concerns. Keeping students safe while enforcing pandemic protocols would seem to be the top priority at these schools. However, one Georgia high school principal seems more concerned about optics rather than the troubling reality at his site:
A whistleblowing student at a Georgia high school was suspended after he posted a video of fellow students crammed into a hallway between classes, many of them without masks. After he was suspended, North Paulding County high school principal Gabe Carmona made an announcement over the school intercom, warning that “Anything that is going on on social media that is negative on our light… there will be consequences for both students or anyone who sends out those pictures, so please be careful.”
Here are the photos that got 15-year old Hannah Watters suspended:
Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed. We are close enough to the point where I got pushed multiple go to second block. This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate. pic.twitter.com/JKbGYqG9RS
— hannah (@ihateiceman) August 4, 2020
This is what it looks like even with split dismissal. pic.twitter.com/erCA2lhOUb
— hannah (@ihateiceman) August 4, 2020
Watters also posted a tally list of students wearing masks in her classes v. those not wearing masks:
— hannah (@ihateiceman) August 5, 2020
Watters explained the reasoning behind her suspension:
I used my phone in the hallway without permission, used my phone for social media, and posting pictures of minors without consent.
Prior to schools reopening, the school district addressed questions about social distancing and mask-wearing in their Back to School 2020-2021 Supplemental Q & A sheet for parents and students, including informing parents that wearing a mask was a “personal choice” and the district would not mandate that students wear them. The district also said that social distancing efforts would be made when “feasible and practical”.
The district superintendent, addressing the publication of the photo, attempted to add context:
The district superintendent, Brian Otott, sent a message to parents in the wake of the photo. He offered “context” for the photograph: “Class changes that look like this may happen, especially at a high school with more than 2,000 students.” There was little the district could do, he said, beyond encouraging masks.
Additionally:
According to a person familiar with North Paulding High School, the plan shared with teachers said hallways were supposed to be one-way; the photograph was taken in one of the only two-laned hallways in the school. But the one-lane hallways had their own downsides, causing students to walk long routes between classes — spending more time in exposed common areas.
Already in Cherokee County, Georgia, at least four schools that started in-person classes on Monday, have had positive Covid-19 cases with contact tracing. And so now, just days after the schools reopened, all students and staff impacted by the outbreak are quarantining at home.
Dr. Fauci weighed in this week on the issue of reopening schools with in-person classes:
“I think to say every child has to go back to school is not really realizing the fact that we have such a diversity of viral activity. There may some sections of the country where the viral activity is so low you don’t have to do anything different, you can just send the children back to school,” Fauci said.
“Wearing a mask, if you don’t take the infection seriously, is a tough one to sell,” Fauci said.
He then offered two reasons why he believes students should return to in-person learning if it can be done safely:
First, school reopenings are important for “the psychological welfare of the children, the fact that many children rely on schools for nutrition, for breakfast, for healthy lunches,” he said.
Second, returning to in-person classes should be a national priority in order to avoid “the unintended downstream ripple effects on families,” he said, like parents needing to interrupt or stop work in order to take care of and homeschool their children.
That “creates a big issue,” he said.
“The ‘however,'” Fauci said, “is we must not compromise the health, the safety, and the welfare of the children, of the teachers and secondarily of their parents, who they may spread it to.”
Fauci discussed the exceptions to reopening schools:
In counties and cities with very low infection rates, for example, it may be possible to “go back to school with impunity and not worry about things,” he said.
In places with moderate infection rates, however, a modified approach — like bringing kids in only some days or parts of the day and implementing mask-wearing and physical distancing — may be safest.
Oh, and then there’s this little tidbit:
North Paulding High School, about an hour outside Atlanta, reopened Monday despite an outbreak among members of its high school football team, many of whom, a Facebook video shows, worked out together in a crowded indoor gym last week as part of a weightlifting fundraiser.
Within days of that workout, several North Paulding players had tested positive for the coronavirus. The school’s parents were notified just hours before the first day of class.
And multiple teachers at North Paulding say there are positive tests among school staff, including a staff member who came into contact with most teachers at the school while exhibiting symptoms last week. Teachers and staff said the school won’t confirm coronavirus infections among district employees, citing privacy reasons.
“That was exactly one week ago, so we are all waiting to see who gets sick next week,” a North Paulding teacher told BuzzFeed News of her exposure to the virus.
I have no idea how to get high schoolers to follow social distancing measures in narrow hallways, lunch periods, etc. That is an unenviable task. But I am convinced that mandating masks for everyone on campus, including students, is a pretty good place to start.
And sadly, just this week, a 7-year-old boy in Georgia with no underlying conditions became the youngest victim to die from COVID.
UPDATE: It’s unsurprising that administration caved on the suspension. After all, the video had gone viral, and Hannah Watters received massive support from the public. Frankly, it was a ridiculous move on the part of the administration and the bad optics of their decision did them no favors:
A Georgia high school has reversed course and lifted the suspension of two students who were punished after posting photos of the school’s packed hallways when classes resumed earlier this week. North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia, faced national criticism over the viral photos showing students shoulder-to-shoulder, with fewer than half wearing masks.
From Hannah Watters:
“This morning my school called and they have deleted my suspension,” she wrote.
“To be 100% clear, I can go back to school on Monday. I couldn’t have done this without all the support, thank you.”
School officials provided no explanation for rescinding the suspension. Nor did they mention whether this was such a significant teaching moment for them, that they will now use their time wisely to focus on what really matters, and not their image.
–Dana
It’s irresponsible to not mandate face masks for every high schooler on campus.
Dana (292df6) — 8/6/2020 @ 11:22 pmMs. Watters is going to go much farther in life than Mr. Carmona, the guy who prioritized PR over public safety. The wrong person was suspended.
Paul Montagu (f2aab5) — 8/6/2020 @ 11:29 pmIts the south where no good deed ever goes unpunished. What did you expect?
asset (0ff12c) — 8/6/2020 @ 11:50 pm“It is what it is.”
Dave (1bb933) — 8/7/2020 @ 12:11 amIf a school is back at full time classes and normal classes sizes, social distancing is not practical, feasible, or in fact possible. They cannot return safely under those circumstances. Maybe they’ve just decided that whatever happens happens, IDK. But if their kids get sick, it’s the school and parent’s fault.
We have our student leaders on campuses this week in groups of 10, filming welcome back and orientation stuff. So, the good kids who follow directions. They are wearing masks in the building, but I see them talking outside while I’m walking in and they are not masked when they are just chatting together. (I’ve basically been working off and on all summer- no I wasn’t on contract- both on campus and in zoom meetings trying to get a plan together and we are doing tons of prep right now with getting tech out to kids who need it. So, yes, I’m probably going to get this stupid disease at some point. I have very little hope that I won’t. One of my friends on campus caught it over the summer and is still recovering.).
Nic (896fdf) — 8/7/2020 @ 12:47 amWhat is WRONG with these idiots???????????????????
WEAR A DAMN MASK.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 8/7/2020 @ 1:06 am@6 They are children, they think they are immortal. They especially think they are immortal because in this case many of their parents tell them so.
Nic (896fdf) — 8/7/2020 @ 1:16 amThe President of the United States just said Wednesday that children are immune to the virus.
Dave (1bb933) — 8/7/2020 @ 2:23 amAn administrator punishing a student for publicly embarrassing them doesn’t surprise me. Whatever criticism they get for suspending Waters will be minor compared with keeping other students from making them look bad in the future.
There will always be debate when there isn’t a perfect answer. But I really think that our country has missed an opportunity to come together and work on mitigating Covid-19 in favor of partisan fighting.
On the left we people who want to avoid all risk, and have the government provide funding to mitigate the financial impacts.
On the right we have people who are terrified of facing the truth that CV19 is a serious problem that requires action on our part to mitigate.
On both sides we have people that just look at their political opponents and say ‘if they’re for it, i’m against it.”
So we end up with the US, one of the mostly highly educated, the richest and most technologically advanced country in the world, 4th worst for deaths per-capita behind Peru, Chile, and the UK. It really is a case study in how big a difference leadership can make.
Time123 (69b2fc) — 8/7/2020 @ 4:40 amThis is going to end very badly.
I remember back in the 1980s, when I was teaching junior high, the superintendent mandated tuberculosis testing for all students, teachers and staff throughout the district. I thought it was kind of ridiculous at the time. I mean, tuberculosis is a dead disease, right?
Just at the school where I taught, one-third of the student population tested positive for at least exposure to tuberculosis. I was stunned. One-third!
At least we have a cure for tuberculosis, if detected early. However, if left untreated, it is a horrible disease. My grandmother had it in the 1940s. Back then the only treatment was surgery to removed infected lung tissue and hope the patient survives. That’s major surgery, and very expensive. So, one night my grandfather went down to the bank he managed and stole the money. Yep, he robbed the bank to save his wife’s life.
She survived the operation. She was bedridden for years in a health care facility though. Once his son was old enough to get a job, he became a long haul truck driver which pays very wll, and my grandfather knew his son could support the family, he went down to the police station and turned himself in. He was a Catholic, so he confessed his sin. I believe he was sentenced to 20 years, but he only served six months, got out for good behavior. Everyone knew him, he was the bank manager who approved their home and business loans, and they understood why he did what he did, and they forgave him. He did turn himself in and confess, after all. True story. She outlived him, by the way. That’s love, real true love.
This coronavirus is far more insidious. Highly contagious, it spreads like wild fire. We still don’t know all its vectors. It’s not just airborne, but human contact and hard surfaces can also lead to infection. Wearing a mask won’t protect you from those vectors. And it can be spread by asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals, who don’t even know they’re infected.
Worse, even in mild cases, where the patient recovers quickly, there may be lingering after effects, such as lung, heart and liver disease. And a person can easily be infected again, develop symptoms and require further treatment, which may lead to more severe after effects.
Children go to school, get infected, go home and infect their entire family. Then their siblings go to school and their parents go to work, spreading the coronavirus, infecting everyone theycome in contact with. This is the reality of a pandemic. It’s simple epidemiology. The virus will continue to spread rapidly, until it is brought under control.
This is insane. The American people are not taking this coronavirus seriously. Trump is in complete denial. The CDC and the FDA have totally botched their response. The government at all levels, city, county, state and federal, has utterly failed in their sworn duty to protect the citizens.
People are dying. Over 180,000 dead so far, with 1,000 more each day. And thousands more reported cases each day. This rush to reopen is idiotic and dangerous. Unless or until we begin to take this coronavirus seriously and demand some competent and responsible guidance from the government at all levels, we’re on a suicide mission. The economy is in ruin. More and more people are dying and getting infected. And flu season hasn’t even started yet, and when it does, it’s only going to make the situation more dire.
If I were still teaching, I would resign before I went back to the classroom. If I were a parent, I would not send my children back to school. Family is all that matters.
I’m not about to allow the government to send me into a petri dish and use me a guinea pig for study. This is a very dangerous disease, and it needs to be taken seriously.
How many more people have to die or get infected before the hard slap in the face makes people realize that?
Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:02 amHeh! I was suspended every year I was in high school. Phucumol!
nk (1d9030) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:25 amWell one could look at cdc guidance from 2005 and 2015, but please surrender your liberties to the flu.
The largest cohort of victims is seniors in nursing facilities across the board,
Narciso (556da4) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:32 am@12, The concern is schools as a vector for the spread of CV19, not that kids themselves will get sick and die in large numbers.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:41 amThe purpose is to force mail vote and fraud by eliminating two main polling places.
Narciso (d25c8c) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:43 amOnly the childless don’t know that schools are germ factories.
nk (1d9030) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:43 amLook at the findings from holland and sweden you know science.
Narciso (d25c8c) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:44 amOr real time data
Narciso (d25c8c) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:47 amhttps://mobile.twitter.com/AlexBerenson/status/1291552713004777476
Sweden had 56 deaths per 100,000 people. Terrible results for their region.
Netherlands was 35, Switzerland was 23.
I think you need to try harder at ‘science’.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:51 amWhich findings? The pro-Trump findings or the anti-Trump findings? Why don’t I just look at my own experience of fourteen years with a child in preschool through high school?
nk (1d9030) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:52 amAnd what are the numbers disagregratd by comorbities and this medieval attitude to therapeutics
Narciso (9ab3b3) — 8/7/2020 @ 6:54 am@20,
1. You’re free to try and sort countries by whatever metric you want. I think Sweden, Netherlands and Switzerland are a fair first run approximation. We could use Norway & Finland instead, they had 5 and 6 deaths per 100,000 people respectively. If you’re so interested in data why aren’t you interested in what they did to address the problem?
2. What medieval attitude towards therapeutics? Treatment has clearly improved since early March.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:02 amThe school district is following Gov. Kemp’s lead. Remember, just last month he explicitly banned Georgia’s cities and counties from ordering people to wear masks in public places. It’s the worst example of playing politics with a pandemic, and now public schools are encouraging a petri dish of possible transmission.
Dana (292df6) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:04 am@22, leadership matters. It matters far beyond what you can / can’t do with the power of the state.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:10 amThere’s a report out this morning that Florida’s health directors were instructed not to advise school boards on whether schools should reopen:
The report makes clear that this is not business as usual, given that schools have consistently relied upon directives from local health directors “on everything from reducing encephalitis risks at football games to how to test students during tuberculosis outbreaks.”
Dana (292df6) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:27 am@7. They’re HS students, Nic— ‘children’ their age are driving cars, flying fighter jets, robbing banks, pro-creating and stupidly not wearing masks.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:45 am@24, looks like intentionally pulling back so you don’t have to be blamed for trade off’s or things that go wrong. Horrible leadership.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:53 amParents need the babysitting service which schools primarily provide. Some urgently. Not too long ago a woman drowned her special needs 11-year old because it drove her crazy to look after him all day long.
So that’s really the primary political consideration. The babysitting, because parents vote.
Not the quality of the kids’ education. That’s always been in third place: 1. Workfare for the teachers and staff. 2. Babysitting services for the parents. 3. The kids’ education.
nk (1d9030) — 8/7/2020 @ 8:29 amTeachers returned to a Georgia school district last week. 260 employees have already gone home to quarantine.
On Wednesday, teachers in Georgia’s largest school district returned to elementary, middle and high school campuses to start in-person planning for the fall semester.
By the next day, 260 district employees had been barred from entering their schools, either because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had been directly exposed to someone who had.
Sloan Roach, spokeswoman for Gwinnett County Public Schools, which serves more than 180,000 students, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that most of the cases were tied to community spread, rather than being spread at the schools. Some of the employees who reported exposure to the virus had not come to work yet, Roach added.
…….
The outbreak has complicated the return to school in Gwinnett County, which this week had the highest number of new coronavirus cases in the state. Georgia has reported 195,435 cases and 3,842 deaths to date. But Gwinnett County’s teachers and school administrators are hardly alone in dealing with the fallout of an early outbreak as they try to launch a digital-only return.
……..
Within the first week of reopening, a school district in Mississippi reported its first positive case and identified 14 other students who came in contact with the sick pupil. By Monday, two more students had tested positive, the district said on Facebook.
After attending a three-day retreat to plan the upcoming school year, 11 school leaders who serve campuses in Chanute, Kan., tested positive for the virus by Monday.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/7/2020 @ 8:57 am………
@16-
When Covid Subsided, Israel Reopened Its Schools. It Didn’t Go Well.
……
Confident it had beaten the coronavirus and desperate to reboot a devastated economy, the Israeli government invited the entire student body back in late May.
Within days, infections were reported at a Jerusalem high school, which quickly mushroomed into the largest outbreak in a single school in Israel, possibly the world.
The virus rippled out to the students’ homes and then to other schools and neighborhoods, ultimately infecting hundreds of students, teachers and relatives.
Other outbreaks forced hundreds of schools to close. Across the country, tens of thousands of students and teachers were quarantined.
Israel’s advice for other countries?
“They definitely should not do what we have done,” said Eli Waxman, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and chairman of the team advising Israel’s National Security Council on the pandemic. “It was a major failure.”
The lesson, experts say, is that even communities that have gotten the spread of the virus under control need to take strict precautions when reopening schools. Smaller classes, mask wearing, keeping desks six feet apart and providing adequate ventilation, they say, are likely to be crucial until a vaccine is available.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/7/2020 @ 9:01 am……..
UPDATE: Suspension Lifted of Georgia Student Who Posted Photos of Crowded Hall
……
A 15-year-old student at North Paulding, Hannah Watters, was initially suspended for five days for posting images of the crowded hallways on Twitter, according to her mother, Lynne Watters, who said she filed a grievance with the school on Thursday.
By Friday, Hannah said, her suspension had been lifted and wiped from her record, with the school’s principal calling her mother to tell her that she could return to class on Monday.
Although she agreed that she had breached the school’s policy, which prohibits filming students and posting their images to social media without their consent, Hannah said in an interview that she did not regret doing so as the images had shed light on the crowding and lack of social distancing in her school.
“My mom has always told me that she won’t get mad at us if we get in trouble as long as it’s ‘good trouble,’” Hannah said, invoking the famous phrase of Representative John Lewis, the civil rights leader who was laid to rest in Atlanta last week. “You’re bettering society and bettering the world, so those consequences don’t outweigh the end result.”
The high school and school district did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/7/2020 @ 9:15 am…….
29. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/7/2020 @ 9:01 am
The lesson is, if you got it “under control” by social distancing measurees, you’re on a hamster wheel, and you can never stop, with getting a second wave, not even with a vaccine, since not everybody will get the vaccine and the vaccine is not 100% effective.
Not some therapeutics could help.
Sammy Finkelman (fe6a9b) — 8/7/2020 @ 10:20 am* you can never stop, withOUT getting a second wave.
Until you reach herd immunity.
It wouldn’t be so bad to get a shot of artificial antibodies every few months.
Sammy Finkelman (fe6a9b) — 8/7/2020 @ 10:22 amCBS46
@cbs46
HAPPENING NOW: @universityofga students and staff hold unique “die-in” in protest of school’s planned fall reopening. #UGA
__ _
CNN
@CNN
·
All school districts across New York state have been cleared to re-open for in-person classes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says.
__ _
Can’t wait for the NY “die-in”.
harkin (c4b982) — 8/7/2020 @ 1:09 pm__
I just received a text informing me that a local principal, age 40, no underlying health conditions, died of Covid. She leaves a husband and small children behind. Her site already started remote learning, but she was meeting with parents/management/staff to work on beginning a rotating in-person classes. Terribly sad.
Dana (292df6) — 8/7/2020 @ 2:47 pmI’ve updated the post with news that the administration, without comment, has rescinded the student’s suspension.
Dana (292df6) — 8/7/2020 @ 3:04 pmCan’t wait for the NY “die-in”.
__
harkin (c4b982) — 8/7/2020 @ 1:09 pm
nk (1d9030) — 8/7/2020 @ 3:29 pmhttps://www.pilotonline.com/news/health/vp-nw-coronavirus-daily-0807-20200807-y6yk4ocvyvgrlnqpo3hhqk3rsy-story.html
Dana, you might want to correct your story. And you too Dave.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/7/2020 @ 7:59 pmMy apologies. Wrong entry.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/7/2020 @ 8:06 pmThe much nicer Dana wrote:
And it would be enforced how? Teenagers are rebellious, and it wouldn’t be long before only the nerds wore the masks.
Schools have only two means of discipline remaining: suspensions or expulsions.
The Dana in Kentucky (9b0a37) — 8/8/2020 @ 9:12 amThen, of course, there’s high school football! You’re on the line, maybe a foot apart from the guy on the defensive line, who’s staring you down, looking for advantage, trying to anticipate the snap. If you are playing guard, the center is arm’s length away from you on one side, and the tackle arm’s length away on the other. The ball is snapped, and you are in the face of the defensive lineman, helmet-to-helmet, trying to push him off the line and open a hole for the halfback; your open facemask is two or three inches away from your face, and his is as well, and your facemasks are often in direct contact. In the effort of the play, you will exhale through your mouth, and no, you aren’t wearing a germ mask.
Maybe you’re a linebacker or a split end, in which case you aren’t quite that close to your man, but you will be as the play develops. If you are a defensive player, you very much intend to get up close and personal with the blockers or ball carriers.
The Dana in Kentucky (9b0a37) — 8/8/2020 @ 9:24 am@24: It would be awesome if health directors could advise school boards, given that there’s probably zero chance any of them would go out on a limb and say yeah, it’s okay to open schools — even when it’s actually okay.
But, I’d rather get advice from them rather than the commenters here (most, probably) who don’t have school aged kids and have zero experience with the unmitigated disaster known as distance learning. You all don’t know what you’re talking about, and don’t know the cost associated with not opening schools.
beer ‘n pretzels (26e26a) — 8/8/2020 @ 9:31 amMrs. Montagu is a middle school special ed teacher, and special ed kids (in general) are notoriously bad about personal space and many cases hygiene. She has several work colleagues with compromised health situations. Had our school district decided to open the schools, they would’ve had the untenable choice of quitting or risking their health and perhaps their lives.
Paul Montagu (335319) — 8/8/2020 @ 10:13 amWe haven’t contained the virus here, rather the opposite in the last month, so the school district made the tough but right call, IMO. It’ll be online learning, probably for the semester. Hopefully there will be sufficient containment and vaccine by the time we hit 2021.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/08/08/doesnt-take-philosophy-degree-see-governments-reasoning-dangerously/#comment
narciso (7404b5) — 8/8/2020 @ 10:51 amOh
https://mobile.twitter.com/MiltonWolfMD/status/1292110120537731072
Narciso (7404b5) — 8/8/2020 @ 10:58 am@34 The kids aren’t onsite for distance learning. Teachers and admin often are. I’ve been back onsite at least part of the time since April. A lot of Admin were never really offsite and, even with distance learning a lot of teachers are or are going to be onsite to stream direct instruction, prep online work for students, etc. Shortly I’ll be in person passing out needed fall materials to all our students. Basically distance learning reduces our risk from “OMG we are all going to die.” to what is normally faced by any public facing business that is open.
Nic (896fdf) — 8/8/2020 @ 11:13 amBasically distance learning reduces our risk from “OMG we are all going to die.” to what is normally faced by any public facing business that is open.
Teachers and admin still get paid, no matter how they do their job. Businesses don’t. Dumb comparison.
OMG, only 98% of us will survive, even in the unlikely event we practice zero basic precautions (masks, 6 ft, wash hands).
The entire school year is shot. There will be BS about well, it’s only for the first semester. Cut the crap. I’ll take wagers on next year as well.
beer ‘n pretzels (368b0a) — 8/8/2020 @ 11:29 am@46 Risk factor isn’t whether or not you get paid, it’s based on possible exposure to the disease.
Oh, only 2%. I’m sure that a 2% death of school staff won’t be any problem. How about we just draw lots every year and someone can just shoot 2-4 of my immediate coworkers in the face. That’ll be fine, right?
Nic (896fdf) — 8/8/2020 @ 11:48 amHow about we just draw lots every year and someone can just shoot 2-4 of my immediate coworkers in the face.
Trump’s pestilence spreaders first, please.
nk (1d9030) — 8/8/2020 @ 11:54 amOh, only 2%. I’m sure that a 2% death of school staff won’t be any problem.
Like I said, if you read, that’s if zero precautions are taken. We know there would be plenty.
If this is the standard from now on, the schools will never open. Admit it. Cut the crap. An effective vaccine, if it ever arrives, is a year or two away and I doubt it will be any more effective than your normal flu vaccine. And, we know no school staff dies from the flu —that’s why the schools have been open for decades, despite many various causes of death other than COVID. I guess we didn’t care about school staff all those years, or we had a lottery LOL
beer ‘n pretzels (368b0a) — 8/8/2020 @ 12:05 pm@49 Since you are on this post, I assume that you looked at the pictures uptop. That is how students are. A school is a germ spreading factory and teachers work closely with up to 250 students a day.
I have never lost a coworker to flu. We have vaccines for it, and herd immunity, and it isn’t as virulent a spreader as Covid-19, and it is only very very rarely fatal for the demographic most teachers are in.
You cut the crap. You are telling me that me and /or my coworkers to die rather than temporarily change the education environment.
Nic (896fdf) — 8/8/2020 @ 12:46 pmYou are telling me that me and /or my coworkers to die rather than temporarily change the education environment.
Define temporary. I’ll wait….
The unions will refuse to go back, even after COVID with a vaccine is as virulent as the flu. And, local officials will bow to them, as they always do. Will be glad to be proved wrong.
beer ‘n pretzels (c5ae1f) — 8/8/2020 @ 1:02 pmCOVID-19, while sharing some similarities, is not the flu. It’s a disingenuous argument to make.
@ Dana in Kentucky,
They’re going to do X anyway (pick your (teenager) poison), so let’s not do anything to help mitigate the problem and possibly save lives because it might be hard. This is not a stand that I would’ve guessed you would advocate.
Dana (292df6) — 8/8/2020 @ 1:09 pm@51 You clearly have not spent any time at all in any of the back to school board meetings this year. Like. None. Since you have zero idea of what you are talking about. However, since it will be at least a quarter, might I recommend holding your breath from now until October/November.
Nic (896fdf) — 8/8/2020 @ 1:13 pmLOL Nic, back in March our school implemented a temporary two week stay at home order. At the time, I told a neighbor that it wasn’t going to be any two weeks, and the rest of the year is totally shot. She thought I was joking. I was right then and I’m right now, but I’ll bet if I had attended school board meetings they would’ve put me straight.
beer ‘n pretzels (334591) — 8/8/2020 @ 1:21 pm@54 Again, all you are showing is that you don’t know anything. For most places the initial 2 weeks was an emergency decision to give the districts time to figure out how to proceed safely. The board meetings in March were very much serious discussions about how long to stay out.
Nic (896fdf) — 8/8/2020 @ 1:33 pm