Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)

[Tres Leches]

The funny thing about this is that just yesterday I joked to my wife that I couldn't wait for school districts to require waivers.  She laughed and said "that's crazy."

I can't wait until she gets home!

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/missour...-children/

Missouri school district forces parents to sign COVID-19 ‘death’ waiver for children

This comment is a bit misleading.
Once you click on the link, the headline is "Missouri school district asks parents to sign COVID-19 ‘death’ waiver for children."

While this is certainly an exciting headline, reading the article will reveal that only parents who want their student to play sports or participate in special activities are asked to sign the legal waiver - not all students who are attending on campus classes are being "forced to sign a death waiver".

I mean, I've already signed many permission slips for field trips crafted by district lawyers and I've waived my right to sue if my child is injured or dies - yes, dies, I've read the fine print - on the trip. I wouldn't be surprised if this particular district already had a template created and ready to go in the event of a pandemic.

I want my kid back on campus at least part time. The students can wear masks and attend staggered sessions to keep the crowds down. Teachers who are high risk or too frightened to teach in person should take a sabbatical, retire, or get trained on teaching online classes and teach that way.

I don't know how long this pandemic will last. Do you? (Asking generally everybody reading.) There seems to be some kind of weird consensus that distance teaching will only be for the next school year. "It's just a year. It won't matter that much if kids lose a year of their education." 

How the fuck does anyone know that this will be "just a year?" They don't. It could be less (will schools quickly reopen if so?) or it could be much longer. There could be another pandemic on this one's heels.

Winston Churchill said "Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else."

This is painfully true with the pandemic generally and will be true with education during the pandemic. When wealthy and influential parents are even complaining about the state of distance teaching in their rich schools - I predict districts that insist on keeping campuses closed indefinitely will get heavy push back from parents and communities. "Only after they have tried everything else" schools will miraculously work on ways to get kids safely back in classes.

-Teresa