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

[Dancefortwo]

Boston refused to close schools during the 1918 flu. Then children began to die.

The flu was just beginning to ravage Boston when its 110,000 children headed back to school in September 1918.

New cases of what everyone called the Spanish flu had reached Boston’s ports, and the illness had spread to more than 300 sailors in less than a week. The cases were consistent: sudden onset of chills, then a fever, headache, backache, red eyes, pains and aches. Even those who managed to survive often succumbed to pneumonia in the days that followed.

The Massachusetts State Department of Health warned residents to take measures to protect themselves, according to a Sept. 6 story in the Boston Globe.

“Unless precautions are taken, the disease in all probability will spread to the civilian population of the city,” declaredJohn S. Hitchcock, head of the department’s division of communicable diseases.

Official orders were issued to prohibit spitting in public places. People were told to avoid crowds, and if illness struck, “try to surround yourself with a wall of isolation.” But Navy officials, who were preoccupied with fighting World War I, downplayed the severity of the initial outbreak in local ports. Boston’s students returned to their classrooms.

In mid-September, William H. Devine, director of medical inspection in Boston public schools, reported eight cases of the flu among local students. But in language that echoes the current debate about how schools should respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Devine argued against closings.

Chaos coast to coast as a school year like no other launches

“The children are actually better off in school than at home. They are inspected every day by physicians and nurses, and any suspicious case is immediately sent home with orders to remain in bed until a diagnosis has been made,” he said. “There is nothing alarming in the situation. The disease is prevalent among grown persons, and it is natural it should appear among children. There will probably be more cases, but there is no school epidemic.”

This philosophy was supported by Boston Health Commissioner William Woodward. Even as Boston continued to see record rates of new infections, Woodward found no evidence that school closures were necessary. This didn’t stop nearby districts in Sharon, Milford and Needham from closing due to cases of infected students.

On Sept. 18, 17 new cases of infection were reported in Boston schools, bringing the total up to 50. By this point, local public schools were reporting that attendance rates had dropped by 40 percent among high school students, while 30 percent of younger students were absent.

Commissioner Woodward continued to refuse to say that there was anything new about the current strain of flu that had struck the city. As Boston again witnessed record-breaking daily deaths, Woodward assured parents that their children were safe. He pointed to the fact that no students at Boston’s public schools had died of the flu. That evening, the death of Anna Bloomfield was reported. She was only 8 years old.

I read that same article, at least I think it's the same one.  The Los Angeles School District in 1918 had the students doing correspondence school or as we would call it today - distance learning.

My husband will be doing distance teaching until November but it may extend through to the end of the year and maybe into Spring.   Some of the classes will be live, or as the district is calling it, "synchronistic" teaching.    This means that all the students will be live on zoom at the same time from their homes.  With about 32 kids in a class their little faces will be postage stamp sized on the screen.   Actually the district uses Google hangouts but is probably going switch to go to Zoom.  This is going to be a learning experience for everyone....the teachers, the administrators and the kids.  Everybody needs to be patient.  

Football has been scheduled to begin next Spring.   I have no idea how choir, band or orchestra will be taught.  This high school has a nice little orchestra it will be very sad for the kids who love playing and singing music.