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Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Greene's apathy towards teachers is disturbing (draft)

I would like you to listen to the 1:06-1:10 mark of the meeting. There Superintendent Greene answers the question, if there was no executive order what would she do, start with distance learning, go with a hybrid, or something else.

https://www.facebook.com/watchparty/593166871393231/?entry_source=USER_TIMELINE

She says she would still push for a hybrid, pointing out we have 1000s of students, who need brick and mortar and her first reason was that we provide food.

Forgive me but didn't we provide food when we shut down in the spring?

She then talks about students who were lagging behind pre-COVID and is concerned they might have fallen even farther behind.

This is a concern we all have but where some of us disagree is we would rather make distance learning better rather than risk their, their teacher, and their family's lives. 

She continues saying there is nothing better than a high-quality teacher engaging students face to face and again, here is some common ground, just many of us don't want to risk our lives to do it and sadly she admits she is all too willing to.

She is basically saying risking lives is worth mitigating learning losses. I disagree because the truth is if we have the will and the resources we can make up leaning losses, but we will never be able to make up lost lives.

She then brings up ESE children, saying it is hard to deliver services like OT and PT and I agree, and that's why I sent her suggestions to how that could happen.

https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2020/07/teachers-have-solutions.html

Suggestions she ignored because she has a return to school at any cost mentality.

She goes onto describe how working families need schools to be there for them and where my heart breaks for the impossible choices they have to make, that shouldn't be on schools to solve. It's not the teacher's fault that the city and state government haven't done their jobs and I don't think teachers should risk their lives to cover for their inaction.

Finally, she then talks about her respect for teachers and how she will do anything for them but I guess that doesn't include listening to them or doing everything she can to keep them safe, but it does include insulting them by initially saying Duval homeroom teachers would have to work from school and putting their lives in danger. With friends like Greene, I don't see how we need any enemies.

You know there is nothing wrong with really caring about students and their family members like the user does. It is admirable, but in this case, misguided. She is risking those students and families, and the teachers that teach them lives.

This is the reality, I know it, you know it and even worse Greene knows it. She knows people will get exposed, some will get sick or worse and schools will close. It is not a matter of if but when and how many and still she insists on risking lives. She might say she cares about teachers, but how about showing us instead.

I was amazingly disappointed at her remarks, up to that point I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that for whatever reason she felt forced to try and open schools, but the thing is she doesn't. This choice to risk lives is a decision she believes and to her is a better alternative than keeping everyone safe.   

These are troubling times.

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