The powers that be say, it will be fine, we'll have a mask policy, practice social distancing, clean in between classes and wash, wash, wash our hands and things will be fine, to which I say, they are %#&%ing nuts if they think that's going to be both easy or doable.
Let's take those items one at a time.
Masks, let's say schools have strict mask policies and staff, and students have to wear them at all times, something that is not in place now Duval as gym and music classes are exempt. Have you tried to lecture and talk for an hour at a time wearing a mask? What about just wearing one for an hour straight? I went to a three-hour school board meeting the other day, and it was dreadful.
So at best, wearing masks all day long is not going to be great However, we know things we not be at their best. Teachers are going to have to fight with kids to keep their masks on at every grade level all day long.
Practice social distancing. First, the vast majority of classrooms are not big enough to practice social distancing. If there are more than ten or twelve people in it anyway and most classes have between 18 and 30 students. Say we squeeze in 15 that might be doable if no kid moved, ever. But what about switching classes, how are we going to keep hundreds of people six feet apart in those ten-foot-wide halls? The answer is we aren't. Also what if a class moves. The line of a class of 15 with one teacher would have to be 96 feet long. Roll the dice and cut that in half and it is still the better part of two first downs in length.
Then how we are going to clean in between classes? Do we have enough custodians to do that? We all know that we don't so the plan will be for teachers to do it and okay teachers are willing to step up, but are they going to give us ten to 15 minutes to get it done while the next class waits in the hall? Why don't I think so?
Then wash, wash, wash, our hands. Um, with what sinks. Sure some classes have sinks, but most do not. So for the ones that do, for that a class of fifteen, it would probably take 15 minutes from start to finish to get the entire class to do it. Then what happens to the classes that don't have sinks, are we going to send them in groups to the bathrooms? How is that going to work? Kids aren't going to exactly rush back, and that just exasperates the social distancing problem.
Then don't get me started about plexiglass shields which our district spent 4 million dollars on. For every problem it solves, they will create two more.
Does any of this sound doable? This sets us up for failure more than we usually are.
Let's take those items one at a time.
Masks, let's say schools have strict mask policies and staff, and students have to wear them at all times, something that is not in place now Duval as gym and music classes are exempt. Have you tried to lecture and talk for an hour at a time wearing a mask? What about just wearing one for an hour straight? I went to a three-hour school board meeting the other day, and it was dreadful.
So at best, wearing masks all day long is not going to be great However, we know things we not be at their best. Teachers are going to have to fight with kids to keep their masks on at every grade level all day long.
Practice social distancing. First, the vast majority of classrooms are not big enough to practice social distancing. If there are more than ten or twelve people in it anyway and most classes have between 18 and 30 students. Say we squeeze in 15 that might be doable if no kid moved, ever. But what about switching classes, how are we going to keep hundreds of people six feet apart in those ten-foot-wide halls? The answer is we aren't. Also what if a class moves. The line of a class of 15 with one teacher would have to be 96 feet long. Roll the dice and cut that in half and it is still the better part of two first downs in length.
Then how we are going to clean in between classes? Do we have enough custodians to do that? We all know that we don't so the plan will be for teachers to do it and okay teachers are willing to step up, but are they going to give us ten to 15 minutes to get it done while the next class waits in the hall? Why don't I think so?
Then wash, wash, wash, our hands. Um, with what sinks. Sure some classes have sinks, but most do not. So for the ones that do, for that a class of fifteen, it would probably take 15 minutes from start to finish to get the entire class to do it. Then what happens to the classes that don't have sinks, are we going to send them in groups to the bathrooms? How is that going to work? Kids aren't going to exactly rush back, and that just exasperates the social distancing problem.
Then don't get me started about plexiglass shields which our district spent 4 million dollars on. For every problem it solves, they will create two more.
Does any of this sound doable? This sets us up for failure more than we usually are.
As for all of these things keeping us safe, we know they won't and in fact the district just calls them mitigating efforts because they know eventually people will get exposed, some will get sick or worse and we will have to close classes and schools. Friends if Florida's Emergency Operations Center just had to close because of a COVID outbreak, what chance do schools really have?
Finally, people talk about mental health, that kids need to get back to school for mental health reasons, well friends throw in constant fear of getting sick to all of above and does above sound like it will be good for their mental health? It sure doesn't to me. It sounds like a nightmare.
A the end of the day we all want to be back, we all think that is best, but the reality is right now it's not. It just isn't safe let alone practical.
Finally, people talk about mental health, that kids need to get back to school for mental health reasons, well friends throw in constant fear of getting sick to all of above and does above sound like it will be good for their mental health? It sure doesn't to me. It sounds like a nightmare.
A the end of the day we all want to be back, we all think that is best, but the reality is right now it's not. It just isn't safe let alone practical.
The district should spend what time we have left improving Duval Homeroom and making sure we keep those children that it did not work so well for, don't fall through the cracks,
We can make up for lost learning time, but we can't make up for lost lives.
DeSantis said we shouldn't base our decisions about reopening schools off of fears? So should we go by the data then or just hope to hell nobody gets sick or worse? I swear it's like the wheels are turning but the hamster is dead.
ReplyDeleteAt my Duval school, we will split the population by grade level. This means that teachers will see a full classroom for the in-school days under the hybrid model. No social distancing. They're not sure about class sizes, whether a teacher will have more students than separate work stations. Also, students will sanitize hands upon entering and leaving the classroom. Students will be asked to wipe down their desks when they enter a room. I don't see how this can possibly work. If this differs from what Dr. Greene has said, it's one more example of how the actual reality differs from what she tells the public.
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