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There have been a lot of posters on a lot of threads about this who make condescending comments like "just stay home with your kids" "youre just not trying hard enough to make it work" "youre choosing your work over your children".
For a HUGE percentage of parents, "making it work" is either not an option at all or not an option that actually results in success of our children. I worked at home while school was out. It worked, short term in an emergency. But my sons education suffered for it. He spend hours daily that he would have spent in school wandering around our house, playing with the dogs, watching tv. Because i had to work. And that wont change. We pay 10k a year in taxes in the agreement that the schools provide a minimum level of acceptable education. Our children's future is not something you "make work" its an incredibly important part of their development along with socialization. He is only 5, he cant self study or do his school work himself. Instead after I woke up at 530 and worked until 2, I then had to "homeschool" for a few hours while we are all tired and grumpy and rushed. He wasnt learning at the rate he was in school. If he were to be at home for the year with no other option, I would certainly disenroll him from his school into a virtual school because i was disappointed with the level of support from his current school during the quarantine. But it would still require a lot of hands on activity that would require us doing it outside of "normal" work hours because I have to work. Our society has not evolved in a way that allows for a parent to be home with their children all time in most households. Single parents have ZERO options if their company doesnt offer a work from home option.
And not a single person responded to my post about the amount of children that will die from abuse and neglect
There have been a lot of posters on a lot of threads about this who make condescending comments like "just stay home with your kids" "youre just not trying hard enough to make it work" "youre choosing your work over your children".
For a HUGE percentage of parents, "making it work" is either not an option at all or not an option that actually results in success of our children. I worked at home while school was out. It worked, short term in an emergency. But my sons education suffered for it. He spend hours daily that he would have spent in school wandering around our house, playing with the dogs, watching tv. Because i had to work. And that wont change. We pay 10k a year in taxes in the agreement that the schools provide a minimum level of acceptable education. Our children's future is not something you "make work" its an incredibly important part of their development along with socialization. He is only 5, he cant self study or do his school work himself. Instead after I woke up at 530 and worked until 2, I then had to "homeschool" for a few hours while we are all tired and grumpy and rushed. He wasnt learning at the rate he was in school. If he were to be at home for the year with no other option, I would certainly disenroll him from his school into a virtual school because i was disappointed with the level of support from his current school during the quarantine. But it would still require a lot of hands on activity that would require us doing it outside of "normal" work hours because I have to work. Our society has not evolved in a way that allows for a parent to be home with their children all time in most households. Single parents have ZERO options if their company doesnt offer a work from home option.
And not a single person responded to my post about the amount of children that will die from abuse and neglect
It's NOT about the amount. How can YOU as a parent, send your child to school, knowing there is even a possibility? How can you live with yourself if your child gets very ill or dies because you made the decision to send him to school. These are the questions you should be asking yourself? Why is it so hard for people like you to understand learning remotely is far better than burying your child?
We had our friends over for a social distance back yard birthday party for their 8 year old. They had masks with just in case they needed to use the facilities, including the 8 year old. I had a mask on when I put something on their table. Of course the 8 year old needed to use the facilities. I told her to please keep her mask on. She did going in but had it off coming out. It was difficult keeping her 6 feet away from me. I'm 3 weeks post op, so it's important that I stay away from everyone for at least another three weeks. She was way too close way too many times. I had good air flow in the house and I did disinfect after her. It was very stressful for me and that was just one 8 year old.
I just dont understand why noone seems to care about weighing the danger to children for NOT attending school, some consequences which are far worse than the risk of attending school during covid.
Let say that 25 children have died from COVID. I cant seem to find an exact number but the mortality rate for children is very very very very small.
It is reported that 1700 children in the US die every year from abuse and neglect, 79% of which is perpetrated by caregivers. And it is suspected this number is less than actual numbers due to not being able to determine the actual cause.
ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED children. Countless other children are saved by the intervention of school officials who recognize the patterns of abuse and attempt to help.
I dont want any children to die. NONE. But the absurdly low risk of illness and death for children is not outweighed by the thousands of children who suffer injury and death being trapped in the house 24 hours a day with no reprieve with their abusers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LO28SWM
(snip)
And not a single person responded to my post about the amount of children that will die from abuse and neglect
I don't know why others did not respond to your post, but I didn't respond because I don't have an answer.
I am a retired teacher with multiple health risks, and there is absolutely no way that I would return to the classroom during a pandemic. Even years before I developed my own health risks I was caring for an elderly, very medically fragile mother and a husband with cancer (and other disabilities). Call me selfish, but to me the risk to me and my loved ones was/is a higher priority than solving someone else's problem.
There needs to be more front line workers involved in preventing and finding abuse and neglect of children. Perhaps, more social workers doing regular home visits, more pediatricians doing regular follow ups on their young patients, religious leaders getting more involved in their neighborhood and community, government officials taking social issues seriously, neighbors helping neighbors, food banks and homeless shelters watching out for the youngest receiving their services, etc. etc. IMHO, society can't always rely on teachers to solve all the problems of their community.
I see you are in Texas. Maybe this can help. This is administered by the TEA (Texas Education Agency).
These are public schools and participate in the state exams (STAAR).
Thank you, I will examine these options and see if they would be a fit for our family. At this point, we're simply exhausted with everything that is going on. It truly feels as if the walls are closing in on us and that is a terrible feeling.
It's NOT about the amount. How can YOU as a parent, send your child to school, knowing there is even a possibility? How can you live with yourself if your child gets very ill or dies because you made the decision to send him to school. These are the questions you should be asking yourself? Why is it so hard for people like you to understand learning remotely is far better than burying your child?
How can YOU as an adult and a human in the world and a parent (?) be ok with thousands of children dying because a few children may get sick. The chance of death from covid is hundreds of times less likely than the death of a child that falls through the cracks. I dont want my child sick. I dont want your child sick. I want children to not die at the hands of their parents because there noone who can help them. This is important too. I can live with the remote possibility that my child will get sick if it helps maintain a system that allows other children to be saved, to be rescued. I dont want him sick i dont prefer him to be in a situation that puts him at risk but we need to be considering ALL THE OUTCOMES not just the outcome of keeping kids home to spare them from COvid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by germaine2626
I don't know why others did not respond to your post, but I didn't respond because I don't have an answer.
I am a retired teacher with multiple health risks, and there is absolutely no way that I would return to the classroom during a pandemic. Even years before I developed my own health risks I was caring for an elderly, very medically fragile mother and a husband with cancer (and other disabilities). Call me selfish, but to me the risk to me and my loved ones was/is a higher priority than solving someone else's problem.
There needs to be more front line workers involved in preventing and finding abuse and neglect of children. Perhaps, more social workers doing regular home visits, more pediatricians doing regular follow ups on their young patients, religious leaders getting more involved in their neighborhood and community, government officials taking social issues seriously, neighbors helping neighbors, food banks and homeless shelters watching out for the youngest receiving their services, etc. etc. IMHO, society can't always rely on teachers to solve all the problems of their community.
I dont want anyone to get sick, I dont want kids or adults to get Covid or spread it around, Its incredibly serious. But until and unless the school/governments/towns make provisions to help save these children from falling through the cracks I wont stop being vocal about their need to return to the safety of school. Teachers, as you know, are often the first person to recognize a pattern of abuse. If a pediatrician sees some unusual stuff but only once, they may write it off. Some people arent religious, social workers dont show up/parents dont let them just pop in for a visit. But teachers see their students every day. They notice weight loss. Lack of cleanliness. Persistent injuries. Fear. Those are incredibly important observations that arent being seen in a 10 or 15 minute visit. Youre right, we are failing the children in our communities. But not allowing teachers access to students is making the problem worse without a viable solution
Thank you, I will examine these options and see if they would be a fit for our family. At this point, we're simply exhausted with everything that is going on. It truly feels as if the walls are closing in on us and that is a terrible feeling.
Speak with your neighbors that also have kids in school. Maybe even work out something with them.
A much smaller group setting with all parties taking precautions poses a much lower risk and then you can alternate between/among yourselves.
I dont want anyone to get sick, I dont want kids or adults to get Covid or spread it around, Its incredibly serious. But until and unless the school/governments/towns make provisions to help save these children from falling through the cracks I wont stop being vocal about their need to return to the safety of school. Teachers, as you know, are often the first person to recognize a pattern of abuse. If a pediatrician sees some unusual stuff but only once, they may write it off. Some people arent religious, social workers dont show up/parents dont let them just pop in for a visit. But teachers see their students every day. They notice weight loss. Lack of cleanliness. Persistent injuries. Fear. Those are incredibly important observations that arent being seen in a 10 or 15 minute visit. Youre right, we are failing the children in our communities. But not allowing teachers access to students is making the problem worse without a viable solution
There is something you can do. Volunteer and be in the schools when they start up again.
Even if they do remote teaching there will be kids that cannot do it at home for one reason or another and so the schools will have to become daycare centers so the kids have someplace to go for their remote learning.
Go there and be the eyes because some teachers do not want to go back into the classroom and would rather do remote teaching.
There is something you can do. Volunteer and be in the schools when they start up again.
Even if they do remote teaching there will be kids that cannot do it at home for one reason or another and so the schools will have to become daycare centers so the kids have someplace to go for their remote learning.
Go there and be the eyes because some teachers do not want to go back into the classroom and would rather do remote teaching.
That's a great idea. Years ago, I was among the first teachers in our state's distance learning program. The remote schools provided the facilitators who were of an extreme spectrum of quality. Serving as the facilitator for kids who have to attend classes of teachers who must teach from home is a terrific way to help get the kids back into a supervised environment while respecting the safety of people at high risk.
Last edited by lhpartridge; 07-14-2020 at 01:00 PM..
Reason: grammar
That's a great idea. Years ago, I was among the first teachers in our states distance learning program. The remote schools provided the facilitators who were of an extreme spectrum of quality. Serving as the facilitator for kids who have to attend classes of teachers who must teach from home is a terrific way to help get the kids back into a supervised environment while respecting the safety of people at high risk.
I actually did do something along those lines when I subbed. There were HS seniors taking online college classes. They had a dedicated computer lab just for those students and some of my sub assignments were in that lab.
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