• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Nancy Bailey's Education Website

Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools

  • Activism
    • Anti-Charter Schools
    • Anti-Common Core State Standards
    • Anti-Corporatization of Schools
    • Anti-High-Stakes Testing
    • State Action Groups
    • School Buildings
  • School Curriculum
    • General Education
    • Educators
    • Parents
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • The Arts
    • Technology
    • Behavior
    • Diversity
    • English Language Learners
    • Special Education
      • Autism
      • Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities
      • Learning Disabilities
      • Developmental Disabilities
      • Gifted
      • Other
    • Early Childhood Education
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Student Careers
  • Other Countries
    • England
    • Finland
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • Canada

15 Strange and Scary Goings-On Surrounding Covid-19, Schools, and Teaching

October 12, 2020 By Nancy Bailey 1 Comment

Post Views: 1,955

How to handle a pandemic is a new territory for school officials and educators. Here are some observations of odd and downright scary practices surrounding the disease and school attendance.

  1. Adults online. Students are in-person. School board members meet online to discuss business. They’re worried about catching the virus, but they determine it’s best to send students and teachers back to in-person school. If board members are concerned about Covid-19, children and teachers are too.
  2. Watch those teachers. There’s no school attendance for students, but teachers must still report to school to provide online instruction. They’re not trusted to teach safely from home. Trust teachers and treat them like professionals.
  3. Covid-19 musical chairs. Children in school exposed to the coronavirus are moved around every 15 minutes called “musical chairs” to change the air. This keeps the school from having to quarantine students who are exposed or asymptomatic. It’s disruptive, dangerous, and a sign that students and teachers shouldn’t be in class.
  4. Standardized tests go on. In-person schooling is deemed unsafe, but administrators insist that students and teachers come together for standardized testing. Parents despised these tests before the pandemic. The disease hasn’t made them more endearing. Is a test worth catching Covid-19? Aren’t they collecting enough data about children online? Isn’t that scary enough?
  5. Calling teachers essential workers. Teachers are important, and it’s too bad it took a virus to have some politicians see how important they are. But they can teach from afar for now when it is too dangerous to return to school. No one likes this set-up, but it is safer. Calling them essential is bullying them to return to class.
  6. Students check in one day a week. Understandably, school officials want to keep tabs on students and lower class sizes for social distancing, but the virus isn’t going to take a day off. Students also get mixed up and show up at school on the wrong days. Maybe there are safer ways to check in with students, making sure they’re connected online, by phone, driveway visitations, or something no one has thought of yet.
  7. Mandating masks. It has been said repeatedly that masks are critical for protecting yourself from Covid-19, so it is hard to believe this is an issue in school districts.
  8. The virus is not religious. Betsy DeVos continues to push for public schools to open. She highlights religious schools that stay open. The Catholic school where Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s children attend just had two students and a teacher come down with Covid-19. The virus doesn’t care about religion.
  9. Private schools are often virtual. While DeVos pushes for public schools to open, many private schools are virtual. President Trump’s son is going to school virtually. 
  10. No planning time. Teachers in some places aren’t getting planning time, but the work they do online is grueling. Some teach in-person, simultaneously online or hybrid. It’s like two jobs! It’s scary enough trying to accomplish everything online. Give teachers planning time!
  11. They’re pleased to stay open. In Ohio, statewide cases of coronavirus cases tied to schools increased again in the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 4. The four weeks of the ODH dashboard have shown new case totals of 247, then 394, then 440, and then 530 in Thursday’s release. One school district hasn’t gotten hit hard with the virus. They’re happy to be still open. Maybe they should take a hint.
  12. Plexiglass. A professor expressed concern that the plexiglass lectern didn’t reach his face. A picture of children in a Texas school showed plexiglass squares that barely reached the top of the student’s head. How safe is all that plastic plexiglass? Research seems to be lacking. It might help, but it is no substitute for masks and social distancing.
  13. How’s the air in that classroom? Is there adequate ventilation? Is the air circulating? Teachers and parents around the world are still asking that question.
  14. It’s a virus. How many times are school officials and teachers blamed for schools not opening? They didn’t cause the coronavirus, and they shouldn’t be pressured to open schools before they’re safe. Teachers shouldn’t have to plead for patience and kindness. They’re trying to keep children, themselves, and their families safe.
  15. Richard Corcoran is not a teacher. Floridians know this. Florida’s education commissioner Richard Corcoran demands that teachers must return to the classroom. How many Corcoran’s are out there that don’t take the virus seriously? Corcoran, like DeVos, has never been a teacher and can sit in his office and stay safe while the pandemic flourishes. Both of these individuals are intentionally irresponsible and put the lives of teachers and students at risk.

Learning is essential, and no doubt students will need to catch up after Covid-19. But children can still learn, and school districts can still work to assist families. Teachers will continue to teach through remote learning. Stay safe. Be kind to one another. Use common sense. Continue to think up unique ways to reach out and help families and teachers during these trying times.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Catholic Schools, coronavirus, covid-19, hybrid teaching, in-person school, masks, plexiglass, principals, private schools, religious schools, Remote learning, simultaneously teaching, social distancing, standardized testing, teacher planning time, teachers

Comments

  1. Bree says

    October 18, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    It is my belief that they are forcing schools to reopen out of fear of lawsuits. I work with children that have severe intellectual disabilities and behavior disorders and many of the services and accommodations outlined in their IEPs can not be performed virtually ( I can’t help a child hold a pencil while on zoom). A parent of one of my students just wrote a letter to our district supervisor demanding that a professional be sent to her house to assist her son daily so he can receive his right to a free and appropriate education… or else. Since when does FAPE say schools are required to provide the most ideal education? Could you imagine how much it would cost to send a teacher to every single child’s house with a disability? Why stop there? Obviously kindergartners can’t access their online content without adult support so tax payers should pay for them to have an in home teacher too. I want what’s best for all students. I didn’t get into one of the most difficult jobs in the world, working 60-80 hours a week, making 40k with a Master’s degree because I don’t want what is best for children or am just lazy and want to stay at home…I am slowly losing faith in humanity

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

front cover

An education glossary with an attitude.

Buy Now

front cover

Do we really want an America where we no longer own our public schools?

Buy Now

front cover

This book says “no” to the reforms that fail, and challenges Americans to address the real student needs that will fix public schools and make America strong.

Buy Now

Follow me!

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Nancy E. Bailey Follow

Author, Ph.D. Ed. Leadership and longtime teacher, Blogging for Kids, Teachers, Parents & Democratic Public Schools.

NancyEBailey1
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
plthomasedd Paul Thomas @plthomasedd ·
2h

The Science of Scarcity and Sleep that Education Reformers (Want to) Ignore https://radicalscholarship.com/2023/03/20/the-science-of-scarcity-and-sleep-that-education-reformers-want-to-ignore/ via @plthomasEdD

Reply on Twitter 1638146543768174597 Retweet on Twitter 1638146543768174597 3 Like on Twitter 1638146543768174597 3 Twitter 1638146543768174597
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
doctorsam7 Dr. Sam Bommarito @doctorsam7 ·
21h

Things to ponder about the current discussions around SOR. From ChatGPT @ChatwithGPT
https://nancyebailey.com/2023/03/19/what-does-chatgpt-say-about-the-science-of-reading-it-may-surprise-you/?fbclid=IwAR0Fhkczq46nJq8n5ob1q2xF5Q9aFc9ya04TEgYCaVTyEElEQg_UbWfoROY

Reply on Twitter 1637853806833590275 Retweet on Twitter 1637853806833590275 8 Like on Twitter 1637853806833590275 26 Twitter 1637853806833590275
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
nancyebailey1 Nancy E. Bailey @nancyebailey1 ·
19 Mar

I asked ChatGPT "Is the 'science of reading' settled science that determines how reading should be taught?" Here's the response. https://nancyebailey.com/2023/03/19/what-does-chatgpt-say-about-the-science-of-reading-it-may-surprise-you/

Reply on Twitter 1637502147515351043 Retweet on Twitter 1637502147515351043 18 Like on Twitter 1637502147515351043 45 Twitter 1637502147515351043
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
deguire_mike Mike DeGuire, Ph. D. @deguire_mike ·
14h

"The privatization movement has been strategically designed...by billionaires and their fellow investors for specific purposes: to lower their own tax burden, and ideologically to dismantle public education." @NPEaction @NancyEBailey1 @TheAndySpears
https://medium.com/@jfiske80/billionaires-and-their-investors-are-impacting-education-policies-in-colorado-and-especially-in-c523579674af

Reply on Twitter 1637957759751831558 Retweet on Twitter 1637957759751831558 10 Like on Twitter 1637957759751831558 10 Twitter 1637957759751831558
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
nepctweet NEPC @nepctweet ·
20h

"Let’s honor our students by providing them free quality democratic public schools that reject no one." @NancyEBailey1 https://bit.ly/3FE0KFA

Reply on Twitter 1637870110840094721 Retweet on Twitter 1637870110840094721 3 Like on Twitter 1637870110840094721 2 Twitter 1637870110840094721
Load More

Archives

Tag Cloud

Arne Duncan Autism Betsy DeVos Bill Gates charter schools class size Common Core Common Core covid-19 disabilities dyslexia early childhood education Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Florida high-stakes testing kindergarten learning disabilities Online Learning parents Personalized Learning phonics preschool private schools privatization public schools reading recess retention School Choice school libraries School Privatization school reform schools Social Emotional Learning special education students Students with Disabilities Teacher Preparation teachers Teach for America teaching Technology testing the arts vouchers

Copyright © 2023 Nancy E. Bailey · Website powered by Standing Pine Media.