Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

"exists"

edu-camps by lottery sounds not good and displaces them from family?

i saw a tweet somewhere that said like "if pro athletics with all it's resources and motivations cannot find a solution for isolation-camp style league play, why would anyone decide local schools can safely max out attendance-based learning?"

I don't think there is a good solution (just as I don't think they can stop parents from doing it independently.) I think the only half-solution for the time being is to further pursue aggressive efforts to ensure equity and ramp up in-school resources that works around remote learning. That's how the high school is doing it here, afaict. It's formally remote learning 2020-2021, but the school will be open to some extent and staff/resources accessible for those most in need of help.

Board meeting Q&A was just comments, btw, so a mix between complements, questions and airings of grievences. It does sound like they are leaning toward a hybrid model, which means a good chance I will have one kid remote learning in 11th and the other remote/school part time in 8th grade. And neither will have five days of school a week. I'm also not sure when the fall semester (as such) will end for either, though I suspect it will end at Thanksgiving and resume some time in 2021, and in between they will reassess things.

Yeah I mean I’m not usually this openly pessimistic — but if we weren’t actually all that concerned about equity before, why would anyone think that NOW is the time to finally develop and implement that plan? Pro sports can’t even do it is otm.

To me it looks like marching some kids/teachers into killer germ factories while others will be safely ensconced in their private learning pods. Again I’m not usually this much of a pessimist. I grew up w a teacher and am a teacher and we have never been treated with respect or care. Why start now?? Where’s the motivation? I don’t see any. Pods for the fortunate it is.

ding ding ding! yesterday i saw a tweet that said something along the lines of 'equity and inclusion' are the 'thoughts and prayers' of public education.

i'm irate, and i'm scared, and i'm voiceless. i know one (really important!) way that the question of schools might make progress: ask the teachers! decisions are being made overwhelmingly at state, federal, and district/school committee levels, in response to the concerns expressed by parents. but the reality of a return to the classroom, which will be overwhelmingly managed by teachers, is entirely out of their control.

isn’t this what unions are for?

hypothetically

My solution so far has been to not make the kids do anything school-related except what they feel like doing (which is almost nothing).

So it's simultaneously in line with caring about equity, and in line with being a lazy and indulgent parent. Win-win! But it can't last forever.

But here's the thing about local branches of the big teachers' unions (NEA/AFT): they're not strong or empowered on issues of school policy.

District administrations (lead by superintendents) and school committees (made up of local representatives) hash out consequential decisions about schools within fairly narrow guidelines handed to them by the state and federal authorities. Unions, where they exist and have bargaining power, are not typically invited to the table until *after* decisions are announced. There, they join a bevy of other voices to push back on the *implementation* of big decisions, but are rarely able to influence the decisions themselves. Additionally, they are about equal in decision-making power to PTAs, advisory boards, contractors. Typically, they need to maintain a working relationship with their administration so that they can protect individual staff members from abuse/etc., and that is where they need to spend most of their capital.

IOW unions can react to policy, and shape particulars, but rarely drive it.

plus not everyone has a union to rely on even for that
what's the point of asking "isn't that what unions are for?" you want us to spend our energy unionizing on top of all this shit? :(

sorry, i am ignorant about teachers’ unions, which is why i put that out there. soda’s post clears up a lot.

workplace safety has historically been a major driver of union activity i.e. coalmines etc and i do kinda feel like man, if unions can’t step up to the plate here - in education, in meatpacking, in transportation - then.. wtf are they good for? losing pension fights? protecting cops? my dad would kill me if he heard me talking this way btw

most union work (IME) is advocacy on behalf of individual teachers re. grievances against districts

The union that I belong to is largely useless for people in my position, and I haven't been afraid to let loose on the leadership, even though the current union president had helped me out significantly during a nightmare situation

Maybe if we start teaching the kids an entirely anti-capitalist, Marxist agenda. Governors will shut schools right back down

Thank you for that explan, soda.

As teachers' unions go, AFT (NY state) and UFT (NYC) are maybe uniquely powerful among unions, even to the point of influencing statewide policy. In NYC, the union did push to close schools sooner, but they also penalized "striking"/sick-out teachers with a loss of personal time or something like that, and forced employees in schools to keep going to work until the official closure.

(Also from what I heard, the mayor & DOE didn't agree to close city schools sooner because the healthcare workers' union was ALSO advocating for their members who needed schools as childcare so they could go to work. The schools didn't close until an agreement was negotiated for the govt to fund keeping childcare centers open for "essential workers." It's easy to see how both students and teachers were effectively collateral to force this issue.)

In the more recent NYC budget fight, the UFT notably SUPPORTED keeping cops in schools despite devastating budget cuts to the educational system that could have been alleviated by putting cop $$ back into the budget. I'm not an insider to the union anymore so idk what the reasoning was but basically they don't push back unless or until they've already done a backroom deal.

Sorry if I derail the valid discussion here, but this seems the most appropriate thread to vent in. I'm feeling so overwhelmed and depressed these past few months and I KNOW I need to take some time to disconnect and recharge, but my attempts at self-care are just blowing up in my face left and right. I haven't had a single day off in 2020 and since the pandemic began I've been working (albeit from home) even longer hours than usual. I planned to take last Friday off to go do some hiking (ish, or at least the nearest approximation thereof) but shit blew up at work and I had to scratch that. In the regular 2020 timeline, I'd be flying to Denver tomorrow to spend a much needed long weekend with friends to go see some concerts. Obviously that's not happening. So those of us that were supposed to go were going to stream a show together tomorrow night, drink some beer and try to make the best of it. Well, my brother-in-law decided on a last minute trip and will be passing through town tomorrow night and is coming to see us - at the exact same time as the streaming show I'm supposed to watch with friends. Obviously I'm not going to say no to my wife seeing part of her family for the first time since December, so I had to back out of the streaming thing.

I know it's selfish, but I'm feeling really frustrated at the attempts to schedule something for myself blowing up. I'm historically terrible at prioritizing self-care and felt really good about forcing myself to actually put two things on the calendar, but after having both of them blow up I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out why I should bother. Yeah I can probably reschedule the hiking thing (though we've been told not to plan on any time off until after mid-August, depending on how reopeining goes), but getting this group of friends together is notoriously hard and not like I can just snap my fingers and make that happen again next week.

That's tough to hear. fwiw, my wife needs to manage people through her job, and two things she imposed, months ago at this point, were 1) everyone needs to step away from their computers for an hour, 90 minutes each day, if possible. Read a book, go for a walk, just sit outside. The feedback she got has been nothing but positive. And 2) everyone needs to use their vacation days. She (and others with her) were concerned that people were just sitting on their time off, and that should anyone see a light at the end of the tunnel they would just all ask to take vacations at the same time, which of course they can't do. But she also recognized it was important for people to have some mandatory downtime where they don't have to be on or engaged. So now everyone is strongly encouraged to take a day or two off now and then, as possible, to just ... do anything else. Watch a movie. Listen to music. Read a book. Invite a friend to have a beer in the backyard or sitting nearby on chairs or wherever. As for schedules and conflicts, I think people are generally understanding. For example, we're always here, at home, but not always here *together,* if that makes sense. One person might be working, one might have a friend in the backyard, someone could be watching TV. These connections to other activities and other people, however and whenever we can find them, are vital in the best of circumstances. Might your BIL want to hang with you and your friends?

you definitely should find a way to get yourself those personal moments of self-attention or resentment is going to build up quickly and will wind up manifesting in some other, unintended way (like for me, that would be "exploding randomly at somebody who isn't the target of my rage").

I obviously can't tell you "blow work off" because I have no idea what your work environment is like or how much hell they would make your life if you asserted your own self-care. but PTO is PTO, and it's only fair to actually be able to take the PTO you plan to take, even if shit blows up at work, because shits going to blow up at work everywhere now, with how crazy life is, and bosses can't expect that you're not just going to burn out.

Hell...the burnout will still happen even if you do take time to yourself. I took a week off last week and I still am struggling mentally, but it did help cushion things a little bit and help me siphon out some of the negative energy.

I get being frustrated about the in-law thing - right now planning virtual get togethers takes more effort than just seeing people in person during quieter times of year, so it's frustrating to put in that kind of effort only to have to back out.

Why not just fake being sick if they won’t let you pto

Not like suspicion of covid sick but a good old ‘something I ate was bad, can’t start barfing, see you guys tomorrow’

STOP barfing rather

"I got the 'Vid Shits"

I’ve got a burnout-fighting plan that involves invoking the death of my 94 yr old grandfather in March — my mom needs to take care of his apt and I’m her only child. Gotta help mom, sorry, need time off.

Approved

LL i legit almost did that twice this year because my burnout was very bad. lost 2 grandparents, one from COVID. instead i got a new job and never mentioned it to anyone but it was nice to have it in my back pocket. i did take two separate fake sick days when i was feeling the worst. i can't even say they were all that fake. burnout is a real health problem.

I legit slept for the last 3 hours of my shift today.

because I haven't slept well in 4 months and I was so tired that when I was training in the morning (to help someone who had lost their voice), I was actually forgetting how I began my sentences and had to keep stopping myself from losing my train of thought.

ever since I bought me a turntable and started collectin' rekkidz in the last week, that's been a reaaaaaaally therapeutic activity. just puttin on metal records in my room and watching Whose Line Is It Anyway reruns (the newer Aisha Tyler ones) have been pretty calming

I haven't had a vacation longer than two nights since 2010 and I'm kind of glad I got past my 'gonna crack from it' stage pre-COVID.

My ADHD and tendency to have a bunch of hobbies that I'm shitty at has been a boon. I can't sit still and watch a movie end to end but I can find a way to amuse myself. Bummed I didn't get around to buying a MIG welder in the Before Times, though.

My ADHD and tendency to have a bunch of hobbies that I'm shitty at

me irl.

i have definitely hated the shutdown/quarantine/whatever for various reasons, and it has been bad for my mental health in many ways, but also if it didn't happen i truly don't know what would have happened to me. i needed the time to fake working at home and sleep until 10:30 instead. in my new job i have to be available to answer emails during the day and i'm annoyed at it because i can finish all my real work in 4 hours, but i'm very fortunate still.

Teaching and facilitating from home has been weird and frustrating, but having cancer last year really prepared me for spending a lot of time alone, communicating mostly through texting and letters and stuff--.

I do highly recommend a daily practice of doing something you enjoy, or even something that makes you feel 'productive' outside of your job. Tbh, I'm going to emerge from all of this with at least three poetry manuscripts, because I spend at least an hour or two writing every day

i wish i could have that relationship with writing but i guess it’s never too late. i will however emerge from quarantine a much better drummer

Whatever else, quarantine has been fantastic for (a) reading (b) writing

I haven't had a vacation longer than two nights since 2010

what?? is this your choice, or your circumstances, or some combination of the two?

putting together enough vacation days in a row to truly forget about my job completely is an essential target for me, at least once a year.

I've been far less productive on every front during this, for all sorts of reasons.

One thing I've been wondering about is how we will look back on this period in the near future. It's been a long time since there's been a truly shared world-changing event that literally affects everyone. At the same time, the way we process information (including history) seems to be so much faster than ever. So in the end, will this pandemic, with all its death and illness, tragedy and stress, feel like a blip? A bump? Or will it have an impact (emotional, economic, whatever) proportionate to its scale? I guess we'll find out. My younger daughter looked at me the other day and said "I feel bad for anyone studying history in 50 years, because good luck explaining any of this."

In other news, I know the post office is a mess, but ... the post office is a mess. I waited in line for 15 minutes yesterday behind one old guy talking to the single clerk working the counter. The man was complaining that he hadn't received any mail in 6 days, even though he has seen the mail carrier (or a mail carrier) on his street during the same period. Over at a window where another clerk was working, there was another man complaining about the same thing, more or less. Both clerks (unfamiliar to me, despite this being the smaller satellite post office I go to regularly) were apologetic, saying how there were so many substitute carriers, and that things were slower and more chaotic than usual. My own daily carriers have rarely been the same person twice, and occasionally they've barely been wearing anything that identifies them as a mail carrier, though I suppose driving a US Mail truck does some of that heavy lifting; no one is going to steal a mail truck just to deliver the mail.

(Adding insult to injury, by the time I got to the clerk myself my reward was learning that the $5 book I wanted to send to my brother in law in Australia would cost me $74 - $74! - to send, which is almost O. Henry like in its outcome, because I bought the $5 used copy knowing that a new copy in Australia would cost me I think $45 US dollars and I figured, ha ha, I'll show them, they'll charge me an arm and a leg to mail this but it will still be cheaper than buying it new in Australia! I guess I expected to be charged $25 or $35 and still come out ahead, but no. $74!

I waited in line for 15 minutes yesterday behind one old guy talking to the single clerk working the counter. The man was complaining that he hadn't received any mail in 6 days, even though he has seen the mail carrier (or a mail carrier) on his street during the same period.

Are you sure you're not in a time-loop movie and you were watching an older version of yourself?

I hope not, the old guy had one arm. The darkest timeline!

Re teachers unions

Leaders of the Los Angeles teachers union today will call for campuses to remain closed and for distance learning to continue when the school year begins on Aug. 18. https://t.co/BVtJYV6OPF

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 10, 2020

Chicago post offices are one of the less mentioned levels of hell iirc, they're truly stunning places

Post offices are like ATM machines where the people working there are the same as the people you are inevitably stuck behind at the machine. No hustle meets no clue, how little can I do over the longest span of time.

looking for a national teachers strike tbh

One thing I saw someone point out is that if a student tests positive, all of their teachers have to quarantine for 2 weeks. If that's the case, we'd run out of teachers pretty quickly either way.

Again, pro sports can’t even figure this out with their stadiums & fans bursting with dollars.

the GOP aren't trying to dismantle pro sports like they are with public schools.

otm

there's a way to open schools in a lot of places but it requires money and for the issue not to be turned into a culture war, neither of which seem likely so ... schools in 2021 is my guess.

my friend's wive pissed off a whole bunch of teachers by basically saying the teachers that are "high risk" (PLEASE STOP USING THIS FUCKING PHRASE - people who aren't your arbitrary definition of "high risk" are dying from this!) can stay home and teachers that don't feel comfortable can get another job. I'm sympathetic to you being stressed out that your soon to be kindergarten kid might not be able to go to Kindergarten in fall and you may be on the hook for childcare again, believe me....

but fuck, it's not fair to shuffle a much bigger burden onto someone else.

Schools here in Wales are opening fully in September with limited social distancing for the kids as "Children, especially younger children, don't seem to transmit the disease to one another, or to on to adults". Yeah, that seems very fucking scientific.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53349005

went to laundrette this morning for the first time since lockdown started. didn't feel safe despite there only being 2 people in there and i didn't do the usual thing of waiting inside (walked home, had breakfast, walked back to pick up stuff, walked home again, 10 minutes each way)

anyway, it's the first time i've been that way since saturday and there's a newly burnt out car 2 streets over. i had no idea.

(white city rave / riot also passed me by, although i did hear the helicopter)