Back to School during the pandemic ...a discussion thread

[Iralyn]

However, in the FAQs they have been posting it was asked if parents could decide not to send kids and switch to online and the answer was "yes", but for sending them back to class it was "speak to the principal".

My principal said today (for our board) that families can only change to online at designated times, just like with switching to in person. Basically if a family chooses to keep their child home because they are not happy with how things are going at school, they will be on their own with homeschooling until November. I understand why with all the necessary coordination and planning but it still seems kind of crazy. Honestly, I'm not sure that I would send my child to my school. It is overcrowded to begin with and anything that the principal has requested to help with distancing, etc., has been denied if it involves any kind of money. I am hoping my daughter's school is able to do better (smaller population, bigger building) since I don't have a reasonable option to keep her home.

 

[wdwmom3]

My principal said today (for our board) that families can only change to online at designated times, just like with switching to in person. Basically if a family chooses to keep their child home because they are not happy with how things are going at school, they will be on their own with homeschooling until November. I understand why with all the necessary coordination and planning but it still seems kind of crazy. Honestly, I'm not sure that I would send my child to my school. It is overcrowded to begin with and anything that the principal has requested to help with distancing, etc., has been denied if it involves any kind of money. I am hoping my daughter's school is able to do better (smaller population, bigger building) since I don't have a reasonable option to keep her home.

They have said that to for our board. That we can only switch at certain times. Now I get that if you are switching to in person, that would involve a lot. But I’m sorry it doesn’t involve as much to switch from in person to online. I’m sending my son to school but I’m watching community transmitting rates in our area very closely and if it goes up significantly he will be pulled. I really don’t care what “their dates” are, I will give them a week to figure out the switch. After that I will become the squeaky wheel like they have never seen before. I will not put up with any BS.

I have started to see really crazy things being posted. I’ve seen parents actually posting stuff like “if there is an outbreak our kids will be locked in the school and taken to a hospital against their will”. Hello paranoia or what? I’m also getting tired of groups making this political.

We all have to accept that there will be some risk and decide if we accept that risk or not. Get over that it’s not going to be perfect and could very well suck. Everything in 2020 sucks. Parents need to make decisions for their kids. And teachers need to make decisions about going back to work just like many other workers.

 

[hdrolfe]

My principal said today (for our board) that families can only change to online at designated times, just like with switching to in person. Basically if a family chooses to keep their child home because they are not happy with how things are going at school, they will be on their own with homeschooling until November. I understand why with all the necessary coordination and planning but it still seems kind of crazy. Honestly, I'm not sure that I would send my child to my school. It is overcrowded to begin with and anything that the principal has requested to help with distancing, etc., has been denied if it involves any kind of money. I am hoping my daughter's school is able to do better (smaller population, bigger building) since I don't have a reasonable option to keep her home.

The school board posted but if the school says otherwise, to be honest, I will pull him and homeschool. His school is fairly small, there are usually a couple empty class rooms, and the classes are smallish (he had two 23 kid grade 5 classes last year, so hopefully they will be similar for grade 6 (with a handful staying home for now? but we'll see). I am hoping for more information this week from the principal. A number of his friends will be staying home, and others are in non-immersion so won't be in his class/cohort.

I do find it funny that my work sent an email saying basically "don't expect to take time off to keep your kids out of school", which is fine, my son is 10 so he can do school while I work if it comes to it. Then my boss told me today he is keeping his two littles homes, SK & Grade 4, so he'll be rather distracted while he's supposed to be working. But, best choice for his family, I can respect that, and his wife will be working part time.

I am exhausted thinking about all this and school hasn't even started yet! My son often has a hard time in class as it is, this is going to be hard on him. He's very smart and easily bored, lacks motivation and if he isn't interested in what the teacher is teaching, he's not going to really try. He is afraid of being wrong, so he won't even try. We are working on that more than anything over summer. If he wasn't so determined to go back, I'd just keep him home. But he really wants to go so we'll see. It's been 6 months... Plus all the strike days they had over winter, grade 5 was a write off for him.

My kiddo is at my parent's for a couple days, since we won't be able to see them once school starts. I am enjoying the quiet. He is back tomorrow and we are off next week. Hopefully we will find some fun stuff to do. I had booked the week to get him sorted with back to school, which got pushed a week, so now we have a little vacation.

And to rub salt in my wounds, facebook is reminding me that this time last year we were arriving at All Star Movies and heading to Hollywood Studios to ride Rockin Roller Coaster for the first time... I really hope we get to go back soon. Man this pandemic just sucks.

 

[hdrolfe]

They have said that to for our board. That we can only switch at certain times. Now I get that if you are switching to in person, that would involve a lot. But I’m sorry it doesn’t involve as much to switch from in person to online. I’m sending my son to school but I’m watching community transmitting rates in our area very closely and if it goes up significantly he will be pulled. I really don’t care what “their dates” are, I will give them a week to figure out the switch. After that I will become the squeaky wheel like they have never seen before. I will not put up with any BS.

I have started to see really crazy things being posted. I’ve seen parents actually posting stuff like “if there is an outbreak our kids will be locked in the school and taken to a hospital against their will”. Hello paranoia or what? I’m also getting tired of groups making this political.

We all have to accept that there will be some risk and decide if we accept that risk or not. Get over that it’s not going to be perfect and could very well suck. Everything in 2020 sucks. Parents need to make decisions for their kids. And teachers need to make decisions about going back to work just like many other workers.

I have been reading a lot of facebook stuff and have had to (temporarily) block some people. Things being posted that don't match what has been said by the schools or board... I don't know. Everyone needs to decide for themselves... and yes... Everything in 2020 sucks!

 

[wdwmom3]

I have been reading a lot of facebook stuff and have had to (temporarily) block some people. Things being posted that don't match what has been said by the schools or board... I don't know. Everyone needs to decide for themselves... and yes... Everything in 2020 sucks!

I’ve had to do the same. Some people posting stuff from the US and then freaking out that schools are even opening at all here. And then some of the comments like kids being taken to hospitals without consent , kids being made to wear a mask by physical force if needed, it is just crazy.

 

[hdrolfe]

One other thing that was just shared here in Ottawa, school buses won't start until Sept 14th (school starts by the 9th for almost all kids I believe). So... that'll be fun for parents! Apparently they can't plan the buses until the schools know who will be going and that's all still in flux. What a year this will be...

 

[bababear_50]

My heartfelt wish right now is
"Compassion"
Whether that be for your child's teacher, school Admin staff, bus driver,custodian ,,,neighbour
they are people too and they are doing the best they can right now.

Sometimes it is good to reflect upon oneself as to how you are helping during times of crisis instead of looking to cast blame and shame on others.

I've spent the better part of my life teaching and sharing compansion with kids and hope some of it has rubbed off on their families.

For just a day offer someone your compassion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion

Hugs
Mel

 

[MamaLema]

I’m the same. It’s like a car wreck and I can’t look away. I must say, I do find myself irrationally irritated by the late start. I feel as a taxpayer that my money is getting squandered.

I’ve had some frustrations too but I feel like we should cut the school board a little slack. They are dealing with a large amount of teachers deciding they want to take a leave of absence or retire and need to interview and hire a lot of teachers to fill those spots.
Lunch room supervisors are quitting.
They got a large sum of money from the federal government and need to decide how best to use it.
Guidelines from Public Health change so rapidly it’s hard to keep up. I work in childcare so it’s a little different but my supervisor says “Public Health says we can’t/can do this now” every few days.
So childcare/school is making guidelines and setting up things and then Public Health says something different and things change again.
School opening a week later is still pretty good considering.

 

[quandrea]

I’ve had some frustrations too but I feel like we should cut the school board a little slack. They are dealing with a large amount of teachers deciding they want to take a leave of absence or retire and need to interview and hire a lot of teachers to fill those spots.
Lunch room supervisors are quitting.
They got a large sum of money from the federal government and need to decide how best to use it.
Guidelines from Public Health change so rapidly it’s hard to keep up. I work in childcare so it’s a little different but my supervisor says “Public Health says we can’t/can do this now” every few days.
So childcare/school is making guidelines and setting up things and then Public Health says something different and things change again.
School opening a week later is still pretty good considering.

I still think they’ve had since March to plan. I in no way put this on teachers. The powers that be needed to convene on March 16 when shut down occurred to start strategising a reopening plan. If they didn’t need to use it because all ended up being well come September, great. What we’ve ended up experiencing is mass panic among staff, parents, support workers. We knew September 8 was coming.

 

[Silvermist999]

I’ve had some frustrations too but I feel like we should cut the school board a little slack. They are dealing with a large amount of teachers deciding they want to take a leave of absence or retire and need to interview and hire a lot of teachers to fill those spots.
Lunch room supervisors are quitting.
They got a large sum of money from the federal government and need to decide how best to use it.
Guidelines from Public Health change so rapidly it’s hard to keep up. I work in childcare so it’s a little different but my supervisor says “Public Health says we can’t/can do this now” every few days.
So childcare/school is making guidelines and setting up things and then Public Health says something different and things change again.
School opening a week later is still pretty good considering.

Why is this happening is my question? I’ve also heard from my friends who know of many teachers now looking to teach virtual instead of being in classrooms.

Did all those essential healthcare workers (not just paramedics, nurses and doctors but everyone else working in a hospital) long term care home workers, grocery store employees, grocery store suppliers and distributors, have the option to retire, stay home or “go virtual” in mid March when everything shut down and everyone else stayed home? Don’t forget the shortage and lack of PPE they were dealing with as well.

 

[Silvermist999]

I’ve had to do the same. Some people posting stuff from the US and then freaking out that schools are even opening at all here. And then some of the comments like kids being taken to hospitals without consent , kids being made to wear a mask by physical force if needed, it is just crazy.

This is the most frustrating and annoying part. Instead of reporting on how schools in other parts of the world such as Asia and Europe who have reopened schools successfully (some did not even close for long) and learning from them, the media is choosing to only report on what is not working in the U.S..

 

[vegs1]

No one, on March 16, had a crystal ball to see what this pandemic would have done by this point. School boards were trying to figure out if there would be an end to the school year for the current year in progress. They had to deal with that before they could start on this year.
They were also not able to decide anything for this year until they were told by our public health people if there would even be a school year starting in September.

I think, as parents, we are hoping for this magical situation to unfold which will have our children 10 feet apart, in classes of 10 students, with no other person intruding on the day and buses holding less than 10 people. We want to know with 100% accuracy that our children and our families will be safe. Unfortunately, no one is going to give us that.

No matter how long the school board had to put forth a plan, as parents, it is our time to decide our plan. No one, no Facebook group or Disboard group can decide that for you and nor should they.

Try and stay as positive as possible in front of your kids, no matter if they are starting kindergarten or university. The situation may stink but it is how we deal with it that our children will learn from. It is a scary time for everyone but we are going to get through this.

And as bababear_50 said, let’s show some compassion to everyone.

 

[bababear_50]

Interesting read
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/week...-time-to-call-a-strike/ar-BB18kolT?li=AAggNb9

 

[wdwmom3]

Interesting read
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/week...-time-to-call-a-strike/ar-BB18kolT?li=AAggNb9

Yeah except despite what we keep seeing in the media, I’ve talked to more and more of the people I know who have kids, and most are actually ok with the kids going back. The few that aren’t are keeping are their kids home and have said they would have even if classes were made smaller. People just want their kids back in school. We realize that community transmitting is low right now.

Also this whole “parents go on strike”. Why? In Ontario people can choose to keep their kids home and be supported with remote learning. Nobody is being forced to send their kids back. And teachers can always request leave if they really don’t want to do back. They have the same options as everyone else

 

[MamaLema]

Interesting read
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/week...-time-to-call-a-strike/ar-BB18kolT?li=AAggNb9

Strike for what? People either send their kids or keep them home. They have a choice

 

[MamaLema]

Why is this happening is my question? I’ve also heard from my friends who know of many teachers now looking to teach virtual instead of being in classrooms.

Did all those essential healthcare workers (not just paramedics, nurses and doctors but everyone else working in a hospital) long term care home workers, grocery store employees, grocery store suppliers and distributors, have the option to retire, stay home or “go virtual” in mid March when everything shut down and everyone else stayed home? Don’t forget the shortage and lack of PPE they were dealing with as well.

Agree with you fully. Us childcare workers have been in close contact feeding and changing kids since June when Ontario was still in Phase 1. All those people you mentioned above worked when the numbers were at their highest and there was no mandatory mask policy then.
I too, don’t understand why teachers are deciding to take leave so close to school opening. If they feel unsafe, I think they should of not waited until last minute and request unpaid leave.

 

[bababear_50]

Strike for what? People either send their kids or keep them home. They have a choice

Just sharing an article.

Hugs
Mel

 

[bababear_50]

Agree with you fully. Us childcare workers have been in close contact feeding and changing kids since June when Ontario was still in Phase 1. All those people you mentioned above worked when the numbers were at their highest and there was no mandatory mask policy then.
I too, don’t understand why teachers are deciding to take leave so close to school opening. If they feel unsafe, I think they should of not waited until last minute and request unpaid leave.

Just a FYI
Staff in certain areas (Boards) were not given the opportunity you suggest until the second week of Aug. It is now the last week of Aug and staff are still checking their emails and waiting for notifications.
Many Boards have said they are unsure if all staff groups can/will be accomodated.
Many teachers/ECE EA are not sure where they will even be working in a week,,online/in classroom or with what grade level.
Leaves of absence even without pay are not automatically accepted by the school Board.

Mel

 

[wdwmom3]

Agree with you fully. Us childcare workers have been in close contact feeding and changing kids since June when Ontario was still in Phase 1. All those people you mentioned above worked when the numbers were at their highest and there was no mandatory mask policy then.
I too, don’t understand why teachers are deciding to take leave so close to school opening. If they feel unsafe, I think they should of not waited until last minute and request unpaid leave.

I understand why teachers are nervous. But I also have friends who work in daycare and have been working already. I also know nurses, and some family who work in long term care home. I also have family members who work in food processing. All of these people have continued to work when their job was not without risk of contracting covid. They didn’t even have the protection teachers are being given, when spread was much higher. They were scared but knew they could decide to go to work or quit. They worked. If they hadn’t essential workers would have had no daycare, people would not have been cared for and food shelves would have been more bare. My daughter has friends who worked long shifts at grocery stores with no protection and having adults (they are teens) yell at them because there was no bread. I know many of these people are starting to get really annoyed at hearing every day how dangerous it is for teachers. I can’t blame them.

People say have compassion. But where is the compassion for all the people who worked hard under crappy conditions for months that we don’t thank? We all need to help each other out and understand things will never be without risk. And lest say thank you to all those who already accepted that risk for us. Because right now all this attention on schools, when we paid such little attention to factories, transportation and long term care workers kind of feels like a slap in the face to those peolle. And those are not my words but what those people are saying to me. They are hurt and angry.

 

[Debbie]

One other thing that was just shared here in Ottawa, school buses won't start until Sept 14th (school starts by the 9th for almost all kids I believe). So... that'll be fun for parents! Apparently they can't plan the buses until the schools know who will be going and that's all still in flux. What a year this will be...

Our Board announced just tonight....school is not starting until September 14, with half the kids going the 14th and 15th, the second half the 16th and 17th, and then everyone on the 18th.