Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #77

[mickey2942]

Respectfully I must disagree. I say that as I seriously do have great respect for your insight and contributions to these threads.
I saw the picture of the room in the article and I would have been alarmed also seeing this in the background of a virtual class. Fortunately, it was investigated and resolved as harmless and no official charges/complaints.
I would much rather have engaged teachers during this time, when so much goes on inside of a child's home and they aren't being in school in person for school officials to assess their well being, rather than teachers that overlook or are so disengaged that they don't notice potential dangers.
I really, really worry about children not having school as a safety net. That being said, I'm not in favor of in person classrooms at this point in time either. Such a dilemma

Agree to disagree. . People wanted education for their children, not "Big Brother" invited to their homes.

It is a fine line when as a professional you go to a patient, client, or student's home. I have often felt that people should be more informed about the ramifications of having a professional, who has a "duty to report", as a mandatory reporter. But, no, we don't tell people that. It seems to be an ethics issue to me that is not discussed.

And it really is based on bias. I have a high tolerance for clutter. I don't judge people for having dishes in the sink, or clothes on the floor. Guns, are a part of life where I live, it wouldn't be an issue to me. But I can see how it could be an issue for the teacher.

It could have been managed better. INMO. But, how? I don't know. At least, people should have been informed about this.

 

[10ofRods]

Agree to disagree. . People wanted education for their children, not "Big Brother" invited to their homes.

It is a fine line when as a professional you go to a patient, client, or student's home. I have often felt that people should be more informed about the ramifications of having a professional, who has a "duty to report", as a mandatory reporter. But, no, we don't tell people that. It seems to be an ethics issue to me that is not discussed.

And it really is based on bias. I have a high tolerance for clutter. I don't judge people for having dishes in the sink, or clothes on the floor. Guns, are a part of life where I live, it wouldn't be an issue to me. But I can see how it could be an issue for the teacher.

It could have been managed better. INMO. But, how? I don't know. At least, people should have been informed about this.

What's so dumb, to me (pardon the word "dumb") is that school administrators didn't do more training on this and states don't have common sense guidelines.

It could have been handled way better. Now, having said that, I know that most of my colleagues can't tell a BB gun from a regular gun, and the replicas are quite convincing. Still, the way it was handled was a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Phone call to the parent would be great as a first step. Since everyone is online, all the teacher had to do was send a message to the school administrator on duty (surely they are still doing something to earn their pay?) Then, that administrator could call the parent and confirm that those were BB guns.

The parent was also remiss in allowing the "guns in the classroom," as we all know that's not allowed. Kids have been disciplined for drawing picture of guns, for pete's sake.

Also, parents could have been guided as to how to keep the camera close enough to the child such that hardly any of the background shows. That's what nearly all of my (adult) students do.

Online learning is much more personal, we're all literally in each others' faces - and homes.

 

[MrX]

Looks like so many districts are having problems with "Online Education". Good grief, this isn't like they didn't have all summer to get this organized! If I was a parent, I would just ditch school and go with Khan Academy.

I was also extremely disturbed reports of teachers who were peering into students homes, via Webcam and contacting the police or CPS based on observations. WTH?! A teacher saw a few BB guns on the wall in a child's room, and the police showed up! BB guns?!
"I FELT VIOLATED"|Police Search Baltimore County House Over BB Gun in Virtual Class

I heard about this from three different perspectives, yesterday.

1st, my wife works as a "para educator" in an elementary school, where her job is to assist the teacher by working one-on-one with students that need extra help. So far this "remote learning" is a disaster. The technology is too slow, no one was trained, and, in her particular case, the Mother interferes and starts arguing with the student, my wife, the teacher, the principal, etc. So, in this case, no one is learning, everyone is frustrated and the staff can't wait to get back to "normal."

2nd, I have a friend with a nine year old son. His child has ADHD and is finding online learning to be a nightmare - he was doing really well, last year, had a great relationship with his teacher, etc. So far nothing is working. On top of that, his parents work and need him in school - they are representative of so many parents that are simply not configured to have a child, or children, at home during the school year.

3rd, my wife and I had dinner with our niece, last night. She spent 10 years as a high school teacher. She listened to all of this and said it was avoidable. Schools should have used the summer to prepare for a "new normal," which they didn't do, and parents should have been told, way before the new school year, that things were going to be different, but if everyone worked together, things would get back to normal faster. And then she said "but, you know who's problem it isn't? Mine!" She is so glad to have left this dysfunctional profession.

 

[tresir2012]

Elementary school students forced to use Taco Bell parking lot for internet in Salinas, California

Charlotte NC parent upset after inappropriate content allegedly appears during virtual class

Georgia mother captured emotional photo of her son crying in virtual class to show difficulties of learning during pandemic

Georgia parents say their child’s virtual class was disrupted by pornographic material

Unbelievable. Why can't the school set up computers in the gym or something? They can reduce classes to a social distancing number (50%) with the rest watching the class/interacting online from the gym/assembly hall or similar. Going to a public Wifi site is not appropriate IMO.

 

[anneg]

Elementary school students forced to use Taco Bell parking lot for internet in Salinas, California

Charlotte NC parent upset after inappropriate content allegedly appears during virtual class

Georgia mother captured emotional photo of her son crying in virtual class to show difficulties of learning during pandemic

Georgia parents say their child’s virtual class was disrupted by pornographic material

The second and fourth links above describe similar problems, but it appears (per the second link) that the "inappropriate content" came from a student in the class when the teacher dropped out for a short time. The situation in the fourth link appears to be Zoombombing by an outsider, not a member of the class.

I've experienced Zoombombing and it wasn't pleasant, but it can be prevented. But if a child in the virtual class is responsible for the inappropriate content when the teacher isn't there, I'm not sure if there is a way to prevent that.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

A Minnesota biker who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has died of covid-19 —- the first fatality from the virus traced to the 10-day event that drew more than 400,000 to South Dakota.

The man was in his 60s, had underlying conditions and was hospitalized in intensive care for several weeks after returning from the rally, said Kris Ehresmann, infectious-disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health. The case is among at least 260 cases in 11 states tied directly to the event, according to a survey of health departments by The Washington Post.

Epidemiologists believe that figure is a significant undercount, due to the resistance of some rallygoers to testing and the limited contact tracing in some states. As a result, the true scope of infections stemming from the event that ran from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 is unlikely to ever be known. Public health officials had long expressed concern over the decision to move forward with the annual event, believed to be the largest held anywhere in the U.S. since the pandemic shelved most large-scale gatherings.

Now, just over two weeks after the conclusion of the rally, the Midwest and the Dakotas in particular are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases even as infections decline or plateau in the rest of the country. Besides the fallout from Sturgis, Ehresmann and other health officials attribute much of the increase in the Midwest to people not following public health guidelines, not wearing masks and attending social gatherings such as weddings and funerals.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/02/sturgis-rally-death-coronavirus/

 

[tresir2012]

A Minnesota biker who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has died of covid-19 —- the first fatality from the virus traced to the 10-day event that drew more than 400,000 to South Dakota.

The man was in his 60s, had underlying conditions and was hospitalized in intensive care for several weeks after returning from the rally, said Kris Ehresmann, infectious-disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health. The case is among at least 260 cases in 11 states tied directly to the event, according to a survey of health departments by The Washington Post.

Epidemiologists believe that figure is a significant undercount, due to the resistance of some rallygoers to testing and the limited contact tracing in some states. As a result, the true scope of infections stemming from the event that ran from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 is unlikely to ever be known. Public health officials had long expressed concern over the decision to move forward with the annual event, believed to be the largest held anywhere in the U.S. since the pandemic shelved most large-scale gatherings.

Now, just over two weeks after the conclusion of the rally, the Midwest and the Dakotas in particular are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases even as infections decline or plateau in the rest of the country. Besides the fallout from Sturgis, Ehresmann and other health officials attribute much of the increase in the Midwest to people not following public health guidelines, not wearing masks and attending social gatherings such as weddings and funerals.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/02/sturgis-rally-death-coronavirus/

The last count I remember seeing was 103 traced to Sturgis, so it is up to 260 now.. I don't agree that a blanket increase in cases are all down to Sturgis as this is a vacation period and people are travelling all over the US and possibly more than usual as they are restricted from many overseas countries. We saw how many cases came from just that one Maine wedding, so this is the risk from any gathering. MOO.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Unbelievable. Why can't the school set up computers in the gym or something? They can reduce classes to a social distancing number (50%) with the rest watching the class/interacting online from the gym/assembly hall or similar. Going to a public Wifi site is not appropriate IMO.

JMO
Do public schools even have that many computers to accommodate students?

A kindle doesn’t work on the platform here, it has to be a newer iPad. Craigslist, NextDoor and FB Marketplace has lots of posts with parents looking for cheap used iPads and laptops.

I toured some of the elementary schools in my area last year, many are older and still have deferred maintenance/repair from previous storms/floods. They do not have large assembly halls or a large gym. The high schools have those.

What about the areas that the only internet provider is via satellite internet? And this isn’t out in the boonies/middle of nowhere type place. And you’d better hope it doesn’t rain while you’re wanting to use the Internet. Use too much and they throttle the speed. It’s not an unlimited plan.

Zoom/online only might be satisfactory for middle to high school ages, but I don’t see it as a good substitute for elementary children.
That’s just my opinion after observing videos from the past 2-3 weeks.

 

[MrX]

JMO
Do public schools even have that many computers to accommodate students?

A kindle doesn’t work on the platform here, it has to be a newer iPad. Craigslist, NextDoor and FB Marketplace has lots of posts with parents looking for cheap used iPads and laptops.

I toured some of the elementary schools in my area last year, many are older and still have deferred maintenance/repair from previous storms/floods. They do not have large assembly halls or a large gym. The high schools have those.

What about the areas that the only internet provider is via satellite internet? And this isn’t out in the boonies/middle of nowhere type place. And you’d better hope it doesn’t rain while you’re wanting to use the Internet. Use too much and they throttle the speed. It’s not an unlimited plan.

Zoom/online only might be satisfactory for middle to high school ages, but I don’t see it as a good substitute for elementary children.
That’s just my opinion after observing videos from the past 2-3 weeks.

That's a huge part of the problem. Even when they have computers, they are too slow and the infrastructure can't handle all the video. Things keep freezing and glitching. My wife has come home from work in tears more than once from the technology frustration.

 

[Sundog]

Unbelievable. Why can't the school set up computers in the gym or something? They can reduce classes to a social distancing number (50%) with the rest watching the class/interacting online from the gym/assembly hall or similar. Going to a public Wifi site is not appropriate IMO.

Some community colleges and universities in our area have expanded and strengthened wi-fi access to their large parking lots, so that students who don't have access to internet at home, can take their remote classes by logging in to their college accounts while in their cars in the parking lots and still be social distancing but have internet access. A lot of colleges and universities across the country are doing this, seems to me that elementary and high schools could do this also. It is more appropriate than going to Taco Bell. Wonder if this is an option, but parents and students don't know about it.

 

[Trino]

My local school system started with 3 options. Physical school attendance, 2 virtual options. I think it depends on your state.

Our schools are by districts. Each does its own thing. Some are beginning totally online, some are hybrid, some are full time. Most are attempting to lean toward full-time as the year progresses, although I doubt that will happen.

The State of MN has delayed football, for example, until spring. ONLINE students are eligible to play this sport and others. Testing?

The University of Minnesota - 51,000 students will be majority online in 2020. Will they be tested?

 

[tresir2012]

JMO
Do public schools even have that many computers to accommodate students?

A kindle doesn’t work on the platform here, it has to be a newer iPad. Craigslist, NextDoor and FB Marketplace has lots of posts with parents looking for cheap used iPads and laptops.

I toured some of the elementary schools in my area last year, many are older and still have deferred maintenance/repair from previous storms/floods. They do not have large assembly halls or a large gym. The high schools have those.

What about the areas that the only internet provider is via satellite internet? And this isn’t out in the boonies/middle of nowhere type place. And you’d better hope it doesn’t rain while you’re wanting to use the Internet. Use too much and they throttle the speed. It’s not an unlimited plan.

Zoom/online only might be satisfactory for middle to high school ages, but I don’t see it as a good substitute for elementary children.
That’s just my opinion after observing videos from the past 2-3 weeks.

I don't expect schools to have computers but I don't think elementary kids will be doing online much anyway will they?
The schools are expecting kids to use a device at home so the kids could bring their devices to school. The school must have decent internet if they are expecting maybe 50% online to accommodate those at home. Most middle and high schools would surely have some sort of large area that could be used like a library or computer room or similar. Elementary schools could just split their classes physically maybe.

This link is the government guidance from PHE for anyone interested.

Guidance for full opening: schools

 

[dotr]

Sept 2 2020
"If you don't like wearing a mask, you will really hate wearing a ventilator"

 

[MimosaMornings]

I don't expect schools to have computers but I don't think elementary kids will be doing online much anyway will they?
The schools are expecting kids to use a device at home so the kids could bring their devices to school. The school must have decent internet if they are expecting maybe 50% online to accommodate those at home. Most middle and high schools would surely have some sort of large area that could be used like a library or computer room or similar. Elementary schools could just split their classes physically maybe.

How are elementary teachers supposed to teach if not doing online classes? Do they send worksheets to the parents with instructions and the parents become the teachers? What if the home doesn’t have a printer? Can’t afford the ink? A hybrid learning model was the hope but didn’t happen.

The schools expect each child in a household to have a device. What if there is more than one child in the household? That’s great for those that can afford it plus an unlimited internet plan to support all those devices. Not to mention the parents working from home using the internet also.

All school districts are not equal. Some have beautiful campuses with all the amenities. Other struggle to get just the basics.

JMO

 

[JerseyGirl]

Approximately 15 million to 16 million K-12 public school students in the US live in homes with an inadequate internet connection, or have devices that aren’t equipped for distance learning, according to a study from Common Sense Media and the Boston Consulting Group published in June.

Already, the “digital divide” that exists between rich and poor families is being used by some as a pretext to transition from virtual classrooms back to in-person learning even as tens of thousands in the US continue to be infected with the deadly coronavirus every day. Those who advocate the speedy reopening of California Schools claim that the digital divide puts poor children at a disadvantage.

Elementary school students forced to use Taco Bell parking lot for internet in Salinas, California

 

[cass523]

Sep. 2, 2020

International clinical trials published Wednesday confirm the hope that cheap, widely available steroid drugs can help seriously ill patients survive COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Based on the new evidence, the World Health Organization issued new treatment guidance, strongly recommending steroids to treat severely and critically ill patients, but not to those with mild disease.

“Clearly, now steroids are the standard of care,” said Dr. Howard C. Bauchner, the editor-in-chief of JAMA, which published five papers about the treatment.

The new studies include an analysis that pooled data from seven randomized clinical trials evaluating three steroids in more than 1,700 patients. The study concluded that each of the three drugs reduced the risk of death.

JAMA published that paper and three related studies, along with an editorial describing the research as an “important step forward in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.”

Corticosteroids should now be the first-line treatment for critically ill patients, the authors added. The only other drug shown to be effective in seriously ill patients, and only modestly at that, is remdesivir.

Steroids like dexamethasone, hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone are often used by doctors to tamp down the body’s immune system, alleviating inflammation, swelling and pain. Many COVID-19 patients die not of the virus but of the body’s overreaction to the infection.


Steroids can be lifesaving for COVID-19 patients, scientists report

 

[mickey2942]

That's a huge part of the problem. Even when they have computers, they are too slow and the infrastructure can't handle all the video. Things keep freezing and glitching. My wife has come home from work in tears more than once from the technology frustration.

Yes, I have noticed this at work, the servers are overwhelmed. The speed slows down to nothing. And we have full fiber optic with high speed gigabyte connection.

I am glad to no longer be teaching school. I feel sorry for your wife.

 

[Tillicum]

What countries have had the most success with schooling issues?

 

[cass523]

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The Trump administration is canceling some of its remaining orders for ventilators, after rushing to sign nearly $3 billion in emergency contracts as the COVID-19 pandemic surged in the spring.

The Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement affirming that the national stockpile has now reached its maximum capacity for the life-saving breathing machines, with nearly 120,000 available for deployment to state and local health officials if needed.

<modsnip>

Coronavirus Live Updates: HHS cancelling ventilator contracts, says stockpile is full

 

[tresir2012]

How are elementary teachers supposed to teach if not doing online classes? Do they send worksheets to the parents with instructions and the parents become the teachers? What if the home doesn’t have a printer? Can’t afford the ink? A hybrid learning model was the hope but didn’t happen.

The schools expect each child in a household to have a device. What if there is more than one child in the household? That’s great for those that can afford it plus an unlimited internet plan to support all those devices. Not to mention the parents working from home using the internet also.

All school districts are not equal. Some have beautiful campuses with all the amenities. Other struggle to get just the basics.

JMO

I would imagine elementary is all in class with perhaps split days but I don't know. Perhaps any posters with elementary age kids or grandkids could let us know what their areas are doing.