kramerica.inc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:38 am
seacoaster wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:07 am
kramerica.inc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:14 am
This is why the gov shouldn’t mandate anything.
It needs to be a choice. For the parents, for the teachers.
All schools should offer a simultaneous virtual and in person option. But instead we have governors, school superintendents and teachers unions who all know what’s best for your safety and your child’s safety.
Let people decide.
This is what happens when you rely on the government to think for you.
If it needs to be a choice, then each of the affected constituencies needs to be weighing in from the perspective of the interest they want to advance or the one they believe paramount. Kids' education? Staff health and welfare? Kid health and welfare? The public health ramifications of inadvertently creating spreader events? Umm, holy sh*t.
For better or worse, we have made school a governmental function in this country (while, inexplicably, doing a terrible job in civics education). Government at the municipal level sets budgets, lobbies the state government and State DOEs, accepts state and federal funds, manages curricula mandated elsewhere. I just don't see Government now stepping out of the public health issue of the last century and allowing a chiaroscuro of menu options, from town to town to town.
Be safe for the publics. But infringing upon private schools for is complete bs. The issue becomes when government- now local health depts, (See Montgomery County, MD) stepping in and telling
private schools they must go virtual.
Many private schools in MD are currently at capacity. I can tell you from personal anecdotes of 3 local Catholic schools- all were operating with vacancies last year. Well, what vacancies they had were gobbled up by parents who wanted to send their kids to in-person schools.
Government is the appropriate arbiter in a public health crisis, not private businesses, whether schools or restaurants or...
Private businesses have competitive and profit interests in conflict to public safety, so regulation is necessary. And indeed, most businesses recognize that regulation, applied evenly, actually provides a roadmap for success over the long haul with no competitive disadvantage for those who would have complied voluntarily.
Friends of ours (Trump supporters) had postponed their daughter's wedding from June to the end of August, to be held on the eastern shore...was going to be a really nice event. A week ago we'd received an update on their plans to go forward. We were planning to go, but to eyeball the crowd as to whether people were wearing masks and staying apart. Serious concern, and other friends of ours were already bailing out of going, given the continued threat from the virus.
Citing new restrictions in MD, national counsel from Birx et al, the daughter just announced yesterday that they were canceling the large event, would do an online wedding, and do the party at some later date. Made no sense to have a large, potential super spreader event, with people from all over the country flying in...
Maryland, thank goodness, is recognizing that, though we're in better shape than many states, we nevertheless have more virus in the community than we did in March and a new crushing outbreak is but weeks away if we don't double down on the vigilance.
Frankly, I don't see how day schools of any type, public or private, can prevent the school setting from being spreader colonies to the families and to the teachers and staff. Theoretically everyone, students, teacher, staff could be in full PPE, but that doesn't appear to be anyone's actual plan. To expect hospital-like procedures to prevent infection spread just doesn't seem feasible, with younger kids unlikely to be sufficiently compliant.
Newest orders:
https://governor.maryland.gov/2020/07/2 ... -advisory/