shape
carat
color
clarity

Parents, will you send your kids back to school in the fall?

nala

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Messages
7,045
I want to add. Just drove by a 24 hour fitness gym and there was a line wrapped around the building! All ages. Waiting in line to work out! I would think the gym would be super risky!
 
Last edited:

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 30, 2019
Messages
22,504
I want to add. Just drove by a 24 hour fitness gym and there was a line wrapped around the building! All ages. Waiting in line to work out! I would think the gum would be super risky!

They could be out for a nice healthy and completly free walk rather than waiting in line
 

Asscherhalo_lover

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
5,703
I want to add. Just drove by a 24 hour fitness gym and there was a line wrapped around the building! All ages. Waiting in line to work out! I would think the gum would be super risky!

They're still not open in NY.
 

Arcadian

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
9,086
I want to add. Just drove by a 24 hour fitness gym and there was a line wrapped around the building! All ages. Waiting in line to work out! I would think the gum would be super risky!

sorry but blech.... I cancelled my gym membership. I got enough at home, plus, I live in a great neighborhood for walking. Not everyone can say that and, some people need the gym to work off the anxiety/anger/whatevertheyneedtokeepthemcalm Gyms are open here too but I got a feeling not for long. (the gym I used to belong to is pretty empty I was told!)
 

mellowyellowgirl

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
6,176
The kids went back once we went down to level 2 - maybe in june ? Ive lost track, but i don't think you have to send them back yet if you don't want to
while we were in lockdown was partically the school holidays, which gave teachers some time to get prepaired, then they had a channel on tv to keep young brains ticking over,

they did not seem to put a lot of pressure on kids or parents during lock down
The PM said it was more important to have happy families than arguments about school work

The bigger kids have had the amount of credits they need to earn for the year including for university entrance reduced and i think you can get a couple of credits for home 'learning' (not actual school work as such) from the whole lockdown thing

i do feel sorry for the kids who have learning problems, to be honest i hadn't thought of them till you mentioned it, because some kids don't get the help at home they need

for the record my parents spent lots of money on my spelling lessons and it did jack s#*t :mrgreen2:

This is an interesting one and it's not even about neglect sometimes.

I chat to a mum at school who was in my son's class last year. Lovely parent, very caring. Her son is a bit behind and she tries her best to work with him. She's a big fan of DS because he helped her son go up a few reading levels.

She diligently photocopies any readers that they get sent home and works through it with him in their spare time. However in chatting to her I am under the impression that she does not have the time nor capacity to explore resources or ways to help further his skills. She relies heavily on the school.

It's not even about abuse or neglect sometimes. You'd be surprised how many loving and perfectly decent parents rely on the school for guidance to help them help their kids.
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,839
In the best of times so many gym members are inconsiderate. Not wiping down machines after sweating all over them. Blech! Wouldn't go near one now if they paid me and we know that's not going to happen :)
 

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,755
This was from one rally in Tulsa, it only lasted several hours with non compliant people.
Now compound this with millions of schoolchildren in confined spaces for 6-8hrs, 5 days a week...also full of noncompliance hazards.
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 30, 2019
Messages
22,504
In the best of times so many gym members are inconsiderate. Not wiping down machines after sweating all over them. Blech! Wouldn't go near one now if they paid me and we know that's not going to happen :)

Gross me out :-o
When did people become so inconsideratly disgusting
 

Polabowla

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 15, 2019
Messages
1,866
It's not selfish at all .
Many low income districts don't have computers/internet/etc for the kids to learn properly at home.

Many highly religious groups don't use internet either, and have been having an hour or two of calling lessons for months.

What about rural areas with poor internet for online learning?

How many parents are truly qualified to teach their kids new material & keep them on grade level?
So all of these kids should just not learn for another year? Which means they will fall further behind.
Seems like many underprivileged children will suffer the most.

As mentioned before, I have 6 kids. A number of whom have special and education needs and have fallen severely behind . I have no idea how they will catch up without the in person educational services they need but have not gotten since March.
They cannot focus on endless zoom classes either.
Nor can I provide the OT/PT they need.

Kids go to school for many many reasons and no it's not selfish to need them there.

Oh and both dh & I are extremely high risk, however he will be back in the office (he has no choice) and that brings risk too.
 
S

SallyB

Guest
Biting my tongue...
 

Gussie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
3,700
It's not selfish at all .
Many low income districts don't have computers/internet/etc for the kids to learn properly at home.

Many highly religious groups don't use internet either, and have been having an hour or two of calling lessons for months.

What about rural areas with poor internet for online learning?

How many parents are truly qualified to teach their kids new material & keep them on grade level?
So all of these kids should just not learn for another year? Which means they will fall further behind.
Seems like many underprivileged children will suffer the most.

As mentioned before, I have 6 kids. A number of whom have special and education needs and have fallen severely behind . I have no idea how they will catch up without the in person educational services they need but have not gotten since March.
They cannot focus on endless zoom classes either.
Nor can I provide the OT/PT they need.

Kids go to school for many many reasons and no it's not selfish to need them there.

Oh and both dh & I are extremely high risk, however he will be back in the office (he has no choice) and that brings risk too.

Exactly. It is not a selfish choice to send kids back to school.

The judgement around here is mind blowing.
 

1ofakind

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
1,126
This was from one rally in Tulsa, it only lasted several hours with non compliant people.
Now compound this with millions of schoolchildren in confined spaces for 6-8hrs, 5 days a week...also full of noncompliance hazards.

This is not shown to be happening in countries where schools are open. Of course they are taking reasonable precautions but they are not just keeping all kids home.
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
This was from one rally in Tulsa, it only lasted several hours with non compliant people.
Now compound this with millions of schoolchildren in confined spaces for 6-8hrs, 5 days a week...also full of noncompliance hazards.
How many new cases were confirmed from the G. Floyd protest?
 

lissyflo

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 23, 2016
Messages
1,719
@lissyflo I’ve never seen a study that showed an association, let alone a causal relationship, between homeschooling and rickets or osteoporosis.

As I said above, I never stated a link to homeschooling: my statement was related to the excessive amount of inactivity and time indoors that has been enforced on children in recent months because of school closures and social distancing.

But to address your question, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the U.K. and the UK government have recently advised vitamin d supplements be taken throughout the summer this year (rather than their standard winter-only advice) because a review of risks showed likely problems with bone health (ultimately rickets) as a result of lockdown and the increased time spent indoors.

And the following extract confirms that childhood activity levels can have a major impact on future risk of osteoporosis, as I said:

F6A6752C-674F-437D-B4F6-B565D5E2A956.jpeg

I raised these points to express that it is short-sighted, to my mind, to criticise parents as being selfish for sending children to school. There is a whole host of issues here (physical, psychological, economic, social cohesion) that need to be addressed and balanced to the best of our abilities; specifically calling out parents as selfish for trying to juggle them seems insensitive and unhelpful to me, especially if you’re proposing a two year lockdown as you said in another thread.

Teachers and schools perform a multi-functional role (educators, social workers, counsellors, exercise-encouragers) that parents just aren’t able to do by themselves even with the best will in the world. Schools obviously can’t be normal any time soon but shutting them completely for a long (or worse unspecified) period is as unpalatable to me as allowing them to open fully in the normal manner would be in current circumstances. Open them to limited year groups on certain days, have one way systems, take packed lunches to eat outside instead of in crowded canteens, lower class sizes - let’s at least try to do something for these children, not just cut them loose.
 
Last edited:

Tartansparkles

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
928
I think you need to look at kids returning to school within the context of a country (or state wide) covid response. Our first minister (FM) said from day one (march) that schools were closing and would remain so until August. (The UK gov. dillyed and dallyed and tried to send kids back then changed their mind. I'm not sure what the current situation is in England). (Note Scotland has a devolved gov with responsibility for education so we can do some things differently from England). As I said we are moving very slowly, until last week we were not allowed to travel more than 5 miles from home, hospitality is still closed until the middle of next week, churches are not open, gyms are definitely not open. But restrictions on children have been relaxed. The under 12 no longer have to social distance (the parents do), older kids are allowed to meet together (up to groups of 8, socially distanced). Wearing masks in school was never an option. Only time will tell what works best.
 

lissyflo

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 23, 2016
Messages
1,719
I think you need to look at kids returning to school within the context of a country (or state wide) covid response. Our first minister (FM) said from day one (march) that schools were closing and would remain so until August. (The UK gov. dillyed and dallyed and tried to send kids back then changed their mind. I'm not sure what the current situation is in England). (Note Scotland has a devolved gov with responsibility for education so we can do some things differently from England). As I said we are moving very slowly, until last week we were not allowed to travel more than 5 miles from home, hospitality is still closed until the middle of next week, churches are not open, gyms are definitely not open. But restrictions on children have been relaxed. The under 12 no longer have to social distance (the parents do), older kids are allowed to meet together (up to groups of 8, socially distanced). Wearing masks in school was never an option. Only time will tell what works best.

I’m not sure that direct comparisons will ever be possible or sensible. For instance, New Zealand has done staggeringly well at essentially eradicating the virus. But the country’s population is around 5 million vs London’s 9m, while it occupies an area around 10% larger than the UK as a whole (not just a London). Trying to tackle a virus that spreads person to person is logistically much easier with those population density comparisons.

(That doesn’t excuse the UK government, who have done a shockingly bad job at managing things so far.)
 

Ally T

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
8,507
I want to add. Just drove by a 24 hour fitness gym and there was a line wrapped around the building! All ages. Waiting in line to work out! I would think the gym would be super risky!

:-o Yes, gyms are still closed in the UK despite our restrictions easing. Too much heavy breathing & sweat droplets all contained inside a building. No thanks!
 

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,755
How many new cases were confirmed from the G. Floyd protest?

Good question. And by data gathered so far, it appears that masks work.
It also appears that not wearing them leads to surges/outbreaks, al a Trump rallies!
 

elizat

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,999
It's not selfish at all .
Many low income districts don't have computers/internet/etc for the kids to learn properly at home.

Many highly religious groups don't use internet either, and have been having an hour or two of calling lessons for months.

What about rural areas with poor internet for online learning?

How many parents are truly qualified to teach their kids new material & keep them on grade level?
So all of these kids should just not learn for another year? Which means they will fall further behind.
Seems like many underprivileged children will suffer the most.

As mentioned before, I have 6 kids. A number of whom have special and education needs and have fallen severely behind . I have no idea how they will catch up without the in person educational services they need but have not gotten since March.
They cannot focus on endless zoom classes either.
Nor can I provide the OT/PT they need.

Kids go to school for many many reasons and no it's not selfish to need them there.

Oh and both dh & I are extremely high risk, however he will be back in the office (he has no choice) and that brings risk too.

I agree with all this.

I grew up in a very rural poor area of Pennsylvania. It is much the same today. Online school with strikes against you because of location or poverty or resources, is not helping the kids. Plus, in certain areas, it may not be the same risk.

I live in Florida, in one of the largest metro areas. We are bright red. I understand the decision of mom of the 13 year old in my house to do online school. But, she is not working, lives off alimony from her ex husband, has a dedicated computer for him and can monitor him. He'll be okay, even if he falls behind. For some, it is just not a viable option. I don't think it is selfish. There are a lot of families in this area too that work in agriculture and are migrant farm workers. In the best of times, those kids don't get what they need for resources at home because they simply can't afford it and the older teens are pulled out of school to work in fields. Continued online learning isn't a real sustainable option for them, unless you never want them to have a chance to do something other farm work or similar jobs.
 

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,755
This is not shown to be happening in countries where schools are open. Of course they are taking reasonable precautions but they are not just keeping all kids home.

Yes, where masks aren't considered a political statement and containment was successful.
Unfortunately America is failing in these parameters at present. It will not be the same here. Without full compliance it is a futile venture. It makes me sad as children need to be in school. American priorities are an issue that hopefully won't be insurmountable.
 

Polabowla

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 15, 2019
Messages
1,866
I don't even live in a rural area, but the local public school district is very poor with many immigrant families.
There is no way they can afford laptops or other tech for their kids to work on- let alone high speed internet.

We were very lucky to be able to obtain the necessary devices, but the internet could not hold up to all the usage and there were many times my kids couldn't connect to classes properly & missed the work.
 

FancyDiamond

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Messages
1,065
Life, health, and safety are above everything. Economics, education, and etc. can wait. We can always make money and catch up learning later, but we cannot undo death or permanent health damage.
We do our best home-schooling our grandchildren and keeping them physically fit, even though we know we are not professional educators. We are also postponing all of their annual physical checkups and immunization shots, after weighing the risks.
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,839
@FancyDiamond, we actually got a message (both phone and email) yesterday about children needing to be current on shots and physicals for school entry with no exceptions. Luckily our kids won't be there in person and are not at the grades where a physical is required but I thought that could have been approached with more sensitivity and leniency.
 

Gussie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
3,700
Life, health, and safety are above everything. Economics, education, and etc. can wait. We can always make money and catch up learning later, but we cannot undo death or permanent health damage.
We do our best home-schooling our grandchildren and keeping them physically fit, even though we know we are not professional educators. We are also postponing all of their annual physical checkups and immunization shots, after weighing the risks.

And you have the choice to homeschool. You are very fortunate in that. There are LOTS of people who cannot afford that choice. What are they supposed to do?

Also many people (myself included) considered mental health as much of a priority as physical health. If schools are opened with strict safety standards, then the risk will be minimized.
 

Polabowla

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 15, 2019
Messages
1,866
Life, health, and safety are above everything. Economics, education, and etc. can wait. We can always make money and catch up learning later, but we cannot undo death or permanent health damage.
We do our best home-schooling our grandchildren and keeping them physically fit, even though we know we are not professional educators. We are also postponing all of their annual physical checkups and immunization shots, after weighing the risks.

Not every child can wait for education or services. Severely delayed or disabled children cannot "wait and catch up".

Even my kids who aren't severely disabled may not catch up.

That's a very narrow ableist statement to make.
 

Gussie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
3,700
And there have been a few thoughts on estimated dropout rates after extended school closures. What happens to those kids? We must do our best to educate everyone. I agree that losing a year isn't a big deal for most of pser's kids. It is the disadvantaged that will be harmed the most.

Pushing for schools to stay closed reeks of privilege.

 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top