A lot of U.S. universities seem to be sending the students home to catch glimpses of the truth via Internet (it will be like Plato’s cave, but with LED backlighting instead of a climate-destroying wood fire?).
The stated reason for this mass exodus is that this will slow the spread of coronavirus. But U.S. K-12 schools are generally staying open. Doesn’t that ensure the rapid spread of any epidemic, even if children themselves are not usually symptomatic? Almost everyone has at least some contact with a family with children. As long as the K-12 schools are open, children have contact with each other.
Here’s part of an email from the superintendent of our local public school (Lincoln, Massachusetts)…
The Governor’s Press Conference held yesterday afternoon shared the current status of COVID-19 cases in our state and emphasized how quickly the levels of cases can escalate. In light of the data and the recommendations provided by Governor Baker and Commissioner of Education Jeff Riley, we are putting additional plans in place to ensure that we do everything we can to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our school communities. Right now, the level of risk in our school communities is low.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary education is not approving remote learning for pre-K through grade 12 schools.
Finally, I want to remind everyone that events such as this can bring out the best in a community and can also bring out the worst. Please remember that the strength of our community and how we get through this event is dependent upon how we care for each other and reach out to those in need. We may have a tendency to look out for ourselves, intentionally or unintentionally profile others, or carry out actions that are felt as microaggressions. Let us all rise to the occasion and do all that we can to support each other to ensure that every student, staff member, and family feels supported, safe, and cared for. I recommend we all read this document regarding civil rights related to COVID-19. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USED/bulletins/27f5130.
From the linked-to U.S. Department of Education letter:
There has been an increasing number of news reports regarding stereotyping, harassment, and bullying directed at persons perceived to be of Chinese American or, more generally, Asian descent, including students.
Nobody had the heart to tell our school superintendent that nearly all of the Asian families decamped some years ago to Newton, Lexington, and Brookline, whose school systems put up higher test scores. We would have to fight our way through quite a bit of traffic (in our Warren-stickered Teslas, naturally) if we wanted to microaggress an Asian.
Readers: If you’re not too busy unintentionally profiling Chinese Americans, can you please educate me on how “social distancing” in the U.S. is useful when K-12 schools remain open?
Related:
- assigned reading idea for the college kids sent home: The Decameron
- “Mann besprüht chinesische Nachbarin mit Desinfektionsspray” (Abendzeitung München): apparently, the Germans aren’t running out of disinfectant
“There has been an increasing number of news reports regarding stereotyping, harassment, and bullying….” An increasing number of news reports isn’t the same as an increasing number of cases. Don’t facts matter?
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Don’t be so harsh. What else i there to report?
Closing schools has extra cost compared to closing universities. Many working parents would have to stay home to watch their kids. They won’t be able to go to work. In addition to economic impact, it will not help soon-to-be overwhelmed hospitals. Some of these no-longer-working parents are hospital nurses.
I think the colleges were eager to close thinking it would be seen as a ding on Orange Man’s handling of the fear crises. K-12 can’t close, says so in the Constitution/sarcasm. If all those mothers stay home corporate America wouldn’t get their 33% cheaper employees. And mothers might realize they like staying home. If women drop out of the workforce, in a time of people becoming more aware of their distaste of immigration, we will need a ton more H1Bs to keep profits high.
And think of the business model of having women delay motherhood so they can work in daycare raising other women’s kids who are working somewhere else, don’t want to endanger that brilliant business model.
Same as the universities if they close K-12 people are going to question if everything needs to be done the way we were doing it. And while that is good for America, it is bad for a lot of established crony business.
Kids are immune to the virus. K-12 teachers are expendable. College professors are too valuable to risk. The 1 school everyone’s wondering about is East Coast Aero Club. Are flight instructors as expendable as K-12 teachers? What if the flight instructor is an expert witness?
California K-12 schools get funded strictly on attendance. Any closure would be very costly to the school districts.
Colleges can close without refunding anyone’s tuition. Follow the money.
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> can you please educate me on how “social distancing” in the U.S. is useful …
The key word is SOCIAL. Separating future leaders from hoi polloi.
Schools are closing.
“The following districts have agreed to a two-week school closure beginning tomorrow, March 13, 2020: Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Lexington, and Winchester, while other districts in our area are working out the details with their teams. “
Dunno, most Seattle-area schools are already closed.
This whole closing nonsense be it for schools, offices, travels, etc. assumes that we are now at the peak of COVID-19 as such in 2 weeks all well be good. What if in 2 weeks or 2 months, we still see ongoing infections and death, then what do you do?
The idea is to buy time. If the epidemic is not slowed down at any cost it will overrun and destroy our medical system: nobody would be able to get any treatment if 50% of the nurses are down with COVID–and those are the highest risk group.
This is how it went in Taiwan. Instead of building makeshift hospitals, like what PRC did, they asked the military for a detailed plan to move out off the bases and to convert barracks into field hospitals; the army was asked to start training as junior medical personnel. (Those plans were actually quite elaborate and were designed over a decade ago, right after the SARS epidemic.)
Initially, they had a horrible face mask shortage, they had to establish rationing, price controls, and a strict ban on exports. Initially everyone would be allowed only 2 masks a week, 3 for children. A month later the limit was raised to 3 and then to 5; limited exports are allowed as of last week.
Cannot do any of these if not given enough time left, and Italy has demonstrated what could happen then. The US authorities have squandered most of the time budget by instructing us not to panic and telling us that face masks would not be helpful, a very subtle and hideous lie.
Also, not testing is a big problem. Taiwan managed to map out and isolate all COVID clusters. Their newest test only takes 15 minutes, the common procedure in both Europe and East Asia is about 4 hours; it’s 2-3 days in the US, going down to 9 hours soon. Schools are open in Taiwan, but children sometimes get to use funny(?) precautions, such as cardboard box enclosures, etc.
History shows that closing university due to quarantines, and forcing remote-work, is a good thing! In 1665, the University of Cambridge temporarily closed due to the bubonic plague. Isaac Newton had to work from home, and he used this time to develop calculus and the theory of gravity.
http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-04004
Same argument, more or less: Albert Einstein, Ph.D., immigrated to the U.S. 12 years after winning the Nobel Prize in Physics, which just goes to prove that admitting 1 million low-skill immigrants every year to the U.S. is a surefire strategy for prosperity!