Sunday, February 07, 2021

DIANE RAVITCH-GADFLY ON THE WALL ON SCHOOL BUILDING REOPENING INCONSISTENCY

From Diane Ravitch:

It's easy to be confused about whether it’s safe to resume in-person instruction. Schools in Europe, which were quick to reopen a few months ago, are closed now due to a resurgence of COVID-19. Experts, including the new head of the CDC, say it’s safe to reopen, even if teachers have not been vaccinated.

Steven Singer does not agree. From the onset of the pandemic, he has worried about reopening too soon. Now he wants to know why Dr. Rochelle Walensky says it is not safe to go to a Super Bowl party, but safe to reopen schools without vaccinating teachers. He says Dr. Walensky is engaged in magical thinking. He asks: Why are schools safer than Super Bowl parties?

Singer is Gadfly on the Wall. First, he worries about the continuing politicization of the CDC in the post Trump era.

Less than a month ago, health memos from the organization were being edited by Kellyanne Conway and Ivanka Trump. In September the White House blocked the agency from issuing a nationwide requirement that masks be worn on all public transportation.

He then goes after the CDC's lack of science in favoring one type of large indoor gathering ovanother. 

Why are you using your platform as head of the CDC to promote magical thinking?

Because that’s exactly what this is – magical thinking.

It’s not science.

Science doesn’t offer policy. It looks at very narrow questions and determines what may have caused what.

It works hand-in-hand with logic and reason. Otherwise, it’s invalid.

And the fact that your statements don’t add up disproves at least one of them.

Either large groups are a danger or they’re not.

If they’re not, then we can reopen schools AND go to Super Bowl parties.

If they are a danger (as a preponderance of evidence shows), then what is it about schools that makes them safer than Super Bowl parties?

Answer: Absolutely nothing!

He then gives the reasons why in-person schooling is more dangerous than a Super Bowl party. It is hard to argue with Singer. The




29 comments:

Anonymous said...

They can’t even come up with a nation wide consistent and cohesive policy on distributing and administering vaccines. No reason for the frustration that many people are having trying to get registered to get vaccinated—especially in the NYC/NYS region.

Anonymous said...

Schools aren't safer than a party. Those in charge know it. They just don't give a shit because no matter what they do they know most teachers will vote democrat. The Democratic Party owns us. Accept it. If they told us to get on our knees and bleep bleep bleep, most teachers would.

Anonymous said...

Teachers returning in Chicago. We are next. Funny, Trump was the one who wanted schools open. Now the dem leaders want the same.

Anonymous said...

One has to look no further than California to see that lockdowns don't work. They had the strictest lockdowns and the virus is raging. Just imagine what would have happened if Supermarket workers and truck drivers delivering goods had the same mentality as the spoiled infants in Chicago and NYC schools.

Anonymous said...

The proponents of lockdowns have the same reaction when asked why the lockdowns don't work as a communist does when asked why communism doesn't work. They always reply oh, well we need everyone to be involved. Bullshit

Anonymous said...

Lockdowns are responsible for a lot of destruction. Lives lost to suicide, children suffering depression, businesses destroyed, revenue dried up. Isnt anyone concerned about this? Maybe just the last point? After all folks, our salaries are funded by tax dollars. Or should we just relax and follow the brilliant mind of AOC and just print a hundred trillion dollars?

James Eterno said...

We never had a hard lockdown or travel ban in the U S. We close here when it's too late and yes it does work if done before virus spreads wide.

Anonymous said...

Yes James exactly 6:55's point

Anonymous said...

You can't blame lockdowns for suicides. If someone committed suicide due to the lockdown, that person probably would have done it regardless of the lockdown or not.

Anonymous said...

And what exactly is a hard lockdown James? For the government to come and weld everyone's doors shut and let them starve?

Anonymous said...

Teachers need to get vaccinated and get back to work. The bs myth of the “heroic” teacher has been destroyed for good during the pandemic. I say this as a 22 years and counting current teacher.

Anonymous said...

Completely different job than teachers. Truck drivers are alone in the truck. Supermarket workers deal with adults who have to masked to be in the store. Moron.

Anonymous said...

I would love to know how the most powerful union in the country would allow, again, an unfair evaluation system to get shoved down our throats. Not too powerful. I won't bother listing all the other shortcomings.

Anonymous said...

Remember when opting out this year from the UFT this key info they have been neglecting to tell us teachers.

UK variant doubling every ten days. It transmits 30%+ faster/easier than older strain. Has hit children/teens in UK, Israel and Italy hard. Europe has CLOSED schools b/c of the variant spread.

Anonymous said...

Well,

NEW: NYC middle school buildings will re-open February 25th. About 62,000 students who previously opted-in to in-person instruction will be able to attend. That’s out of about 196,000 middle school students total.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of covid

Tests for Americans before domestic flights?

By dismantling immigration enforcement, the Biden administration invited a wave of illegal immigrants—and they're allowed in without COVID tests.

To Biden, illegal immigrants come before Americans.

Anonymous said...

6:55.. It does work. This is why the Captialist nations constantly overthrow, and continue to attempt to overthrow, Socialist nations.

Anonymous said...

Lockdowns saved the prospering economy of China, and the Chinese people from high death tolls. Meanwhile, in the US...

Anonymous said...

10:16 In the US, yes, we let people starve. In China, food was brought to all families and people during the lockdown.

Anonymous said...

No for people to just follow the lockdown to the T. Like they do in other countries! Problem here is so many are selfish which is why a hard lockdown has never and will never happen here.

Anonymous said...

Well, the idiots said schools are opening. UFT is silent as usual. Variants much more contagious. Glad i'm working from bed and not paying dues. The uft wouldn't care if I dropped dead.

Anonymous said...

The mayor made the same pledge in December to improve the situation room and did nothing. You did nothing to pressure them. You’ve dropped protecting our safety. When do you announce you’re also fine with them changing the 2 person closure rule? Because that’s next. If you pay dues, you are a fool.

Anonymous said...

I was tested 2 wks ago, no results yet. Very safe. The safest.

Anonymous said...

The hell with lockdowns with any positives or negatives that people have had to endure.
A bigger frustration has been caused by severe shortages of vaccination doses for targeted phased groups in the NYC area. You can’t make appointments and many promised appointments are being canceled. The entire COVID-19 saga has been a disaster since last February—with the failure to recognize the severity—along with political pressure including mixed messaging on how to go forward to safely open schools, restaurants etc.—to this very day. And it’s still unbelievable that teachers weren’t given the status of essential front line workers back In December—especially if this an urge to reopen schools to full on-site instruction.
In short, just like an unsatisfactory teacher lesson plan, the NYS/NYC plan to vaccinate its citizens has been mainly incoherent, not aligned to needs of its citizens and the lesson summary- has not matched to the objective of the lesson. This is clearly an under-developed lesson by any standard.
The people that rolled out this vaccination plan should be rated unsatisfactory and be denied tenure or be dismissed—unless they reflect, reassess- and come up with a better plan to carry out their objective—and actually prove it can be done. All of us will be keenly observing with our own common sense rubrics.

Anonymous said...

9:55 Meanwhile Cuba is offering free vaccines, and free treatment, to all citizens and foreigners/tourists, you know, to any human being. Because nobody comes first when it comes to healthcare.

Anonymous said...

Yeah we freedom loving Americans can be selfish about holding onto our freedom. China and Cuba? Jeez. Their citizens would trade places with you in a heartbeat. No thank you to communism.

Anonymous said...

People who hate the country so much stay and feed off the benefits while millions are literally dying to get in legally and illegally at the border.

Anonymous said...

1947. Thats right, 1947 people.

"The response was so great that the city enlisted thousands of civilian volunteers to help deliver inoculations. Armed with vials of vaccine, the volunteers, along with professional health care providers, administered as many as eight doses per minute. Making their way through every school in the city, they inoculated 889,000 students. In the first two weeks, five million New Yorkers were vaccinated against smallpox."

“In a period of less than a month, 6,350,000 people were vaccinated in New York City,” he wrote. “Never before had so many people been vaccinated in such a city and on such short notice.”

“What Dr. Weinstein did in 1947 is something we’re still studying and referring to,” Dr. Markel said. “The fact that they developed the logistics — the delivery of vaccine, the large public spaces where people could line up to get vaccines, the manpower in the form of nurses and doctors who would give the vaccine — is pretty incredible. Weinstein is to be credited.”

Anonymous said...

I can't get a vaccine appointment anywhere and I have 2 of the indicators. I'm a teacher and diabetic. The only place in NY that had appointments available was in Potsdam, NY which if you don't know is about 20 miles south of the Canadian border.