Saturday, April 10, 2021

MULGREW EMAIL ON NEW 3 FEET SOCIAL DISTANCE GUIDELINES: "THIS IS THE UNFAIR WORLD WE ARE ALL LIVING AND WORKING IN"

This is from Michael Mulgrew's latest email (see below) on the new 3 feet between students social distancing guidelines:

After all that we have been through since the start of this pandemic, it was our hope that there would be no further changes. But this is the unfair world we are all living and working in. We know that many times those in charge make decisions without realizing that we are the ones who have to do the hard work of implementing these changes.

Michael Mulgrew never ceases to amaze me on how little he understands that the union president's job is to make sure with rank and file backing that UFTers work in a fair world. He is supposed to stand up to the government when "those in charge make decisions without realizing that we are the ones who have to do the hard work of implementing these changes." 

If we had a union leadership and unified membership that was willing to defy the corporate Democrats and Republicans, we could do more than just "hope there would be no further changes."  

At least Mulgrew isn't out there claiming this is another great UFT victory. I suppose that is a small step forward. 

For those wondering why we are concerned since adults are eligible to be vaccinated, this NY Times piece on the rise in spread of COVID-19 variants may help in understanding. In addition, CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota has a good article on the 3 foot policy.

Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, publisher of CIDRAP News, is worried B117 will lead to a different level of transmission than the country has seen before.

"We're already seeing substantial transmission," said Osterholm, who had supported the opening of K-8 schools given the dynamics of the wild type virus. Osterholm said the CDC recommendations were based on data done when only the original, wild-type virus was circulating, not B117.

"What little science supports 3 versus 6 feet goes out the window here. Is 6 feet even safe?" he said.


Mulgrew's email:

Dear _______,

There have been many conversations over the last few weeks about the CDC’s recent recommendation to reduce social distancing between students to three feet in classrooms. Now, in the middle of these discussions, an upstate judge has ordered the state Department of Health to issue guidance on the new rules. Local school districts, including New York City, must plan how to implement the new guidelines by working together with all stakeholders.

Your safety remains the top priority, along with the safety of your families, your students, and their families.

After all that we have been through since the start of this pandemic, it was our hope that there would be no further changes. But this is the unfair world we are all living and working in. We know that many times those in charge make decisions without realizing that we are the ones who have to do the hard work of implementing these changes.

Under the new state guidelines, school staff must still maintain six feet from other adults and from students. The guidance also says students must maintain six feet apart in any public area, such as gyms, hallways and lunchrooms. Students and teachers must be in distinct cohorts throughout the day.

With the wide availability of vaccines and our other safety protocols still in place, we are in a good position. But we need to remain vigilant. In the coming days, we will be taking all steps to make sure that any school that moves to the three-foot guidance can do so safely.

The immediate impact of this change will be limited to predominantly elementary schools where space limitations mean some students now attend fewer than five days a week.

As we near the final stretch of this difficult school year, your patience and perseverance are appreciated. We will be in touch with more information as soon as it’s available.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew

UFT President

66 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a fucking bozo. He is actually against the state giving his own teachers more protection and a safe working environment. Who wants to say it?

Anonymous said...

Another statement worthy of our dues and a $300K salary.

Anonymous said...

The world is reopening.

If you feel unsafe or have a medical condition, I respect that. There are always options.

I’m ready to get back to work. I’ve traveled, gone to restaurants, parks and gyms and baseball games. I follow protocols and I feel comfortable.

For the past 6-8 months, all we have heard is ‘give it another few months’. I disagree. Now is the time to open up.

We can have no risk and stay home forever or live our lives. I respect everyone’s ability to make a choice.

I choose to live life again and am happy to do so.

Anonymous said...

I saw Mulgrew on NY1 the other night. Mulgrew said the 4 mayoral candidates were chosen for the forum because they were the most viable. Errol Louis asked-Other unions pick candidates they like, then work to make them viable, why isn't the UFT doing that?

In my opinion, that pretty much sums it up. Very few at the head of the union seem to be leaders.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you 3:46!

It looks like teachers are happy to remain remote forever as long as they are paid!

This is terrible! Stop the insanity!

Get back to work now!

Anonymous said...

Remember August/September? Weren't we going to strike for anything less than the safety protocols we had? Didn't the DA vote to return and not strike only based on the deal between UFT and the DOE to accept those protocols? Look where we are now: the protocols that justified our return and supposedly prevented a strike are being thrown out and our leadership just paints it as 'life sucks?'

Anonymous said...

As of now there is no children’s vaccine. Whose life are you gambling with, 3:46? It’s not about you or me; it’s about those most vulnerable to the new variants.

Anonymous said...

An unfair world, Mr. Mulgrew?—You have been UFT President since 2009. How about making things more fair—by having term limits for union positions —6 or 8 year max - so that others get the opportunity.

Anonymous said...

Shut the fuck up. When all the people at tweed and trs and UFT go back to offices then and only then can you open your stupid mouth.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew and DeBlasio are half brothers and twins.

Anonymous said...

FUCK MULGREW- he is a useless piece of SH**.

DeBlasio is a disgrace to the human race.

to the people who say to open up-SURE-get all city and private workers BACK TO WORK IN THEIR OFFICES, ON BUSES, TRAINS. STOP PUTTING IT ON TEACHERS-

UFT LEAD BY EXAMPLE-MULGREW, DEBLASIO COME INTO SCHOOLS STAY THE WEEK. SHOW HOW TO GET STUDENTS TO EAT 6 FEET APART WHEN THEN SIT 3 FEET APART, SHOW YOU TO DO A FIRE DRILL 6 FEET APART.

4:59 and 3:46-STOP TELLING US TO GO BACK-F YOU! TELL ALL OTHER WORKERS AND YOUR UNION TO GO BACK FIRST. KARMA IS A BITCH!

Anonymous said...

521,

This is 3:46 here.

The one thing I learned this past year was that everything is a variant and everything and everyone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone Bragg has had something bad happen to them. And I do not want anything bad to happen to anyone. I really don’t.

However, how long are you going to stay home for?

I choose to go into work. I choose to live.

Today, I worked out, went to the Mets game and went to dinner. I followed protocols and I felt great doing all of these things.

Here is where I disagree with you. This world and my life is about me. My mental health is important.

Doing things in a safe way is about me and helps me feel good about myself.

Life is short. Anything can happen.

I choose to live.

If you choose differently, I respect that as well.

We need to open schools and have protocols for those who feel confident going in to learn.

Doing this job for two decades, I can tell you learning to socialize and feeling good about yourself is as important as learning to read and write.

Be well, be safe and God Bless America!

Anonymous said...

923,

346 is not telling anyone to do anything.

346 is saying that he or she feels safe going back to work. Are they not entitled to their feelings?

Please re-read the comments.

Thank you

Anonymous said...

It is so hard watch a global train wreck that you know can be stopped. Until @WHO acknowledges airborne, this pandemic will not end. Other places that have acknowledged #COVIDisAirborne have done much better than places that didn’t. Taiwan never shut down. 7 deaths in 24M.

Anonymous said...

Right now on our Covid unit, I am looking after multiple patients in their 40’s and 50’s, including a mother of a 2 year old and a husband/wife duo. Wave 3 is no joke. Stay safe Toronto

Coming soon to NY.

Anonymous said...

Anything about spring break pay? UFT President Michael Mulgrew said: “With an estimated $5 billion in new federal education funds coming to New York City, it’s time to take a giant step forward in recognizing the emotional and learning needs of our children.

Anonymous said...

Gotta admit living through the pandemic in the US and seeing how little people care about one another has made me lose a lot of faith in humanity or at least in Americans.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew can't keep the six foot social distance rule when an airborne virus is spreading that is impacting kids more but 10:/8 is worried about a few days of soring break pay.11:00 is right about Americans, particularly NYC teachers.

Anonymous said...

Interesting pre-print study, nicely summarised by @DGBassani, suggesting that school reopening was an important factor in Italy’s second wave.

Approximately 2 weeks after schools reopened, the time taken for cases to double decreased from 48 days to 8 days.

Stay remote. Use your brain.

Anonymous said...

Anyone I know that for covid was mostly from crowded, indoor environments where masks were not worn(ie crowded bars, home gatherings etc).

If you wear a mask, chances are covid will less likely spread.

In life, leaving your house is a risk.

How much longer are some people planning on not leaving their homes for?

I need to live and enjoy life in a safe way.

This means in person work, bbqs, exercise etc.

As an active person, my mental health is important.

To those who feel leaving home is unsafe, I respect that as well.

Anonymous said...

9:23 and the others who are using profanity: STOP IT!

You sound wacko! Who can take you seriously?

I agree the other offices should open too!

But people please stop with the doom and gloom we will all die if we go back to work!

TeachNY said...

I agree with 4:46. You have every right to stay home. I do believe options are available to stay home if you fear for your life. You might not like those options (leave of absence without pay, sell your house and move, resign and find new job, etc), but the options are there. If I was truly terrified, I’d sell my house, bank the $, and move in with my parents until I found a remote office job.

TeachNY said...

Our school is open 5 days a week and we have about 13-15 kids a class. It has been so successful. The kids are laughing, joking, working, and learning. No more ABC dots on the computer....it’s been really nice.

Anonymous said...

Let's look at the big picture here: These new "rules" are going to be a clusterfuck in September if more kids sign up for full time in school learning. Think about how many co-located schools there are. How are cafeterias and gyms going to be utilized when 6 feet distance is still required? How are cohorts possible if tons of new kids opt in over the summer? The logistics of this is going to be a nightmare.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew is toxic and deadly.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew is a whitewash supremacist.

James Eterno said...

Email me Charlie. I do not intend to spend what should be a relaxing Sunday debating or watching others debate debunked science sponsored by a libertarian think tank. Look at Brazil to show how the "chicken pox party" strategy is BS and is dangerous.

Anonymous said...

I don't care what anyone says, teaching and learning during a pandemic has no sense of normalcy whether it's in person or remote. Having to wear a mask all day, social distance, eat in the classroom and do gym on a computer and learn on a computer all day is in no way a sense of normalcy. WHo are we trying to kid?

Justin said...

Everytime he speaks/writes, all i ever hear is, "better things cannot happen." A king at rolling over and playing dead.

TJL said...

8:03 By Memorial Day let alone September rules and masks will be well in the rearview mirror.

James Eterno said...

TJL, I truly hope you are right but since middle school kids and half of high school kids won't be eligible to be vaccinated until probably the summer and variants now are all over, it may very well be longer.

Unknown said...

5:55am-9:23 here
Your concern is over my use of language? WOW way to DEFLECT the real issues

It's not doom and gloom it's common sense

How about I don't agree with putting more kids in classrooms? How about I do not want to see or hear about ANY Students getting sick and dying or HAVING LONG TERM UNKNOWN effects of covid on a student. I care about my students and their families.

I don't trust Deblasio and Mulgrew. Trust the CDC??? They told us last February that we did NOT need to wear masks? Remember that one?

NOt that I need or want to hear your opinion-you do you and I'll do me! Get the F***in point!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I think masks and social distancing are here to stay for a while longer especially with the variants. There are still thousands of people a day contracting covid and hundreds still dying.

Anonymous said...

From NBC News tonight: Covid variant spread in Michigan is growing serious and much of spread from young people. Governor asks schools to go full virtual.

Charlie said...

11:00 Seeing how easily Americans give up their rights at the request of MSM propaganda, without any critical thinking on their part, has made me lose a lot of faith in America. Give me liberty, or give me death. We used to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Sad.

Our fascist govt+big business globalist ruling class are setting the narrative and silencing all dissenting opinions. “The science” is a ridiculous term and the opposite of what actual science is. One of the first things students learn about science is that there are no facts, only theories, which are subject to change in the face of new data. Yet actual scientists who dare to disagree with the prescribed narrative are silenced.

"YouTube removed a video of DeSantis’s recent press conference this week in which he discussed the coronavirus lockdown and which restrictions he did and did not find necessary. Several other physicians and scientists, including Dr. Scott Atlas, joined him for the policy discussion and rightly pointed out that strict lockdown measures come with their own severe health consequences."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/youtube-censors-ron-desantis-for-daring-to-question-masks-on-children

If one set of "experts" can unilaterally decide that all other "experts" are wrong, then that's not science.

Data increasingly shows that masks are minimally effective at stopping transmission, and are physiologically and psychologically detrimental to our health. Yet the masses religiously wear them like talismans. Wear it if you want, but weigh the risks against the benefits first.

Here’s data from WHO and others: “the efficiency filtration rate of facemasks is poor, ranging from 0.7% in non-surgical, cotton-gauze woven mask to 26% in cotton sweeter material. With respect to surgical and N95 medical facemasks, the efficiency filtration rate falls to 15% and 58%, respectively when even small gap between the mask and the face exists”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987720333028

Even NYT (our Pravda), to their credit, finally admits that obsessive sanitizing is "hygiene theatre".
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/health/coronavirus-hygiene-cleaning-surfaces.html

The changing of 6 to 3 feet is likely political motivated. It was never about our safety, so there’s no reason to keep schools closed now that Biden-Kamala sit in the White House.

Even so, I'm glad that we'll be able to welcome more students back in person soon. Some students do well at home, others just don't and need to be in person.

If you are at any increased risked due to comorbidities then you likely already have a medical accommodation. At least the UFT did one thing right. Stay home if you want to, no one is dragging you in (yet).

If you're healthy then you're already at minimal risk. Try to understand the statistics. If you're still scared then get the vaccine.
Age Survival rate %
0-17 99.998
18-49 99.95
50-64 99.4
65+ 91.0
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html
updated 3/19/21

If a kid lives with grandma then they can stay home. But don't take the opportunity to be in school away from students who want and need it.

Anonymous said...

Reality check from Reality Based Educator's Twitter

The daily ritual of "We broke another vaccine record today!" may make people feel better, but truth is, we'll be hitting the "Everyone who wants one got one" soon, a sizable number of Americans are going to stay unvaxxed and mutations are starting to undercut the vaccines anyway.

So, before you think, "Normal right around the corner, vaccine numbers are amazing!", realize that it's a lot more complicated than that, even just dealing w/ this country. Add in other parts of the world where the virus is raging (Brazil) and bleeding out into the region...

...along w/ a country like India that has some serious spread and some serious mutation going on, and "normal" isn't around the corner.

No matter what de Blasio, Cuomo or the Biden CDC says.

Anonymous said...

The parents only want them to go to school so they don't have to stay home to take care of them and so they can have their wild sex parties!

Anonymous said...

.00167% vaccinated people died sometime after receiving vaccine. If the variants increase this number to an alarming rate or even a substantial increase, let me know. Otherwise the keep everything closed crowd are just afraid of their own shadow. Agree msm has brainwashed y’all. If it bleeds, it leads. Msm is pure propaganda.

Anonymous said...

Open school now is pure stupidity.

Zero community transmission strategy is proven to prevent more harm than the let it spread and try to control it tactical battle that becomes a war of attrition the vulnerable lose.

Keep remote learning.

Anonymous said...

Boston 25

"The 484 mutation has been identified by several groups, including ours, that it seems to escape antibody responses,” Suthar said. “Other groups are finding that mutations within what’s called the N-terminal domain of that spike protein also encode for escape antibodies.”

Suthar said the question becomes whether normal-over-time reductions in antibody levels with current COVID-19 vaccines will leave hosts open to reinfection by variants with ‘escape antibody’ mutations.

Zero COVID is the way to go.

Anonymous said...

IF THE WORLD IS SO SAFE, THEY SHOULD STOP VILLAINIZING US.IF YOU OPEN SCHOOLS, EVERYONE ELSE MUST ALSO GO BACK TO WORK.WHY ARE WE ALWAYS THE BAD ONES? LIRR AND METRONORTH RIDERSHIP STILL WAY DOWN.CUZ THEY ARE HOME!Open gov offices and private offices.why are we always the bad guys no matter how much we sacrifice and do??but nobody says anything...I can retire but not enough money saved up.s ou on I continue...

Charlie said...

9:11 of course aiming for no transmission will prevent covid harm but that ignores all other considerations. Staying closed has consequences.

Besides, zero covid is not a long term option. Scientists agree that covid is here to stay and will circulate like other flu and cold viruses. The virus is not stable enough to be eradicated through vaccination.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00396-2
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/yay-vaccines-but-heres-why-covid-will-never-go-away-quicktake/2021/01/31/55a7cdb6-6441-11eb-bab8-707f8769d785_story.html

The question now is how quickly we open up. It looks like our local leaders want to open sooner rather than later.

12:26 NYC municipal workers are going back soon.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/nyregion/coronavirus-work-return-nyc.html

Lockdowns started to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. That's no longer likely. Also when MSM is freaking out over some strained hospital system, keep in mind that hospitals are designed to run near capacity. Most likely they didn't have anything better to talk about that day.

Anonymous said...

Have you looked at Michigan or BC or Ontario lately? This shit is killing lots of people lately and is spreading here too. You covidiots want to pretend it's over and let thousands more die for no reason.. Are DOE offices opening up fully? How about UFT? This school year is shot.

See New Zealand and Taiwan for the Zero Covid strategy working.

Covidiot's freedom equals adolescence except I expect it from 14 year olds.

Anonymous said...

It is about variants.

Anonymous said...

WHO says the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic is now “growing exponentially,” with more than 4.4 million new Covid-19 cases reported over the last week.

Charlie said...

"public losing sight of the CDC and NIH’s role in the overall ecosystem of policy-making: federal agencies with a critical but narrow set of priorities that must be weighed against many others. Instead, we’ve assumed they speak the gospel. ... In a sane and thriving society, sober leadership and informed citizens would use values-based judgment to weigh the recommendations of the CDC against the devastating social, emotional, academic and economic costs of closure. Public policy is about trade-offs, and federal, state and local political leaders have a responsibility to determine an optimal balance of complicated benefits and drawbacks in our decision-making."
https://time.com/5954077/reopen-schools-blue-states/

It sucks that there's a pandemic killing people but there are economic and societal costs to staying closed. Luckily we are not currently in the same situation as Michigan.

Charlie said...

12:29 You can't compare the US to New Zealand. There are far fewer people living there than in NYC, let alone our entire country. From what I understand a main part of their strategy has been keeping covid from entering the country in the first place. We can't hermetically seal the entire US off from the rest of the world. And unless they stay locked down forever covid is going to get in eventually.

In my opinion the obsession on "variants" is just the latest way of scaring people. Variants are expected and so far none have been more deadly, only more transmissible. The CDC speculates that B117 is more dangerous but has no concrete data to back that up. B117 already makes up more than a quarter of new US cases so we should know soon.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/variant-surveillance/variant-info.html
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions

I'll reevaluate if a more deadly variant does actually emerge. In the meantime we can't stay shut just in case a more dangerous variant emerges, following that logic we'll stay closed waiting for the next pandemic.

And if the virus theoretically became twice as deadly (unlikely) that would put 18-49yo at 0.1% chance of dying instead of 0.05%. I'd take those odds.

Anonymous said...

Charlie and his open up friends just want us to keep the virus spreading until variants are all over the place and vaccines become less effective.

Overwhelming majority of parents in NYC want nothing to do with in person education. When will you covidiots acknowledge that?

Try Vietnam or Australia if NZ is too small on how to fight COVID.#zerocovid

Anonymous said...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Monday the solution to Michigan's COVID-19 outbreak lies in restrictions rather than more vaccinations the day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced she would be asking the Biden administration for more shots.

Walensky advocated for restrictions in the state similar to those imposed at the beginning of the pandemic, arguing that curbing the spread exclusively through vaccination would yield disappointing and slow results, Fox News reported.

"Really what we need to do in those situations is to shut things down," Walensky said. "If we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work to actually have the impact."

We will be Michigan here in NY. Just a matter of time.

Anonymous said...

Doctor Phillip Almeidareacts to CDC

Better late than never. We showed you exponential growth in MI more than four weeks ago. Your delay in responding will cost lives. You should correct your guidance that school openings are safe. And also warn all the other states with exponential growth.
https://t.co/ypNqdhgu9j

Anonymous said...

Carol Burris from Network for Public Education

Ironic that @nypost is so enraged all NYC public school kids not back but totally silent on NOT even one Success Academy kid back. @UFT @NYCMayor @leoniehaimson

Charlie said...

The vaccines are going to become less effective due to selection pressure sooner or later regardless of what we do. If you want I can explain why.

I'd argue that a covidiot is someone who doesn't understand this virus based on what we know so far and acts on feelings rather than facts.
Here's one example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVBJT2zeSqs

I understand that a majority of parents don't want in person (for now). But for each 1% that do that's 10,000 kids.

Kids who want and/or need in person to do well should have that opportunity.

7:55 If you are at any significant risk then you probably already have an accommodation. If you're scared of a 0.05% chance of dying (assuming you are 18-49yo), decreased to basically 0% after taking the vaccine, then I can only conclude that either you are not thinking logically or have other motivations.

Anonymous said...

I am not talking about myself. I notice you didn't respond to Vietnam or Australia.

What about long term Covid?

A SERIOUS picture is emerging about the long-term health effects of covid-19 in some children, with UK politicians calling the lack of acknowledgment of the problem a “national scandal”.

Anonymous said...

I am not talking about myself. I am working, and I emphazie working, remotely. Zerocovid is a strategy that works. It is the way to go to get this under control.

Waiting until the virus explodes again is just plain idiotic, hence you are a covidiot. Bigger covidiots don't wear masks or social distance but people calling for society to reopen now in the US are certainly still covidiots. for s

Charlie said...

I didn't address Vietnam or Australia because I don't know that much about their situations and don't have time to thoroughly research tonight, but if I had to guess I'd say seasonality and vit D levels have something to do with it.

If you're not just worried about yourself dying/family getting left alone then I think you need to take non-covid societal considerations into account, and let others make decisions for themselves.

What percentage of children are suffering serious long term covid damage? Please provide data if you have it, maybe you'll change my mind. MSM sensationalism of individual rare examples doesn't count.

On that topic, I wonder how collective effects of lack of socialization vs. long-term covid compare. Again, I don't have data on that but if I had to bet, I'd say depression and anxiety due to lack of socialization and MSM propaganda making them think they're about to die are a greater problem than the (I presume) minuscule change of long term covid damage.

We can't hide and wait for this to go away. Covid is here to stay
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00396-2
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/yay-vaccines-but-heres-why-covid-will-never-go-away-quicktake/2021/01/31/55a7cdb6-6441-11eb-bab8-707f8769d785_story.html

You say we still need to get this under control. I argue that we already have this under control, in NYC at least - we are opening as much as possible and cases are stable, hospitals are not overwhelmed.

If you're already working from home then stay there if you want. But if families want their kids back then let them make that decision.

Anonymous said...

It ain't got shit to do with vitamin D. Australia locks down provinces to trace any possible community spread.

Over 3,000 new cases and 61 deaths in NYC in NYC yesterday. If we multiply that by 365 it would come to over 22,000 more avoidable deaths in NYC. Covid-19 is not under control here. Success Academies are closed. The safest place is home until we get Covid-19 under control. It is not safe in schools. There has been no explosion only because most parents are not covidiots and will not expose their kids. Teachers should not be forced in either

Charlie said...

Covid or no covid, it's safer to stay home. Maybe covid will get us. Maybe a drunk driver will hit you. Maybe the the non collapsable steering column in my truck with crush my face.

That media doesn't address success academies is another issue entirely.

NYC teachers are already forced to go in. The question is how many of the students who want to go are allowed in. And how many are forced to stay home even if they want/need to come back in. I doubt welcoming a few more students back in will cause an explosion in cases considering all the other existing activity in NYC that's taking place.

I'll read about Australia tomorrow.

James Eterno said...

The city just had an opt in period. 51,000 opted in out of around 700,000. Less than that 51,000, probably much less, will show up regularly. The huge majority of parents including me wife and me, want remote. City-DOE does next to nothing for that majority. We have the large class sizes to contend with.

A fear all along has been we as a society just saying we have to move beyond COVID-19 and just accepting needless deaths.

I

Anonymous said...

To those who want zero risk, never leave your home again.

Everything is a risk when you leave your home.

Choose to live or choose to not leave your home.

I respect both sides, but I choose to live my life and should not be vilified for doing so

Anonymous said...

The more who mix in public, the more the variants spreads. It's not about you or your freedom.

Charlie said...

This collectivism is antithetical to American values. If 5:57 and others want to live their lives then they should be able to do so. 7:49 if you're so concerned then stay home, sell your house and move to the middle of nowhere if you must.

James I hope your kids schools are doing a good job. I've heard some are just posting work and calling it a day. My AP said that some schools were forced into buying Edmentum and just releasing those lessons instead of having their teachers teach. It appears that the only thing the DOE did for remote was spend a lot of money to make it worse. Ridiculous. Why have teachers at all if you don't trust them to do their jobs.

But even if a school is doing a great job, some kids still do worse than they would in person. If there's no parent at home they some kids will take the opportunity to do anything but log on.

James Eterno said...

American values should include taking care of each other and a sense of community, not an adolescent notion of freedom. If you want legal justification, the Constitution in the Preamble I do believe says the government is supposed to promote the general welfare.

Some kids do worse in the buildings than online. That is not a valid argument for keeping schools online. This is about safety with a deadly airborne virus circulating that has killed 560,000 Americans in just over a year.

My two kids are both live on Meets now learning virtually at separate schools. My wife is teaching a live Meet too. Later, I will be observing student teachers virtually at two different scbools. My kids will be on their own. I am quite confident they will attend their classes and do their work.

Can we make the debate about what Mulgrew stated?

Anonymous said...

Not interested in taking care of a bunch of crybabies too afraid to leave their house. Sense of community? Ha. We’re all nazi rubes remember? Go to work.

James Eterno said...

Maybe you missed the part where I said my wife, my two kids, and the student teachers I am working with are working hard every day 3:56. You are using the terms rube and Nazi, not me.

James Eterno said...

Where I come from we try to look out for each other. That is supposed to be why we have a union.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew only takes care of himself.He is one big pussy.sorry for the vulgarity.he reminds me of nancy Pelosi who cares nothing about street safety while demanding more security for herself andshe deserves to be a target. But mulgrew never answers why he stays home. With all our complaining, we need action to oust him.how can we do this?