Should kids and college students go back to class in person or online this fall?

[Kaido]

I'm not ever in NYC much, but from the Times Square Cam, it's probably 30% of what it was. But obviously not supposed to be big on tourists now.

Times Square South 4K

Watch Times Square live with EarthCam's webcams. See NYC's iconic bright lights, music, and arts scene that attracts millions of tourists 24/7.

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Still plenty of precautions in restaurants everywhere. Gyms finally opening next week...

I know he's looking at his phone but he looks like he's sitting there all sad & lonely lol

 

[ch33zw1z]

I voted that kids should be online only and college should be a mix, but voluntarily a mix. I think college age kids can probably weather the mental stress of sanitation regimens a bit better than kids. If college kids opt out of in person then it shouldn't be held against them.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

IDK if I should start a new thread or keep the question here since it's about distance learning but like I said earlier our school district is having horrible issues with their teachers freezing up on zoom meetings, and just constant lag throughout the day. The teachers are required to teach from the school and I'm wondering if this is a bandwidth issue or a poor network configuration issue. Our school's solution is to contract with another hot spot provider to off-set some of the bandwidth usage, but to also hire a new network technician. Looking at posts on FB about the situation, a lot of people are acting like this network technician is going to magically make the network run better, I kinda feel sorry for the guy lol.

So as I understand it based on what my wife told me, Monday teachers were on the school's wifi doing lessons and issues occurred. Yesterday all the teachers got brand new laptops, and were using ethernet to host their lessons and issues still occurred. Does the district's solution of adding more hot spots seem like the appropriate action?

 

[ch33zw1z]

IDK if I should start a new thread or keep the question here since it's about distance learning but like I said earlier our school district is having horrible issues with their teachers freezing up on zoom meetings, and just constant lag throughout the day. The teachers are required to teach from the school and I'm wondering if this is a bandwidth issue or a poor network configuration issue. Our school's solution is to contract with another hot spot provider to off-set some of the bandwidth usage, but to also hire a new network technician. Looking at posts on FB about the situation, a lot of people are acting like this network technician is going to magically make the network run better, I kinda feel sorry for the guy lol.

So as I understand it based on what my wife told me, Monday teachers were on the school's wifi doing lessons and issues occurred. Yesterday all the teachers got brand new laptops, and were using ethernet to host their lessons and issues still occurred. Does the district's solution of adding more hot spots seem like the appropriate action?

Since it happens on wired, that indicates it's not a wireless problem. More "hotspots" (IOW access points) won't mitigate it. It's probably a problem at the ISP, or in a core switch somewhere, and maybe hardware or config. It's tough to say without access to the gear. The new network guy likely won't be able to wave a magic wand and make it work. It might take some time and money to iron it out

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Since it happens on wired, that indicates it's not a wireless problem. More "hotspots" (IOW access points) won't mitigate it. It's probably a problem at the ISP, or in a core switch somewhere, and maybe hardware or config. It's tough to say without access to the gear. The new network guy likely won't be able to wave a magic wand and make it work. It might take some time and money to iron it out

This is kinda what I figured as well. I'm just assuming the district has antiquated equipment and lines and not enough bandwidth to handle all their staff using the network at the same time. IDK who provides their internet, but I believe Comcast is the only game in town. Do schools typically use the same ISPs as residential customers? I'm wondering if the only real solution is to get fiber which is a non-starter.

 

[ch33zw1z]

This is kinda what I figured as well. I'm just assuming the district has antiquated equipment and lines and not enough bandwidth to handle all their staff using the network at the same time. IDK who provides their internet, but I believe Comcast is the only game in town. Do schools typically use the same ISPs as residential customers? I'm wondering if the only real solution is to get fiber which is a non-starter.

Comcast does provide business lines. Our district uses them also. Depending on what speeds, it is probably fine, but you never know.

Hopefully the network eng can isolate the problem quickly. But, in my xp, documentation is not usually a priority, which can hinder speed to resolve problems

 

[JM Aggie08]

Online only. Lack of socialization is better than having to bury grandma. There is no situation in which schools that are going to in-person won't have to completely reel back to online only.

We've kept our toddler at home since this all started. Similar to school-aged kids, my logic is that I can plan around the certainty of my kid being at home full-time. Sending him to school, someone in his class getting sick, him having to be home, then sending him back, then potentially having someone/him get sick then US having to quarantine as well -- that's a gigantic clusterfuck and no one can convince me otherwise lol.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I also recognize that my situation is mine and mine alone -- unfortunately a lot of folks aren't in a position to keep their kids at home.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Online only, or, outdoors if weather permits.

 

[Scarpozzi]

My neighbor is a 4th grade math teacher. My community is torn between masking and not masking in the classroom for kids.

He was running by my house and stopped to talk. He said that masks aren't properly worn by most students in his class and doesn't see a need to enforce mask usage in schools. The way he described everything, the close quarters students are in, the improper usage, the severity of disease if they do get sick not being as severe, etc made me want to agree with that mindset.

However, I realize that in most cases, younger students are always in the same classroom with 1 teacher. If a student actually does get sick, there may be a lag between when symptoms appear and when they're actually contagious. For that reason, the masks DO make sense. They only have to protect someone from direct droplets spray for that critical period before it's discovered that they may be ill.

Additionally, wearing masks when lines of students are passing each other in hallways is also helpful to keep cross-classroom spread where possible. I think it's tough to know how much masks actually help when you see so many kids not wearing them properly and maybe not at all outside the classroom, but those critical points can actually make a huge difference in the overall numbers.

Totally independent of that stuff....My wife saw 21 patients yesterday. Of those, 5 of them were suspected COVID walk-ins. All 5 tested positive with rapid swaps. SO....nearly 25% of her patient load tested 100% positive. I have a feeling things are gonna get bad here soon. Mask up.

 

[Newbian]

We need a option for only vaccinated can go to class if they choose with mask mandate while the rest stay online.

 

[BoomerD]

I voted for the snowflake option...because I have no kids in school/college...so I don't have a dog in the fight...BUT, IMO, this is something that should be determined on a school district level...not state, not federal.

HOWEVER, I like the option of "Only vaccinated kids who follow safe distancing and masking should be allowed physically in classrooms.

I know having kids out of class puts a strain on families...I get that, but COVID is kind of a game changer...and it keeps changing all the time.

I really don't know the answer to this or other COVID-related issues...if I did, I'd probably have to come out of retirement.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have a feeling come September they will try to do normal in class learning, then by November it will be back to distance learning again. As long as the government keeps using number of cases as a metric instead of number of BAD cases, we are not going anywhere. They are now saying we are in a fourth wave here in Canada, despite a good chunk of people being vaccinated, so all these cases are not really people getting that sick and the ones that are getting sick are the ones who are not vaccinated.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I voted for the snowflake option...because I have no kids in school/college...so I don't have a dog in the fight...BUT, IMO, this is something that should be determined on a school district level...not state, not federal.

HOWEVER, I like the option of "Only vaccinated kids who follow safe distancing and masking should be allowed physically in classrooms.

I know having kids out of class puts a strain on families...I get that, but COVID is kind of a game changer...and it keeps changing all the time.

I really don't know the answer to this or other COVID-related issues...if I did, I'd probably have to come out of retirement.

I agree you need to weigh the pros and cons - and it's no question that the cons are being ignored.

Gleefully delaying evictions doesn't get around this fact: Many many Americans will be homeless as a direct result of this. Out of sight, out of mind though.

 

[pete6032]

We need a option for only vaccinated can go to class if they choose with mask mandate while the rest stay online.

I created this poll in August 2020.

 

[snoopy7548]

It's depressing how we're right back to where we were a year and multiple vaccines later. People are so fucking stupid.

 

[jpiniero]

Imagine paying 50k for Zoom U.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's depressing how we're right back to where we were a year and multiple vaccines later. People are so fucking stupid.

There's no reason why we can't go back to normal now other than the fact that the government loves their new powers. If people want to risk getting covid and not getting vaccinated then that should be on them. Rest of us should be able to move on. If we get covid it's basically a short cold.

 

[Zorba]

We need a option for only vaccinated can go to class if they choose with mask mandate while the rest stay online.

FYI, this is a Necro thread from last year, why the poll doesn't make much sense.

 

[Zorba]

There's no reason why we can't go back to normal now other than the fact that the government loves their new powers. If people want to risk getting covid and not getting vaccinated then that should be on them. Rest of us should be able to move on. If we get covid it's basically a short cold.

To be clear this thread is about kids and schools, the majority of school aged kids can't get vaccinated.

 

[Red Squirrel]

To be clear this thread is about kids and schools, the majority of school aged kids can't get vaccinated.

Can't 12 and up be vaccinated now? 11 and under are extreme low risk, and I presume they will be able to get vaccinated soon. Think they just need more trials.

 

[Captante]

Can't 12 and up be vaccinated now? 11 and under are extreme low risk, and I presume they will be able to get vaccinated soon. Think they just need more trials.

Aug 14 (Reuters) - "The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States hit a record high of just over 1,900 on Saturday, as hospitals across the South were stretched to capacity fighting outbreaks caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant." ~


No specific info on how many of these kids are very serious/intubated or their exact ages but just that many kids being hospitalized at this point means its pretty bad.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow did not realize lot of kids were actually getting sick too now. Always figured they were mostly asymptomatic.

 

[Captante]

Wow did not realize lot of kids were actually getting sick too now. Always figured they were mostly asymptomatic.

I'm REALLY glad my daughters are grown and I don't have to deal with it. (obviously I still worry but its not the same)

Being a parent can be scary enough without a pandemic! 😳

 

[Torn Mind]

Touchy subject because young ones that are allergic can be royally fucked over or even die from an allergic reaction. My sister did almost die and even she somehow personally retained memory of the near death experience even though she couldn't have been more than just 5 years old.