This article appeared in the Wall Street Journal in August 14. Unlike the U.S., European countries first controlled the virus by strict measures, then reopened schools. And Europe, unlike the U.S., does not have a significant portion of the population that refuses—as a matter of principle—to wear masks or practice social distancing.
BERLIN—European countries are pushing ahead with reopening schools with in-person learning despite an uptick in Covid-19 cases and new studies suggesting children could be more susceptible to the disease than originally thought.
Authorities in France, Germany, the U.K. and Italy are looking to avoid another blanket closure of schools this autumn, relying instead on steps such as social distancing and mask-wearing to contain infections. In case of outbreaks, they plan to shut down only individual classes or schools.
The stance generally has support from unions, as well as many parents, and is bolstered by the absence of school-related outbreaks in day-care centers and elementary schools that remained open last spring, when infection levels were far higher.
In recent weeks, daily new cases have risen in countries including Germany, France and Spain. But while Europe as a whole is now reporting about 12,000 cases a day—more than 2½ times as many as in early July—that is well below the 32,000 a day recorded at the peak in April. It also is far lower than the 53,000-a-day seven-day average recently in the U.S.
In the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the school year started last week, two schools temporarily shut down after a teacher at the first and a pupil at the second were found to be infected, underlining the challenges ahead.
But for now, authorities are undeterred. Classes have been divided into clusters, with students allowed to interact with each other but not outside the group. One such group was quarantined at a school in the city of Rostock after several members of a family tested positive, but the school remained open.
“Nothing has changed. On the contrary, our precautionary concept is working, and we are focusing on targeted measures to prevent renewed blanket closures,” said Henning Lipski, spokesman for the Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania government.
Kay Czerwinski, head of the parents association in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said schools should remain open.
“We have to persevere. Children—especially in elementary schools—must return to in-person teaching as soon as possible,” he said. “Everything else is untenable.”
Teaching, Mr. Czerwinski said, is based on the interaction between students and teachers. He cited experts who say remaining at home is impeding children’s mental development. And many parents can’t go to work if their children are at home, he added.
In the U.S., calls by President Trump to reopen schools have been met with opposition from some experts and media amid an intense debate about whether such a move would boost contagion, especially given the significantly higher rates of disease incidence across much of the nation.
In Europe, pressure is high to return children to the classroom so that parents can go back to work. Policy makers are also concerned about the impact of prolonged home schooling on students, especially in poorer families.
“School closures are only effective if we want to damage our children,” said Wieland Kiess, a professor of pediatrics at the Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development in Germany. He coordinated a study that showed isolation at home is damaging the mental health of children, especially those from poorer families.
In Germany, back-to-school rules vary from state to state. Children in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania must wear masks on school buses and all common areas outside of classrooms. Classes aren’t allowed to mix on school premises. Teachers are encouraged to take complementary coronavirus tests.
North Rhine-Wesphalia, where the summer break ended this week, imposed a masking order during class for all high-school students. In Berlin, which also reopened Monday, children must wear masks when moving around the building but not in classrooms.
In Scotland, students returning this week are being kept in groups throughout the day to limit intermingling of different age groups and expected to regularly wash their hands. Face coverings aren’t compulsory, but older children and adults may be asked to wear them if data point to an increase in infections in the surrounding community.
Some scientists have warned against broad reopening of schools, pointing to school outbreaks outside Europe. Israel has recorded several clusters, mainly in high schools. In the U.S., hundreds of students age 6 to 19 became infected at a summer camp in Georgia in June.
Many disease experts say the risk to children from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is small, with multiple studies showing most display only mild symptoms, if any. Studies also have indicated that younger children haven’t been driving the epidemic.
Peter Klimek, assistant professor at the Section for Science of Complex Systems at the Medical University of Vienna, coordinated a study of pandemic measures in 76 countries and territories that found school closures to be one of the most efficient measures in curbing contagion among the community at large.
However, Prof. Klimek said this effect could be the result of other factors, such as parents having to work from home while taking care of their children. That means the parents have fewer outside contacts and thus fewer opportunities to become infected themselves.
The question is also: What is the general condition of school buildings in these countries vs. the condition of schools buildings here in the United Sates???? The Europeans tax and pay for buildings differently than we do here.
Good point. Probably the most covid-related would be ventilation systems, as well as design avoiding overcrowded common areas. Googling around Euro school systems I found most, as you would expect, have much larger revenue flow from federal level than we do. And something approaching equal per-pupil funding, usual w/extra for areas w/ higher proportion of poor &/or special needs. Even Germany, which is more decentralized than most, sources the flow from state level (not municipalities as is traditional here), & has in recent years tightened fed oversight of equity issues. Bottom line, most of these countries look at bldg quality/ maint from a natl ed lens of functionality to enable hi-qual ed, just like standards, class sizes, staff qualifs, salaries, et al– w/funds to back it up. All of which suggests Euro school bldgs are in much better shape than ours.
There is no comparison. In western European countries schools are largely considered to be public treasures and are very well maintained and modernized when needed.
Good to know Greg. I kind of figured that, as their govtl form indicates they’re far more public-goods-oriented than we are. They don’t exactly spend more on ed – tho maybe more on the K12 portion? [& more when shown as % of gdp]. But we know at a minimum, they don’t throw away bundles on stupid testing “accountability” & privatization schemes.
Hi, Ginny. From 2006-2013 I was fortunate to visit many hospitals in western, central and northern Europe. Wherever I saw a “substandard” hospital, there was a newer, more modern one under construction (mostly teaching/research hospitals). When I visited the same facilities again a few years later, they were all state-of-the-art. In particular, considering the upgrades that needed to be made, Spain really impressed me. In the early years I visited, some of the hospitals were obviously the same as from Franco’s times, small rooms, sometimes patients in the hallways. Their replacements were spectacular. Better than most I have seen in the U.S. No halfway measures, they did it right (correctly, that is).
That’s inspiring, especially in Spain, considering it’s not as wealthy as some of its neighbors. Obviously they share what wealth they have & public goods come first. I am always pinching myself re: US priorities. How is a society measured, if not by the quality of its public goods? It’s a maxim that you can measure a society by how it treats its children, yet we have high infant mortality and high % child poverty compared to other OECD countries. When visiting abroad, one tends to be most impressed by fine public libraries & museums, efficient & well-maintained public transportation, et al. Our scores on those counts have been steadily deteriorating for decades. I did not see that growing up, but I understand now that my childhood window [,50’s-’60’s] was flush w/post-war wealth. That flowed over into public goods, but was not undergirded by long-term planning prioritized toward maintaining it. I think hospitals– healthcare– led the turn toward privatization/ neoliberalism sparked by globalism/ automation back in late ’70’s.
I always believed that the USA had the best infrastructure and public commons because of post WWII prosperity, But you don’t really know this to be true once you visit Western Europe and Scandinavia, and when I did, I had some very sobering moments and rude awakenings about my own country.
This is why Americans simply do not know better because they generally do NOT travel abroad in general, and they generally do not speak other languages . . . .Insulation + Isolation = tunnel vision and ignorance.
Robert Rendo, Educator; “This is why Americans simply do not know better because they generally do NOT travel abroad in general, and they generally do not speak other languages . . . .Insulation + Isolation = tunnel vision and ignorance.”
I agree totally with that statement.
One Trump supporter accused me of being a Marxist. I said, “No”, that I have traveled extensively outside the U.S. and have seen it from a different perspective. She said that Medicare for All would result in socialism and that the U.S. would be just like Argentina.
There is no fixing stupid and Trump is a master of stupidity.
Marxism definition is – the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx; especially : a theory and practice of socialism including the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society.
Robert, when I had American friends visit or meet me in my hometown in Germany when I was there on vacation or business, I made a point of walking them through two neighborhoods as I showed them the city. When we got to a restaurant or bar to review the day, I would always ask what they thought of those places. They were always impressed with the open spaces, the playgrounds, the friendliness of the people, the general relaxed atmosphere. When I informed that the both areas were public, subsidized housing, that these were generally “poor” working class people, immigrants, refugees from various parts of the world, they were, to a person flabbergasted. They had safe, comfortable homes. They had access to safe, clean, accessible and timely pubic transportation. They had the right and unquestioning right to medical care when they needed it, from dental to eye, from emergency to chronic care services. Yes, many had problems, some resorted to domestic violence and other criminality; many had other problems. But the overwhelming majority had children who received education from pre-K through vocational and higher education. They were and are free. They live in dignity. They have a future. And not one of my friends ever felt threatened, pity for those they saw, or could imagine they were the poorest of the poor in that community.
I agree with GregB and all others on this thread. That’s why I have been saying for 10 years that we are not fighting politicians nearly as much as we are fighting the ignorance of the American people, and how exactly to address that and fix it is a very, very complex endeavor, but one we will have to try from all angles, tapping all faucets.
I do believe that educating children and adults (how exactly you do that is another mountain to climb) is SO critical, like oxygen and water.
Ignorance is among the most powerful weapons. It is a nuclear bomb without any of the blood, blasts, noise or radiation, but its destruction is just as strong. You cannot see it, but you can feel its effects.
Well Robert now you’re ringing all the memory bells of my extensive travel in Europe in the early ’70’s. Including lengthy visits w/ German, Eng & Fr friends/ family speaking in the vernacular [& ongoing conversations w/Fr relatives since]. No question the quality & accessibility of their public goods were far superior to ours even when ours were at their best. What I was trying to say was that even when ours were pretty good, quality & accessibility were strictly a product of a short-lived period of prosperity sufficient to trickle through middle & working classes [though never to the poor]. Accidental– not intentional, not based on an equitable vision for society, therefore not sustainable. Started their decline as soon as digitalization accelerated automation plus rise of Asian
markets– exacerbated by our govtl response [send assets to top & let cloutiest grab biggest pieces of shrinking pie].
Yes, Bethtree and all others . . . Our infrastructure here is inferior compared to theirs. But that’s because we are an exceptional country. My own cousin posted on my FB page that if I was not happy with the USA, I should get the F out of here and move to another corny. Of course, he is a staunch Trump supporter, owns guns, tours on a motorcycle, and thinks the electoral college is important to have, never having knowm that it was tied to the antebellum economy. People like that are a much bigger war to win than our elected officials.
I am not able to discern how the “keep them in clusters” works for teachers and staff, and for differences in teaching assignments for students in pre-school, the elementary grades, middle grades, and high schools. A similar concept in the US puts students into “pods” but is also vague about how these work for teachers.
Apparently, clusters of students in middle and high schools would move from classroom to classroom. That assumes the school has teachers and classrooms set up for specialized subjects, such as science labs, or indoor physical education, or classes in instrumental music, or the visual arts where students create art with varied materials, and so on.
The article also says: “Teachers are encouraged to take complementary coronavirus tests.” In this respect, the countries presented as if exemplary may well have more reliable tests and faster turnarounds for results than is the norm for the United States.
I looked at the decisions made for Department of Defense schools. Many are beginning online. Schools are urged to adopt policies that correspond the DOD’s “Health Protection Condition Levels and local levels. For high school, the DOD has offered an online program for a decade, including AP courses.
https://www.dodea.edu/returntoschool.cfm See also the military names for Covid-19 threat levels. https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Inside-DOD/Blog/Article/2128863/hpcon-understanding-health-protection-condition-levels/
“Apparently, clusters of students in middle and high schools would move from classroom to classroom.” I’m not so sure. Moving classes of kids around causes distancing/ space capacity issues in halls. I remember the description of Danish reopening had kids & their teachers staying put, w/only subject teachers changing rooms. That suggests doing without lab eqpt et al materials– which makes sense [minimizing multiple hands on materials]. (Would they even be attempting music or art?).
My town’s reopening [hybrid] noted they were minimizing movement of groups to different rooms– cutting it back to one or two moves where they couldn’t eliminate it entirely. Also that there would be no art or music or sports.
P.S., recently reviewed Denmark’s covid response [timeline at wikipedia article, plus phased reopening as described by their govt]. Don’t know details of their testing quality/ turnaround, but noted they’ve used contact tracing from the start, ramped up testing program just before phase 1 reopening, & have continued to expand testing capacity w/each subsequent phase. They’re now in the position of being able to quickly identify clusters & target increased restrictions/ quarantining as they arise. We don’t have anything like that. Plus: they closed down early & hard when they had total 600 cases in 6million population. So at this point, w/thetesting/ contract tracing, even tho they’re in Phase 4, their rate of infection is equivalent to our lowest-rate state [Maine].
So no parallels here at all.
Our final cohort included 145 patients with mild to moderate illness within 1 week of symptom onset. We compared 3 groups: young children younger than 5 years (n = 46), older children aged 5 to 17 years (n = 51), and adults aged 18 to 65 years (n = 48). We found similar median (interquartile range) CT values for older children (11.1 [6.3-15.7]) and adults (11.0 [6.9-17.5]). However, young children had significantly lower median (interquartile range) CT values (6.5 [4.8-12.0]), indicating that young children have equivalent or more viral nucleic acid in their upper respiratory tract compared with older children and adults (Figure). The observed differences in median CT values between young children and adults approximate a 10-fold to 100-fold greater amount of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract of young children. We performed a sensitivity analysis and observed a similar statistical difference between groups when including those with unknown symptom duration. Additionally, we identified only a very weak correlation between symptom duration and CT in the overall cohort (Spearman ρ = 0.22) and in each subgroup (young children, Spearman ρ = 0.20; older children, Spearman ρ = 0.19; and adults, Spearman ρ = 0.10).
From Heald-Sargent T, Muller WJ, Zheng X, Rippe J, Patel AB, Kociolek LK. Age-Related Differences in Nasopharyngeal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Levels in Patients With Mild to Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). JAMA Pediatr. Published online July 30, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3651
“a 10-fold to 100-fold greater amount of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract of young children”!!!!
Some polling shows mask usage in the US is a lot higher than in much of the world, including in many European countries.
I thought we were supposed to ‘be like Denmark’
87% never wear a mask? Riddle me that one? I guess they were more lucky than responsible.
This graph shows that the correlation between mask wearing and infection rate is all over the map. If that is scientific correlation for mask wearing, then they are better liars than Trump.
Interesting. The 4 bottom ones (Scan countries) probably reflect that mask-wearing is not necessary where covid transmission is super-low. Would be interesting to know more, e.g., do they wear masks in smaller indoor spaces [if open], do they limit capacity on smaller indoor spaces, are they doing distancing outdoors & indoors. Taiwan is close to our masking % despite very low rate of transmission. France, Netherlands, Australia have recent spikes in cases suggesting they need to do more masking. Canada’s ave transmission rate is low, w/ higher cases restricted to a couple of provinces so it figures their natl ave need to mask would be low. UK?? Stay tuned…
I checked in with a good friend who is a physician at the largest hospital in Denmark and asked about this. The first response of my friend was that they were mystified why the US did not follow the example of Taiwan. My friend also wrote that mask wearing is only used when there is no possibility of social distancing. My friend also observed that they “have an increasing number of persons that test positive, but we do a lot of testing and we have not yet seen an increase in hospitalization and death.”
So, testing and tracing seems to be the key. Nancy Pelosi knows that. The Idiot does not.
Yes Greg, this fits w/what I was reading between the lines in studying Denmark’s “covid timeline” at wiki & their govt pdf on phased reopening. There are different threads to that “87% never wear a mask” Ted noted. Part of it is their establishment & maintenance of very low infection stats so there’s simply much less community spread to worry about. Part of that was early total lockdown, plus maintenance through strictly-enforced caps on capacity/ gatherings in phased reopening (&, obviously, public observance of distancing). And a big part of maintaining low stats thro reopening phases has been continual ramping up of testing/ contact-tracing capacity as they reopen, plus they must have efficient data-gathering: at this point they’re able to swiftly identify regional clusters & apply targeted restrictions/ quarantining.
I’m thinking the need for universal masking here reflects the fact that we have rampant community spread. We were never able to implement sufficiently any of the measures Denmark took to get a handle on that.
Another study, conducted in Italy, found the HIGHEST incidence of transmission to others among infected children under 14 years of age. Transmission rates were DOUBLE that of any other cohort.
Almost double that of the other highest age cohort (the oldest adults).
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53747852
Infections are surging again in Europe.
If this happened here, you wouldn’t be calling it “apparent success”:
“In the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the school year started last week, two schools temporarily shut down after a teacher at the first and a pupil at the second were found to be infected, underlining the challenges ahead.”
Nor would one be cherry-picking this example. Just what, exactly, do you know about Mecklenburg? C’mon, if you speak with such authority, you must be an expert. Just a little bit. Do you know where it even is? Do you a damn thing about its history? Do you know a damn thing?
“its” not it’s. I know a damn thing about grammar, typos excepted.
GregB: I’m an expert on typos. Welcome to the WordPress club. I think we’re a pretty large group.
I too often read what I just sent and groan. I do wish there was a reset button.
I often correct errors for others
Sorry, sometimes I can’t control my fury.
Interesting example, dienne. I would call it “apparent success” because each school immediately shut down a school temporarily due to a single positive test, thus minimizing community spread. But you’re right, US press would have probably lumped that in w/fails due to the Pollyanna-ish, binary concept that “safe reopening” = no corona virus spread at all, no need for temporary shutdowns. However, we don’t have parallel stories to tell, because our reopenings have been in regions where community transmission was too high to justify reopening, & hence have resulted in immediate clusters.
While I hope it isn’t, this article seems to me like more wishful thinking. It takes a while for changes in transmission-related behavior to result in increased infections and even longer for it to result in increased deaths. Europe is currently experiencing another surge in infections.
Denmark is doing well. I’ve been studying their covid timeline (at wikipedia), and their govt pdf describing all the phases (they’re in phase 4, have put off further reopening until Oct). Their currently average 100 total new cases daily in a pop of 6million. Equivalent to rate in our “best” state, Maine. As we’ve read, they locked down harder and earlier than other Euro countries, when total cases were 600-800 [their pop is 6million]. They’ve been using contact tracing since the beginning, ramped up testing during the month of phase 1 reopening, & have continued to expand testing capability as they reopened more. At this point they’re in the enviable position of being able to identify new clusters and apply targeted restrictions/ quarantining (similar to Japan). It’s all top down from fed: health & economic govtl depts are in lead, in consultation w/political parties, business & unions.
Each edict is prefaced by “we the undersigned agree,” signed off by all. Not just recommendations– laws with fines. Plus they’re identifying which business sectors are hardest hit as they go along, w/an eye to tailoring covid aid packages.
A sane response!
I have four words to say about all of this:
Apply the precautionary principle.
Or,
Reopening schools now is insane.
In the…🤣
correction accepted!
Not scientific as above – but…
Kids have been in neighborhood / family bubbles essentially since March!
Kids have not been in filled-to-capacity schools together since March!
Kids have not been tested generally like the millions of adults required to for work or other reasons.
In other words – there are limited data sets and case studies to know anything about children.
At minimum, for schools, learning centers, and other sites for kids so parents can go to work (or find jobs) – it makes sense imposing rigorous precautions intended to work: masks, social distanced, seating distanced, ventilation, no crowds, etc.
Correct. And you underscore the fact that whatever the mode of reopening in-person teaching, it’s entirely experimental. Even in Maine, where covid rate is as low as in Denmark. Because even if they followed Denmark’s school reopening safety measures to a T, they do not have the testing/ contact-tracing capacity to follow up predictable resulting community clusters w/prompt testing/ contact-tracing/ quarantining.
And now this…
If the metric crafters earnestly believe they can compensate for a
lack of viral control, by doubling their efforts, they give false consciousness
an exponential boost in fiction trumping fact.
‘Rona travels faster than the metrics…
This is off topic but shows that Trump is busy picking unqualified people. This doctor appeared on Fox and is telling people just what Trump believes…or lies about.
………………………………
Politico Pulse:
DRIVING THE DAY
SCOTT ATLAS, TRUMP’s SUDDEN PUBLIC HEALTH STAR — The conservative policy wonk and radiologist has become a go-to adviser in President Donald Trump’s inner circle at a crucial moment during the pandemic, POLITICO’s Nancy Cook reports.
Atlas, who’s been preparing materials for the president, only joined the administration as an adviser a few weeks ago but has quickly established himself as a voice pushing for the resumption of daily activity. He’s become Trump’s most-favored doctor at a time when the president has grown tired of the more-dire warnings offered by other health officials, say individuals who have been in task force meetings or been briefed on Atlas’ role.
— How he got to the White House: Appearances on Fox News. Atlas, a fellow at Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, repeatedly used his TV hits to argue that fears about coronavirus outpace reality, a message that appealed to Trump and his advisers.
“Here’s the science … the risk to children from this disease for fatality, is nearly zero,” Atlas said during a July 13 Fox News appearance, adding that kids don’t appear to significantly spread the virus. (Public health scientists have been far more cautious in their evolving pronouncements about the virus and children.)
“Teaching is a young profession,” Atlas added, citing data like 90 percent of public school teachers are under age 60. “They have almost zero risk from this.”
— How he’s clashing with the other doctors. Atlas has argued against expanded Covid-19 testing, including a proposal championed by White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx to scale up home testing through methods such as saliva tests, Nancy reports.
And recently, in a task force meeting, Atlas told Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, that science does not definitively support government mandates on wearing masks. (The CDC recommends that Americans wear masks when they interact with those outside of the home and in instances when social distancing is not possible.)
— PULSE hastens to note: Atlas lacks the credentials and experience of physicians like Fauci and Birx, who have spent their careers fighting infectious disease.
— The White House defended Atlas: “We are all in this fight together, and only the media has distorted and diminished Dr. Atlas’ highly acclaimed career simply because he has come to serve the President,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
This is a woman with a sense of ethics. She quit her job in Indiana.
………………………………….
Epidemiologist for Fishers Health Department resigns, cites interference by mayor
August 13, 2020
The epidemiologist for the Fishers Health Department has resigned, alleging Mayor Scott Fadness meddled in the agency.
…The epidemiologist for the newly-formed Fishers Health Department has resigned, alleging Mayor Scott Fadness meddled in the agency and could be pushing schools to open classrooms too soon.
“This is a level of interference I had never seen before in a public health agency,” said Eileen White, the department’s only epidemiologist who had previously worked for the Indiana and Minnesota health departments. “I have never seen a health department set up as a business before.”
The city formed its own health department in April and the Hamilton County Health Department relinquished its control a couple weeks later. It is just one of three Indiana cities with its own health department and has set up its own coronavirus testing program, along with a public database to track cases.
White said she fears Fadness is pushing to ease measurements that will allow in-person instruction at schools to resume sooner than they should, in defiance of widely accepted public health recommendations. She said the city’s positivity rate is still too high — above the 5% threshold the department has established to reopen safely.
White submitted her resignation on Sunday after meeting with Fadness on Saturday to tell him why she was quitting…
Check out this story on indystar.com: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/fishers/2020/08/13/fishers-health-department-epidemiologist-resigns-cites-meddling/3366728001/
Dozens of public health officials are quitting during pandemic
Health officials in Texas, Indiana and Montana have quit in recent weeks after politicians overrode their advice on requiring masks and prohibiting public events…
“Because things have gotten so political and partisan, state health officials have become controversial,” said Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health. “It’s unusual for us to be in the press every day and the targets of partisan attacks, so I think that has taken its toll on state health officials.”
At the local level, and especially in areas controlled by Republican elected officials, health experts have quit in frustration when county executives or commissioners have refused to follow their advice.
In Fishers, Ind., epidemiologist Eileen White resigned Sunday after pressure from Mayor Scott Fadness (R), who she said was pushing to open schools before the area got coronavirus infections under control.
“This is a level of interference I had never seen before in a public health agency,” White told the Indianapolis Star…
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/512350-dozens-public-health-officials-quitting-pandemic
I’ve written here before and I’ll write it again (and probably again): the greatest public service Fauci could do is to resign and start being brutally honest with no caveats. It would be a great act of patriotism, humanism and whatever other ethical -ism there is. Let’s hope Dr. White inspires him.
How many schools will have the same rate of ‘success’. It’s only a matter of time.
………………………
Coronavirus cases force UNC-Chapel Hill to suspend in-person classes after flagship’s push to bring thousands of students on campus
August 17, 2020
After clusters of coronavirus cases popped up in residence halls, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill officials said the school will halt in-person instruction and rapidly pivot all instruction to remote learning just more than one week into the new semester. On the first day of class, Aug. 10, more than half of courses at the state flagship included at least some face-to-face teaching…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/unc-chapel-hill-coronavirus-cluster/2020/08/17/8ebce060-e0ab-11ea-8181-606e603bb1c4_story.html
No expletive Sherlock, we are expletive Americans, the most independent ( extremely ) minded people on the planet.
According to Prof. Geert Hofstede http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
This judgment-comparison is as logical and intelligent for Americans as arguing one should put tomatoes in Fruit cake, Fruit salad, or bake them in a pie for dessert when they were out of apples because it is a fruit.
Although, my Americanism and an oath I freely took in 1973 compels me to support anyone who puts tomatoes in their Fruit cake, Fruit salad, and pie. It does not require me to like it. But I will oppose them if they try to make me eat their Fruit cake, Fruit salad, or Tomato pie for dessert or force it on anyone else.
And the closest country to us is not found in Europe, Western Europe, or the Middle East; It’s Australia. And I would not disrespect Australia by attempting to make a judgment-comparison of them to us or us to them. Americans live in an extremely independent-minded country where Frank Sinatra’s’ “My Way” could be both a national and personal anthem. Embrace the chaos, it’s America.
BKendall,
I disagree.
Americans rose to the moment during World War 2. We sacrificed, we acted in unison. We did it because we had leadership. We have bad leadership right now. So does Australia.
Yes & right now we are truly the UnTIED States of America. Lousy–no, NO national leadership, each state on its own.
Latest news: after being taken off the quarantine list (when returning to Illinois), Iowa is back on, because thereal # of positive covid cases was suppressed (just as they’d been doing in Flur-ruh-duh). Just like guv. “Dim” Reynolds rejected waiver requests from IA school districts from in-person learning (they all have to go back to school), the dim one also suppressed news of the devastating storms in Iowa. Major it45 psychophant.
&–again I say–WHERE are the NEA & AFT leaders? Iowa teachers & students NEED you, Randi & Lily. Even Dr. Birx is going around the country.
I don’t think we can use WWII as a parallel. Or maybe we can: we waited an excruciatingly long time to get onboard, watching England get pummeled and nearly starve while France had already fallen, & only belatedly getting onboard once our own border was attacked, barely in time to save all Europe from fascism, & we waited so long it was really nip & tuck. Yes we were able to muster a full response under a strong leader. But our isolationist, go-it-alone voices were so strong that we almost missed the boat.
There’s something to this US-Australia comparison, Diane, & the fact that we both have poor leadership at the moment is probably not coincidental. I have been reading Jane Harper’s novels. The parallels to our pioneer days are striking. There are greats swaths of their country where the climate/ environment is so challenging that even today, folks who live in those outposts can only count on their own families, a few far-flung neighbors, and a sheriff or two for survival. They must be survival-preppers to make it, & are too far from govt assistance to count on it. This was the story of most of our country for over a century, & the attitudes built over multiple generations die hard.
Right after I typed this comment, I’m watching ABC World News, & the last story is about the horrific storm damage in Iowa (& people are now helping, because the nation actually now knows about it…no thanks to guv. Dim.
So many people still w/o power…many w/o homes, food, jobs.
Bas/no national leadership & same state lack of leadership.
& she’s in office through 2023! (& was, previously, lt. guv. from 2011-2017, and before thatwas state senator from 2008-2010 (she resigned to run for lt. guv.).
Take a good look at the chart. Six out of ten of the “more mask-wearing” countries above us are Asian– culturally accustomed to widespread mask-wearing for routine protection against pollution, & against their not-so-long-ago SARS epidemic. Three of the remaining four– Mexico, Spain, Italy– have experienced or are now going through massive coronavirus spread [as we are now]. (Germany? good rule-followers 😉 ). . Every single country listed below us, the “less mask-wearing” countries, has far lower rate of coronavirus spread than we do. They are not “refusing–as a matter of principle– to wear masks or practice social distancing.” They are practicing social distancing, and they can manage w/o adding masks because their community spread is so low.
If we didn’t have a significant proportion of refuseniks, we’d be up there in the 80’s% mask-wearing like Mexico, Spain & Italy, instead of at 59%: our community spread is worse than theirs.
In response to FLERP’s post w/chart & map
I support these striking teachers. I’ve seen photos of what schools in other countries are doing and what is happening here is mostly a no brainer. Schools don’t have the resources to re-open early. Those that have, have had COVID-19 problems.
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Arizona Teachers Waged a Sickout Over Coronavirus Concerns, and Organizers Say Other School Districts Could Be Next
AUGUST 18, 2020 4:40 PM EDT
…The J.O. Combs Unified School District began the school year on Aug. 3 with virtual learning, but the district Governing Board voted 3-2 last week to reopen schools for in-person learning on Aug. 17. Superintendent Gregory Wyman said the “difficult decision” followed “tremendous feedback from families in the District who expressed a strong need for their children to return to the classroom.” But more than 100 of the district’s 600 staff members called in sick for what would have been the first day of in-person instruction, according to a school district spokesperson…
In other parts of the country, organizers have suggested similar action is possible. Teachers in Detroit are planning to vote this week on whether to strike over safety concerns. Teachers in Little Rock, Ark., have called it “unethical and immoral” to force teachers to return to in-person instruction and said they would refuse to enter school buildings on Aug. 24. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten also said she would support “safety strikes” by teachers.
“I’d like to see nationwide action, whether it’s a walkout or sickout in solidarity to say, ‘It’s not safe to return and we will not be sacrificed,’” says Rebecca Garelli, an organizer for Arizona Educators United and National Educators United, a network of teachers advocating that schools return to in-person learning “only when it’s safe.”
Nelson thinks more action by teachers is necessary as other parts of the country begin the school year.
“If you want to see change, lock arms and stand up for what you believe,” he says. “If this is the only way to force the conversation, absolutely force the conversation. You can’t let that fear get in the way.”
https://time.com/5880630/arizona-teachers-sickout-coronavirus/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm-term=us_covid-19