John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, contributes frequently here.
He writes:
If you want to get really depressed about today’s politics, look at the New York Times’ Upshot, which asked: Should Children Go Back to School? Sadly, the answer has been, “It depends in part on your politics.”
One source the Times cited was a Brookings Institute analysis of data which found that “politics, more than public health, was driving school districts’ reopening plans.” Brookings discovered:
No relationship between school districts’ plans and their counties’ infection rates. Instead, there was a strong correlation between a district’s plans and a county’s support for Mr. Trump in 2016.
We should all be horrified that President Trump and his supporters have put ideology and short term politics over the health of students. When we get through this nightmare, deep soul searching will be necessary as we ask how our politics have devolved to this point.
Below is a step towards such a reckoning. It uses Oklahoma, a “red state” in terms of Republican power, which has become a “red zone” in terms of infection spread, as a case study. White House reports that were not revealed to the public until recently, now show that Oklahoma has the nation’s 8th highest positivity rate.
Eight White House Corona Virus Task Force reports on Oklahoma’s COVID infections were finally released on August 25. As many parents send their kids back to in-person school, they now can read the full truth that could have been revealed almost two months ago about what safe reopenings would require.
This is how Oklahomans finally got access to crucial public health information. The Tulsa World reported that on August 13, before Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx visited Tulsa, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he directed the state Health Department “to post everything and be as transparent as possible.” But, a week later, The Center for Public Integrity published a second, secret report; Tulsa Mayor Bynum thus learned that “eight White House reports had been issued. Bynum said he was only aware of one that had been previously leaked to the media.”
Dr. Birx met briefly with numerous members of the Stitt team and a few others, but without key public health leaders, such as Tulsa Health Department director Bruce Dart, Democratic officeholders, or the press, and she also met privately with Stitt. The governor said, “Overall it went really good, and she’s pleased with Oklahoma and what we’ve done so far.”
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister posted on Facebook that Birx warned, “Oklahoma is about 4 weeks behind the South” and needs to “avoid asymptomatic spread which is happening in Southern states.” That cryptic comment didn’t make the headlines, or prompt a discussion of how would it be possible to reopen schools in counties where the virus was spreading.
Stitt characterized Birx’s advice as, “A lot of other states have shut down bars. That was a recommendation — it wasn’t a recommendation, but that was something she said, you’ve got to be ready if you see your positivities kick up that you can maybe limit bar capacity.”
Tulsa Public Radio challenged spin on the crucial question of how schools and colleges can open this month, adding, “Birx’s task force has, in fact, told Oklahoma it should shut down bars statewide, calling it ‘critical to disrupt transmission.’”
As school was starting, about 50 school sites were dealing with COVID infections; the first week of partial reopening, the number rose to over 100. If – as public health experts predict – asymptomatic children spread the virus to their classmates, teachers and school staff, and their families, parents should ask why they were not warned when Oklahoma entered the “red zone” around July 14.
Similarly, administrators can ask how they could have prepared differently for reopenings if they had been told about the effect of “community spread” on schools. The week before classes were scheduled to open, two school systems had to delay in-person instruction. Who knows how many of those wrenching adjustments will occur in the first weeks of school?
If they had known the full story presented in eight studies, many districts could have prioritized preparation for virtual over in-person instruction. Had administrators been told of the August 2 task force recommendation for a statewide mask mandate, and recommendations as early as July 5 on bars and indoor dining, would they have given different advice to their school boards on reopening? Had they known when the task force recommended that red zone counties limit social gatherings to ten people, would they have thought differently about school sports?
Administrators were already behind in preparing for school because as late as June many researchers still doubted that young people would spread the virus as much as older persons. It wasn’t until late July that experts were fully aware of the super-spreading by young people. And I would add that decision-makers should have considered the New York Times database. It estimated that on July 31 an average Oklahoma County school with 1,000 students would begin the year with 11 students with the virus.
Also, on July 23, the State Board of Education voted 4 to 3 to adopt the protocols presented by State Superintendent Hofmeister as recommendations – not mandates. Had they known what would be revealed in the recent recommendations for Oklahoma, would they have voted differently in terms of making masks mandatory in schools? Had the SDE guidelines on providing only virtual learning been discussed in communities that were fully aware of the task force’s recommendations on limiting the size of social groups, would they have thought differently about closing schools in the counties with the highest infections?
State Impact and the Oklahoman now report that only six of the 136 districts in counties at Orange Level 2 or the higher are starting the year with distance learning. The SDE can only “beg” districts to take unpopular public health actions and only 1/3rd of them mandate masks for students and teachers.
So shouldn’t the Board take another vote? And while they’re at it, they could order districts to report COVID infections to the Health Department.
Moreover, education and urban leaders, as well as state policy-makers should study the new reports within the context of perhaps a bigger threat – the reopening of colleges. Cities have no control over universities’ policies, but especially in areas that attract large numbers of college students who have failed to follow social distancing rules, cities could follow federal guidelines on closing bars and in-person dining. And if state leaders took these public health regulations seriously, they could have taken action with the hugely dangerous Weedstock concert near Oklahoma State University.
This summer’s misstatements of fact by the Stitt administration were serious because they undermined preparations for a safe reopening of schools. During a time of “alt facts,” however, it isn’t surprising that many Oklahomans didn’t demand fact checking of the governor. The release of the full facts occurs at a time when students are placed at risk, and schools will likely struggle with infections. Now that the full task force findings are released, parents, educators, and policy makers may bring a more informed mindset to their guidelines.
More importantly, though, will we take a more morally responsible look at the politics of school reopenings? Will we come to grips with the way that America placed politics over the health and safety of our kids, and pledge to never do that again?
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
Took a while to read this and go through all links, but it was worth it. This one stood out for me on the Weedstock link:
“I told the Chamber (of Commerce), ‘We either put this thing together or we just shut the doors for good,’” McBride told the News Press.
Will McBride also pledge to cover the medical, rehabilitation, lost wages and opportunity cost, and, if death occurs, to financially support any and all dependents for life?
On another front:
You know, of course, that Trump is a pathological liar. He’s also extraordinarily dumb. So, often, when he lies, he clearly gives away that he is doing so. When IQ45 was asked about the story in The Atlantic that said that he disparaged American troops who died in battle as losers, Trump said that it was a lie and that “It could have been John Kelly.” He then launched into an attack on Kelly. Well, this is a tell. Clearly, Trump was remembering saying such a thing to Kelly. So, in denying it, he affirmed it. Jabba the Trump is easy enough to read, which is proof of Darwin’s contention that emotions are consistent across radically different species.
When Trump was asked at a press conference why he did not speak out about the poisoning of Putin’s chief critic, he answered, “Russia! Russia! Russia! Why is it always Russia? It could have been China.”
I’m sorry–your comment gave me a good laugh, Diane! First, this is exactly how China operates (!) &, second, the “Russia! Russia! Russia! Why is it always Russia?” quote: it reminds me of Jan, in The Brady Bunch, always whining about her sister, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Why is it always about Marcia?”
What a moron
In Florida the response to the virus has also been politicized. DeSantis refused to issue a mask order even though South Florida saw a tremendous number of Covid cases. As a former attorney for the military, DeSantis also compared the opening of schools to a Navy Seal mission. Many parents were offended by these comments. DeSantis has also recently closed many testing sites. While not actually saying it, DeSantis is quietly setting the stage to embrace herd immunity, which is a low cost approach that routinely chooses to ignore the many victims. DeSantis is promoting opening the economy over the safety of Floridians. DeSantis has supported the in person opening of schools by threatening to defund any district that does not obey his order. A judge recently reversed DeSantis’ order, but I am sure DeSantis will appeal the decision.
I have been tracking daily the number of local Covid cases locally for months. We are not an area with a large number of cases, but since schools opened two weeks ago, the number of cases in my zip code have double from about 7 or 8 every day to about 15 or 16. I wouldn’t call it a surge, but it is a concerning bump.
Trump has politicized a scientific and humanitarian issue, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of Americans will die. This is the guy who promised at his Convention that he would “always protect Americans.”
Heckuvajob, Donnie!
During the Repugnican Convention and Trump Lovefest 2020, Trump was presented, again and again, as some sort of friend of black people. Then, in the week following, Trump ordered that diversity and racism training across all of the federal government be eliminated, and he went to Kenosha to declare war, yet again, on Black Lives Matter, which seeks to lessen systemic racism. And, predictably, he called BLM supporters terrorists.
But we know this guy. He was the one who used to systematically exclude black people from Trump properties and had to settle a case brought against him for doing this by the State of New York. This is the guy who took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the execution of the Central Park Five, even though they were proved to be innocent. This is the guy who pushed the birther conspiracy, claiming that President Obama was born in Kenya. This is the guy who said that all countries run by blacks are “s–thole countries.” This is the guy who said, “The blacks are too stupid to vote for me.” This is the guy who refers to black people as “THE blacks,” who points to a black person at one of his jingoistic fascist cult of personality rallies and says, “Where’s my black? There he is. Great guy.”
We know who he is. He is a hardcore racist, and if you vote for him, you are voting for the continuance of racism in the United States.
This is the guy who has the support of Nazis, actual Nazis. There’s a reason for that.
Of course they support him because he would not call them out for inciting a riot in Charlottsville. The interesting and perhaps horrifying aspect of his refusal to call out the Klan in Charlottsville is his betting that it would not hurt his ultimate support in a re-election bid. He seems to have won that bet, if polls are any indication.
The question mark is in the suburban kitchen. Are there voters there who voted for him in 2016 in the suburbs who will remember he failed to call out the klan?
I hope all those suburban moms grab him by the ballot.
Just saw this on a Twitter feed, Roy:
What do you call a Trump supporter bobbing in Lake Travis after his boat sinks?
A Proud Buoy
Excellent!
Bob: I get the bout part, but is there significance in the Lake Travis part I missed? I learned long ago to admit it when I come up culturally shy of the mark.
Roy, there was a Trump boat parade on Lake Travis this weekend, and a bunch of the boats sank.
The events on Lake Travis brought to you by Poseidon for Biden 2020.
Trump and his father were accused of racial discrimination by the federal government, not the state of New York. He called his friend and lawyer Roy Cohn, who urged him to counter sue. The Reumps did and the feds backed off.
Ah, thanks, Diane.
Another article about public schools that excludes public schools:
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/09/03/us/03reuters-health-coronavirus-schoolchat.html
Why talk to people who run, work in or attend public schools when you can ask the American Enterprise Institute about public schools?
Is it really too much to ask that we occasionally hear from public schools in debates about public schools?
At the end of this pandemic no one is going to know what happened in public schools because we relied exclusively on professional public school critics to tell us what was happening in them. Tell your kids to keep a historical record- later generations may be interested.
and this after two decades of media pandering to “professional public school critics” to tell us all what has been happening
I would describe my local public school, which is open, as holding their breath. A lot of parents are anticipating a spike when it gets colder, and people are shut up in their houses again.
I don’t think public schools will have received any assistance from government even then- no one seems interested in the schools 90% of US kids attend. If they didn’t step up during the opening crisis – and they didn’t- I don’t anticipate them stepping up in the winter.
We’re on our own. They put more energy and effort into Ted Cruz’s massive voucher funding plan than they did on 50 million public school kids. It’s a shame and a real indictment of the thousands of people who supposedly work on “public education” but never seem to get anything done for public school students.
This post really says it all for me, Chiara. This has been the concern of your posts for years, but there’s something final about the passage we’re going through now, as you imply. In the past I could always say to myself, well that’s just Ohio, or it’ll get better after Bush/ Obama/ Trump… And I suppose one always imagines that in the event of a national emergency things might be different. But there’s no logic in that. This is the logical dénouement of fed ed policies w/a history of unfulfilled promises, then neglect, then outright harming of the public institution. Comes the emergency, you’re on your own.
You demonstrate the importance of wise national leadership.
Which we have not had in education since…LBJ.
LBJ didn’t want to control education. He wanted to fund it equitably.
Diane, when I wrote that, I couldn’t think of anything good for ed since LBJ, but I didn’t know the facts. It’s good to have your confirmation! [The handicapped/ IDEA laws of ’70’s were great too but I think of them as still unfulfilled]. So I refreshed my memory of LBJ’s ed moves & was once again amazed at the plethora of good social programs he set in motion. All of them were helpful to public ed.
There is NO way I’d want to visit the WH. It needs to be fumigated, repainted and have new carpet installed. All new furniture when possible. UGH.
I wonder why masks and social distancing are required when visiting the WH but NOT when attending Trump’s ego rallies? Guess Trump is looking out for himself. Should we be surprised?
…………………………………………….
White House Plans to Resume Public Tours on Sept. 12
The White House plans to reopen for tours later this month at 18 percent of its normal capacity, the office of first lady Melania Trump has announced.
Visitors two years and older will be required to wear a mask or similar face covering. The National Park Service, U.S. Secret Service, and White House Visitors Office staff working the tour will also don masks and gloves while encouraging social distancing among visitors.
Expect to see several hand-sanitizer stations and social distancing markers along the route. Public tours of the White House typically include a peek at the White House Rose Garden, recently redone by Melania Trump, the China Room, home to the formal dishware of former presidents George Washington and Bill Clinton, and the State Dining Room, where formal dinners and meals with visiting heads of state are held…
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/white-house-reopens-public-tours?utm_source=emailshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm_content=20200906
Wait, what? People who visit the White House will be required to wear face masks even though Trump ridicules Biden for wearing one?
WATCH: Trump Demands Reuters Reporter Take Mask Off at Labor Day News Conference
President Trump, during a Labor Day speech from the White House, demanded that Reuters reporter Jeff Mason take off his protective mask; Mason refused.
https://heavy.com/news/2020/09/watch-donald-trump-jeff-mason-mask-off/
Politics???? Really????
Why doesn’t the media say it like it is?
Politics is “the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.”
The definition of politics does not fit malignant narcissist, serial lies, con man, fraud and racist “Donald Trump”. Trump does not govern.
The definition of politics does not fit “Betsy DeVos,” who is clearly another malignant narcissist that also acts like a dictator.
When it comes to these Donald and Betsy twins, politics has nothing to do with it. Trump is a want-to-be-dictator. He worships Putin and Kim Jong-un. Trump is already acting like he is one of “them.”
Any public school district that is doing what these toxic twins want is managed by cowards and murderers. Shame on those elected school boards and district administrators. They are complicit in the crimes of the evil twins Donald and Betsy.
I am quite sure (as all of you probably are) that DeINSANEtis, Ducey & Abbott are not reporting #s correctly, probably cutting testing (such as the it45’s CDC “recommended” for asymptomatic, possible covid carriers) or simply withholding the new #s & deaths (because, the elderly or younger people w/pre-existing conditions really didn’t die of covid, but those other conditions, according to stable genius it45).
Soooo…it’s Labor Day weekend & hot down there (too hot for masks)–let’s all go to the beach (well, not AZ)!
This is absolutely true. Our entire county (a Chicago collar county) decided to go remote but the town I work in and the 3 districts in it. They all decided to go back full or hybrid. I now have to teach with a full day with students, 5 days a week. I can’t wait to see what happens after this labor day weekend with many of my students going up to the Wisconsin Dells (think a whole town of giant water parks)…it will be a mess. And yes it is a highly pro 45 district! We even had a man welcome back students in a trump mask…ahhhh we are a public school for cry eye!
“I now have to teach with a full day with students, 5 days a week.” My best wishes go with you.
Are any of the students being tested? Is there any type of safety in the school?
Nobody should be wearing a mask supporting Trump to school. Isn’t that some type of violation of school protocol?
I sent an article to a Trump supporter who is a retired teacher. It was a petition from a Harvard psychiatrist. It blatantly stated that Trump was unfit for the job of president and was signed by 60,000 medical professionals. Her response was, “They’re lying.”
One might lie. Even 10-15 might lie. 60,000 do not lie.
Bernie Sanders Says Country Must Get Ready for Trump’s Refusal to Concede
By Daniel Politi, Slate
06 September 20
Bernie Sanders is sounding the alarm. The Vermont senator is warning Americans they have to get ready for the possibility that President Donald Trump will refuse to step down if he loses the election in November. In an interview with Politico and later an email to supporters, which he also summarized in a series of tweets, Sanders says there’s real reason for concern. “This is not just idle speculation,” Sanders told Politico. “Trump was saying … ‘the only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.’ Now he is making that statement at a time when virtually every national poll has him behind.” Sanders also pointed to a comment Trump made during a July interview in which he refused to outright say he would accept the results of the election.
Sanders is taking on the issue and plans to speak about it over the next few weeks to raise awareness at what he has characterized as a real possibility. “What we have got to do in the next two months is to alert the American people about what that nightmarish scenario might look like in order to prepare them for that possibility and talk about what we do if that happens,” he said.
We must do everything we can to ensure @JoeBiden wins by the largest possible margin. We also must consider what happens if Trump loses but refuses to abide by the results and does everything he can to hold onto power.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 4, 2020
In his email to supporters, Sanders said Trump is “using his lies and misinformation to sow confusion and chaos in the election process and undermine American democracy.” Sanders goes on to say that Trump “does not intend to accept the results of the election” if he loses. “This is not just a ‘constitutional crisis.’ This is a threat to everything this country stands for,” Sanders writes. The senator says there are several steps that need to be taken to get ready, including making it clear to people that it could take days or weeks to get the results of the election. In order to avoid long delays, state legislatures need to allow counting mail-in ballots before Election Day. And Sanders is also calling for Congressional hearings about how local officials plan to handle the vote-counting process.
Sanders has received support from key Democrats for his initiative, including Senate Minorit Leader Chuck Schumer. “I’m standing side-by-side with @SenSanders to make sure we have a plan if President Trump refuses to leave office,” Schumer tweeted