tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post5674399531451457498..comments2024-03-15T22:56:09.636-07:00Comments on Jersey Jazzman: How To Stop Magical Thinking In School Reopening PlansDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-1876842254512695352020-08-01T08:51:31.839-07:002020-08-01T08:51:31.839-07:00Wow wow wow. I cannot tell you how much this speak...Wow wow wow. I cannot tell you how much this speaks to me. I am an administrator at a school in NYC. You have put the thousands of jumbled of up thoughts I have had in the last few weeks into such clarity. I truly appreciate the time and energy you put into this amazing post. Strangely, it has made me breathe a little more deeply... at least for the day... and for that I thank you!!Aneal and Elliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08404139263506166970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-64831378140915426512020-07-31T05:08:13.098-07:002020-07-31T05:08:13.098-07:00Thank you for this post - I am a middle school tea...Thank you for this post - I am a middle school teacher in NJ. I been so frustrated with the national conversation that I wrote an op-ed that I’m unable to edit effectively (I feel my students’ right now). You said it all here for me, so I’m sharing it. My only additional point would be that, kids are kids and parents are people . All of these reopening plans are delicately balanced atop the idea that everyone is going to do all the right things all day, everyday. And, they aren’t. This is on top of everyday, run-of-the-mill classroom management issues. Normally, they can be an inconvenience. Now, they could be a matter of life and death.Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12583492833788260847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-71616735899224215662020-07-30T18:24:45.452-07:002020-07-30T18:24:45.452-07:00Dear Mark,
Thank you for your brilliant posting. I...Dear Mark,<br />Thank you for your brilliant posting. I am your newest fan! <br />I am a 20 year teacher and there is one thing that keeps coming up nowadays re: COVID and return to school that I just cannot wrap my mind around. Keeping the "duty free lunch" issue aside for a moment, this concept of students eating in the classroom, masks off..."Don't have them congregate in the cafeteria - have them eat in the classroom - problem solved"<br />Huh?<br />Seriously? With all this talk about both teachers and students wearing masks all day long, "they" (CDC?) think teachers should have to be in an(unventilated) room supervising a large group of masks-off students for 30+ minutes a day? Wondering how this seemed to escape notice!!<br />-LaurenAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05545658100648106904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-32715764926673559622020-07-30T10:18:36.079-07:002020-07-30T10:18:36.079-07:00Cue 'Dueling Banjos'--https://teacherinast...Cue 'Dueling Banjos'--https://teacherinastrangeland.blog/2020/07/30/worst-year-ever/<br /><br /><br />It's a great post, JJ--covers a lot of territory. And I fully agree that many of the bright ideas put forth by non-educator talking heads are easily dismissed, as somewhere between impractical and impossible. Personally, I think the worst ideas involve plastic shields and instrument bell bags for instrumentalists, and the determination to teach marching band shows in TX. I love hearing a drum cadence as much as any musician, but the world can get along without marching band for a year or two. (And let's be honest--the anti-vaxxers will make the return to school in 2021 less than a slam dunk.)<br /><br />I do, however, want to speak up for creativity. The school where I volunteer, for ex (which started a band program two years ago) could easily set up a few tents and chairs in their parking lot and playing field. There is not enough bandwidth to support online learning in this district, which includes a Native American reservation. If they could see the kids, outside in tents, two days a week--feeding them in the process--giving them a series of hard-copy materials and packets, and cell phones for teacher calls, they might do OK for a couple of months. And in two months, who knows what the world will look like?<br /><br />I would support also support any district that did not open until its teachers were given a substantial amount of time--two weeks? four?--to reorganize into different teaching units and schedules for online learning. Most teachers have no idea what their fall assignment is. Time would be the greatest gift.Nancy Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00047575960944913289noreply@blogger.com