Will De Blasio close public schools or endanger school staff

Amarante

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 7:49 pm

There is no school system that is as large or as complex as NYC or has as high a proportion of poor children - many of whom are homeless. Many rely on both free breakfast and lunch programs.

From what I have read, they are attempting to set up centers for children so that there are safe places for them to go where they can get food and other support systems.

Logistically putting that into place requires time. It is truly a balancing act of harm versus benefit.

IrenaFr

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 7:52 pm

pause wrote:

Teachers are essential workers along the lines of healthcare providers, food suppliers, gas and electric workers, and so on.

Essential workers should be given hazmat suits to work. Because everyone contracting the virus has 20% probability to spend up to 6 weeks in a hospital.
especially older people. And more in isolation, the shedding of the virus can be very long . Do they really want to be left without teachers for so long ?

Last edited by IrenaFr on Sat, Mar 14 2020, 7:56 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ema of 5

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:13 pm

Amarante wrote:

According to the link I posted, that’s what they are trying to convince deblasio to do, but he has not agreed to it. At least not as of the time that was posted.

Laiya

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:15 pm

Ema of 4 wrote:

Why is this not a good compromise?

https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/.....yqo4A

This.

The problems of school meals and child-care are logistical issues and they are solvable. It's absurd to deny that keeping school open is a prime way to circulate the virus and infect many people.

I'm less concerned for the students but deeply concerned about how many of their grandparents, and older or immune compromised teachers and staff, the students will infect.

amother

Coffee

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:21 pm

huh?
what is the difference between a school and a crisis center that hands out food and provides childcare?
they will both be places where lots of people go and require staff to provide that child care and hand out the food. Whats the difference between that and school?

cnc

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:25 pm

amother [ Coffee ] wrote:

School has required attendance.
Crisis center is for people to go as a last resort .

amother

Coffee

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:34 pm

attendance is not the issue and not the reason the schools are being kept open. Its to provide meals and care to those that need it. still requires lots of staff to run such a center. still has people mingling. may as well just keep schools open if your anyway gonna have such a center.

amother

Papaya

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:35 pm

Im sorry but this is crazy.
I work in the public schools here. The kids in my district are showing up less and less for fear of the virus. We have many elderly workers in the building as well as many with elderly parents. I understand the severity of closing and the impact on the homeless students. But this is a national emergency. We are given no real option to take off and use days unless our kids need watching or we have preexisting conditions. It is so unfair that I am expected to go in every day to babysit, hanginf around until the day when every school is forced to close with confirmed cases before he agrees to close..
We all know it will happen. Its a matter of time. Why wait until its too late and we are all exposed as opposed to now when we still have a chance

And side note. You cannot compare signing up to work as a teacher with a medical professional. Medics deal with disease every day. Of course a pandemic is not expected but as a teacher, I signed up to teach children. Not babysit them and risk the safety of my family

naturalmom5

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:39 pm

Isnt it more dangerous to have all those kids on the street..

It only makes sense to close schools if you have where to quaranteen those kids and make sure it is enforced

amother

Babypink

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:41 pm

Parents need to be held accountable for keeping their kids home. Send in the national guard if necessary, to patrol the streets. Like in New Rochelle. (I find it hard to believe they were sent there only go keep the streets clean and deliver food. You don't need soldiers for that! No, they are there to enforce the quarantine.)

amother

Papaya

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:46 pm

I seriously can't believe the response from some ppl here is to keep open so there aren't kids roaming the streets. We all KNOW it is a terrible situation where kids being homeless is an absolute worst case. But you are purposefully exposing MILLIONS of ppl, many who are vulnerable themselves or have vulnerable family members to a disease we know very little about so far other than the fact that it has devastating consequences. We are not glorified babysitters who signed up to risk our lives for our jobs. Yet we haven't been given the option to remain home and just use up days, minus those with preexisting conditions or quarantines. If it was your elderly mother, your sister with a weakened immune system who continues to work for the money, your pregnant friend...would you take on the same approach?

amother

Papaya

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 8:53 pm

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

Elderly, sick, and vulnerable people should be staying home. Not healthy people.

While in theory this makes sense, you are missing 2 key points.
First, elderly people have not been given the option to stay home at this point, simply because of their age. If they were to use up more than 3 days, they ca technically be subject to discipline ( I'm sure it wouldn't come to that. But still.)
Secondly, a huge problem with healthy people attending work with hundreds of potential carriers is that they are then at risk for spreading this disease to the vulnerable population. I personally care about my elderly family members and while I am not concerned much myself for the virus, I am concerned about what it could mean should I pass it to them.

We can't look at ourselves in a bubble.

amother

Denim

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 9:00 pm

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

Elderly, sick, and vulnerable people should be staying home. Not healthy people.

I really don't think my elderly mother should be left alone. If things shut down, she needs to stay with us. It would be nuts to keep her by herself, isolated. Confused

IrenaFr

Sat, Mar 14 2020, 9:01 pm

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

Elderly, sick, and vulnerable people should be staying home. Not healthy people.

Look what is going on in hospitals in Europe now. Half of the people that are hospitalized - under 60. Many are healthy people, no preexisting conditions. If you are young and healthy there is no guaranty that you won't need a hospital care .