The Next Pandemic: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

[WideNine]

On 2/18/2021 at 10:01 AM, B-Man said:

 

 

 

For the love of God...........TERM LIMITS !!!

 

 

A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE, AND PRETTY SOON, YOU’RE TALKING REAL MONEY: 

 

 

New ‘COVID’ Legislation Contains $300 Billion in Unrelated Spending, Budget Watchdog Warns.

 

https://fee.org/articles/new-covid-legislation-contains-300-billion-in-unrelated-spending-budget-watchdog-warns/

 

 

 

 

 

Trump came in there was a 19 Trillion dollar deficit.

 

He left us with 28 Trillion. Yeah, he sure paved the way to a balanced budget.

 

This talking point from advocates of either party is lame.

 

 

[WideNine]

On 2/16/2021 at 7:29 PM, Big Blitz said:

Data.

 

 

 

More data

 

 

 

 

DeSantis needs to explain how great this plan was to all the Fla. teachers who have died from Covid-19

 

https://feaweb.org/covid19/fea-safe-schools-report/

 

 

 

 

[Big Blitz]

2 hours ago, WideNine said:

 

 

DeSantis needs to explain how great this plan was to all the Fla. teachers who have died from Covid-19

 

https://feaweb.org/covid19/fea-safe-schools-report/

 

 

 

 

 

37 educators (they're counting colleges to I see and basically any position hired by a school board i also see a school custodian in there--- it's awful don't get me wrong but that's not what your source the Florida Educators Association wants to be to clear on).  

 

Schools are safe.  No less safe then ANY place of business in the world.  Including the schools open all over the world.   

 

Teachers can quit.  By all means they should if they don't feel essential enough for their students or don't want to risk their health. 

 

Stay home till you're vaccinated at this point.  We're done here.

 

 

 

To all the teachers that have been working in buildings with your kids this year you will be remembered and honored forever.  True heroes.    

[WideNine]

28 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

 

37 educators (they're counting colleges to I see and basically any position hired by a school board i also see a school custodian in there--- it's awful don't get me wrong but that's not what your source the Florida Educators Association wants to be to clear on).  

 

Schools are safe.  No less safe then ANY place of business in the world.  Including the schools open all over the world.   

 

Teachers can quit.  By all means they should if they don't feel essential enough for their students or don't want to risk their health. 

 

Stay home till you're vaccinated at this point.  We're done here.

 

 

 

To all the teachers that have been working in buildings with your kids this year you will be remembered and honored forever.  True heroes.    

 

Brick and morter schools have been outdated for some time. I don't think the legacy model prepares kids well for college or for life.

 

While much of the rest of the working world evolved to leverage remote networking and office automation tools as well as virtual teams and meetings our schools were decades behind stuck in a 1990's model.

 

Sure they throw iPads and such at them, but they really never leverages technology in a meaningful way that would build skills that kids will need later in many workplaces.

 

Large campuses and too many kids crammed into classrooms with too few teachers pushing paper around. Costing tax payers a premium to operate and maintain.

 

If anything, what folks are missing most is their schools providing a daycare service. That, and the sport venues.

 

Not sure my daughter is getting a worse education out of this, but does miss the social stuff. If anything I have more insight into how bad the teaching is.

 

I watched a lady stare a hole through her for 5 minutes while she was crying saying she didn't understand a question in one of her remote Zoom classes.

 

Wanted to see how long that would last, but finally couldn't take it anymore and thought "enough" and stepped into the camera.

 

It was like I poked her teacher in the ass and she was all "oh, do you need help dear?".... Seriously?

 

Teachers around here are all about getting the kids back into the class and a lot if it is that parents have pulled back the curtain and are more WTF about teaching methods and standards and calling them on it.

 

If anything Covid has forced teachers and schools to actually use more of the technology and tools they have had access to for quite some time, but were stubbornly refusing to leverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Big Blitz]

2 minutes ago, WideNine said:

 

Brick and morter schools have been outdated for some time. I don't think the legacy model prepares kids well for college or for life.

 

While much of the rest of the working world evolved to leverage remote networking and office automation tools as well as virtual teams and meetings our schools were decades behind stuck in a 1990's model.

 

Sure they throw iPads and such at them, but they really never leverages technology in a meaningful way that would build skills that kids will need later in many workplaces.

 

Large campuses and too many kids crammed into classrooms with too few teachers pushing paper around. Costing tax payers a premium to operate and maintain.

 

If anything, what folks are missing most is their schools providing a daycare service. That, and the sport venues.

 

Not sure my daughter is getting a worse education out of this, but does miss the social stuff. If anything I have more insight into how bad the teaching is.

 

I watched a lady stare a hole through her for 5 minutes while she was crying saying she didn't understand a question in one of her remote Zoom classes.

 

Wanted to see how long that would last, but finally couldn't take it anymore and thought "enough" and stepped into the camera.

 

It was like I poked her teacher in the ass and she was all "oh, do you need help dear?".... Seriously?

 

Teachers around here are all about getting the kids back into the class and a lot if it is that parents have pulled back the curtain and are more WTF about teaching methods and standards and calling them on it.

 

If anything Covid has forced teachers and schools to actually use more of the technology and tools they have had access to for quite some time, but were stubbornly refusing to leverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No one disagrees with this. 

 

Integrate all the technology we can.  Whatever.

 

 

But making this argument is only going to reinforce the belief that this is all a sham where pick your conspiracy of choice has perpetrated this to further agendas. 

 

Now we're at the point where the goal posts have moved to "well brick and mortar schools are outdated."

 

 

C'mon man!  

[WideNine]

17 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

 

 

No one disagrees with this. 

 

Integrate all the technology we can.  Whatever.

 

 

But making this argument is only going to reinforce the belief that this is all a sham where pick your conspiracy of choice has perpetrated this to further agendas. 

 

Now we're at the point where the goal posts have moved to "well brick and mortar schools are outdated."

 

 

C'mon man!  

 

I did not come up with brick and morter schools are outdated for the sake of a Covid debate.

 

The wife and I have thought and talked about this for the past 8-10 years.

 

That topic could probably be something that could have it's own thread, but even with in-person schooling during a pandemic folks need to be more honest.

 

Schools still close if there is a local outbreak. When kids go, they are in smaller cohorts so they can maintain social distancing, wearing masks, and using strict seating assignments so they can do contact tracing when one falls ill.

 

It is not like Covid works differently in Florida. We have the same CDC guidance on the West Coast and kids are back in our district, but staggered in smaller groups.

 

Our schools were already overpopulated with too many kids/class before Covid so they have to stagger the days now unless they want to pack them in like sardines.

 

 

[reddogblitz]

1 hour ago, WideNine said:

 

Sure they throw iPads and such at them, but they really never leverages technology in a meaningful way that would build skills that kids will need later in many workplaces.

 

I'm not so sure about this.

 

Kids need to first learn how to read, add, subtract, multiply, objectively reason etc first.  Technology is ever changing.  You can teach kids how to use technology that we have today and by the time they get in the work force it will be obsolete.

 

I am a professional web programmer. When I was in grammar school and high school we didn't have computers. When I was in college we learned COBOL programmed on punch cards.  What has enabled me to progress in my career is my reading comprehension, math and reasoning skills, and ability to learn new things.  All of which I learned in school without computers.  Not some technology I learned in school.

[SoCal Deek]

9 hours ago, WideNine said:

 

Brick and morter schools have been outdated for some time. I don't think the legacy model prepares kids well for college or for life.

 

While much of the rest of the working world evolved to leverage remote networking and office automation tools as well as virtual teams and meetings our schools were decades behind stuck in a 1990's model.

 

Sure they throw iPads and such at them, but they really never leverages technology in a meaningful way that would build skills that kids will need later in many workplaces.

 

Large campuses and too many kids crammed into classrooms with too few teachers pushing paper around. Costing tax payers a premium to operate and maintain.

 

If anything, what folks are missing most is their schools providing a daycare service. That, and the sport venues.

 

Not sure my daughter is getting a worse education out of this, but does miss the social stuff. If anything I have more insight into how bad the teaching is.

 

I watched a lady stare a hole through her for 5 minutes while she was crying saying she didn't understand a question in one of her remote Zoom classes.

 

Wanted to see how long that would last, but finally couldn't take it anymore and thought "enough" and stepped into the camera.

 

It was like I poked her teacher in the ass and she was all "oh, do you need help dear?".... Seriously?

 

Teachers around here are all about getting the kids back into the class and a lot if it is that parents have pulled back the curtain and are more WTF about teaching methods and standards and calling them on it.

 

If anything Covid has forced teachers and schools to actually use more of the technology and tools they have had access to for quite some time, but were stubbornly refusing to leverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Physical schools are still necessary. You cannot leave an eight year old home alone by himself all day long. So unless we’re going back to telling women they have to stay home and raise a family, school is here to stay. Now...can schools do a better job with technology? Of course they can, but it requires a ton of money for both hardware, and software. That’s a budget line item schools haven’t traditionally had to deal with. 

Just now, SoCal Deek said:

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by SoCal Deek

[B-Man]

 

‘HUGE AMOUNT’ OF LAWMAKERS, STAFF SEEKING THERAPY AFTER CAPITOL RIOT.

 

As Benjamin Weingarten of the Federalist tweets in response,

 

“Now imagine the long-term psychological damage done to thousands if not millions of Americans by the political class, whose lives were wrecked by the arbitrary, capricious, draconian lockdowns senselessly imposed upon them for months on end.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BillStime]

10 minutes ago, B-Man said:

 

‘HUGE AMOUNT’ OF LAWMAKERS, STAFF SEEKING THERAPY AFTER CAPITOL RIOT.

 

As Benjamin Weingarten of the Federalist tweets in response,

 

“Now imagine the long-term psychological damage done to thousands if not millions of Americans by the political class, whose lives were wrecked by the arbitrary, capricious, draconian lockdowns senselessly imposed upon them for months on end.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STFU

 

 

[WideNine]

10 hours ago, reddogblitz said:

 

I'm not so sure about this.

 

Kids need to first learn how to read, add, subtract, multiply, objectively reason etc first.  Technology is ever changing.  You can teach kids how to use technology that we have today and by the time they get in the work force it will be obsolete.

 

I am a professional web programmer. When I was in grammar school and high school we didn't have computers. When I was in college we learned COBOL programmed on punch cards.  What has enabled me to progress in my career is my reading comprehension, math and reasoning skills, and ability to learn new things.  All of which I learned in school without computers.  Not some technology I learned in school.

 

I was not referring to technology in a narrow programming sense.

 

Just using presentation and communication technology tools effectively. Running meetings virtual and remote. Building a product. Technology tool proficiencies that most businesses expect from new employees 

 

My son was able to go a program during his highschool that took him out of the dated rote learning. 

 

He and his peers did business intern support. Learned about credit and practical budgeting.  They reworked a charity website and did a marketing campaign and had business leader guest speakers.

 

Felt he learned more those last two years to apply knowledge in a practical way than he would have otherwise.

 

 

 

 

 

[WideNine]

3 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Physical schools are still necessary. You cannot leave an eight year old home alone by himself all day long. So unless we’re going back to telling women they have to stay home and raise a family, school is here to stay. Now...can schools do a better job with technology? Of course they can, but it requires a ton of money for both hardware, and software. That’s a budget line item schools haven’t traditionally had to deal with. 

 

 

That is why I said that schools have largely turned into daycares as their primary mission - at least in the lower grades.

 

But that is a different core mission from education that folks need to just be up front about.

 

I get it. The wife and I both worked and we paid for a daycare co-located at the school for after school care because commutes coming back from work for both of us were unpredictable.

 

 

 

 

[SoCal Deek]

23 minutes ago, WideNine said:

 

That is why I said that schools have largely turned into daycares as their primary mission - at least in the lower grades.

 

But that is a different core mission from education that folks need to just be up front about.

 

I get it. The wife and I both worked and we paid for a daycare co-located at the school for after school care because commutes coming back from work for both of us were unpredictable.

 

 

 

 

Schools are not daycare centers. There is real work being done by real professionals. 

[Big Blitz]

If people feel schools have become glorified day care centers that is solely the fault of public education itself which has continually dumbed down everything and lowered standards.  

 

Some recent examples:

 

Administrators are telling teachers to take late work all quarter.   No penalty.

 

Retakes on every test.

 

Standards based grading because all the teachers of the same class must teach the same stuff at the same time and give the same unit tests.  

 

When you do that, you inevitably dumb down the test.

 

I know as fact teachers have been told that their class is too difficult and rigorous compared to another teacher of that same class.   

Edited February 21, 2021 by Big Blitz

[B-Man]

 

[SoCal Deek]

32 minutes ago, B-Man said:

 

Isn’t Joe the guy who forgot to restock the cabinet with PPE? Nice job Joe! Glad you’re on the case. What a freaking clown. Unity my butt! 

[WideNine]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

Schools are not daycare centers. There is real work being done by real professionals. 

 

It's a mix like most things are. For many parents I talk to the first or second thing they mention is asking how are they expected to juggle a work schedule with their kids at home during the day.

 

Not to recognize this as a major friction point and public service schools provision is disingenuous.

 

When we get past the superlatives of calling teachers heroes while cutting their pay, supporting "one size fits all" rigid state and federal academic guidance, and reducing programs for struggling kids who they dare not fail or they impact the limited funding they get, we find that for some it is their muse and they are trying their best and for others I have met, not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by WideNine

[Big Blitz]

Logical question is why not into 2023???

 

Nothing to see here....

 

 

Americans might still be wearing masks in 2022; world may never reach herd immunity: Live COVID-19 updates

 

 

Over 90,000 more Americans are likely to die from COVID-19 related causes by June 1, a leading forecasting institute says. The projection comes as the U.S. expects to surpass 500,000 deaths within the next two days and Dr. Anthony Fauci says it's "possible" that Americans will still be wearing masks in 2022.

 

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) also warns that the world may never reach herd immunity.

 

More than 75% of Americans now say they wear masks in public. To reach the lower death numbers, the percentage should be about 95%, IHME says.

 

The institute notes that some political and public health leaders have argued that vaccinating 70%-80% of the global population could effectively end further transmission. But even nations fortunate enough to procure sufficient quantities of vaccine may never reach herd immunity, in which case COVID-19 could become a seasonal affliction that comes each year.

 

"While it's possible to reach herd immunity by next winter, it seems increasingly unlikely we will do so, and in light of that we all need to shift our expectations," IHME says.

 

https://amp-usatoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/4528683001?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16139371467594&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2021%2F02%2F21%2Fcovid-news-90-000-more-us-deaths-forecast-worlds-herd-immunity%2F4528683001%2F

Edited February 21, 2021 by Big Blitz

[WideNine]

1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:

If people feel schools have become glorified day care centers that is solely the fault of public education itself which has continually dumbed down everything and lowered standards.  

 

Some recent examples:

 

Administrators are telling teachers to take late work all quarter.   No penalty.

 

Retakes on every test.

 

Standards based grading because all the teachers of the same class must teach the same stuff at the same time and give the same unit tests.  

 

When you do that, you inevitably dumb down the test.

 

I know as fact teachers have been told that their class is too difficult and rigorous compared to another teacher of that same class.   

 

When my son got into HS they gave all of us parents a big speech about letting go and letting them become more responsible.

 

Then, when he had not taken a test that made up a large portion of his grade and was dodging them at school, they started hounding the wife and me.

 

We told them to fail him. We explained that they are not teaching or preparing him for life if he learns that not doing the work carries no repercussions.

 

No one hounds these kids about missing assignments and tests when (and if) they go to college. They want to sleep thru classes, fine. Colleges will take your money and fail you with no ***** to give.

 

The HS couldn't though, because failing kids impacts funding.

 

They found a way to pass him any way and my kid was smug about calling their bluff and gaming the bizarre system we have today.

 

 

 

[Doc Brown]

6 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Physical schools are still necessary. You cannot leave an eight year old home alone by himself all day long. So unless we’re going back to telling women they have to stay home and raise a family, school is here to stay. Now...can schools do a better job with technology? Of course they can, but it requires a ton of money for both hardware, and software. That’s a budget line item schools haven’t traditionally had to deal with. 

 

Kids adapt quickly when left home alone.

 

 

Great news out coming of Israel with the Pfizer vaccine

 

The Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine appeared to stop the vast majority of recipients in Israel becoming infected, providing the first real-world indication that the immunization will curb transmission of the coronavirus.

 

The vaccine, which was rolled out in a national immunization program that began Dec. 20, was 89.4% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed infections, according to a copy of a draft publication that was posted on Twitter and confirmed by a person familiar with the work. The companies and Israel’s Health Ministry worked together on the preliminary observational analysis, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.

 

The results, also reported in Der Spiegel, are the latest in a series of positive data to emerge out of Israel, which has given more Covid vaccines per capita than anywhere else in the world. Nearly half of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine. Separately, Israeli authorities on Saturday said the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was 99% effective at preventing deaths from the virus.