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Attempting to keep schools open as we know them is still stupid and dangerous. Those states whose governors ignored sound health advice, insisted on “being open,” and thwarted officials who dared to ask residents to wear masks, had to subsidize oversized vehicles as morgues. Those same officials are now demanding that schools in those dangerous states be opened sooner rather than later and continue to remain open, despite having nearly 1/3 of students and teachers absent each day.
No excuses. This virus is still out there. It’s dangerous. When we thought things were getting better, Delta and Omicron came to visit. We have vaccines, but the same nuts who were against masks are now against vaccinations. We still need to be at home with the government exercising its responsibility to make us safe and financially whole. The purpose of schooling is education, not baby-sitting. While it’s convenient to know where our offspring are safely parked for several hours a day, that’s a side effect. We have no business sacrificing our children, our teachers, and ourselves just because it makes our lives “easier.”
We also have no business presuming that if teachers don’t leave their homes then they aren’t working. I’ve heard too many “Well, I have to go to work so they should too,” whines. Parents (not many, but some) are having rallies demanding that teachers go “stay at work.” Governors are forbidding remote learning. Work looks different in different…
