I think the "NEW NORMAL" is the key to this.
It will not be the old normal ever again...….I do think that when a vaccine is developed, life will change for the better.
How do we reopen and get back to normal.
- Thread starter Hobie
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I think the "NEW NORMAL" is the key to this.
It will not be the old normal ever again...….I do think that when a vaccine is developed, life will change for the better.
Might be early next year... all things considered.
I got my ordinary flu shot on Friday, it covers 4 strains. I'd never had it before but this year those working in schools can get it for free.
Last year many teachers did come down with the cold..which is similar to the flu..most of the times you can't tell which one you've got as symptoms are similar, but you don't die of a cold. The only thing is you can't really work if you got a cold either.
It is difficult in schools since many schools have more than 100 pupils, up to 30 in one class, and children are not used to social distancing. Put them all together in one class and it can be a recipe for disaster. Also many newer schools had gone for open plan classrooms, which are much harder to contain and teach in. We have to cover our entrance and exits, sign everyone in, stagger start and end times and break times, not have assemblies or sports...work out ways to hold exams if its a secondary school...and learn to teach when we can't be hand's on.
I got my ordinary flu shot on Friday, it covers 4 strains. I'd never had it before but this year those working in schools can get it for free.
Last year many teachers did come down with the cold..which is similar to the flu..most of the times you can't tell which one you've got as symptoms are similar, but you don't die of a cold. The only thing is you can't really work if you got a cold either.
It is difficult in schools since many schools have more than 100 pupils, up to 30 in one class, and children are not used to social distancing. Put them all together in one class and it can be a recipe for disaster. Also many newer schools had gone for open plan classrooms, which are much harder to contain and teach in. We have to cover our entrance and exits, sign everyone in, stagger start and end times and break times, not have assemblies or sports...work out ways to hold exams if its a secondary school...and learn to teach when we can't be hand's on.
I like your enthusiasm. We are still waiting for a vaccine for SARS (2002).
Our mayor is putting us in Phase I this coming May 18th. We are one of only 2 counties left (as of tomorrow). So, assuming nothing goes wrong, out new normal begins around August 4th. In the interim, we can start to deal with hurricane season (June 1st) and prepare for cold and flu season (October 1st).
Ray
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August 4th???? That is 3 more months on lockdown. WOW! Thought about moving a little north?
Try doing that in one of our schools. Granted, this is one of our bigger schools, but our smallest (*Whispering Pines Elementary) tops out at 724.
Not knowing how the 2020 - 2021 school year will start, they are working on providing kids with three options: (1) attend physical school, (2) attend on-line, or (3) use a combination of physical and on-line classes. They are also looking at having an A and a B shift, by extending the school day until 5pm. For the kids who are not doing well with our current on-line only classes, they are going to start the new school year in July and not August. We already have around 14,000 teachers, but that is not enough to work the plan they are looking at.
rtm3039
I've seen quite a few american movies set in schools and they all seem pretty packed and crowded to me...corridors are lined with lockers (don't have them here, students either carry their own bags at all times or hang them up on hooks) and many just seem to all be in one big building with no outdoor spaces between them.
Morning. The problem is that we are so big, that there are way too many differences between schools in different states. Below is an image of one of our larger schools. This one comes with a baseball field (a big sport in the Miami area), track, football field, 9 tennis courts, and enough buildings to cover several city blocks.
At my wife's school, they even have student lounges
They no longer use student wall-lockers here, as they all carry backpacks.
On the other hand, yes they are packed. Students are given 5 minutes to transition from one classroom to the other and all at the same time. When you have 2,000 students moving from one class to the other, you really want to avoid the hallways.
You even have some that come with swimming pools.
rtm3039
My school does have a swimming pool. Many primary schools don't as they are a lot to maintain.
We have 356 pupils.
In my part of town we desperately need more public swimming pools as the one near me can get over crowded.
I just think of those crowded corridors/hallways that I see in american school movies, it would be impossible to keep your distance during transition times. I remember my high school had several different blocks but you would walk from one to another outside mostly, it was only a few stair cases that would be crowded, but there were not rows and rows of classrooms all feeding into one corridor.
We have 356 pupils.
In my part of town we desperately need more public swimming pools as the one near me can get over crowded.
I just think of those crowded corridors/hallways that I see in american school movies, it would be impossible to keep your distance during transition times. I remember my high school had several different blocks but you would walk from one to another outside mostly, it was only a few stair cases that would be crowded, but there were not rows and rows of classrooms all feeding into one corridor.
While we do have some, we have very few public pools. Pretty much, every house in my neighborhood has a pool.
The crowded hallways is an issue. Our schools has a police department and every school has security monitors. All are also equipped with surveillance cameras all over the place. The latter can really come in handy with my job.
Rtm
Schools try to control movement as much as possible. When it is time for a bell to ring, security monitors and sent all over the place to control the flow. You get 5 minutes to get from one class to the other. If you do not make it, you get written up. If you have more than 5, you get sent to a special place for a while. We also have that we call Alternative Schools. If you are really bad, you are sent there for as little as 10 days, or as long as several years. It is "student prison" are you are watched constantly. If you don't make it there, it's usually jail time.
rtm3039
wow sounds harsh.
I don't remember transition periods being a mad rush at my high school..it was quite a big campus but anyone that was late just missed out on start of the lesson as their consequence. I don't remember anyone being punished further.
detentions and expulsions were for other things, but then, I don't recall that many disruptive students in my year. Or they were dealt with discreetly.
We have detention, but we call it SCIS (School Center for Specialized. Instruction). We don't do expulsions, because that is what some of the "kids" want. You have to keep in mind that we have kids that get picked up my the police right from class. We have prostitution rings, drugs, and gangs. They tend to do their thing during transition periods, so they push supervision hard during those times.
My main concern is what's called "elective surgery". A few days ago I heard a doc on TV say that if we don't start doing elective surgery soon then what we're calling elective surgery now is going to become essential surgery, or worse still emergency surgery. I don't know if that doctor was a Christian but his words were like a prophesy. I'll tell you why. I have needed cataract surgery since 2017 but due to various reasons I haven't been able to get it done. Cataracts are weird, they don't happen all at once and they will stay the same for 3 or 4 months. But then in a matter of 3 or 4 days they will suddenly get worse. Back in 2017 I could see with both eyes but my left eye was very cloudy. By the beginning of 2019 my left eye was very cloudy and by Nov. of 2019 my left eye was almost useless. However, I could still see fairly well with my right eye. So in Nov I went to a new eye surgeon and started the laborious process of getting surgery. To get surgery first you need medical clearance which involves blood tests and an EKG. I failed the EKG so I couldn't get clearance. Next I had to go for echo cardiogram to check my heart. I passed the echo test so the surgery was scheduled again. But then the week of the surgery I suddenly developed 3 black & blue marks for no apparent reason. Now more blood tests were done. The docs didn't know why this happened but they feared I had a bleeding issue so the surgery was canceled. That was mid December and then the holidays came. I now had to start the whole process over again in 2020. I wasn't impressed with the doc I had been assigned to in 2019 so I decided I'd find a different doc for 2020. In Feb of 2020 the cataracts got worse and I could no longer see with my left eye at all. So I had an eye surgeon appointment for March 13th but that was the day Covid-19 was declared a national emergency. That meant my eye doc appointment was canceled.
I've been waiting for the lockdown to end but last week the cataracts got worse again. My left eye has been useless, but now my right eye is also all cloudy. It's like looking through glasses that are fogged up. If this happens even 1 more time I'm afraid I will be effectively blind. That will be a disaster because I don't have any family or friends who will care for me. I will need to be hospitalized.
Therefore I called 2 different eye surgeons and neither would see me until June. They don't consider this an emergency. How can almost becoming blind not be an emergency.
Considering the way people are these days, I bet they thought I was lying. But I don't lie. I hope I don't get worse before next month.
I've been waiting for the lockdown to end but last week the cataracts got worse again. My left eye has been useless, but now my right eye is also all cloudy. It's like looking through glasses that are fogged up. If this happens even 1 more time I'm afraid I will be effectively blind. That will be a disaster because I don't have any family or friends who will care for me. I will need to be hospitalized.
Therefore I called 2 different eye surgeons and neither would see me until June. They don't consider this an emergency. How can almost becoming blind not be an emergency.
Considering the way people are these days, I bet they thought I was lying. But I don't lie. I hope I don't get worse before next month.
John, I hope and pray that it does not get worse either. The good news, if there is any, is that parts or NY state will move into phase 1 soon and that should include elective surgery.
rtm3039
Not that I'm happy about this, but when I see the doc June 5th I'm going to have to tell her this can't be considered elective surgery anymore. I really wish I could wait another 6 months to a year but I don't dare. These cataracts don't give me any warning they're about to get worse it just happens practically overnight. I hope this doctor takes this seriously.
One of the guys I use to work with, and my dad for that matter, both had the procedure and it went really well. Kind of surprised about my former co-worker, as it is only 50.
eek the high school I went to didn't have a bad gang problem but I know some other schools reportedly did. Drug dealing would more likely happen in the breaks/intervals than the transitions though. I never went home during those periods as I lived too far away. I do remember being bored in the break times though as there didn't seem to be many organised activities, and many of us weren't allowed to shelter in the classrooms when it was wet.
When I was a teen there weren't too many places you could just hang out, but now there are special youth places where teens can go, because people recognised if they didn't have anywhere to go and nothing to do, it's more likely they'll end up getting into trouble.
John..I wonder if you could call the Foundation for the Blind and ask them to assist you...maybe they can advise you on what to do (before you go blind?!) or get emergency help for you.
They would advocate for you, or they might know of some way to get you in. I don't know how over-loaded your hospitals are, but the thing with being a patient is...being PATIENT.
Do you have their number you could call? I'm sure there must be some organisation like that in the US. It's the land where Helen Keller and Stevie Wonder live after all.
They would advocate for you, or they might know of some way to get you in. I don't know how over-loaded your hospitals are, but the thing with being a patient is...being PATIENT.
Do you have their number you could call? I'm sure there must be some organisation like that in the US. It's the land where Helen Keller and Stevie Wonder live after all.