Boots & Sabers

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Owen

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1327, 23 Aug 20

Missing School More Dangerous than Virus

Yup.

Children are more likely to be harmed by not returning to school next month than if they catch coronavirus, the UK’s chief medical adviser says.

Prof Chris Whitty said “the chances of children dying from Covid-19 are incredibly small” – but missing lessons “damages children in the long run”.

Millions of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to return to school within weeks.

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1327, 23 August 2020

9 Comments

  1. jonnyv

    Cool. Someone else that SAYS something, with no solid data to back it up.

    And last time I checked, students are not missing lessons, they are just getting them virtually… which for some is probably more effective.

    And again, no one wants to say that kids don’t spread it. Just that they are less likely to have health issues due to it.

  2. Kevin Scheunemann

    I guess this professor needs to be dismissed for not towing the crazy Marxist line.

    Figures.

  3. Le Roi du Nord

    “towing”?

  4. Mar

    “And last time I checked, students are not missing lessons, they are just getting them virtually… which for some is probably more effective.”
    Maybe for some it may be more effective. Maybe 3%.
    And the other 97%, not so much.

  5. Pat

    Maybe

  6. Le Roi du Nord

    Or maybe not.

  7. jonnyv

    Granted I feel like my kid is a really smart 11 year old already, but in spring he really excelled during the virtual learning (but he would rather be at school). He was already ahead of most kids and moved up a grade for most of the day, but he was able to go ahead on his own and explored a lot more areas than the school was doing.  (Parent note: have your kids check out BrainPop)

    Now granted there is an entire social aspect he is missing, and that is having an affect on him. But he is making some of that up with virtual meetings with his friends.

    Not every parent has the luxury of a motivated kid, nor the ability to stay home with their kids when needed.

  8. Mar

    I have talked to numerous teachers throughout the West and every teacher has said virtual learning sucks.
    All have said they lost a minimum 1/3 of their class because the lack of motivation,not able to connect to the internet or poor parenting.
    I am glad you have a smart and dedicated child Jonny and that is great.
    But most children do not learn very well virtually. And I know I could not learn very well online.

  9. jonnyv

    Mar, my wife was a teacher for a few years and still has a lot of friends who teach. What I have heard is that they don’t want a blended situation. They don’t want to try and split attention between 2 styles. They would rather be 100% one way or the other.

    And from speaking with them (about a month or so ago) they want in class schooling. But they are also nervous that there has been little communication as to what will happen when kids in their class test positive. Do they shut down the classroom? Does the teacher require testing? Will they suddenly be thrown into a virtual environment? Will subs be available for weeks at a time? Will they even be able to get subs if you tell them that a kid in the class tested positive?

    Kids learn different subjects at different speeds. In my son’s school they teach a lot in groups. Different classrooms and small groups depending on what level they are at. This is a lot of interaction. I think that virtual learning can actually be almost as good as in person if done right. And it was NOT done right for most in Spring. I hope with a little prep that they can get it together.

    I really hope in class teaching works out for everyone. But I have some very large doubts and concerns.

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