- One of the most effective ways to slow down a pandemic is by shutting schools.
Jason Fischer and the mockbuster (draft)
A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity[1]) is a movie created with the intention of exploiting the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to maximize profit. Unlike films that are produced to capitalize on the popularity of a recent release by adopting similar genre or storytelling elements, mockbusters are generally produced concurrently with upcoming films, and released direct-to-video at the same time the real film reaches theaters or video outlets. A mockbuster may be similar enough in title, packaging, etc. in hopes that consumers confuse it with the actual film it mimics, but their producers maintain that they are simply offering additional products for consumers who want to watch additional films in the same subgenres.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockbuster



President Trump says it is time for teachers to risk their lives. (draft)
Today ironically as most school years are rushing to an end, Trump said it is time for schools to open.

Trump has never shown the first bit of regard for teachers or students but this is beyond the pale. See Betsy Devos who gleefully admitted she wanted to use the pandemic to push her religious school agenda. The long and short of it is this billionaire with double digit yachts whats the public to pay for more kids to go to religious private schools.
The president is saying schools should open just as they will face massive budget cuts. He has also said he doesn’t want to bail out cities and states, i.e. schools just as they will need more resources than ever before. He doesn’t have to say he doesn’t care about the safety of schools and children, something we know is true, if his actions result in them being less safe.
I have no doubt that school will start again in the fall in some fashion though some of the CDC’s guidance makes me think they were home schooled because many will not just work.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html
That being said, distance learning has not worked as well as we hoped for our non motivated or for a lot of our low socioeconomically challenged students. No disrespect to them and their families meant just an acknowledgment that the obstacles are great and something will have to happen.
I guess the bottom line is we have a president with access to frequent testing and top of the line health care telling teachers with neither it’s time for you to risk their lives. He’s not looking to help or offering solutions, or you know doing anything presidential.
Sigh
Suddenly we care about poor kids? For pity’s sake.
disadvantaged children have suffered disproportionately more during the
pandemic. Kids that already struggle to keep up with learning gains are
undoubtedly falling behind. Those critical of public education point to this as
a failure of public education. Suddenly they care about poor kids? Friends
public ed has been sounding that alarm for years.
ignored by policy makers since there were policy makers and children is children
that live in poverty don’t do as well as a group as those that don’t. It’s not
a secret, everyone knows it, just most of those with the ability to do
something about it ignore it.
Gates, Jeb Bush and the Cato Foundation are using the pandemic driven worsening
of the education gap as evidence that public school wasn’t working and nothing
could be farther from the truth.
a tragedy says it is time to embrace distance learning, and this despite the
fact those he says he wants to save the most are arguably suffering the most
because of it.
hates the government unless it wants something is pushing for education savings
accounts or vouchers, you know because parents don’t have enough going on right
now.
educational failure is being recruited to reimagine public ed. Common core,
small learning communities, punitive teacher evaluations, all failures but
since he is rich he gets yet another bite at the apple.
have in common? They blame public education for the failures of society. They
say its public ed’s fault that they can’t completely eradicate the debilitating
effects of poverty and even though in their critiques they might not be
specifically blaming teachers that is without a doubt the subtext.
the heavens for teachers, especially the teachers of our children in poverty
because I know without a doubt their kids would be much worse off.
when.
teachers that are failing children. It is society failing them. The society
that ignores evidence, wants things done on the cheap and listens to those
looking to profit or those who do not know what they are talking about.
of poor children, when we as a society knew better so let’s not pretend for one
second these reimagining efforts are for kids, they aren’t. They are for bank
accounts.
Jeb Bush wants to use the pandemic to dismantle public ed.
From the Washington Post,
In the face of a viral pandemic that has closed schools nationwide, one might expect that all school districts would rush to provide distance-learning opportunities to students. But that’s not what has happened.
Um, why would school districts rush to embrace distance learning? If anything the pandemic has proved it doesn’t work for many and not as well for most.
In Oregon, unions pressured school officials to block transfers of students into public charter schools that use virtual classrooms; Michigan’s state superintendent denied credit for online learning, citing state law requiring in-person attendance. Other school districts have capped online learning or denied it altogether, citing “equity” issues. In effect, school leaders are saying: If we can’t provide online instruction for all students, we won’t provide it for any.
He is only two paragraphs in when he blames unions and ignores the inequalities that distance learning creates.
The digital divide is real. Only two-thirds of rural homes have broadband; low-income families typically lack access to Internet-enabled devices beyond smartphones.
The digital divide is real but how is that public education’s fault?
But stopping distance learning over equity concerns is a false choice. Many school districts, state leaders and others have figured out how to keep instruction going. Some opened access to virtual schools. Some, supported by private donations, have given laptops and tablets to students who need them. Others have made do by printing reams of classroom materials.
Ugh, as usual these cads use a kernel of truth in their cob of lies. How many districts have quit virtual learning because of the problems it creates? A few. How many haven’t, the vast majority. Bush is the man behind the curtain asking you to ignore your eyes and ears and facts.
It’s time to learn the lessons from these heroic efforts and plan for a future in which public education can continue without access to classrooms — not just because of a pandemic but because that’s the future of learning.
Is it the future of learning, kids alone in their houses logged in to computers? Social interaction gone. To me that sounds like a nightmare. Also where did Bush get his degree in education or child psychology? Oh wait he has neither.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/03/jeb-bush-its-time-embrace-distance-learning-not-just-because-coronavirus/
There was more, a lot more, I would encourage you to read it just to see what we are up against,
This has been hard. Hard on students, teachers, families and communities, and Bush would have us double down on what hasn’t been working for many and what hasn’t been working as well for most.
Instead of investing in public ed or thanking them for all they have done, Bush wants us to dissolve it. Bush is the villain of the story.