The facts support in-person learning for most Illinois schools. Case study: New Trier High School District 203 – Wirepoints

By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

It’s only natural for parents and teachers to be worried about the impact of returning students to the classroom. 

But it’s important to look at the science and data of the coronavirus. The reality is children are far less likely to get infected with COVID-19, are far less likely to get seriously ill, and are far less likely to spread the virus to adults and other children.

And after months of learning to deal with the coronavirus, Illinois is in far better shape for reopening schools than it was just three months ago. The state’s overall metrics for COVID deaths are on a downward trend. Hospitalizations are also down and stable. Cook County, the place most impacted in Illinois, has seen a rapid decline in deaths across all age groups. It’s the same in most parts of the state.

Residents in New Trier HS District 203, for example, haven’t been hit hard by COVID-19, with no new deaths in over two months. And a vast majority of teaching staff there is young enough to be at low risk from the virus.

Here’s what parents in New Trier, and the parents in hundreds of other school districts with similar circumstances, should know about Illinois’ readiness to return to in-person schooling:

1. Illinois is in comparatively better shape than other states to reopen in-person schools. While Illinois had one of the country’s highest per-capita death rates just two-and-a-half months ago, on August 2 the state reported just 14 deaths.

That contrasts sharply with what’s happening in other states that are experiencing a resurgence in cases and more importantly, deaths. The below chart shows how deaths have jumped in some states while Illinois’ deaths have hit new lows since the inception of the crisis.

2. Closer to home, Cook County’s death rate has also collapsed. Concerns about spread from nearby communities is also far less worrisome than it once was. COVID deaths in Cook County have declined dramatically across every age group. 

3. The New Trier township has had no COVID-19 deaths in nearly 2.5 months. The last death within the township borders (the school district and the township have almost identical borders) occurred on May 19, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as of July 28. 

4. Of the eight township residents who died of COVID, their average age was 87. The youngest victim was 71, while the oldest was 101. Young and middle-aged residents – students and teachers – have avoided the worst of COVID-19. 

5. Teacher-aged residents in Illinois have been largely spared. In total, 407 Illinois adults under the age of 50 have died from COVID as of July 29. There are over 94,000 known cases in that age group, but the real number of people infected is certainly far larger. The CDC’s best estimates assume there are 10 times more undetected cases of COVID-19 than detected. Based on their estimate, the group fatality rate for adults younger than 50 is at 0.04 percent.

6. Nearly 70 percent of New Trier teachers are under the age of 50. And 60 percent are under the age of 40. That means as a group they’re at far less risk of suffering death from COVID-19. That’s particularly true when comorbidities are taken into account (next section).

7. The risk for healthy teachers is even lower: 91 percent of Cook County COVID-19 victims had pre-existing conditions. Age alone should not be the concern for teachers since pre-existing conditions are the determining factor in COVID-19 deaths. County data shows that 91 percent of COVID-19 victims in Cook County suffered from one or more comorbidities, i.e., hypertension, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Nationally, the CDC points out that 94 percent of all deaths have come with comorbidities. On average, each COVID death has been accompanied by 2.6 additional conditions. 

Taking comorbidities into account means even fewer teachers are targets of the virus, especially those under the age of 40. 

8. A total of just five youth under the age of 20 have died of COVID-19 in the entire state of Illinois. That’s 0.06% of the state’s nearly 7,500 COVID deaths. While any death is tragic, Illinois’ children have been largely unaffected by the Coronavirus.

9. Nationally, the child fatality rate is likely to be around 0.004 percent. The Women’s Institute for Independent Social Enquiry says nationwide there have been 390,588 reported cases of children with COVID-19, with 972 intensive care hospitalizations and 93 deaths. However, they estimate that when undetected cases are taken into account, 2.3 million children have been infected. That results in a fatality rate of just 0.004 percent. The true fatality rate could be even lower once widespread antibody testing captures just how many children have actually been infected by the virus.

10. There has been no known case anywhere in the world of a teacher catching coronavirus from pupils. From the Times of London: “There has been no recorded case of a teacher catching the coronavirus from a pupil anywhere in the world, according to one of the government’s leading scientific advisers. Mark Woolhouse, a leading epidemiologist and member of the government’s Sage committee, told The Times that it may have been a mistake to close schools in March given the limited role children play in spreading the virus.”

*****

None of the above is meant to diminish the consequences of COVID-19 or the need to mitigate the virus’ spread. Older teachers and those with serious pre-existing conditions will need to take precautions. Alternatives should be offered to them, including online teaching, remote assistance to younger teachers, early retirement and more.

The elderly in multi-generational households also need to take precautions, though the good news is younger children are less likely to spread the virus to adults; in fact, the science shows it’s the other way around. And masks and other forms of social distancing are an effective way to help prevent transmission, according to the CDC and others.

Any reopening plans must be adjusted if the coronavirus changes and begins impacting children to a greater degree. However, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics warn that the health risks for children being out of school currently outweigh the risks of them going back to the classroom. It’s best for Illinois’ children for schools to open safely, responsibly, and on time.

Read the evidence for yourself:

78 Comments
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CG
3 years ago

No one will disagree that students are better off with in person learning as opposed to remote learning. Stats such as those in this article may show that fewer precautions may be necessary in order to open up schools at an acceptable level of risk.I am curious to see metrics on where that line is drawn. I have yet to see an article addressing school preparedness or lack thereof. School administrators are choosing to open in person or remote because they believe they either are or are not prepared to implement the appropriate precautions. Given the statistics, are schools justified… Read more »

Poor Taxpayer
3 years ago

Opening up is a death sentence for thousands of people. Good bye Grandma, nice knowing you.

3 years ago

1. Illinois is in comparatively better shape than other states to reopen in-person schools. So other states are in the shitter but we’re just heading towards the shitter so ok to open. 2. Closer to home, Cook County’s death rate has also collapsed. Because now it’s increasing in the suburbs so let’s use Cook County’s numbers instead of our own. 3. The New Trier township has had no COVID-19 deaths in nearly 2.5 months. Because people have been staying out of school. 4. Of the eight township residents who died of COVID, their average age was 87. See #3. 5.… Read more »

The Truth Hurts
3 years ago

“I call Bulls..t” That doesn’t sound very scientific. Science has shown that not only is it safe for school age children but they also don’t need to social distance. They are also not likely to spread this to adults. “children play a minor role in the spread of the novel coronavirus,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an infectious diseases expert at UCSF. Here is some more information from that “ultra conservative” LA times. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-07-16/will-children-spread-covid-19-if-they-return-to-school https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/children-and-covid-19 Why are you such a science denier? Shouldn’t the burden of proof lie with the people that are trying to upend our life and daily activities?… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by The Truth Hurts
Mike
3 years ago

We’re not talking about risk to adults.

We’re talking about risk to children.

Or is that somehow not important in the education field?

Rita A. Miller
3 years ago

I would have no more fear of Covid 19 than any other virus when school resumes… We know that there might be some colds and flu issues after school startup, but it is normal… I do, however, have a problem with putting mask on and taking away their sports, singing and band…. These children are being “robbed” of a normal life for a “what if” that is being used by our politicians to take away our freedom..

Ess
3 years ago
Reply to  Rita A. Miller

You must feel more freedom, then, when you don’t require people–including children–to fasten their seatbelts in your car. Got it. Oh wait… You DO require that? Aren’t you afraid you (and the government) are taking away their “freedom”?? The coronavirus is not a simple cold or flu virus. “What if”?? 160,000 people have died in 5 months… There is no “if” to that. And science–perhaps you don’t believe in it–has determined that masks work to reduce this scourge. You are being selfish and will cost people suffering and possibly their lives. Rest easy with that, I guess. You don’t want… Read more »

The Truth Hurts
3 years ago
Reply to  Ess

Where is your study that shows masks work definitively against the spread of the virus? I am more than happy to read such a study but as far as I can tell there isn’t anything definitive. Rather than just saying “science” has determined that masks work produce said science. Why hasn’t the FDA ever put that indication on a box of masks? They require multiple scientific studies that show the efficacy that you claim. The last I checked it is a theory. Also, your last paragraph you asked “don’t want to wear a mask? How about a ventilator?” I thought… Read more »

Richard Poo Millersky
3 years ago

It seems “much” of science is based on “might” and “may” , which is theory, not fact. ?

DixonSyder
3 years ago

President Trump pretty much said the same thing about younger persons and the virus yet the news media is blasting his statements non stop.

Confused
3 years ago

The ISBE Report card has NT at 364 teachers in 2019. This data says about there are about 520?

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Confused

good research! Could it be that report cards list fte’s (full time equivalents)?

Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Confused

ISBE tracks very specifically the title “teacher” and has reported that number on the Report Card. Our list, which comes from a direct FOIA to the Teachers’ Retirement System, includes all those educators that contribute to the TRS pension plan. That will include not just the teachers, but also administrators and other educational staff (psychologists, special ed, etc.). Hope that clears it up. Thanks for tracking.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Ted Dabrowski

This site is lucky to have a reader paying such close attention to accuracy! Attaboy, Confused!

chumpchange
3 years ago

This is not about education. This is not about children. This isn’t even about health/welfare of teachers. This is about power and money.

When will voters say “enough”?

Chaz DiGregorio
3 years ago
Reply to  chumpchange

How is it about power and money? Whose power? What money?

Facts
3 years ago

Meanwhile staff at New Trier sent emails asking for reimbursement for PPE and were denied because they will be provided with two cloth masks. No filters. Doctors and nurses not in covid hospitals aren’t seeing you if you have any covid symptoms either so stop acting like they are so amazing. The ICU and ER people working with covid have massive PPE. Don’t worry all a teacher needs for a liability lawsuit is a photo of the kids in the hall and class not wearing masks or having them below noses. At least our family’s can sue if we are… Read more »

UnclePugsly
3 years ago
Reply to  Facts

My wife made our masks. My employer ( a Fortune 100 company) provided a limited number of disposable masks to me, that’s it. They do provide hand sanitizer.

OzzyTard Willy
3 years ago
Reply to  Miller

Rich Miller is a paid off union stooge. He is also an out of shape slob who looks like a caveman.

Fur
3 years ago
Reply to  OzzyTard Willy

lol

Bob
3 years ago
Reply to  OzzyTard Willy

^^^^You are dead on the money with that. He is such a joke right along with Boxcar Willy. I stopped reading that Dem talking points site a year ago. There are about 3 people there that just stroke each others tiny pee pee’s while they slobber on Ptritzkers

Patricia Bidwill
3 years ago

Thank you for sharing this information – which can hopefully provide encouragement to the teachers and students and families involved. What I have heard from teachers in the New Trier district is that their fear has also more to do with limited amount of control over teaching teenagers – and the culture and behavioral issues. While the statistics regarding safety maybe encouraging without a more illustrative and detailed plan for reopening teacher resistance is understandable. The teachers should be involved in creating a reopening plan that they will support.

Susan
3 years ago

Teachers have had 6 months to figure this out. Nurses must deal with conditions on an immediate basis. Teachers make significantly more than double the hourly total compensation of nurses. Teachers are compensated and protected at the level of State Constitution, nurses are not. Parents are content to rely on nurses to be there when needed, but race angrily to the cameras when teachers’ motives are so much as questioned. How is this a comprehensible problem? (P S. This is not a plea for higher nurses’ compensation, it is a plea (like a survival-level, deathbed plea) for parent/taxpayers to do… Read more »

Yes.
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Teachers and nurses are definitely equivalent professions, dealing with identical populations, expectations, skill sets, environments, and behaviors. Medical patients in hospitals and teenagers in schools are both kept together in groups in rooms for 70-minute stretches over a 7-hour day, and they all follow instructions, recommendations, and common sense equally well, and as such, this is a very logical comparison. We should also put more focus on how much people in these professions are paid, rather than on whether or not they might get sick or die, because money is the most important consideration. I support these comments fully and… Read more »

Susan
3 years ago

With Illinois teachers threatening strikes for their “personal safety”, it is a good time to compare and contrast teachers’ compensation with nurses’ compensation. 1. Safety: nurses obviously cannot strike based upon personal safety concerns relative to COVID-19, teachers obviously feel it is their right. 2. Nurses earn about the same monetary salaries annually as teachers, except nurses must work 50 weeks for what teachers make in 38 or fewer weeks. 3. Nurses must largely pay for their own health insurance coverage, and they lose it when/if they lose job. (Many nurses have lost jobs when COVID-19 restrictions forbade elective medical… Read more »

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

addendum:
Not arguing for increased benefits for nurses.
Pointing out the absurdly high and destructive-to-society burden of teachers’ compensation relative to their contributions to society.

Which would Illinois residents rather lose, which could people replace with internet-based or less expensive alternatives: nurses or teachers?

Yes.
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Yes! Teachers are highly destructive to society, and their compensation compared to their contributions to society is definitely insane. We can only assume that the constant teacher shortage is due to too many kind souls not wishing to take advantage of such a rigged, inequitable system designed to drain taxpayers’ dollars. We are lucky there are so many civic-minded individuals who are refusing such temptation. After all, which of our children has ever had a teacher whom they felt actually taught them anything? I can’t think of one. How do our students even manage to get into college in the… Read more »

Platinum Goose
3 years ago
Reply to  Yes.

The reason there is a teacher shortage is because they can retire at 55. How many retired teachers are out there 55 – 65 years old collecting a pension. Don’t let them collect their pension until they’re 65 and all of a sudden teacher shortage solved.

MarkLY
3 years ago
Reply to  Platinum Goose

Baby boomers are retiring. Not news. There are plenty of teachers over the age of 55, as the table shows. The problem is, young people aren’t going into the profession. I can’t say I blame them.

nixit
3 years ago
Reply to  MarkLY

Since New Trier is at the top of the teacher salary food chain, I’d expect an older, more experienced workforce that, once on the North Shore money train, don’t leave until retirement. With low turnover and heavy competition from experienced teachers, it’s not surprising to see a low number of very young teachers in that district.

I’d also wager that overwhelming majority of teachers over the age of 57 has probably already tendered their resignation, meaning they’re getting automatic 6% compounded increases over the next few years until retirement.

Glam Dvorak
3 years ago
Reply to  nixit

Well, teachers have to tender their intent to resign 6 years in advance, so that’s probably true. But they don’t get 6% compounded increases, 6% is just the state maximum. The contract is 5/5/3/3/3 for the last five years, I think.

nixit
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

You’re right. That’s a bit unusual, except that the D203 contract ends at Step 24, which is a bit earlier than other suburban contracts. Also, D203 teachers can accrue up to 360 sick days with 180 awarded on date of hire. Guessing most retire with a full 360 allotment, which I think equates to 2 service years.

Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

Whoa, Glam. You caught an error by nixit. Well done. (Seriously, he’s been flawless and is very insightful).

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  MarkLY

Early retirees can retire and go right back to work, so called double dipping.
Most teachers in McHenry County (haven’t thoroughly studied chicago) take early retirement benefits at first available opportunity. That means, according to pension-spiking contractual entitlements, age 55 for tier 1 and age 58 for tier 2.
Then they are promptly re-hired if they desire to continue working.
They are able to collect OPEBs at “retirement” which includes FREE (to them) loaded, first class insurance package until Medicare age or for life, depending on district contract.

Glam Dvorak
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Where’s the info on McHenry county? I’d like to see it.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

The conditions for “retired” teachers to be rehired were relaxed in recent legislation championed by Steve Reich, our local rep. The contract for each district is supposed to be posted online. I pay taxes to Woodstock CUSD 200. Crystal Lake and Harvard districts are similarly lavish to employees. The exception in this county is Huntley Unit District 158, which consistently spends 25% lower OEPP than Woodstock CUSD 200. Well they used to spend 20% less per pupil, but Woodstock increases spending annually even as enrollment drops. I looked up all this information piecemeal, through individual district contracts and cafrs, isbe… Read more »

Glam Dvorak
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Yes, as mentioned above, those “relaxed” conditions were because of a statewide teacher shortage. They revert back in a year. Also, I’m looking at the CUSD 200 contract right now, and the top salary, for a teacher with 26 years of experience and a Ph.D., is $99,367. The average salary for teachers in your district is $62k. You’re getting a bargain.

Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

Worth noting, though, that admins and superintendents are not bound by that, to my knowledge, and it is not unusual for older teachers to move to admin spots.

The Truth Hurts
3 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

Mark,

I’m pretty sure that TRS pensioners that try to return to work in Illinois are bound by the 120 day cap for both teaching and administration. The 120 days is temporary and it is reverting to 100 days starting 2021-2022.

What you typically see are retired administrators moving to a different state while receiving their pension from the prior state. Typically no limits for those employees

https://www.trsil.org/news-and-events/pension-issues/post-retirement-limits-expanded

Admin
3 years ago

Thanks. We will take a closer look.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

You know what else “reverted”?
Sunset provisions fot the legal righr of “Funds Transfers” without defined need. Every time tose restriction exemptions sunset, whatever Governor approved an extension.
Why is that a big deal?
Because Statutory Fund accounting laws (at least used to) protect taxpayers from extraordinary greedy levies.
So school boards devised a workaround: Ed Fund levy capped? No problem, just over-levy in Transportation Fund and transfer excess to Ed Fund.
Sneaky sub rosa exemptions extensions signed by Governors including Rauner.

Glam Dvorak
3 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

Public school admins are in TRS, same as teachers.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

Not a bargain when OPEBs and the sheer number of teachers, admin, quasi-medical, and support staff are considered.
D200 has had over a decade of lower enrollment coupled with rising numbers of employees, and pending keeps rising annually and at far higher rates than cpi inflation.
Our property values have been crushed by this relentless spending beyond the means of the community, with property tax rates around 4% of full fair market value.
(The depressed EAV has engendered tremendously higher State Aid, and they spend every penny.)

HFPotter
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Hmph. I’m not surprised. You know, it’s all over town that he’s been giving money to Violet Bick!

Glam Dvorak
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Retirees can’t go back to work full time and draw pension from TRS. State law limits retirees’ work in TRS-covered positions to 120 days or 600 hours/year. (And it actually reverts to 100/500 in 2021). It was raised because there were an estimated 40,000 teacher vacancies in the state and it was declared to be a statewide shortage. You may wish to check your facts.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

Retired administrator was rehired to a new admin position, I believe the numbers are about $150,000 compensation on both pension and salary. I wouldn’t print his name but it is a fact.
I do not believe the job he was rehired to was openly posted for. competitive applicants.

Chazz DiGregorio
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

If you won’t print the name, then your “fact” is highly suspect. Since salaries are public domain, there is no reason to keep it a secret. Ergo, please prove this “fact.”

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Glam Dvorak

Also, 120 days is close to a full contractual school year when sick days, paid leave , unexcused absences are taken into account.
Without taking into account it is about 65% right? So that shouldnot be a hardship for a double dipper drawing full pension with 3% CoLA and free full insurance package.

Chase Gioberti
3 years ago
Reply to  Yes.

Looks like the teachers unions have shown up to start trolling.

AChanning
3 years ago
Reply to  Chase Gioberti

Falcon Crest was such a lovely place before all the commoners arrived.

Bob
3 years ago
Reply to  Chase Gioberti

Exactly. And let’s not forget they are public unions. Which means you cant get rid of the useless ones. There are always a handful that should be shown the door but they go on to receive a ridiculous pension. Taxpayers need to be more involved with these decisions and step and benefits. The politicians just keep feeding the beast for votes. Lets not even go to the CTU which seems to make the Catholic church look like small potatoes when it comes to pedo’s. District 219 saw a piece of property adjoing the property they already gobbled up. They had… Read more »

Chazz DiGregorio
3 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Pedos? You should probably be careful about making accusations like that in a public forum. Just a thought.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Yes.

I understand your sarcasm, but if you really want to help solve the problem of Illinois corrupt government, and unaffordable propty taxes and public debt, you will address the issue with specificity. Teachers have the power to solve Illinois fiscal crisis by agreeing to transition to the same system of retirement benefits as everyone else in America: social security and private IRA/401k savings. If they did so, nominal salaries could rise and young teachers could be attracted knowing that their own retirement “contributions ” (which are made on their behalf by taxpayers) would be portable if they decided to leave… Read more »

Christian Winter
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Teachers can withdraw the cash value of their contributions if they leave the profession and put them into any of those private funds.They don’t just disappear. Also, property taxes are based on the area. If people want lower taxes, they can move to areas with lower property taxes.

Susan
3 years ago

those areas (with lower tax rates) would not be in Illinois collar counties. property tax rates of 3% of total fair market values have devalued homes as a function of property tax rate capitalization (national average being ~1%).
Many people are stuck in homes underwater. They cannot move.

Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Yes.

Yes, there are many teachers to whom we all owe much and who aren’t the sources of the problems. But on the whole teachers have not helped their case by electing the radical union leadership they have, refusing to fix the pension system and substituting political indoctrination for education. I know teachers and retired teachers who share my views but they do not speak up in public, which is cowardly and unacceptable — for those who are senior enough that they shouldn’t fear the retribution younger teachers face.

Fed up neighbor
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Susan, very well said and stated facts, I forwarded your comment here to my daughter who is a traveling nurse. She is currently in Cornelius North Carolina and yes working hard and extremely exhausted, her comment was brief, must be nice, we spoke for a while and at the end of our conversation she said at least i make a difference Every signal day for all my patients, sensed a little tears in her voice.

Susan
3 years ago

that’s the difference between nurses and teachers.

Bob
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

My oldest daughter is an ER nurse. She loves it. Teachers are not in the same league today. Ever.

HFPotter
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

So if I understand this correctly, if teachers are worried about their “personal safety,” they can just go on strike because they think it’s their “right”? What does that get us? A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class. And all because a few starry-eyed dreamers stir them up and fill their heads with a lot of impossible ideas!

Freddy
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

One more thing. Nurses vacation time is accrued to a maximum of 24 month then it’s use it or lose it. Teachers and school administrators can have many years of vacation/sick time/personal days/etc shoveled to boost their pensions and pensions are based on the highest 4 years of the last 10 or so. Nurses retirement funds are subject to market fluctuations but teachers do not worry about what the market or economy does plus 3% compounding.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Freddy

yes indeed. Those are enormously relevant factors.
If we are to have any hope of survival, It is necessary to make ordinary taxpayers aware of the extraordinary compensation packages of teachers and school admin.
I am baffled that teachers unions can still maintain the myth that they undercompensated.

Ey?
3 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Feels like nurses chose the wrong professions since teachers are living the life, ey, Susie?

Bob
3 years ago
Reply to  Ey?

Off the taxpayers back ey ey ? Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.

Susan
3 years ago
Reply to  Ey?

no, I feel like it is dishonorable for teachers to claim any moral high ground, given that they are willing to destroy family budgets (including ability to save for childrens’ college educations) in order to further their own personal interests.
Teachers can get all the money, they do have all the power (much like kidnappers), but we taxpayers should not be bamboozled that their motives are other than self-serving.

Johnjohn
3 years ago

Fyi, a brave soul posted this on nextdoor in the new trier district and is being Attacked by the malinformed champagne socialists in their mansions.

HFPotter
3 years ago
Reply to  Johnjohn

I’m not surprised. Mobs get pretty ugly sometimes, and we all need to help out in this crisis. If we can just guarantee the school will have sufficient funds to meet its needs, then it will stay closed up for a week as planned to get the year started, then reopen.

3 years ago

Don’t confuse the narrative with data

HFPotter
3 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Carter

Agreed. Sentimental hogwash!

Mick the Tick
3 years ago

Personally, I think internet/home learning will be the norm in 10-20 years. It will be resisted because it will drastically change a big part of our economy, yet it’s simply too efficient for it to be ignored forever. Currently, traditional in school classroom learning gets better results, but that simply means the school courses/methods for internet/home learning need to be improved. Eventually a conservative state without public unions will give it a try and if the results are good, the savings will be too great to ignore. Illinois will probably be the last state to even give it a fair… Read more »

Johnjohn
3 years ago
Reply to  Mick the Tick

How is it efficient? The social aspect is just as important as the educational. Or are we all being trained to become antisocial zombies?

Lana
3 years ago
Reply to  Johnjohn

Home school children are very social and receive a better education.

Last edited 3 years ago by Lana
Chase Gioberti
3 years ago
Reply to  Johnjohn

Meeting in school is not the only way to socialize.

People go to church.

People go to clubs.

People participate in athletics.

People participate in social groups?

How did this world make it before we had school rooms in the last couple hundred years?

The education establishment has created brain dead zombies.

Mick the Tick
3 years ago
Reply to  Johnjohn

It’s efficient because you don’t need to maintain buildings or pay for utilities. It’s efficient because you don’t need as many teachers or administrators. It’s efficient because children don’t need to travel. It’s efficient because you don’t need to maintain fleets of buses or hire drivers. It’s efficient because you don’t need school security or worry about protecting students. It’s efficient because parents can be more involved (if they choose). It’s efficient because you don’t need to worry about weather.

Bob
3 years ago
Reply to  Johnjohn

Isn’t that what they are doing now ? Many of these people are teaching an agenda. Its in grade school now. They aren’t even waiting until they get to the “professors” to i fect them.

Samantha
3 years ago
Reply to  Mick the Tick

What about the children with special needs or disabilities?

Mick the Tick
3 years ago
Reply to  Samantha

Obviously, children with special needs would need extra considerations.

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