Reading For Treasure: COVID-19

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! This list is an extension of my prior post. Here are some more articles about the current COVID-19 crisis:

Americans would most likely not tolerate a mandatory lockdown. There are alternatives and lessons to be learned from how other countries have structured social distancing: First, China, Then Italy. “What the U.S. Can Learn From Extreme Coronavirus Lockdowns:” The Washington Post

This article is an interview with Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist and physician at Yale University about the closing of schools. Dr. Chistakis argues for proactive closures of schools: closings before there are any cases directly in the school. “Does closing schools slow the spread of coronavirus? Past outbreaks provide clues:” Science Magazine

The CDC has a phone app that will send you notifications. Here is the link to the CDC webpage with information about the app. Here is the link to the CDC’s page on COVID-19.

One of the questions that I had was “How Long Does Coronavirus Live On Different Surfaces”  and this Lifehacker article clearly answers that!

Another issue for all of us staying at home is getting food. The Atlantic has a thoughtful piece that addresses this question: “How You Should Get Food During the Pandemic”

Teachers: if you haven’t found Free Free Technology for Teachers, you are missing out. This is a fantastic and very useful blog. This post provides provides “Tips and Tools For Teaching Remotely” which might be very helpful to everyone moving to online classes. In addition, Edutopia has a good article in which an American teacher in China shares what she has been learning moving her classes online: “What Teachers in China Have Learned in the Last Month”

I am currently reading Myths and Mortals by Andrew Keyt

Update - one more article: Here is an outstanding and very visual way to understand the effects of "social distancing." This article from The Washington Post actually gives you real simulations to see the results when more or fewer people stay home: "Why Outbreaks Like Coronavirus Spread Exponentially and How to "Flatten the Curve" 

Prudence Not Panic: How Staying Home and Avoiding Groups Can Help Everyone

If you are in COVID-19 (coronavirus) denial, it is time to wake up. If you are anxious and jittery, it is time to turn that energy into action. The key idea here is that we cannot go on as if nothing is happening and we cannot freak out.

I am not a medical professional. I have read the many statements from authoritative people posted on social media basically telling everyone to calm down. Instead of minimizing this issue, we must approach it thoughtfully and decisively.

Where do we need to go?

Here is my understanding put simply:

1.     There are far more cases of this virus around us than we know about.

2.     Each day, our odds of catching or spreading this disease increase significantly.

3.     If lots of people get this disease at the same time, our health resources will be overwhelmed and people will not receive the treatment they need.

4.     If we limit the number of people with whom we come in contact, we can slow down the spread of the disease.

5.     If we slow down the spread of the disease, people may still get it, but since fewer will get it at the same time, our health systems are more likely to be able to deal with it.

The key is to slow down the spread of the disease so we have fewer cases each day and thus our hospitals, doctors, and health professionals are not flooded with people who need immediate attention.

This requires everyone! This is the difference between China and Italy. China locked down while Italy took much longer to do so. While this may not have changed the number of people affected, it meant that, instead of hundreds or thousands of people trying to get to doctors AT THE SAME TIME, the number of people seeking treatment was spread over a longer period of time and thus was more manageable.

So what I have read suggests that we need to do a few things RIGHT NOW:

1.     Take care of yourself. Wash your hands, get enough sleep, and tend to your health.

2.     Avoid contact with anyone who is sick at all.

3.     Minimize leaving your home. Avoid gatherings.

4.     Move as much of your contact with people to the phone or computer. If you must leave the house, no hugging, kissing, or handshaking. Be a “far talker” and keep as much distance between you and other people as you can.

5.     Encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Don’t panic: be prudent and patient. We must all work together to stop this pandemic!   

Finally, here are the articles I have found to be most illuminating and upon which this post is based:

“Cancel Everything:” The Atlantic

“How Canceled Events and Self-Quarantines Save Lives, in One Chart:” Vox

“Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now:” Medium

“#StayTheFuckHome A Movement to Stop the COVID-19 Pandemic”

“Want To Do Something About Coronavirus? Here are 5 Ideas:” Vox

Would You Want Your Child to be a Teacher?

When I decided to be a teacher, more than thirty-five years ago, the profession looked very different than it does today. Being a teacher meant making a difference in the lives of children. It meant contributing to the community. It was, and still is, a noble profession.

Today is a different matter. Today, teachers are under attack. From testing to budget issues to Betsy DeVos’s move toward school vouchers, a teacher’s job is quite different than it was when I entered the profession more than three decades ago.

Why would a student, accumulating thousands of dollars in college debt, take a job that pays so little and has so many headaches? How long might it take a newly minted teacher to pay back all the loans? What emotional and mental costs might come with a career in education? 

We are going to face horrible teacher shortages in the coming years. There will still be some wonderful and dynamic teachers entering the profession. However, there will be fewer and fewer of them – and many will leave the profession in their first few years.

It is already happening. More than half of all new teachers last less than five years in the classroom. There are more former teachers in the workforce than those in the classroom.

Why are they leaving? Why are fewer students training to be teachers? This is not difficult to figure out.

Whether it is in high poverty schools or schools with demanding parents, it is difficult to be a teacher. While we often talk about addressing the mental health needs of students, we rarely think about the emotional and physical strains of their teachers.

Whether its parents who “lawyer up,” yell, scream, threaten, and rush to defend students who need to face the consequences of their actions, or parents trying desperately to make ends meet, teachers must cope with the constellation of family issues that rock their students. Over entitled or under-resourced, teachers get to be part social worker, part diplomat, part case manager and then are evaluated on their students’ test scores.

No wonder there are many schools that are stuffing classrooms to the brims or finding any warm body to babysit classes without a trained teacher. This is a situation we are going to see more and more as an aging teacher population retires. People my age represent a disproportionate percentage of today’s teachers.

Let’s assume that we still have some saints who are willing to sacrifice all and go into the trenches, I mean classrooms, and help kids learn. What happens to them when they get there? Who will support them? Will we talk about teachers’ mental health needs? How will we keep them in the profession?

These new teachers will be buffeted by the political and social forces that are testing teachers right now. They will be judged based on tests, handcuffed into scripted curricula, and then will have to compensate for all the social ills that plague society in general, but schools in particular. Then, they will burn out.

I watch my colleagues spend far too much of their precious time dealing with everything except education – and I taught in a privileged school.

Without teachers, we cannot have schools. If every child cannot attend a public school, what happens to our nation? If only the wealthy can afford a quality education for their children, what do we become? If teacher shortages mean that public schools become banks of computer monitors and babysitters, what is our future?

We need to rethink teachers’ experience. We need to revolutionize our public school system. And I have not heard anyone provide a viable solution.

Some of my sources and further reading:

Why I can’t teach in public education anymore.

Teachers are Paid Less Than Similar Professions. See the Breakdown by State

Where Have All The Teachers Gone?

Who Will Teach?

Husband’s Post About His Wife’s Pay as a Teacher Shows How Underpaid They Are

Teacher: What I Don’t Have Time To Do Anymore – and What I’d Do If I Had It

Stemming the Tide: Are Public Schools Keeping the Best and Brightest Teachers?

Why Good Teachers Quit

The Teacher Pay Penalty Has Hit a New High: Trends in the Teacher Wage and Compensation Gaps through 2017

Excuse Me, While I Teach Your Child, But First I Must…

Why Teachers Are Walking Out

Just Paying Teachers More Won’t Stop Them From Quitting

Teachers Go Public With Their Resignation Letters

Our Town and Our Old Videos: Glimpses into the Past

My first theatre production at Deerfield High School was Our Town. I did it because we had no money and it would include a large number of students. Recently, I have been looking at old videos and photos from my first decade of teaching. They remind me of Our Town.

A few years ago, Deerfield produced Our Town again. I cried my way through it. Similarly, I watched myself about thirty years ago on these videos. I felt like Emily looking at my very distant life.

I found the play and the videos frighteningly familiar. It happens each time I watch shows I have done, and I am surprised each time. The production is still inside me. The moments, lines, and nuances of the script don’t go away. They lie dormant, even for decades. So do the feelings I had for the people with whom I was working. 

I found, as I watched the videos and show, that I saw more than what was in front of me. I remembered the students from thirty-some years ago and saw them then and now. Thanks to the blessing of Facebook, I am still in touch with many of them.

As Emily returns to her birthday, I was returning to my own Deerfield Grover’s Corners. I didn’t need to die to relive my past. But, like Emily, I was painfully aware of how little I saw then.

During the last years of my career as a teacher, I tried to savor the moments.  Since my own children are growing up and no longer at home, the passage of time feels very real. I savor each phone call, text, and video chat.

When Emily sees her parents young and beautiful, I am filled with gratitude and fear. My parents are aging. They are doing it well, but again I am keenly aware of time. My wife’s parents are gone and, through her, I have a second-hand taste of that loss. And my students are aging, too. Their children were in my classroom.

Some of my former students have died. I can’t get over those losses. When one of those students appeared on one of the videos, it was a jarring and delightful moment. I wish I could go back and share with him what I know now. To paraphrase Mrs. Gibbs from Our Town, I was a blind person.

I watch the videos with wet eyes and wonder: Can we be the people the Stage Manager says don’t exist? Can we cherish and see each other every – every minute? Can we put the minutia and administrivia in its place and hold each other the way Emily tries to as she relives her birthday morning? I fully understand why she can’t go on with it. I had to stop the video a few times because the view became too blurry. It must have been decay from the old VHS tapes.

We do walk through the world in the dark. We don’t see each other. We take each other for granted and forget the miracles we make and live daily. The least important day is important enough.

As I reflect on my time as a teacher, as I review the old videos and memories, I keep coming back to Our Town. I am reminded of those years long ago, and the wonderful people whom I miss. That is the hard part of retirement: missing the wonderful people.

But I am so grateful to have spent time with them – and to have these memories.

Reading for Treasure: February

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! Here are some articles to read discussing how we can both mentally and physically protect our children and ourselves:

10 Reasons Teens Have So Much Anxiety Today: This quick article from Psychology Today lists specific reasons that teens today may be much more anxious than we were at their age. It is a good checklist for parents!

Teach Your Kids To Value Empathy Over Tenacity: Years ago, my congregational rabbi’s High Holiday sermon asked, “Would you rather your children be successful or good?” Kids know what we really value by our behavior, even if our actions don’t always match. This short Lifehacker article provides a good example of why empathy should be higher on most parents’ lists.

Encourage Teens to ‘Speak Before You Send’: This Lifehacker article is a great companion to the one above. I think we hear language very differently than we see it. When I just read my text or email in my head, it sounds fine. When I read it aloud, I hear it very differently. This is makes reading aloud a great editing tool – not only for writing skills but for empathy as well.

Bicyclists Should Be Shamed Into Wearing Helmets: This Chicago Tribune column takes a humorous angle on a very simple message: wear a helmet when riding a bike. I love the old man voice in this article. When my kids were growing up, we always said that you only needed to wear a helmet if you had something to protect…

10 quick thoughts on mobile phones in schools: This quick list from Dangerously Irrelevant really says that the problem is not phones. There are other issues and classroom phone struggles are really about teaching, the structure of schools, and the use of technology for learning. I agree!

I’m currently reading The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal

Dear Senator

Dear Senator,

Thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for the time, thought, and careful attention you are paying to the current impeachment crisis.

It is my hope that what I have to say is not news to you. I think you probably hold all of this in your heart. However, I want you to know that your constituents and the people of the United States are just like you.

When this is all over, and the current administration and turmoil are in our past, we will know a lot more about what has happened in the White House under this president. The truth about his decisions, actions, and behavior will become highly public. There will be books, movies, and more. The current scandal is not the end, whether the president is impeached, removed from office, or even if he is reelected. The truth will come out.

Do not let all the good work you have done and all the good work you have yet to do become a footnote to your defense of this president.

Do not let history remember you as someone who gave in to the bullies, put party over patriotism, and allowed political expediency to trump integrity.

Do not let your legacy be a presidency that goes unchecked, a congress that won’t acknowledge wrongdoing, and a country without a moral center.

Listen to that righteous voice that is telling you to return to your ethical and moral values.

Listen to those people who are urging you to do the right thing.

Listen to your inner sense of truth, justice, and the American way.

You were elected because the people believe you will do what needs to be done, even when it is difficult or costly. It is time to do that.

History will remember you. Your decisions will determine how.

You know this. We know this. I sincerely doubt that my letter will change your mind. However, when these events are years in the past, I urge you to make sure that you are remembered as one of the heroes, not one of the confederates.

Sincerely Yours,

David Hirsch

Parenting By Proxy

Recently, I was listening to an episode of This American Life that talked about parents who were seeking human growth hormones for their children (usually their sons) because they wanted them to be taller. There was nothing medically wrong with their children, they just didn’t want them to be short. They wanted to give them the most advantages they could, and if a drug could give them height, they saw this as a good thing. Of course, you can guess the other part of this equation; these were affluent suburban parents.

In the past, if you were short, you had no choice. Parents of short children, often short themselves, would teach their kids what that meant and how it might be different than being other heights. And even though there is not much long-term data on the effects of synthetic human growth hormone on otherwise healthy kids, parents can now have a cosmetic medical procedure and none of that parenting is necessary.

Similarly, if a child is not doing well in school, a parent can ask the school to do testing. Sometimes that testing shows a learning issue. Sometimes it does not. Sometimes, a child’s performance in class, according to the school, may not even warrant the testing. No problem. Parents can go to doctors and others who will take their money and do the testing. Is it surprising that, when the parent is paying for the testing, often they find something that would suggest that the child should receive special services at school – or a drug to help them focus – or accommodations on testing, such as additional testing time on college entrance exams? Such a deal!

And what about those exams? When I was preparing for college, we just took the test. We looked at the booklet that came with the sign-up sheet to make sure we didn’t fill out the forms incorrectly. I don’t remember my parents being involved at all. That is not the case today –for this same set of affluent parents. There is an industry of people who will tutor and prepare and sculpt and shape children so that they score better and better each time they take the tests!

The whole process of applying to college is so messy. In our house, we limited “college talk” to certain times and days so it didn’t overwhelm us or outshine other important parts of our lives. However, some parents don’t want to be the “bad guys” and nag their kids to finish the applications and essays. They worry that neither they nor their children will be able to meet the high standards that the “best” colleges require. So they get help. They hire people who will “help” them select the “right” schools and take the courses they will need to be admitted. They “assist” students in filling out their applications. Others will “coach” students on their essays. Such a deal!

Many of these moms and dads are more like executive parents. They don’t do the actual parenting. They don’t get their hands dirty or get down in the trenches with the kids. They hire people for that. Their job is to manage all the doctors, tutors, coaches, drugs, teachers, and other helpers who do the real day-to-day parenting.

There is something downright medieval about this. I think of Juliet’s nurse and Juliet’s mother. The nurse is the real parent who knows about the ins and outs of Juliet’s secret affair. Lady Capulet is not only clueless, she is destructive because she believes she knows what is best when in reality, she barely knows her daughter. She only knows the image of her daughter that she wants the world to see.

And therein lies the rub. These parental proxies are trying to make kids into someone’s vision of the best and brightest. The children don’t do the real work. They are led, trained, and directed – and they have had little to no say in the direction they are being marched. They may believe that what their folks want is what they want – or not. It doesn’t really matter.

No wonder, when they finally get out of their parents’ homes, they flounder. The assumption is that, if we provide them with the best proxy parents, they will flourish. The real work of parenting is challenging and difficult. It is a test of values, will, and intelligence. It is a task that must be done with spouses, grandparents, teachers, neighbors, and siblings. But when we farm it out to consultants and concoctions, we risk getting a very different result than when children are helped to become self-sufficient, independent, thoughtful people - by people who love them. 

I wonder who we can hire to be sure our children are kind and empathetic? After all, they are going to select our assisted living facility. Oh, never mind; they’ll hire a consultant to make that decision for them.