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HS that suspended teen who tweeted photo of hallway has 9 COVID-19 cases:
North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia, sent a letter to parents Saturday, saying, "At this time, we know there were six students and three staff members who were in school for at least some time last week who have since reported to us that they have tested positive." The letter was published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Most or even all of the six students and three staff members who tested positive could have had the virus before the school reopened on Monday, August 3. As Harvard Medical School explains, "The time from exposure to symptom onset (known as the incubation period) is thought to be three to 14 days, though symptoms typically appear within four or five days after exposure," and "a person with COVID-19 may be contagious 48 to 72 hours before starting to experience symptoms."
[...] As we reported Friday, the school issued a five-day suspension to student Hannah Watters after she posted a photo to Twitter, noting the "jammed" hallways and "10 percent mask rate." The school lifted her suspension after extensive media coverage. One other unnamed student who was suspended for a similar reason also had the suspension reversed, the Journal-Constitution said.
Students attended class in person only on Monday through Wednesday, as the district said it conducted a short first week "so that all of our schools can step back and assess how things are going so far."
Update at 6:50pm ET: North Paulding High School announced Sunday that it has canceled in-person instruction for Monday and Tuesday, August 10 and 11, because of the nine positive cases and "the possibility that number could increase if there are currently pending tests that prove positive." The school said that on Tuesday evening, parents and students will be notified about whether in-person instruction will resume on Wednesday. Remote learning will continue while the school is closed.
Previously:
(2020-08-08) Pupils Who Shared Photos of Packed Corridor of Maskless Georgia Students Suspended
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Wednesday August 12 2020, @04:08PM (7 children)
Math should be taught by people who love and understand math, not by English teachers who fear numbers.
Where are you going to find people who love and understand math, and are interested in working in public schools (in Georgia no less) with all the discipline problems that exist there (not to mention the constant threat of school shootings), for utterly lousy pay? There's tons of far better-paying jobs out there that are far safer.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 12 2020, @05:23PM
Retirees?
Just an anecdote, but I know of a Naval Captain who retired (semi-forced retirement) who went on to teach mathematics in a large Virginia school system. Don't remember exactly, I think he taught for about 15 years before health forced him to retire again.
Rest in peace, Bad Bob.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday August 12 2020, @05:57PM
Although it was decades ago, That description fits my Algebra I teacher. My chemistry teacher got in to teaching after several years as an industrial chemist. We lost our Physics teacher after a couple years when his commission was reactivated so he could work on the MX Missile project.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 12 2020, @08:06PM (4 children)
There are people who love math, love kids, and love teaching. They don't need to have Gauss's ability to do that. They could be taking a breather from working in industry, or be retired. They could love time off more than money.
As for pay, I can't speak for the whole country in one gulp, because it varies so much, but New York City pays its teachers well and gives them excellent benefits.
But all that is if you want a traditional, physical school. I think there's too much cruft in that system now, and needs a reset for the 21st century. Meanwhile, I'd much rather have my kids learning math from Salman Khan online that wasting their time taking "math vocabulary" tests in a sweltering room in an NYC public school.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday August 12 2020, @09:18PM (3 children)
There are people who love math, love kids, and love teaching. They don't need to have Gauss's ability to do that. They could be taking a breather from working in industry, or be retired. They could love time off more than money.
If there were a sufficient number of people fitting this description, we wouldn't have problems with insufficient teachers or incompetent teachers in school systems nationwide. It doesn't help that the school environment in many places is awful and discourages people from going into the profession.
As for pay, I can't speak for the whole country in one gulp, because it varies so much, but New York City pays its teachers well and gives them excellent benefits.
Of course there's some places that pay teachers better. But in general, in the US, teachers are not paid well, which is why we have so many problems attracting people to the profession. If this were not the case, then this wouldn't be an issue, would it? And does NYC really pay its teachers that well, relative to the extremely high cost-of-living there? Can they actually afford to live in NYC near the schools they work at, or do they have to commute in from cheaper places like Jersey City (which isn't even in the same state)?
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday August 13 2020, @12:24AM
Worse--Staten Island.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2020, @02:38AM
People think that those who can do some math are automatically good teachers. Bullshit.
Teaching as a skill in itself is totally undervalued. I would take a good teacher over specialist expertise any day of the week. Even at uni level - the teaching quality is far more relevant that the subject matter. Kids don't need motivation to learn, they just need the douchebag at the front to give it to them straight and not get hung up on whatever their problem is.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2020, @04:12PM
You should also factor in the continuing education that teachers are required to take - these are significant expenses on top of the 6-8 years of schooling any prospective teacher would be in debt for. If you can do math, that doesn't sound like a great choice.