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Wearing masks is also about keeping schools open. Yes, the risk to kids is low, but they are unvaccinated so outbreaks can and do happen. Substitutes are hard

Wearing masks is also about keeping schools open. Yes, the risk to kids is low, but they are unvaccinated so outbreaks can and do happen. Substitutes are hard to get right now in most school districts and if you have an outbreak and even 5 percent of the teachers are home sick it is a very real possibility there won’t be a substitute to cover. In my local school district principals and administrators are covering classrooms for sick teachers because there are not enough subs. Teachers would traditionally just go to school sick, because they don’t get much sick time and even if they are sick they have to write a lesson plan for the sub, but now what do you do? Do you go to school even though you have a cold that could be covid? Do you write sub plans for a sub that might not be there? Bus drivers are also opting out because many are elderly and at high risk and the pay sucks so the risk reward isn’t there even if they are vaccinated. Same with lunch ladies, janitors, you name it. There is a staffing crisis in education right now. Teachers are burned out and those that can retire are at a higher rate than before. It is a mess. So no, children, even unvaccinated, aren’t likely to have complications from Covid, but wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating.

mlyle 5y ago
This is a really good point, too: coverage for classes is hard. I've got a great workplace and we've not really had attrition, but when it comes time to find a sub we're facing a crazy marketplace: lots of teachers have left the profession; lots of people that would sub before are not bothering; and everyone needs more subs than the previous baseline.
- actfrench 5y ago
  It's gotten worse and worse. There was just an article published in NPR at how schools are closing again on really short notice due to staff shortages. That said, when I was a sub in NYC, it was incredibly hard to get certified (really long training process and quite challenging test), and then when we did start working, we only got paid $150/day. The only reason I could even apply to sub was because I was a bilingual educator. Otherwise, they weren't taking new applications. So finding qualified people through a rigorous vetting process and then only paying them $150 is not a great recipe for having a plethora of substitute teachers around. https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1057979170/school-closures-mental-health-days-families-childcare-thanksgiving-break https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1057979170/school-closures-me...
stolenmerch 5y ago
> Substitutes are hard to get right now in most school districts > wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating I think those are great points and I often try to look at it from the perspective of my child's teacher, not to mention the regulatory nightmares the administration goes through. I am friends and family with many public school teachers. I also think that's the point of the article though. It's hard to get a sub because teachers are quitting, not because of being out sick.

mlyle 5y ago

This is a really good point, too: coverage for classes is hard. I've got a great workplace and we've not really had attrition, but when it comes time to find a sub we're facing a crazy marketplace: lots of teachers have left the profession; lots of people that would sub before are not bothering; and everyone needs more subs than the previous baseline.

actfrench 5y ago
It's gotten worse and worse. There was just an article published in NPR at how schools are closing again on really short notice due to staff shortages. That said, when I was a sub in NYC, it was incredibly hard to get certified (really long training process and quite challenging test), and then when we did start working, we only got paid $150/day. The only reason I could even apply to sub was because I was a bilingual educator. Otherwise, they weren't taking new applications. So finding qualified people through a rigorous vetting process and then only paying them $150 is not a great recipe for having a plethora of substitute teachers around. https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1057979170/school-closures-mental-health-days-families-childcare-thanksgiving-break https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1057979170/school-closures-me...

stolenmerch 5y ago

> Substitutes are hard to get right now in most school districts > wearing masks in schools might help just enough to keep schools open and operating I think those are great points and I often try to look at it from the perspective of my child's teacher, not to mention the regulatory nightmares the administration goes through. I am friends and family with many public school teachers. I also think that's the point of the article though. It's hard to get a sub because teachers are quitting, not because of being out sick.