School is Coming

It's looming.

Whether we all want to deal with it or not.

School is coming.

No matter the choice we make with and/or for our children and family members, it's the right one. There is no right or wrong.

There's no judgment here. You do you. I'm doing me. And good luck and good health to both of us.

We've made our decision, as a family, based upon our family's health history and dynamic, as well as both parents professions. My family will be doing online learning. Yes, because both parents are online educators. But also because the start of the school year always brings home the myriad illnesses, and what could be a sniffle in my 11-yr-old could be a life-altering, or perhaps -ending, disease in my almost 14-year-old, me, or my husband. #AndAlso bc that's what we as a family collectively decided. Oh, and #Science and #Data also play a big part in our decision making, too.

So, the institution for which my husband and I are employed decided during the spring quarter that we would be online for fall. Except for specific programs and labs, for which there will be social/physical distancing requirements, including masks covering the nose and mouth. Please contact your advisor for further information. Also, we are, as an institution, still open and operating during the summer, and many of us are even prepping for the fall quarter...

...and here y'all thought we did nothing but sit around gettin some type of cancer or a broken arm every summer! Nope, we're working! #TeamAnderson

But, anyway. Distance learning...my husband and I chose to have a discussion with our sons about what our employer had planned...and what we anticipated public school to look like for them upon their return in the fall. We talked about masks covering their nose and mouth, the physical distancing, we didn't know what PE or recess or assemblies would look like...but to not even worry about those pieces yet. This was one of many conversations with my children throughout the spring...and ultimately, my community was waiting for our local school district to make decisions about how to best offer learning opportunities for the community given the pandemic...and we weren't gonna know anything until at least the end of June or early July.

When the opportunities were presented, we provided the information to our children.

We talked about the ABAB face-to-face model as a learning opportunity, where they'd go to school on a staggered style: Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday, with Wednesday being an online learning day...or maybe a massive cleaning day. Both? And my kids were a firm no on that. Because, as my 11-year-old son pointed out, why bother going for two days and risk getting anything, let alone COVID? #HesASmartCookie

While my husband and I made the decision back in the spring regarding what to do with our children's education in the fall, we wanted to give our kids the information and give them the opportunity to think about the options, and come to conclusions on their own. #Democracy

Yet, we also wanted to gently guide them and encourage them to not go to school because #Parenting

 

We kept close eyes on what universities and colleges across America decided regarding the fall term. When the entire University of California System said no face-to-face learning for the fall...as educators, we knew those universities made the right decisions for their communities.

We also looked at the data trends within Clallam County. On the one hand, it's kinda cool that we can start to see trends in the data and now have enough cases that we can get a break-down by age and regional distribution of COVID-19. On the other hand, this means we're seeing an increase in cases in our county, and we all need to recognize that we are all living here together and to please do our best to follow the rules and wear masks. Please. And thank you.

The local county health department data show, at the time of this writing, that the highest numbers of cases were in the following age ranges: 20 cases of 10-19 year olds; and approximately 17 cases in the 50 year olds. And that's my family of fellas. Except me: I'm in my late 40's and there's only like six cases...so my age group is low because we're all dealing with oppressive midlife crises and are masking up. Oh, and of course the kids in their 20's also have about 18 cases, according to local data...but everyone knows you're invincible in your 20's...right? #sarcasm 

 

But, the point is, you don't want to be on the bar graph. You with me? For real.

So, am I sending my children into the Petri dish that is school? #FuckNo

You are? Fantastic. Good for you. Totally support you. Totally. Because I have absolutely no idea what your life is like, and I'm absolutely not judging you. I have confidence that you had numerous discussions with your children and family members and that you making the best decision with and for your children and family.

Because we can't NOT talk about COVID. It has consumed our culture. My kids incorporate it into their play. I tell my nearly 14-year-old son, the one who is developmentally delayed...yeah, I say, "Wash your hands and make big bubbles. You need to get rid of all the COVID." For real. I wish I didn't have to say things like that to my son; but I get to. #ISurvivedBreastCancerForThis

I also wish our country, our economy, and our culture did not make it so parents are actively having to choose between being employed and caring for children. I hope someday that people are not forced to choose between caregiving and employment.

I recognize that my level of education, the color of my skin, my gender and my chosen profession award me certain benefits and that I am very fortunate to be employed and that my family has health insurance. Because my family is expensive.

Why? My family has been hit by lightning too many times. I've bloodied my knuckles climbing out of pediatric neurological disorders, as well as mine and my husbands cancers, and the unimaginably seriously fucking oppressive stress that naturally accompanies those life-threatening health issues.

So, sending my kids to the school during a pandemic? Even though the numbers in my county are still, kinda...currently...low? No. I'm just not into borrowing trouble.

My older son, needs 1:1 support throughout much of his day...and so how's that gonna work with physical distancing? Not to mention the stress of having to keep a mask on all day. And see classmates and teachers in masks? Ummm...#Anxiety much? He's got a formal diagnosis of anxiety, so how in the fuck do you work all of that mask-wearing, hand-washing, physical distancing in to an Individualized Education Plan?

I have zero desire to deal with that. And, thankfully, neither does my kiddo with special health needs. #HesASmartCookie

Oh, and have I mentioned he's o

All the pharms
(top, AM doses; bottom PM doses)

n a shit ton of medication to help control his seizures? The upside of him being home since mid-March is he's now having fewer seizures because he's not plugged into a computer all fuckin day like he was at school, thank you very much. I mean, if he's gonna be plugged in all day, he can do that shit at home, bitch. #ForReal #YouGuys

 And this kid always, always, gets hit the hardest and the longest during cold and flu season...his body works really really hard to process all the hundreds of milligrams of anti-seizure meds.

#AndAlso the price of said anti-seizure meds: $850 a month.

 

#ThankYouUniverseForHealthInsurance

Honestly, the kid's as happy as a clam sitting in his room making playlists on his Alexa Dot, playing with his Rubik's cube. Hanging with Mochi.

Mochi's favorite mask. For real. He's a fan.

He's having an ok summer. He is glad to get out of the house and go to Hapkido twice a week. He and I are training partners, and we're having a lot of fun throwing each other around and learning how to correctly break each other in half! 

But 11...he's a little more tricky...like many of the neurotypcial younger siblings that I know, my second son is much more social than my first. He misses his best friend, as well as his Hapkido training partner, both of which are wonderful and amazing young ladies. It's his fabulous man hair. He gets that from me, you guys. Because he certainly doesn't get it from his father. #Bald

 

And it's not that my kids don't want to go to school. They do. They miss their friends and the trusted adults they work with. My kids miss sports. My kids miss life as they knew it and absolutely long for a sense of normalcy in all of this craziness.

While I understand that there's a longing in people to "get back to normal"...in my mind, there is no "going back".... Really, we can only keep moving forward.

When I had my first needle biopsy done on my breast, before we knew I had cancer, I remember that the female tech that was assisting the physician told me that the first needle biopsy was always the scariest because it's a brand new invasive test. And then she said that she was a stage 4 breast cancer survivor, she had a double mastectomy and reconstruction (didn't plastics do a fine job? she was quite pleased) and that her cancer experience caused her to learn to live differently for a while...and she learned to live in a new normal.

My 11 yr old and his new Star Wars mask

That woman and her words have stayed with me for five years. And I think that's what we all need to do is learn to live differently for a while.

But to define "a while"...I have to look to the last pandemic which was the 1918 Spanish Flu. And that motherfucker raged our planet for two full years. And ya know how they got rid of it? Masks! For real! And, by the way, masks were political 102 years ago. There was even an Anti-Mask League based in San Francisco.

 

During the Spanish Flu pandemic, schools in major cities remained open, at risk to students and teachers. And, of course, the families supporting the kids and the adults. But back then, "Some cities, such as Boston and New York City, established school corps, comprised of medical inspectors who made daily rounds through the public schools to determine the health status of individual children and entire classrooms."

 

Wait! What? They had physicians in public schools who had eyes on kids every day. Can you imagine if we had that now? Even before COVID? 

 

But, back in 1918, many American families didn't have flushing toilets and hot running water from a tap in their homes. And bathrooms in NYC? #forgitaboudit Bathrooms were communal. You, me, my family, you family, and probably all the families on the entire floor of our highrise apt are sharing that limited space. #germs Oh, and someone would have to be responsible for running the chamber pot downstaris to the Night Soil Removers. #forreal

Or, you could just take a dump in the outhouse on the corner. Your choice. 

Thankfully, many people in Western cultures now get to poop in a toilet in their own bathroom and wash their hands with hot water from the tap. But, not everyone in the world is as lucky as us. And if you wanna learn more, please feel free to check out this TED Talk called Let's Talk Crap. Seriously. It's brilliant. 

But, let's get back to school. Because school is coming.

 

And so, if it means you're choosing to not send your kids to school, and do whatever type of learning works best for you and your family...? That is fantastic. 

And if you are sending your kids to school...? That is equally fantastic.

 

But, I have the some questions. And, no, I'm not starting a fight. These are legit questions I have, and I'm curious to know if other people are thinking about this, too...?

What about immunocompromised elders? And I'm not talking grandparents. Parents are elders too. What about parents?

What about immunocomopromised children who are at school? How will those kiddos stay safe? 

Why did the GOP cancel their national convention in Florida? Why did the individual currently occupying the Oval Office say "I looked at my team and I said the timing for this event is not right. It's just not right with what's been happening." Translation: my handlers said I can't have a pep rally for me bc COVID. #Hypocrisy

But the GOP wants to send your kids & teachers to school? So, in my mind, they are saying "we're more important than you, so we're canceling our biggest in-person event of the entire year, but you peasants can just go to school." Why are people accepting this bullshit? Because that's exactly what the fuck it is: BULLSHIT.

What about the pictures of reopened schools that are making their way across the internet? You know the ones...where kids are seen crowded together in hallways and classrooms and maskless? And what about that little second grader down in Georgia who tested positive for COVID on the first day of school? FIRST DAY! Sweet Baby Jesus! How many people did that little dude expose? 

 

Or what about an entire fourth grade class in North Carolina, who are now quarantining? Worth noting: the individual currently occupying Number One Observatory Circle, who is commonly known as Pence...as well as Secretary of Education DoucheVos personally visited this chain of private schools and chose to not wear masks. So, lemme get this straight: they visited a private school, told the folks at the school how important it is that they are opening, but refused to wear masks so they didn't protect anyone? Um...way to model that example there, federal administrators.

How do you feel about the fact that some teachers are preparing wills as they get ready to go back to school? I mean, it's absoultely a great idea that if we are adults that we have a will in place. Especially if we have children. Because, if something unexpected and potentially catastrophic were to happen to you and or your children's other parent...speaking from experience...it's a damn good idea to have one. But as part of prep for the school year...?

If you send your child to school, who is responsible for providing the mask your child is going to wear?

And, did you know that the recommendation from Johns Hopkins Medicine is to wear the mask once? ONE TIME! And then you gotta wash it! So, basically, you gotta treat your mask like it's shitty underwear. Parents, are you hearing me? And, no, you don't get to turn your mask inside out and wear it a second time. Masks are a one shot deal, if you will. #shotmywad So, do you have enough masks, and enough laundry detergent, to keep up? And do you have the time and energy to wash your children's masks each day? #BossLevelBitchChores

 

Finally, how in the goddamn are teachers supposed to keep kids physically distant during an active shooter drill? Or an actual active shooter? I know. They'll all hide like they're supposed to. But, still. This is a real-life situation that students, teachers, and administrators are gonna need to deal with.

 

I get it. This is a really big fuckin deal. Nobody likes change. 

 

I get that schools are responsible for so much more than "just" educating our kids. Health care, nutrition, child care, making sure they are safe and loved while they are at school which is basically mental health care. So, if schools are that important, why is the fed cutting funds and cutting funds and cutting funds and expecting teachers to do more and more and more with less and less and less? And, by the way, the individual currently occupying the Oval Office can't just cut funding to schools. Motherfucker's mouth runs faster than his atrophying brain.

 

But every time Governor Inslee makes an announcement people "can't even with him" and they "need to take a social media break." I get that people don't like the fact that the man is the bearer of news they don't want to hear. But really, if you don't like the fact that Governor Inslee is relying on scientific data to make decisions about your health, there are several states that don't rely on data and I'm sure they'd be happy to receive you. Please feel free to look into Arizona, Texas, and/or Florida, where the governors of those states are totally fuckin Mochi about the health of their constituents.

 

Is Inslee doing the right thing by saying that schools can reopen based upon the county's caseload. Today, that's the right decision.

 

Do I anticipate that it will change? Absolutely. 

 

I think it's a good idea to cancel sports? As much as it sucks, yes. Please note, both of my children are athletes. 13 is a gold medalist in Special Olympics Basketball. And he has kicked some major ass in SO Bowling. And 11 is Messi (aren't they all?). And yes, they absolutely miss their sports. And yes, my husband and I absolutely miss watching them play.

And, as much as Inslee is the one saying what he is, he's getting recommendations from the Washington State Deparement of Health as well as the Washington Office of Public Instruction. 

 

I don't think he wants to be the bearer of this news. But it's his job. And I anticipate his job is gonna get a little tougher as we get closer to the school year starting in September. And then into the fall and even into the winter. Becasue, no matter how badly we want it to go away, COVID is gonna be here. 

 

And I think we all need to be prepared that even if everyone does go back to school, there's a good chance we'll have a second wave...pay attention the history of diseases. The Spanish Flu of 1918...? Three waves and 50 million deaths worldwide. So look alive, please! #payattention

 

Vaccine? Too soon. The quickest turn around for any vaccination to be successfully created and properly tested was four years, and it was for the mumps. In 1963, a child named Jeryl Lynn was sick with the mumps. Fortunately for her, her dad was a microbiologist named Maurice Hilleman...and as luck would have it, he specialized in vaccinology (no really, it's a thing). So, basically, he used his daughter's mumps and created the vaccine, and then it was tested in rats and then in people and then in 1967, the vaccine was licensed and mass produced and that's why mumps is no longer a childhood illness. You're welcome. And, worth noting, Hilleman is responsible for creating a whole bunch of vaccines and keeping us healthy. Check out the link I provided on his name. And thank you, Dr Hilleman. I sincerely wish you were with us today to help with the current pandemic.

 

So, anyway, my point, wrapping all of this up because it's #bongthirty or #wineoclock somewhere, is that we all get to learn to live differently for a while. 

 

And if that means you are choosing to send your kids to school because of your reasons, that is totally fantastic. Good luck.

 

And, if you're choosing to do homeschool, or virtual school, or even take a year off of providing a "formal" education for your kids, that is equally fantastic. Unschooling is cool.

The bottom line is we're all making what we feel are the best decisions for our family. And we need to support one another in those decisions.

 

You do you. I'm doing me. And good luck and good health to both of us.

And thanks for reading. x