Coronavirus

[apl68]

Our janitor is now out sick and awaiting the results of a COVID test.  She gets her work done mostly before the other staff arrive and hasn't had much close contact with the rest of us, but still....

[mamselle]

Uh-oh, you said another diagnosis could close you down, is that the case now?

Hope not...

M.

[apl68]

Uh-oh, you said another diagnosis could close you down, is that the case now?

Hope not...

M.

No, because she isn't a direct public service staff member.  Also, it appears that our previous sick employee will be released to come back to work soon.

[apl68]

We've seen occasional refusals to wear masks here at the library.  This morning I learned that we had a visitor yesterday who flashed a laminated card that purported to be an official exemption issued by the state.  I checked this morning and found that it's a scam.  I've told the staff to call me if anybody tries to scam them like that again. 

Between grant applications, preparing for the back-to-school surge, malfunctioning burglar alarms going off in the middle of the night, sick staff members, chronically worried staff members, etc. I've got better things to do than deal with ridiculous mask exemption scammers.  Plus this is the week of our mayoral election, and I'm hoping we don't have a change of boss in City Hall to deal with.

[AmLitHist]

I'm just back from a regular 3-month checkup with my internist.  He signed ADA request paperwork for me to remain off-campus "until such time as a safe and effective vaccine is widely available in [the metro area where I teach]."  I'm currently scheduled all online, plus one "live video lecture"/synchronous section for fall, but while all my sections are filled, most colleagues' aren't.  I can see my chair getting the bright idea to switch people around and, with me being low man on the seniority list, trying to push me to come and teach F2F.  Nope.  NOT happening (as I'm high-risk by three CDC factors).

[mamselle]

Several possible messages there:

   a) students know and like your teaching/work;
   b) they know you've done online before and you can do it well;
   c) more people want online than the admin folks dream of;
   d) your colleagues are known for NOT being good at online teaching.

Or some combination thereof.

But in any case, good for you.

And for having your necessary pieces of paper to wave around in the face of anyone trying to do you down otherwise....

;--]

M.

[wareagle]

Our governor has just mandated wearing of masks in public!  Belated, but at least it's happening now.  And I don't anticipate his being sabotaged by the legislature as has happened elsewhere.

Now we'll see how much the measure actually helps.  Masks are a really good idea, but they're not a cure-all.

Our governor is a dumb ass.

We must live in the same state.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Our governor has just mandated wearing of masks in public!  Belated, but at least it's happening now.  And I don't anticipate his being sabotaged by the legislature as has happened elsewhere.

Now we'll see how much the measure actually helps.  Masks are a really good idea, but they're not a cure-all.

Our governor is a dumb ass.

We must live in the same state.

Or maybe adjacent states.

[PhilRunner]

A friend just sent me this about her school:

http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2020/08/13/the-reopening-picture-at-appalachian-state-is-not-a-pretty-one/

[Cheerful]

A friend just sent me this about her school:
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2020/08/13/the-reopening-picture-at-appalachian-state-is-not-a-pretty-one/

Depressing.  Many university leaders and their assistants will have much to answer for in the coming weeks and months.

[histchick]

Our state's university system is holding classes on-campus.  Institutions have very little leeway in schedule, even for people who have health-related accommodations.  I live in a hotspot.  A honest-to-goodness NYT near-to-top-of-the-list hotspot. 

Classes just started, and nearly half of my students didn't show up for the first day.  What the hell are we actually doing here? 

Maybe this needs to be on the Venting Thread.  Sorry. 

[FishProf]

Classes just started, and nearly half of my students didn't show up for the first day.  What the hell are we actually doing here? 

Charades?  More likely Facades.  The idea is: "If we build it they will come.  If they don't, we did our part.  Don't blame us."

[spork]

Classes just started, and nearly half of my students didn't show up for the first day.  What the hell are we actually doing here? 

Charades?  More likely Facades.  The idea is: "If we build it they will come.  If they don't, we did our part.  Don't blame us."

The future is now.

[AmLitHist]

Classes just started, and nearly half of my students didn't show up for the first day.  What the hell are we actually doing here? 

Charades?  More likely Facades.  The idea is: "If we build it they will come.  If they don't, we did our part.  Don't blame us."

This is exactly what my place is doing with our F2F classes, and the "live virtual lecture" (LVL) sections (synchronous sessions), too.  When many of us with high-risk status begged for Admin to put our F2F sections online, they said, "Nope.  We have too many sections online already.  Our students need to be F2F to learn, and they want these F2F seats available."

Uh, really?  Then why have my online classes all been filled to capacity since mid-July, with more online sections being added every week, but my one LVL is made at half-capacity and the other (elective) LVL will get cut because it's remained in single digits all this time?  And why are my dept. colleagues who only have fully LVL sections nowhere close to making load--in fact, most are doing good to be at half-capacity in ONE section, if that? 

Of course, this is the same Admin that told us last year, "We've decided to go back to a MWF / TR schedule--students have begged for the MWF to return instead of just the MW and TR options."  As soon as students heard of the change, they went on a warpath, refusing to sign up for the MWF sections:  most of the students at our campus don't have cars and have to rely on parents, friends, or cabs for rides, or to use public buses (which often take 2+ hours to get from a student's suburb/subdivision to our campus less than 5 miles away). They most decidedly did NOT want to add an extra day of commuting.  While they could never produce ONE student who asked for the change, Admin kept the new MWF and TR schedule, and sure enough, about 40% of the MWF sections on our campus were cut for low/no enrollment, while other sections ran by just barely making (i.e., 15 of the 25 student cap), and many of those were down to 3-5 students still attending by semester's end.  This is a poor area, and our students work 40+ hours/week, care for kids and elders, etc.

What's the relevance to COVID times?  Those same students aren't wanting to commit to sitting in front of a screen two or three times a week just to stay enrolled, when they could take the same class online, do the work on their own schedule, and Zoom or Collaborate when they need help or during office hours.  And most faculty I've talked to feel the same way.  I know I sure as hell don't need an audience twice a week to satisfy my ego or whatever; since >70% of our students don't have home internet access, I expect to have very low LVL participation during the weekdays.  When they're in online classes, students can make an evening/day of it at a friend's house to use the wifi, or make other time-efficient plans to get online, rather than breaking up the week/work/child care to try to run to a hotspot to get online at a certain time for 75 minutes two or three days a week. It's asinine.

What the hell are we doing, indeed.  I'm planning to see if/how/how closely those LVLs are monitored from above and then switching mine to online, "drop in with questions during class time if you can" sessions, and then being extremely flexible via Zoom, Collaborate, etc.  The worst that can happen is I'll get a letter of insubordination in my file; they can't fire me without three such letters. 

[pigou]

Classes just started, and nearly half of my students didn't show up for the first day.  What the hell are we actually doing here? 

Reminded me of restaurants in my city when they were first officially allowed to open. Lots of tables outside, everyone ready to serve brunch... I counted two occupied tables across a dozen restaurants or so that would normally be packed.

What's surprising to me is how few schools have made an actual, honest effort to find out how many students are even willing to return to campus. I've seen ridiculous reports where all the non-responders were treated as not preferring online over in-person. I can see why a school would be financially motivated to push for in person classes, so this is good publicity in the short term. But they're also burning a lot of money by having widely unrealistic beliefs about what the Fall is going to look like.

If students paid for Fall housing and they get kicked out three weeks into the semester when the school transitions to online classes, they're going to sue the university irrespective of the contract they signed.