Covid-19 – Page 2 – Los Angeles Education Examiner

An Updated Stack Of Links On COVID-19, LAUSD And Resources For Families

Please be wary of what you read on the internet, folks. I came across so much that is so suspect. From “public health professionals” no less, too. Following below is a list of reliable sources of information.

The last section at the bottom contains some crowd-sourced parent-lists of activities and Education-y suggestions. Other’s lists haven’t been vetted for accuracy. But they’re also less risky as they are, at least, not directives. Please take your information from public health agencies directly, not from random social media postings of folks self-titled as “pediatricians” or “epidemiologists” or “healthcare professionals”. Remember, on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.

LA EdEx’s updated resource links:

Stick To The Science, Stick To The Facts, And Stick Together

… a great mantra, as important for quotidian matters as during this time of pandemic. It was invoked as the guiding light of the State’s Covid-19 task force according to Carmela Coil, head of the CA Hospital Association (@1:04:04). Our public officials have been scrabbling all day to forward practical advice and transparency amidst directives hewed from excruciating tradeoffs – earnings, childcare, learning, economic impact, public health, safety, protection.

As Mayor Garcetti says, the choices we each make to further social distancing, do matter. See an example of our actions “flatten the curve” here (@ 5:25). And an exploration of geometric growth (@ 2:34) that demonstrates its potential convincingly and explains the course of a pandemic. Empirically simulate these phenomena for yourself to comprehend more intuitively how quickly these numbers grow, and may be contained. Figure 1 below shows the progress to date of diagnosed cases in Los Angeles County.

A close up of a map

Description automatically generated — *Figure 1: Daily incidence of diagnosed Covid-19, LA County,* 1/26/20-3/16/20

Growing likewise geometrically is a vast array of resources compiled by fellow parents and District staff to aid the forced homeschooling of so many. The “Science Mom” (assisted by Math Dad) who explained Covid-19 above has initiated a daily “QuaranTime” livestream (8am PST) that will make all of us (aged 7-12+++; I am learning a lot) smarter and happier.

Explaining Coronavirus to Kids

So you’re on day two (or more for the more cautious of us) of your efforts of being a homeschooler and the kids are asking one question that you’re having trouble answering:

Daddy (gender is male because it’s my kids asking me in this parable) what actually is the Coronavirus?

Like any “good parent in the 21st century” I knew exactly what to do. I spent a half hour on YouTube to find a video that works for my kids (ages 1st and 4th grade). Here it is:

Kids a little older, middle schoolers, might get more out of this video.

And for the scientists and high schoolers, this video gives a more adult breakdown.

And Yet, There Are Collateral Benefits

It’s not what you’d wish on your worst enemy, but all the same, there are bright spots amidst the coronavirus (CV) landscape.

On a brief (auto) trip to the bakery this weekend I passed through numerous residential neighborhoods, every one of which sported people outside, recreating. On bikes, with basketballs in hand, walking dogs, planting trees, shouting socially-distanced pleasantries – it was absolutely plain as could be that people everywhere were plonked back to the future in slower, simpler pleasures like gallomph-jogging side-by-side, challenging each other in bicycling-pairs to summit a hill, corralling the kids to participate in household chores and pet-care.

Who knew that contentious traffic calming measures of late would suddenly be rendered moot, casualties of the CV pandemic that has parked us all in our neighborhoods, not somewhere else. Maybe all we’ve really been needing was relief from the tyranny of scheduled events and organized activities.

Why It Might Matter To Close Your School

It’s understandable to look at the fatality and even incidence rate of Covid-19 here in Los Angeles and think:

“Huh? Why the panic; far, far more people die of the flu annually, and we’re all healthy here. A little cold’s no big deal, most people will survive, particularly kids, and besides, I have no way to care for (or feed) the kids during the daytime.”

There are a lot of issues in there to unpack, but most importantly, the considerations surrounding school closure are not about individual risk or anyone’s personal chance of survival. At issue is a sensible, effective public health response to a local health emergency and a global pandemic.

The concern is that those who do suffer adverse effects from the novel coronavirus will need access to hospitals, hospital beds, ventilators and a sizable medical staff. With huge estimates of the ultimately infected population, if transmission happens too rapidly, the health infrastructure could be overrun and vital care unavailable when a lot of people need it.