Arming teachers to deter/defend against school shootings is a terrible idea. Long thread ahead:

1. 2. The viewpoint is obviously attractive to a segment of gun ownership advocates. The idea that a "good guy with a gun" stops a "bad guy with a gun" is an item of faith for many despite the fact that it is largely mythology:

pbs.org/newshour/natio…

.@DrLeanaWen's ongoing take of "drop restrictions and don't put them back unless we're already heading towards a stressed medical system" is almost certainly part of why my recently widowed father has COVID and why I am almost certainly going to get it (1) @DrLeanaWen 2) Dad lives in a senior community that dropped mask restrictions which were basically the only restrictions left. I visit him regularly since Mom's death, and while I am still masking in most public settings, that is not possible having dinner.

I have a very personal illustration of just how "Is she hospitalized for COVID or with COVID?" is not the flex people who want to downplay the seriousness of our pandemic situation is.

This is about my mother and her hospitalization WITH COVID and why you need to shut it. (1)

https://twitter.com/Prof_Katz/status/1480186534703906819

2. I've mentioned briefly before. My mother has stage 4 cancer. It is rare and serious, and her prognosis is not good. She is currently undergoing aggressive chemo to try to give her back some quality of life and more months of it.

A little metaphor on the change from 6 feet of distance to 3 feet of distance..because the devil is always in the details that are rarely discussed. In the case of COVID mitigation that is everything besides distance that should be in place to make 3 feet possible. 1. 2. So imagine a car that has a great safety rating. Sure, you CAN be injured or killed in it, but under most scenarios you are okay in it to certain speeds according to rigorous testing and thoughtful engineering.

So across the country and at all levels from early childhood to graduate school, educators have rushed to pivot from in person to distance learning models. The idea is to make the best of a terrible situation and to fulfill our promise to learners everywhere. 1 And, by the grace of G-d, we are doing it. We are out of our comfort zone, adapting technologies we never used, and mapping out how to salvage learning out of this massive disruption that we never trained for. 2

1. While revelations about sexual misconduct and assault are grabbing entertainment and political headlines, #HigherEducation leaders should be asking themselves about their own institutions. 2. There are over 3000 4 year degree granting institutions in the country and 1700 2 year institutions enrolling roughly 20 million students. Title IV institutions employ 3.9 million individuals.