No, thank you - at least at first. I am low-risk. I would need to see some pretty hefty data (thousands upon thousands of people) that prove that the risk to me from COVID is greater than the risk of me having an adverse reaction to the vaccine. I'll periodically rethink my decision as I get older or if I develop other risk factors.

My point is that they're not being used effectively and it's not realistic to expect them to be used effectively by enough people to actually slow transmission. That's my theory, anyway. I see people all the time who are well-intentioned, doing their part... but their cotton masks gave gaps above the nose. Basically, there's "effective in a lab" and "effective in the real world." I think masks fail on the latter point. The most ironic outbreak semi-local to me is at a county Public Health office. White collar public health workers, y'all. Those employees are masked and motivated. And still, the disease spread. I had my mammogram done a month ago (yay.) and "behind the scenes" (treatment area, away from the lobby) every worker but the mammogram tech was unmasked. She was fine with me unmasking for the procedure. No outbreaks at that facility. Anyway, I look at all this stuff and I think: this doesn't make sense. If masks help slow the spread then why aren't they helping to slow the spread? What I hear from our governor and what I see with my own two eyes don't match. Things aren't adding up. I don't want others to get hurt, but I also don't want to just blindly agree with whatever the powers that be declare is true or good or necessary, even when it clearly contradicts what I see. So, on the point of masks being useful at slowing the transmission on a practical level, I remain unconvinced. I'll continue wearing the mask to shop because it's not a hill worth dying on for me, but I have no delusions that I'm performing some great public good by doing it. I don't really have anything else to add to this. I wish you well. Stay healthy ❤️

How realistic is that goal?

I have a theory. Sterile masks, made of effective materials, fitted properly, used perfectly (e.g. medical professionals in a hospital setting), may be useful in slowing the transmission. In a similar way, birth control pills, used perfectly, slow the transmission of pregnancy 🙂 But, in the real world the pill's effectiveness rate is around 91% (still not bad, but if you really, really don't want to get pregnant, that's a fair amount of risk.) link Meanwhile, you have masks made of any and everything (surgical masks, two-layer cotton, bandannas, single-layer stretchy t-shirt material, fleece gaters...), often worn with visible gaps in the area above the nose and on the sides, usually not washed between wearing. Now throw in people unconsciously touching and adjusting their masks, as well as bearded mask wearers. After all this you get a generally ineffective method of slowing the spread. Oh, and don't forget that at private gatherings, nearly everyone is mask-less - and the government cannot (and should not) regulate these private spaces. This would explain California's spike, in spite of have a mask mandate for public spaces. I think the reduction in effectiveness is far greater than the pill's ~ 10%.

But we have mandatory masks in both of those places, so... ? <ducks and runs>

Yes. I don't see how A/C would be a big factor since most people are in single-family homes. BUT... it would be interesting to find out if there are outbreaks in apartment complexes. There are so many factors that come in to play.

That's interesting. I wonder why there'd be a difference? In my county we have infection rates north of 15% right now. Pre-mask mandate - when hardly anyone besides workers were masked in stores - it was well under 10% (6-7?%) I'm not suggesting that the masks have caused the spike (the GF protests sparked it, imo), they just haven't slowed the spread to any significant degree.

I suspect that masks don't work well because after the mask mandate we saw a HUGE spike in Covid-19 cases. The mask mandate doesn't appear to have made a dent at all. Also, it seems to me that if the masks worked like they're supposed to, social distancing wouldn't be necessary. They're supposed to contain the droplets that carry the virus. If they worked (contained the droplets), then it would be fine for people to be within 6 feet of each other. If they don't work, then social distancing remains necessary. Bottomline: I think the recommendations (masks, social distancing) are contradictory and unnecessary in most situations, since the virus is not dangerous for most people. (Compare case fatality rates by age to the seasonal flu.) If you or someone you're with is a member of a vulnerable population (elderly, medically fragile) then, yes, do all you can. But I don't think shutting down our state, and cutting ourselves off from physical contact with friends and loved ones is necessary or good.

No, we're not socially distancing anymore. Mental health matters, too. I'm in California and in the 2(?) months since the mask mandate our positive numbers have skyrocketed and have continued to climb. The mask mandate was worth a shot, but it didn't help. I wish Newsom would scrap it, but that won't happen. I miss seeing peoples' faces. Stay home if you're sick. Wash your hands. Observe all the normal seasonal flu precautions (they'll work for Covid, too). Don't panic; it's bad for both your mental health and immune system. Everything's going to be okay. 🥰

Because when I ask the question I generally get snotty responses. I appreciated SneezyOne giving actual examples that can be discussed.

Do you want to have a conversation about this? You're painting with a pretty broad brush. Can you be more specific? What are some laws or actual policies in place that promote/maintain inequality in those systems? I tend to agree that the social safety net system is deeply dysfunctional and is designed to keep people fed and poor (my DH works for them, I could tell stories that would turn you Libertarian) - but even with that, I don't see it as targeting a specific race or ethnicity. He works in a predominantly white county. Same garbage is there as in the more racially diverse communities.

Does it need to be online? I don't know of anything online, but have you checked out Wieser Educational?

Which systems?

Deleted. I got too political.

Yup. Living in California, one learns to keep one's mouth shut in public... or else. All the California "tolerance" has left me speechless. 😂

I'm of two minds about this issue. On the one hand, I think it is much, much better to leave peacefully, wishing others well as you go, than let it get to the point where real emotional and relational damage is done. On the other hand, maybe some self-reflection is in order. Is the issue really as big as it feels? Is it possible that two people can reasonably disagree (most issues: yes). I think we should ask ourselves "Is this a hill worth dying on?" If you have too many hills, you'll be left without community. That's not what you want. Most of the stuff that feels big, and annoying, and frustrating isn't worth ending a relationship over. I think there's real value in extending grace and remembering that they're not perfect, but neither am I.

I hope there's no second stimulus check (our country can't afford it), but there almost certainly will be one. If the credit card is burning a hole in Congress' pocket, I'd rather those trillions of dollars be put towards temporarily expanding and increasing income eligibility limits for safety net programs. On the other hand, that isn't the goal of the checks, so... yup. I feel a little like a spectator at a circus right now. Pass the popcorn, enjoy the show.

Seconding the suggestion for PAC. It's secular and set-up similarly to CLE's light units.

A man who is active in the Mormon church was inappropriate with a teenager. It wasn't anything illegal, just stuff he said to the teen, but was still extremely concerning and suggests strongly he may be unsafe with kids/teens. I'm not going to the police (again: nothing illegal, just pervy and gross) but I think his church should be made aware so that they can at least make sure he doesn't have access to young people within that context. So, my question: who should I contact? Thank you.

I feel like you're taking what I say literally when I'm speaking in hyperbole. Which is actually weirdly relevant to the discussion. I took what certain authors and speakers said/wrote literally when perhaps they were intentionally overstating their case to make a point. Either way, I think the people I have in mind have a lot to offer and I don't literally want any of them to stop speaking/writing.

So... just to clarify. I'm not anti-homeschooling. And this forum is not representative of the mindset I'm talking about at all, which is why it's safer to rant about it here than on one of the many homeschool fb groups I belong to. If you want to meet some true believers join a homeschooling group on fb. The mindless, thoughtless encouragement for homeschooling in train wreck situations is prolific. I think some parents can homeschool very well, either through natural teaching ability or outsourcing or whatever. Some parents (me) feel forced to give it their all and hope for the best because of circumstances outside of their control. When I talk about the Homeschooling Cult it's the rigid mindset that homeschooling is the end-all, be-all and anything less is a sort of failure. It's a real thing. I'm arguing against my own (mostly unconscious) adherence to this mindset, fed by certain authors and speakers that I really admire even still (based on her latest book, I'm excluding SWB). Meanwhile curriculum providers can give false assurances that of course anyone can teach XYZ subject. Just use their product. I want to see myself as an independent thinker. In many ways I am. But with this issue, I haven't been. Weirdly enough, I wasn't (and still am not) concerned about how other people educate their kids. Different strokes, and all that. But for me... entertaining the idea of dramatically changing course left me feeling like I was failing because I bought into the messaging that, particularly as a Christian, homeschooling is the holy grail of education. Christian school was a reasonable alternative, but never affordable for us. Public school is awful always. And now here I am considering a p/t public high school and it's rocking my worldview. I do have choices. And unless the authors/speakers are going to come into my home and teach my kids, then perhaps they need to just can it. On the other hand, we may end up continuing with homeschooling (with tweaking). Who knows. We have choices. Each has its pros and cons. None of them makes me a failure as a mom. When something isn't working, good moms pivot, right?

(This is sort of frustrated, ranty rambling. Thank you for bearing with me) I'm doing some soul-searching as my family wades through an enormously difficult time. Anyway, it got me thinking about education and the idea that we can get into a cultish mindset about homeschooling. It makes you feel like you have no choices beyond parent-directed home education. And this is the best education option, and if you don't homeschool, then do you even love Jesus or your children? But, you know what? I suck at teaching math and science, and it shows, and it's an issue. Not every parent can teach every subject. Stop pretending we can! And YES some kids really do learn best in classroom settings. And NO it's not fair to expect kids to self-teach subjects that we're weak in. And the socialization thing... OK, it's more about socializing, but it does matter. Let's stop pretending it doesn't or that once a week youth group is going to cut it for most kids. We need to put as much thought into our socializing plans (tailored to the needs of each kid) as we do into picking the rest of our curriculum. I value homeschooling (really!). We may in fact continue doing it (with major tweaking). But I find myself weary of the rigid mindset that education choices are black/white, good/bad. And I want to kick myself for falling into that mindset. My heart was in the right place. My motive has always been love.

10 yo is really young. He might not be gay, he might just be figuring things out. I hate the pressure we put on kids that a "crush" at a young age = you're gay, it's permanent, break out the rainbow confetti. I mean, sure, maybe he is, but I guess what I would tell the parent is to stay calm. If it were my son, I'd remind him that daddy and I love him no matter what, and encourage him to be patient and give himself time to grow up before he identifies as anything. A friend on mine's 18 yo daughter was describing this phenomenon in high school: freshman year a bunch of girls came out as lesbian, by junior year they were dating boys exclusively and wondering what they were even thinking back in freshman year. Sexuality is complicated and hormones are crazy things. The fact that he's had crushes on girls suggests that if he's gay (big if, dude he's 10!!!) then he's not exclusively same-sex attracted. So, given his community's standards, if the same-sex attraction continues, I'd talk to him about not acting on it and limiting his romantic partners to girls since he's attracted to them, too.

So, the plan is to work through Painless American Government with DD. I love how streamlined it is. I love that it's easy and light. Anyone know of a similar title for Economics that's streamlined, easy, light, gets the job done? Barron's doesn't have a "Painless Economics" 😞 She strongly prefers books and workbooks over videos or online programs.

We met with her treatment team (minus the psychiatrist) today. I hadn't thought to pull them into this issue because they've kind of been sketchy about homeschooling. Not outright anti-homeschooling, but... not totally on board, either. Anyway, given the most recent incidents with DD, everyone is on board with her not stepping foot in a public school. So that's good. We're all finally on the same page. So her team will work with her on motivation and providing outside accountability simply by asking DD "How's schoolwork going? What are you working on?" It sounds simplistic (maybe it is) but I actually think it will be helpful for DD. We're also working on a rewards system involving stuff DD really, really wants. So now I'm thinking through which classes we can skip, what we should keep. The time thing is a real thing, as is DD's tendency to feel easily overwhelmed. Today has been a good day. Thank you for the replies so far. It's been really helpful. p.s. If you've happened to pray for us... thank you.