A microphone would be helpful for that. Hopefully the school can provide?
prarie—
Just sent you PM.
Even if they don’t provide one, it would be worth getting it on my own.
Put in the request now. Depending if the room has a speaker system they might need to do more. If their speaker system is already there then it’s an easy and needed ask.
Also you can put a computer like 15 feet away from you or further and set it to record you with mask on and see what you sound like. That might give you a clue what your students might hear. But you also don’t want to lose your voice trying to project. Keep some Throat Coat tea handy 
Here’s a pretty inexpensive system with mics depending on your room size. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyle-PWMA200-Portable-PA-Speaker-Microphone-System-Kit-FM-Stereo-Radio-Includes-Beltpack-Handheld-Headset-Lavalier-Mics/20657583?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=17497&&adid=22222222228015547959&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=52409206815&wl4=pla-79493170335&wl5=9021758&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=125211568&wl11=online&wl12=20657583&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQjwudb3BRC9ARIsAEa-vUuZxznnoMGmQU6A2-4vWBHTahEh8eZveYNE99P448Q74Bxf2bTRgwEaAuOREALw_wcB
RE: Student health insurance. Before switching, check to see what coverage is provided out of area. The coverages offered by my children’s schools were very different. One was an excellent, comprehensive plan that included different levels of coverage in area, then out of area and out of provider network. The other one’s plan only covered care in the immediate school area, more like a group practice model HMO. The school loosened up the eligible service area once students were sent home in March, but you cannot bank on that.
I don’t know a thing about Bowdoin culture. I went to a small LAC in the early eighties and I have 3 college-age kids so I just kind of extrapolated from there.
We purchased the school insurance for my daughter beginning junior year after a few big bills that our insurance didn’t cover. It was well worth it, and this year, more than ever, we will do it again.
We have always used the schools insurance. It was less or close but their deductible was much less then ours. They are actually decent plans.
We’ve been doing a good job so far. I censor myself all the time. It’s worth doing for the sake of keeping the thread going.
Moderator note:
Please stay on topic. Several posts deleted.
I’m also a professor, and I plan to do the same.
The LAC where I am on the faculty sent out a Qualtrics survey asking if we would prefer mask, face shield, or plexiglass barrier. I think there should have been an “all of the above” option!
I saw this article this morning on what appears to be a break-through coronavirus treatment development. If it pans out, this could be the game changer for full re-opening of colleges and schools? Yes, its a big if, and timing was not mentioned, but seems like a positive development none the less. The stories about the country shifting to “pool testing” is also a plus for universities. While we have been discussing plans for possible college full shut down options, I wonder if colleges are also making plans for “full re-opening” scenarios, if there is a treatment breakthrough? Probably wouldn’t happen until spring or their next semester…
“By focusing on the fundamental behavior of the virus — how it hijacks key human proteins and uses them to benefit itself and harm us — the team was able to identify a family of existing drugs called kinase inhibitors that appear to offer the most effective treatment yet for COVID-19. … Krogan said tests of kinase inhibitors showed some, including Gilteritnib and Ralimetinib, required lower concentrations than remdesivir in order to kill off 50% of the virus. … This led the scientists to investigate a drug called Silmitasertib. Tests found this drug inhibits CK2 and eliminates the new coronavirus. … “The kinases are a very druggable set of proteins in our cells,” he said. “
A good treatment would be great, but I don’t think that will change the mask wearing and social distancing recommendations, as we still don’t want the virus to spread unchecked.
It seems only a vaccine would allow us to stop distancing and wearing masks.
I would be interested in hearing the governors address this.
But, having said what I said above, it is also my humble opinion that colleges and universties that recruit heavily in other regions of the country have to recognize that the virus is out of control in the very metropolitan centers they visit every year in order to goose their applications. Air travel is just as dangerous today as it was three months ago. So, if sending everyone home en masse was a risky decision back then, doing the same thing in reverse makes no more sense. The 800 pound gorilla in every campus plan has to be the number of positive cases each school is prepared to assume responsibility for at any given moment.
And so it begins…K-12 district in NOVA - teachers unions say in person is a risk.
"Late Thursday, the three major teachers’ associations in Fairfax issued a stark rebuttal, writing in a joint statement that the plans for face-to-face teaching imperil teachers’ health and that officials failed to provide sufficient time for families and staff members to make their decisions.
The three groups — the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, the Fairfax Education Association and the Association of Fairfax Professional Educators — are asking their members to select the distance-learning option, en masse, until administrators work with association leadership to develop more detailed plans that better prioritize the safety and well-being of students and staff members. The teachers’ resistance previews the kind of backlash administrators throughout the country may encounter as they ask their workforce to return to school hallways."
““Our educators are overwhelmingly not comfortable returning to schools,” said Tina Williams, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. “They fear for their lives, the lives of their students and the lives of their families.””
I could cry for our D21. Editor of the yearbook - there will be nothing to report on or even put in a yearbook. Captain of the the dance team - no chance to dance, no chance to socialize. AP courses taught online by teachers really not prepared to teach that way - set up for a very difficult academic situation. We think the college situation is bad? If I take out the monetary issue for college, she has it way worse than S19.
But most of the school districts around here are starting to announce in person classes, especially k-5 or k-8, and are working on the middle school and high school plans. The k-5/k-8 plans are for the students to mainly stay in one classroom all day. I don’t know what is happening with the pull outs or specials, but they do plan to be face to face for the core classroom work. The catholic schools are returning to classrooms, and two of the biggest (and wealthiest) districts have said they are opening k-5/k-8, with the option of online learning if the family chooses that (some districts have that option anyway). These are urban districts and I believe all rural and mountain districts are returning.
It is thought that the high school students, and some middle schools students, can do distance learning for part of their work, either alternating weeks or days or morning/afternoon. I think it will be a disaster to have 11-18 year olds unsupervised for much of their days if their parents return to work and they stay home.
The Fairfax plans released last week gave every family the option of either two days per week of in-person classes and two days of independent study, or four days of synchronous online learning (every student to have a four day school week). I guess some teachers would have to work in-person and others would lead online classes. Seems like a mess all around, especially without know how many would choose each plan.
I don’t know about this…
She can become very creative now with the yearbook. Have to combine technologies but think she can take a different approach.
Many of my dancers in traveling competitive dance troupes are practicing hard daily. Trust me I get this but again becoming creative is the key here. Plus aren’t places for dance opening up now in level 4? Can she attend those? Can they get together outside or in a big gym?
This is their new reality and they will adjust. But I truly understand