The Horns of a Dilemma

A bitmoji of me, a fair-skinned, brunette-
with-grey, green-eyed woman, in a green
sweater, looking at the caption "No Good Choices"
with an alarmed expression.

Yes, I've talked about this before, many times. The ridiculousness of people who want their kids in classrooms at all costs, butts in seats, no matter who it affects. Come hell, high water, or school shooters.

But here we go again.

Some background regarding me and mine:

• Lizzy sucks at staying on-task unless she chooses the task and its timing.
• School is not one of those tasks that she can choose.
• I suck at keeping her accountable for tasks.
• Bribery sometimes works but I also have no money.
• It's melting but there's still snow and ice in outlying areas in our school district.
• And in some school parking lots.
• And there are a lot of outlying areas.
• And a small amount of snow in the forecast.
• And it's likely to freeze overnight, causing ice slicks on all the melty bits.
• It's also all Omicron-Covid out there.
• Which is extra-contagious, even to the vaxxed and boosted.
• And through cloth masks.
• And people have been traveling for the holidays.
• With Google only knows how many people from how many different areas.
• Lizzy is too young for boosters and Abby hasn't yet been boosted.
• First we couldn't find boosters, then snow and ice.
• I have been boosted but I also spend time in close proximity to kids at work.
• School shootings and bomb threats were a big thing the week before the holidays. 
• Some people blame TikTok because - I dunno - scapegoatism?
• TikTok does seem to be this year's AD&D or porn magazine or violent videogames.
• Both my kids are TikTok users and saw zero challenges on this topic.
• A number of parents both district- and state-wide seem to think that education by a "real expert" somehow trumps the physical and mental health (and safety) of kids and staff alike.
• Even though many of these same parents decry the same experts for teaching things like actual history or consent or critical thinking.
• The superintendent cannot call for Covid remote-learning without permission from the state.
• She can call for snow days.
• We'd have to make those up at the end of the year.

So, I can pull Lizzy and take her asynchronous for the week, to effectively isolate her from her possibly-contagious peers. That in itself is no problem. But keeping her accountable and on-task is not all that easy. Abby's in college, and two of her three classes are already remote for the week (we haven't heard from the third). No real worries there; it's college and they have their own rules, not subject to OSPI and the governor's office. She can stay home without issue.

If the schools are open, though, I have to go in unless I'm sick; someone has to get the kids to and from school, after all. And I need the money.

This is the dilemma. 

There are no good choices here.

I think the safest bet is to pull Lizzy asynchronous for the week, get Abby to do the same, have a(nother) serious talk about accountability with Liz, and load myself up on the PPE. 

Oh, and pray that our superintendent calls us out for a snow day or five. Or that the Powers That Be at the state level get serious about protecting the kids more than appeasing the adults who think their child's (in-person) education is more important than everyone's health and safety.