This open letter created a false dichotomy in the schools debate, pitting MH against safety. Thread..

https://t.co/iKGVXcI76Y

@theAliceRoberts @MaryBoustedNEU @ReicherStephen @SusanMichie @alansteinoxford

We are saddened that the signatories of the letter do not appear to have channelled their energy into encouraging innovation in distance learning and support which could serve to bolster children's mental health in order to limit some of harms caused by isolation.
That the potential for the Internet to be used as a "fantastic communications tool" and provide "a creative and visual style of learning" affording "a positive and interactive experience" as identified by @ProfTanya in the Byron Review has not been celebrated is a travesty.
The report identified the internet to be a platform for children and young people to "express themselves and keep in touch" and is "a fantastic place to meet people and find support, friendship and happiness".

https://t.co/Zk7NfW0fK5
When we consider that internet based interventions such as iCBT are now well established psychological practice, it is a great sadness that the expertise of professionals in this field has not been channelled toward helping craft a recovery curriculum children desperately need
The DfE could also have been more helpful in acknowledging discussion and nuanced debate on the true needs of children, rather than ploughing on with a "business as usual" curriculum.

https://t.co/ve1ndPOaHi
This is why our 5 Point Plan, issued in advance of the partial closure, included a call for reduction and reorganisation of the curriculum for at least 2 years.

https://t.co/5iOxZMeZbK
We must stop pretending we can have business as usual, and and demand the very best strategies we can to limit ALL harms to our children.

We must treat children as people, not as an academic football between disciplines.

@IndependentSage gets this right.
@threadreaderapp unroll

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Time for some thoughts on schools given the revised SickKids document and the fact that ON decided to leave most schools closed. ON is not the only jurisdiction to do so, but important to note that many jurisdictions would not have done so -even with higher incidence rates.


As outlined in the tweet by @NishaOttawa yesterday, the situation is complex, and not a simple right or wrong https://t.co/DO0v3j9wzr. And no one needs to list all the potential risks and downsides of prolonged school closures.


On the other hand: while school closures do not directly protect our most vulnerable in long-term care at all, one cannot deny that any factor potentially increasing community transmission may have an indirect effect on the risk to these institutions, and on healthcare.

The question is: to what extend do schools contribute to transmission, and how to balance this against the risk of prolonged school closures. The leaked data from yesterday shows a mixed picture -schools are neither unicorns (ie COVID free) nor infernos.

Assuming this data is largely correct -while waiting for an official publication of the data, it shows first and foremost the known high case numbers at Thorncliff, while other schools had been doing very well -are safe- reiterating the impact of socioeconomics on the COVID risk.
OK I am going to be tackling this as surveillance/open source intel gathering exercise, because that is my background. I blew away 3 years of my life doing site acquisition/reconnaissance for a certain industry that shall remain unnamed and believe there is significant carryover.


This is NOT going to be zillow "here is how to google school districts and find walmart" we are not concerned with this malarkey, we are homeschooling and planting victory gardens and having gigantic happy families.

With that said, for my frog and frog-adjacent bros and sisters:

CHOICE SITES:

Zillow is obvious one, but there are many good sites like Billy Land, Classic Country Land, Landwatch, etc. and many of these specialize in owner financing (more on that later.) Do NOT treat these as authoritative sources - trust plat maps and parcel viewers.

TARGET IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION:

Okay, everyone knows how to google "raw land in x state" but there are other resources out there, including state Departments of Natural Resources, foreclosure auctions, etc. Finding the land you like is the easy part. Let's do a case study.

I'm going to target using an "off-grid but not" algorithm. This is a good piece in my book - middle of nowhere but still trekkable to civilization.

Note: visible power, power/fiber pedestal, utility corridor, nearby commercial enterprise(s), and utility pole shadows visible.

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