by Pa Rock
Retired Teacher
I am fortunate to have an available younger family member who can do most of the grocery shopping, but occasionally I have to run to one of the local "dollar" stores to buy basics like milk, bread, and canned chili. The grocery stores are too crowded for my my comfort.
I was at one of those "dollar" stores last week grabbing a few quick items - and wearing my face mask - when I rolled my cart to the check out and got in line behind a mother and her young son - both of whom were also wearing face masks. As they were being rung up, the clerk innocently asked the little boy, who appeared to be about six or seven, if he was anxious for school to start. However, the kid never got the chance to respond because the mother snapped back, " He's not going to school!" The flustered clerk then changed tack and began mumbling about how she thought opening the schools during the pandemic was really a poor decision.
I was surprised to learn that school was about to start. I had assumed that with the current medical crisis engulfing the country that even local schools would put off opening as late as they could - surely at least until after Labor Day. So I went home and got on-line to see what was happening with the local schools. I quickly learned that they would be opening on Monday.
My own community, West Plains, Missouri, appears to have a dual track in place and families were given the option several weeks ago of choosing to send their children to the actual schools for classes, or choosing to use an on-line option at home. Parents who chose to keep their kids at home for the on-line option had to agree to commit to that plan for at least one semester. Students at every grade level, K-12, were given that basic choice.
The school system said that it would implement safety recommendations provided by state and federal resources for students who took classes at their respective schools, and that they would try to minimize "cross-contamination" by keeping students in groups and with the same teachers as much as possible.
Apparently students in either setting, school or home, can participate in athletics and most extracurricular activities, but band students cannot do on-line instruction because band requires co-curricular classroom instruction.
I did see in the local press where a clothing company has donated several thousand face masks to local schools, and the West Plains Schools will be able to offer two masks each to students who want them. There was also an article detailing that the local schools would have more in-depth cleanings between sessions.
I am a retired school teacher and administrator, and I understand some of the pressure that the schools are under. Working parents need a place to leave their kids during normal work days, and the schools have traditionally filled that role. Also, there has been a lot of political pressure put on schools to open from people like Donald Trump, our governor, the local congressman, and others. Everyone wants things to be normal again, and open schools will help people to feel that things are getting better.
But I also listen to competent news sources and I am aware that the number of COVID-19 cases is still on the rise in the Midwest - and things are not yet getting better.
Schools in this area will open tomorrow, that question has been resolved. The next question is how long will they be able to remain open? Unfortunately, it may not be long before we know the answer to that question as well. If cases of COVID-19 flare up in our schools, they will quickly spread into the wider community, and we will be right back where we were last March when everything, including the schools, had to close down.
I hope that I am being unduly pessimistic, but my gut feeling is that the lady in the "dollar" store made a good decision regarding her son. Things are unlikely to get better until there is a proven vaccine readily available to all. Until then it is all just a crapshoot with really bad odds.
1 comment:
Kids need socialization, especially the younger ones. They also need not to become infected with a virus that can haunt their growth and development leaving them with lifelong preexisting conditions. The balancing test must ignore the short term immediate gratification and protect the health of the children. Socialization can adapt. Had America done the hard work and persisted through crushing the curve it is likely that schools could have opened safely in September. But states dominated by Republican Governors and Legislatures pandered to the short term gratification in opening up early. That is why it is projected that our nation's death toll will top 300,000 by year's end.
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