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As of where we stand in 2020, this is the new hot debate about whether it's safe to send our kids back to school. The Coronavirus has made its way around to impact many things and one of those things being education. Some questions we have to answer first, before deciding to send the kids back to school are:
Is it safe for everybody involved?
Can kids learn just as effectively via a remote style?
At this point, you probably have some form of an opinion made, but hold on to that thought - we're going to layout both points of view and decide whether it's safe to send the kids back to school.
First off, let it be known that President Trump is pushing, and even threatening, for schools to open in the fall. He feels so strongly about it that he made it clear he'd withhold money from the schools that don't reopen?
But, we won't go the political route. Instead, we'll focus on the truth, the science, and common sense.
To answer the first question, "is it safe for everybody involved?" it depends on whom you ask, but here's what we know. Not only would children be at risk of catching the Coronavirus, but you also have to consider all of the faculty. And not only the teachers, but administrative staff, healthcare staff, janitorial staff, and more. Many lives have to be considered. Mask wearing would have to be a 100% mandated, no-tolerance policy within the schools, and everybody would need to be held accountable - no matter if you're the principal or a kindergartner. Hand sanitizer will have to be administered throughout every single class and be used often throughout the day. The budget for the janitorial department will need to increase. The classrooms must be sanitized and disinfected incredibly well every day. If they can't do that, then the answer to the question is, no, it's not safe for everybody involved. If the schools can open safely, implement these policies, hold everybody accountable, and stick to their plan, opening the schools for our kids can be safe for everybody involved.
This is a more interesting debate that calls for more statistics, but it's also one of those questions that everybody will have a different answer because it's a subjective question. Whether kids can learn just as effectively via a remote setting will be debated for a long time, but here's what we know: some kids need structure.
Not everyone comes from the same background, wealth, or social status, and everybody has different ways they accomplish things. Some liked to be told what the assignment is and never spoken to again; others want to be micromanaged. Neither is better or worse; they're just different.
In a remote setting, it's difficult for a teacher to walk around the room and answer individual questions. And to that issue, a young kid doesn't want to be the kid to break the silence on Zoom and ask a question.
If the schools do not open and opt for online learning, it is what is - for now. But, online learning is not a long-term solution and shouldn't be viewed as one either. The quality of learning for children under the age of 18 is far different from being in a classroom.
This is an exceedingly difficult situation, and nobody wants to be in this position to have to make this decision, only to be held to it and judged on it for a long time. However, it's one that needs to be made.