Going back to school…is it worth the risk?
Following a summer characterized by uncertainty and fear concerning the reopening of schools across the country, many schools have made the decision to resume part-time or full-time in person learning. Whether or not this was the right decision is heavily dependent upon the location and enforcement of sanitary precautions of each school, but the overriding trend is that children are being affected by the virus more than what most originally expected. Compared to 2% in April, children now compose nearly 10% of all Covid-19 cases, highlighting the effect being in a classroom may have. Still, experts say that this rise probably has to do with more than just school. With reopenings came a popular mindset that other aspects of life should return to “normal” as well, leading to more playdates, time in large groups, sports, and activities out of school. Each of these may play a part in the rise of cases in children, but staying home isn’t something many want to consider, or even have the option to consider, as internet access and childcare for working parents remain obstacles. Mississippi resident Kathy Willard said she had “mixed feelings” about her grandson’s return to school, followed by a two week quarantine after several teachers and one student tested positive. Because the family doesn’t have internet, Willard said, “It was a hardship. There’s always worry about him falling behind or not getting access to what he needs for school…But at the same time, I’m glad the school is doing what they can to protect our kids.” It seems as though the risk of returning to the “new normal” is one most are willing to take, but this choice doesn’t come without consequence.
https://nowcomment.com/documents/235883
Hi Nicolette, I enjoyed reading your post! It really caught my attention due to the fact that it didn’t only talk about COVID-19 cases within Adults and the Elderly; what you would normally hear about in articles. Yet, it talked about another vulnerable group, children. When you stated that the spike in cases had risen from 2% to at least 10% it occurred to me that this age group is also very much vulnerable as well.
Nicolette, fantastic post! I totally agree with your statement of “With reopenings came a popular mindset that other aspects of life should return to “normal” as well, leading to more playdates, time in large groups, sports, and activities out of school.” It’s barely safe to go back to school, and even more unsafe to break social distancing guidelines and go back to “normal”. There is nothing “normal” about a global pandemic.
I think that especially because children are at a higher risk than the average person it is neglectful to rush into reopening schools. I think Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, said that only 14,000 children would die making it seem like it was a small number. I think that one child dead is too many. We should not be putting our children at risk in any way.
Nicolette, you raised some very good points about how schools are handling re-opening. I agree with what you said about now that schools are going back in session many people think that means life may resume as normal when that is certainly not the case. How do you think schools could open back up safely and still give kids the education that they would receive if they were in the classroom?
Dear Nicolette,
I am intrigued about your post “Covid-19 cases rising among US children as schools reopen” because with this new virus hitting the world like a bus, we restart the way of living and how we treated our surrounds. As our world consists of normalizing masks and online learning, that puts pressed on our parents and our teachers/education districts because they are trying their best to provide the best learning environment.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “But at the same time, I’m glad the school is doing what they can to protect our kids”. I think this is important concept because with this new and upcoming years, our lives will forever be changed and be modifying.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because we need to be more aware about our surrounds concerning our education and teachers.
Monserrat.
Dear Nicolette,
I am understand about your concern about the virus by your post “Covid-19 cases rising among US children as schools reopen” because its a new dangerous virus that we all don’t really know about. I personally don’t think that opening schools is a big problem because the schools that have reopened are now being careful of who is coming in schools, are now cleaning the schools, and is making sure that staff and students are stating 6 feet apart. One sentence you wrote that stood out for me is “Whether or not this was the right decision is heavily dependent upon the location and enforcement of sanitary precautions of each school, but the overriding trend is that children are being affected by the virus more than what most originally expected.” I think this is false because I see parents going to stores with their kids, traveling, and having big parties that no one is wearing a mask. If parents are taking their children out then they should be okay with sending their children to school.Thank you for you writing. I look forward to see what you will be writing next because I was intrigued of the topic you chose.
Dear Nicolette:
I am Affirmed by your post “COVID-19 cases rising…,” because you address the ambivalence that I feel as this strange year drags on and on.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “With reopenings came a popular mindset that other aspects of life should return to “normal” as well, leading to more playdates, time in large groups, sports, and activities out of school.“ I think this is insightful because it speaks to the desire for everyone to get back to their own idea of normalcy. The human mind does a lot of work to help us survive adversity, and in this case, it may be working against us: what the mind needs might be the opposite of what the body needs (Specifically, the least possible exposure to the virus) in this situation.
This seems to lead many people down the path of magical thinking….”I don’t want things to be this way anymore, so I’m going to pretend that it’s over so that I can do the things I want to do”. It’s so tempting, I’ll admit it. I don’t want to do this anymore. But if I don’t , I’ll be in a much worse situation.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because we definitely need to stay sharp, flexible, informed and balanced. Your post helped refocus me a little bit.
Hey Nicolette! Personally, I don’t think the only problem is the fact that the children are being sent to school in the middle of a pandemic. It’s also the lack of enforcement of social distancing or health safety measures in some of these schools. I’ve seen a lot of videos on social media of masses of students out in the hallway or in the classroom without masks, but no one in their administration seems to be doing anything about. I think some of the schools even tried to take the videos down forcefully! If the children have to go to school in person, the least they can do is to ensure that those basic regulations are in place. Have you seen any of these videos, what do you think of them?
I also like how you mentioned the fact the reopening causes more people to be together, and I feel that all of that is causing the cases to spike because it is just more people being around each other and more chances for the virus to spread.
I liked how you brought in the percentages because that helps me get a visualization of what is truly going on.