Why is it important for the schools to reopen for in-person learning this Fall

Why is it important for the schools to reopen 

for in-person learning this Fall

There are many arguments and conversations between parents and educators going on lately about ways schools should open up in the Fall after ODE posted guidelines for safe reopening. It seems that some parents feel that in-person learning should happen right away, others say that distance learning should be the only option, and then there are parents who decided to homeschool their kids this year. Educators, on the other hand, feel that it is not safe to open up schools for in-person learning at all. School districts are in between all of this and trying to come up with a solution that could work for everyone. In my opinion as a parent, there should be another solution like in-person school is open for kids and staff who are in good health and distance learning for those with high-risk health conditions. The reasons I think this is a feasible solution for the time being are the following:

• Herd immunity is a must for the virus to go away. There are two ways to get there: you get sick from someone else and develop antibodies, or you wait for the vaccine, get sick and develop antibodies. Either way you need to get sick. This is the fact that scares the majority of people. However, if you research this topic, you will find that “most healthy people who become infected with COVID-19 have no symptoms or have mild symptoms” and from the CDC - “For many people, being sick with COVID-19 would be a little bit like having the flu. People can get a fever, cough, or have a hard time taking deep breaths. Most people who have gotten COVID-19 have not gotten very sick. Only a small group of people who get it have had more serious problems.” That means that it’s OK to get sick with this if you have a good immune system. You ARE going to be OK! Then, there is the fun part: according to the new study in New York City “most people do develop antibodies, and that there’s very good correlation between those antibodies and their capability to neutralize virus.” This means that people who have recovered, have developed antibodies that will protect them from getting sick again.

• Social-emotional well being of the children is also extremely important. There are many crucial social-emotional skills that children develop while in school. They develop a sense of independence, new friendships with peers, they learn how to identify and express emotions and needs, self-regulation and empathy. All these and many other skills children are not able to learn in isolation or just by watching videos. If we as a society want to raise responsible, kind, and compassionate children, we need to give them plenty of opportunities to socialize with their peers at school. (Social-emotional Development in School-Age Children)

• Consistent and continuous education is important for the children to be able to graduate successfully in the future. Public school’s distance learning last quarter of last school year was an emergency thing that was developed in the hurry and not thought through. It had multiple flaws like inconsistent lessons, or lessons only covering one and not other subjects, worksheets were sent for practice, but those were not differentiated based on the child’s level, the practice work didn’t need to be returned or it was graded as pass/fail with no feedback. During those months the children lost all the motivation to keep doing online assignments. The parents were OK with it then, since it was an emergency. However, since schools have been shut down, no one has been working on how to organize this distance learning in the Fall. The children don’t need more worksheets and random Zoom meetings. They need consistency and continuous activities to develop skills they will need to eventually graduate. Also, they need accountability, when they know that their effort will be graded by the teacher and will count for something.

In conclusion, I can say with certainty that children need to go back to in-person learning this Fall. It is safe as long as you have a healthy immune system and following health guidelines, it is necessary for continuing education, and it is crucial for children’s social-emotional well being.