As the weirdest school year of all time comes to a close, the inevitable “What happens next year?” questions are being discussed on every school website, parent portal, and parent association Zoom sesh. Most of us have accepted there won’t be a vaccine until January 2021, at the earliest. That means at least half a year, if not more, of worst-case scenarios, remote learning strategies, and “let’s make this work” case studies that have kids attending school despite the looming risk of contracting or carrying the virus.
I’ve heard a litany of ideas that get kids back to school in person. Suggested scenarios include kids going to school for a week, then remote learning for two. Some have suggested staggered groups of kids going to school every other day or in half-day segments. Then, of course, there are those who want kid life to return to normal, with a regular school day despite looming outbreak concerns.
If kids do go back to school prior to a vaccine coming out, they’ll have to wear masks — maybe even gloves — and will have smaller numbers of students per class. This begs the question of how school districts will accommodate that — especially with many of their budgets getting slashed.
Kids can expect one-way “lanes” in hallways marking which direction students can walk to ease the flow of bodies in tight spaces. Sports will be played at a social distance, and hugs from preschool and kindergarten teachers will be out of the question. Apparently, the loss of a hug is a small price to pay if it means we can get back to normal.
The problem is we have a new normal, which includes a deadly virus that can’t be detected without testing and can’t be diagnosed until it’s probably already been spread from one person to the next. And not one scenario to get kids back to school prior to a vaccine guarantees the safety of kids, teachers, and their families. It’s hard enough to get kids to wear a jacket on a rainy day. How can we possibly expect kids to wear a mask all day or to stay six feet apart from a best friend or a helpful teacher?
By returning to school before there’s a vaccine, teachers and other students are put in the position of being medical experts, safety patrols, and vigilant rule followers even before they’re mature enough to do so. And since COVID-19 isn’t “just a flu” as was earlier reported, and younger, healthy people have become seriously ill or died, the need for kids to follow all the rules all the time is paramount — and that’s simply something no school can guarantee.
So while I want my old life back as much as the next person, and I long for the day when my kids can return to school full-time, until they can do it safely, they’re not going to go back in the fall. It’s completely inconvenient and has wreaked havoc on my husband and my professional lives — and I know we're fortunate enough to even have a choice, as many parents do not — but ultimately, we have to consider our family’s health first, even if that means another half year of my being the crankiest substitute teacher ever known to mankind.
