A High School Student’s Stance on Reopening Schools
Like almost every other student in the world, my high school transitioned into online learning in March of 2020, and the last four months have been more intense than any amusement park ride you can think of. In the coming weeks, students and teachers will be faced with a harrowing decision: go back to campus and risk getting infected, or go through another month (or more) of sitting behind a screen interacting with others, either teaching or learning.
My school is going through distance learning for the month of September, and the parents were recently emailed a quick form asking for their preference on education for the 2020–21 school year. My family and I discussed this at the dinner table and unanimously voted to stay at home for online learning. I expressed that while I would love social interaction with my peers, I felt it would be safer to go through online learning for however long it takes.
I’ve been hearing others debate the pros and cons of reopening schools. While many want the best educational experience for their child, they understand the dangers of COVID infection. Others state they have to send their kids to school because one or both of their parents are working and are unable to watch them.
In an article from the American Academy of Pediatrics, over 380,000 children tested positive for the Coronavirus “since the onset of the pandemic.” The AAP also mentioned, “…it appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is rare among children. However, states should continue to provide detailed reports on COVID-19 cases, testing, hospitalizations, and mortality by age so that the effects of COVID-19 on children’s health can continue to be documented and monitored.”
The possibility of an outbreak at a school worries me. Who knows how many of the 1,200 high school students will follow the protocol of social distancing and keep their masks on? If a student or administrator gets infected after we go back to school, it means we’ll all be sent home again because of the actions of one (or a few) careless individual(s).
Even though health officials say the chances of a child getting the virus is low, it is not impossible. The CDC reports that, as of July 17, 2020, people under 18 years old account for 7% of COVID cases. Youth also make up only 0.1% of COVID-related deaths.
In my opinion, reopening schools is a bad idea because of the potential for an outbreak to occur. We’ve already seen what it’s like for a school district to shut its doors again after someone tests positive for Coronavirus. As seen in Georgia, it only took one second-grader testing positive for Coronavirus to have over 1,000 students and parents quarantined in their homes. A student at North Paulding High School shared a photo of the school’s congested hallways. After the student’s suspension was taken back, it was revealed nine school members tested positive for COVID-19. Situations like this are the main reason why reopening schools is a bad idea.
Stories like these are the exact reason why schools can’t — and shouldn’t — open up in the fall. Even one positive case can terminate the operation, and even if all safety protocols are followed, they are all for naught if a positive case appears.
I also believe online learning is a better option for several reasons. First, there would be a decrease in infection risk because that student is at home with his or her family. Granted, that minimal risk would only be possible if everyone else in the family stayed home, unless they’d go out to run essential errands while taking the proper security measures Secondly, the scheduling of online classes would mean more time and energy to finish schoolwork and get other activities done. On a normal school day, students would likely be exhausted from the rigors of commuting to and from campus, engaging in classwork, and then going home to finish hours of homework. With online classes, that would be less of an issue since all you’d have to do is wake up, eat breakfast, change out of your pajamas, and then open up your laptop screen. If classes end in the early afternoon, students would be able to take a break to text with friends, peruse social media, or take a nap, before going back to their desks to complete homework. Finally, online learning still allows for social interaction, albeit through Zoom. The silver lining in this crazy school year was being able to still collaborate and converse with our classmates. While in-person interaction seems ideal for some students, everyone needs to realize that it is nearly impossible with the Coronavirus still looming.
Opposers of online learning have proposed a hybrid or full return to school. I disagree with these options because they pose a greater risk than staying at home. Regardless of hybrid learning or a full return to campus, students would be exposing family members and/or other students going to and from their classes as well as from their respective neighborhoods. If they walk to school or use public transportation, they could also be around other citizens who don’t take this virus seriously and insist on not wearing a mask.
Though these next few months will be challenging, it is crucial that students, parents, and educators communicate with each other to help everyone get through the school year. Everyone’s learning and teaching styles are different, and they should be recognized by all to make the learning process smoother. 2020 could go down as the wildest year yet, and the section on it in future textbooks will be harder to understand than any AP class in history.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Family Medicine Doctor Mikhail Varshavski discussed this issue with a pediatric doctor in California. The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0j1ZXEeQAI&t=7s
KQED conducted an interview with UCSF associate pediatrics professor Dr. Naomi Bardach. https://www.kqed.org/science/1967577/covid-19-risk-in-schools-what-you-should-know
SOURCES
“Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report”. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/
Fausett, Richard. “1,193 Quarantined for Covid. Is This a Successful School Reopening?”. New York Times. 12 August 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/us/georgia-school-coronavirus.html
