Parent Shaming about Schooling during a Pandemic Misses the Point
A better solution is in your reach
Here’s a brief recap of where the nation is on Covid, and where you as a parent come in.
Jobs vs. Kids. This is how do-nothing government officials frame the debate, threatening to withhold funding from states or school systems that do not open their doors for classes.
In response, school systems present parents with an impossible “choice”: education vs. public health.
What? A parent’s worst nightmare comes to life, twice over.
Understandably, terrified parents do little but recoil in fear over being placed smack in the middle. And yet, you must decide — and quickly — between being called selfish by friends and neighbors for wanting what’s best for your kids’ social, emotional and intellectual development at in-person school, while doing so inevitably contributes to an increased likelihood that people (maybe your own kids) will die from a contagious, untreatable virus.
Or, maybe worse, you’d be criticized for being a bad mom who’d rather work than stay at home. As if you’re sacrificing your kids so that you can make money.
No wonder you stand hopelessly paralyzed, unsure of what to do. Is school really unsafe now? Would you…
