“Parents Need to Go to Work” Does Not Stop COVID at the School Door.
When I hear discussions about schools reopening in the fall, I already know what two chief reasons will be offered.
One is that students need to be educated. Of course they do, and as a career teacher, I desire to educate. I have dedicated my professional life to educating generations of children, and I miss being at school, in my classroom, with my students.
The second reason, which seems to follow quickly on the heels of the first, is that “parents need to get back to work”– the implication being that schools need to open so that parents once again have the built-in child care that the K12 school day (and its auxiliary programs) offers.
That “parents need to get back to work” reason never seems to include the reality that in this time of international health crisis, expecting schools to offer uninterrupted, on-site education defies reality.
Schools and school systems nationwide (indeed, worldwide) are trying to navigate providing education to students despite the COVID pandemic.
That navigation almost certainly includes a remote learning component.
Thus, not only might students be receiving instruction at home, but also, parents, guardians, and/or other caregivers will need to be available to both care for children during the school day and to assist them with their remote learning.
In other words, it is completely unrealistic to expect schools to open and to stay CONTINUE READING: “Parents Need to Go to Work” Does Not Stop COVID at the School Door. | deutsch29
