Jersey Jazzman: How To Stop Magical Thinking In School Reopening Plans

Jersey Jazzman: How To Stop Magical Thinking In School Reopening Plans

How To Stop Magical Thinking In School Reopening Plans

In the past few weeks, a new literary genre has emerged in America's media outlets: the school reopening op-ed. Almost always written by someone who has little to no experience in actually working in a school, these op-eds tend to follow the same form:

1. Why it's so important to reopen schools. 
2. Evidence in support of the idea that COVID-19 prevalence is low in children, as is transmission attributable to children.
3. Grudging admission that adults work in schools and this may be a problem.
4. Finger-wagging at said adults, telling them that life is full of risk and they shouldn't indulge in fear mongering. 
5. A set of ideas to reopen schools. Many times, the tone of the presentation suggests the author believes no one who leads or works in schools actually could have thought of any of their plans before they did.
6. An optimistic call for "creativity" in school reopening plans.

It's always interesting to look at the comments section following these pieces, or to see them debated on Twitter. Skeptics -- often actual educators, but also parents, students, and other stakeholders -- will point out many factors that the authors did not address in their op-ed that make it difficult, if not impossible, to implement their ideas.

Given the severity of this pandemic and the importance of reopening schools, it is not at all appropriate to dismiss these objections out of hand. If some of the most prominent spaces in the media are being reserved for "experts" to offer their ideas for school reopening, the least they should have to endure is a thorough critique of their ideas from the people who will be the most affected by them. 

A serious assessment of school reopening plans isn't simply negative thinking; it's a brake CONTINUE READING: Jersey Jazzman: How To Stop Magical Thinking In School Reopening Plans