An Unequal Starting Place
Staying home due to the coronavirus has been tough. Days have morphed into weeks that blurred into months. Even as some schools and businesses reopen, stress and anxiety is mounting. And, unfortunately, the coronavirus revealed a glaring reality—that many people in our country lack the advantages that others enjoy and may even take for granted.
“If there’s a silver lining in all of this, it’s that people nationwide are really starting to understand the vast inequities in our country and in education,” says Jordann Lankford, who works with many American Indian students in the Great Falls Public Schools in Montana.
“Low-income communities and people of color were hit much harder by the pandemic, which wasn’t surprising to those of us already aware of the precariousness of their regular lives.”
Telework and distance learning? Not possible without internet, computers, or mobile devices. Walks after dinner? Too dangerous in many areas around the country. Grocery delivery or shopping? More like waiting in line at food banks, sometimes for hours, trying to maintain social distance, and hoping there’s enough left for your family. And millions of people are without health care, adding to pandemic struggles in low-income areas.
“The COVID-19 crisis has only intensified inequities,” says Nick Schwei, an English teacher at Case High School in Racine, Wis. “African American and Hispanic residents have been far more likely to see spikes in both outbreaks and deaths from the virus. This has impacted my students directly and created a need for CONTINUE READING: An Unequal Starting Place
