Should Schools Reopen

With summer ending schools have started to re-open, but is that the right move many wonder. I strongly believe that reopening schools is the worst thing that could happen currently. Because there is still a raging pandemic which the world, let alone the U.S has an answer for. 

What effect has schools reopening had on students

 Schools reopening have put many students at risk of catching the virus. In the last two weeks of July over 97,000 covid cases were students, schools were not even open. If the virus is spreading this fast for students when out of school, I don't want to imagine how bad it will be when all schools reopen. But many schools have set up an online option that will provide distance learning to students which will reduce a good chunk of those potential cases but not enough. Many of the schools in the Southern states are reopening and those states have seen a surge in cases. Georgia has had over 40,000 new cases ever since schools opened. Their cases per day went from 2,000 a day to 4,000 a day. If all states reopened schools, their cases would obviously rise and call for the entire state to be shut down again. That's why I believe that online school, until the amount of cases decreases massively, is how schools should be reopening. 

Why do students and parents not want online school?

Many students dislike online learning, because it is easier for many to learn in person. I can agree with this because when schools did close in the spring it was harder keeping a routine and learning new concepts from home. I feel like even though it is harder to learn from home it will be beneficial to the country as there the amount of cases that could happen would be prevented. Many believe that saving lives is worth doing online school, no matter how hard it may be for some students. A major flaw with online education is not everyone has access to it. Many organizations are trying like internet providers are trying to help students who don't have access by providing WiFi and other technology they need. Also it is a lot harder for younger students to learn from a at home setting as they have shorter attention spans and need more help learning topics. But teachers and parents are trying their best to help them. Schools have served as a daycare for many parents and with online school that would not be possible, not every parent can work from home and their child would have to be sent to a daycare which will cost them extra. The government is trying to provide financial support but I fear that it will not be enough to help these families who are struggling during these times. 

Overall schools reopening wouldn’t help anybody as after a week or two they would have to close again because of the virus. If a state decides to let schools open for in person learning there should be some requirements, such as less students, masks, social distancing and daily cleaning of the school. Sadly that's not what we have seen in Georgia and many other states that have reopened schools, as many students aren't wearing masks or social distancing. CNN reported on this issue but schools in Georgia have not changed anything. One school even suspended the student who took the photo exposing the school. I don’t think any public place such as schools can open safely without there being an outbreak and for those reasons, I believe schools shouldn’t have in person learning until numbers are under control.

Citations

Turner, Cory. “At Least 97,000 Children Tested Positive For Coronavirus In Last 2 Weeks Of July.” NPR, NPR, 11 Aug. 2020, www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/11/900861372/at-least-97-000-children-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-in-last-2-weeks-of-july.

Peiser, Jaclyn. “A Georgia District Returned to School Last Week. More than 900 Students and Staff Are Now Quarantined.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Aug. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/12/school-coronavirus-outbreak-georgia-quarantine/.

Andone, Dakin. “Georgia School Seen in Photo of a Crowded Hallway Will Briefly Move to Online Learning after Reporting 9 Cases of Covid-19.” CNN, Cable News Network, 10 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/us/north-paulding-high-school-covid-19-cases/index.html.

Google’s COVID-19 Alert