Every Sunday as I get ready to face another week of online learning, I find myself reflecting on how long this could be our reality. It would be nice to return in person at least part of the time, but simultaneously, I feel overwhelmed with fear as well.
UNC exists as an example as to why returning would be a bad idea. While cases are calming down now, it is easier to manage case numbers in an environment where the students live on campus. The issue when it comes to a public high school is that students have family members at home we must take into account as well.
Many people, including myself, have parents or siblings that are immunocompromised, making the idea of returning to in-person school rather scary. It’s impossible to know in advance where COVID-19 numbers will stand come January, and how well students will obey administration’s orders.
The other issue that could be overlooked is that we’re adapting to online learning, and by January we will have for nearly five months. Teachers and students are learning and mastering the technology. I can’t imagine having to do seven classes in one day again, if we resumed our regular schedule come January.
While a hybrid plan where we spend some days at school and some at home seems logical, there have been schools across the country that began implementing this type of learning and eventually settled on strictly in person or online learning. It’s asking a lot from students, and it’s asking even more from teachers to have to teach in two ways at once.
I wish we were back in school already, like they are in Europe, so none of these thoughts about whether or not we will return this year had to swarm my mind. The thought of returning to in-person learning is such a battle between quality of learning and health.
I’m sure a lot of American families wonder why our entire country can’t return to school when there are numerous examples throughout Europe. The difference is most of these countries were able to “flatten their curve” in the spring. This isn’t America’s reality.
I know that our district will make an educated decision in order to keep teachers, students and our immunocompromised family members safe. Considering that we have been set up to be in online learning through January, despite the governor’s push, it’s clear that our safety is a priority and that the superintendent is still acknowledging the pandemic as a major issue.
If case numbers in our area rise again by January, or even begin to rise after then, I hope that the district would keep us in remote learning. There are far too many safety concerns that exist when it comes to COVID, and quite frankly there are too many individuals that can safely and effectively be accounted for and kept completely virus-free.
Photo by Eloise Rich/The ECHO
