By: Justin Condevillemar, News Editor and Angela Dimaano, Features Editor
Support for Return to School
One of the largest debates surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the reopening of public facilities is on whether students in the United States should be allowed to return to the classroom or continue an online distance learning program. Most states currently have plans for students to either partially or fully return to the classroom, which has received widespread criticism from teachers and parents over health concerns. Despite these concerns, the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) has supported a return to the classroom, with various protocols being set for student and faculty safety. The American Academy of Pediatrics has also shown support for schools reopening, arguing that the benefits of the classroom environment outweighs the student infection risk.
The first major supporting argument for the return to the classroom centers around the limited effects of COVID-19 on children and young adults. The CDC reported that in the United States, around 7% of COVID-19 cases are from people under the age of 18 and less than 0.1% of all related deaths are from children. These numbers are similar to the number of flu related deaths among children, with the flu killing around 37-187 children on a seasonal basis and Covid killing around 64 out of 74 million children currently living in the United States. Current scientific studies such as one from the National Center of Immunization Research and Surveillance (Australia) suggest that transmission between students may be low which is supported by low rates of infections between students and teachers or students and family members. These rates are further mitigated when proper procedures are taken to protect student health in the classroom. The chances of a student being infected in a classroom setting are low enough under the proper precautionary program that health organizations such as the CDC view a return to the classroom not only viable, but also necessary.
A student’s education is significantly altered when they are placed in a distance learning program. These changes give students more freedom to learn and work at their own pace, but it also results in certain problems: primarily concerning quality of education, but also in student accountability. A survey done by the University of Washington found that one in three districts were upholding academic standards during the pandemic, which skews towards districts in low income communities. Many low income families do not have the capacity to facilitate distance learning and have to rely on district resources, which can often be inconsistent. This results in a worse version of the “summer slide” effects where students lose learning progress when outside of school for an extended period of time. Students with disabilities have also had difficulties with distance learning as a result of reduced interactive and supplemental education. This has led to fears that the achievement gaps between wealthier and poorer school districts will widen as wealthy school districts can support better quality distance education than their low-income counterparts.
There are certain aspects of student education that distance learning cannot fully replicate, and some of the secondary benefits of a school environment are completely lost. Schools provide a stable and secure environment for developing social skills and peer relationships. At school, students learn how to develop and maintain social relationships with people outside of their family, and can more easily access support programs to help them maintain their physical and emotional health. Such interpersonal interaction is very difficult to replicate online without a strong social and technical foundation. Extended school closures also can increase the probability of a student having higher levels of depression, social anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. This is further strained by the social conditions created by the pandemic which further increases student stress and demands for wellness resources that distance learning programs may not have. Schools also provide a safe environment for students who live in unsafe homes and/or neighborhoods. The Department of Health and Human Services reported that school faculty have accounted for ⅕ of all child abuse reports, which has signifigantly decreased since the beginning of the pandemic. Student health beyond infectious diseases has also become a concern among experts as reduced access to affordable healthy food provided by schools combined with no physical activity from PE classes or school extracurriculars will likely result in an increase in childhood obesity, as modeled by Washington University (St. Louis). The services that a school provides go beyond just technical education; schools allow students to develop social skills, provide explicit and implicit resources for student needs, and help keep developing children both physically and mentally healthy.
The value of a physical classroom comes not just from what the school provides, but the actual school itself. The classroom environment fosters physical, social, mental, emotional, as well as educational growth for all students from all backgrounds at all income levels. Eliminating the school from education results in reductions in all aspects of student development, which can be more unhealthy and dangerous than catching a disease that has a similar infection and death rate to the flu. The risks involved with returning to the classroom aren’t being eliminated, but being replaced with worse ones which affect students from less privileged backgrounds more. Returning to school isn’t ideal, but it may be the thing that protects society from fully falling apart.
Against for Return to School
Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, the United States has had to deal with numerous obstacles critical to whether the country would prevail or lose the fight against COVID-19. One of these obstacles is the issue of reopening schools. Counties across the country have had to implement various plans to begin the school year. Some schools have elected to have full online learning for the time being, such as the San Mateo Union High School district. Some schools have decided on a hybrid learning situation where children will only attend select days a week and attend school online for the rest of the time. Some schools have even gone back to in-person learning with coronavirus precautions such as social distancing, and mask wearing. Although the Center for Disease Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have both shown support for reopening schools, teacher unions all over the country, school personnel, such as janitors and maintenance workers, parents, and students alike have displayed displeasure at returning to the classroom.
Rates of infection at any given school varies on a case by case basis, but in certain instances, spikes can point to possible overall trends. The University of California Berkeley, not far from our own school district, has cited around fifty new cases stemming from fraternity parties. A school in the Georgia School District was forced to quarantine over 1,000 of their students due to a confirmed possible case. For more broad examples of coronavirus spikes, California, which went into a statewide stay-at-home order in March of this year, was forced to pull back reopenings due to an increase of cases and high hospitalization numbers. Cases continued to rise after the 4th of July holiday, when 37 of California’s 58 counties saw their COVID cases double. But, even with case numbers in mind, let’s say that children are able to go back with social distancing measures. Even though protocols for safety may be put into place, beginning with distance learning is viable. In the case of another spike, there will be no need for a transition back and forth between distance or in-person learning. There is never a guarantee that there won’t be a COVID-19 outbreak in the school or the surrounding area. The return to “normalcy” would have made, but quickly taken down by the reality of the pandemic.
Even if regulations, such as social distancing and masks are put into place, there is no guarantee that all protocols will be followed. Take the anti-mask gatherings in various states that contemplate or have a mask mandate in place. In such an individualistic country, there is an alarming lack of concern for the wellbeing of others. People would much rather preach and take the risk that masks do not work rather than try to wear masks that wouldn’t even cause considerable harm to themselves. The reality is that not everyone will follow such mandates and regulations, indicating a high probability of a spike in cases in places that reopen schools. Children, especially, will have a hard time sitting still, six feet away from each other all day whilst resisting the urge to adjust their masks every five minutes. School officials will not be able to monitor each and every student the entire school day, so many infractions of protocol can easily take place. Pictures of students packed in tiny hallways, in schools that have reopened, with little to none of them following the mask or social distancing protocol set out by the CDC have been spread all over social media platforms. Taking the issue of breaking protocol to the high school level, how many times have you seen students doing something against school rules? Countless times I bet. Students with a lack of concern towards anyone else will probably break protocol and put others in danger.
Another argument in the debate on reopening schools is the moral side. Sure, data points to a lower amount of children contracting the virus and an even lower hospitalization and death rate, but what happens when their parents get sick? Their grandparents? Anyone that is at higher risk? What happens when one of their loved ones dies, all because the asymptomatic child contracted the virus unknowingly from being at school and passed it on? What will we say then? If we open schools too early, without the necessary precautions, we won’t be able to regret the decision until tragedy strikes. COVID-19 is still a new virus and with no vaccine available, no risk of anyone’s life should be taken, until safety can be guaranteed.
Overall, there have been many factors in deciding whether school districts should institute in person or distance learning. These factors make the decision that much more difficult, but after a review of all factors, the answer to this debate is clear. From case studies on the virus, to moral reasons, schools should not open until the safety of each and every person on site is guaranteed. An issue of this magnitude will continue to evolve as cases fluctuate in number across the country and hopefully, school boards can make the responsible decision of protecting their students and teachers. Returning to school should not be a calculated risk, but one with concrete protocols and a guarantee of safety.
