Schooling During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has brought about major changes to ways of living for Americans and people all over the world. These major changes are constantly taking place as we speak. One of the biggest concerns among these changes and issues is of students and whether or not they will participate in schooling during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The coronavirus being as contagious and deadly as it is among all age groups, reopening schools for students to physically attend is becoming less and less likely. As summer break is coming to an end in 2020, government officials, school districts, governors, mayors, teachers, students, parents, and many others struggle to find ways to conduct schooling during such difficult times. Some believe schools should reopen, but why?

Schooling During the Coronavirus Pandemic Becomes Problematic

For young adults and especially children, school is very important for the development of the mind and the expansion of their knowledge. Many, especially parents of younger children, believe that an online alternative to schooling is near impossible and insufficient in teaching and educating their children as there are many distractions in the home. But not only are there distractions, but there are also other underlying issues regarding limited resources. 

For example, many American families do not have access to the internet. According to the National Center for Education, in 2016, only 81.9% of households in the United States had access to the internet. Looking at these statistics, it is clear that online learning will most likely disadvantage a large population of students in the United States.

For younger children, attending school is very important in developing social skills and for engaging in interactive learning. It can be very difficult to conduct online schooling, especially among this age group as they can be very easily distracted. 

According to a poll put out by Tampa Bay Times on Twitter, about 60% of parents out of around 2500 voted that they were not comfortable with sending their children to school, a large majority of it is due to their safety and the safety of their teachers and classmates.

Many governors do not believe in social distancing and a few do not believe that wearing a mask is necessary. The same governors urge their school districts to reopen their schools. President Trump also believes schools should reopen. This false narrative causes and has been causing major conflict among families and in their decisions regarding sending their children back to school.

Alternatives to In-School Learning

When the majority of the schools responded to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020, most schools diverted their learning agendas to be online for the rest of the school year. To address the issue of the large population of students who lack access to the internet, online learning was optional. 

With the beginning of a new school year, it is not ideal to make online learning optional, especially when it is vital for teachers and students to get to know each other and understand their curriculums together. It is not easy to build such relationships online. 

Another solution came up which solves keeping safety up to par and keeping education stable: hybrid learning. Hybrid learning involves students learning from home online and attending classes for fewer days during the week in smaller groups. This solution allows students to stay safe, as they are exposed to lesser individuals. Smaller population sizes in schools would make it easier to socially distance. It also allows students and teachers to connect, making understanding curriculum and building relationships much easier. Students gain both social and educational benefits while maintaining the safety of their health.

Some schooling districts, such as the Dallas Independent School district, are choosing to delay school entirely, most likely until mid to end of September. Delaying school would account for the large number of students that currently do not have internet access. 

What Do We Expect To See Within The Next Year?

Despite the fact that case numbers begin to go down significantly from where they were a month ago or so, the virus is still active and has the potential to infect anyone. Reopening schools is not the safest course of action to take, considering schools provide very little social distancing practicality as hallways can become very easily crowded. At one reopened high school in Paulding County, Georgia, 9 students tested positive for the coronavirus the first week after the reopening of the school. 

However, Georgia was one of the very few schools that reopened. For the majority of schools, online and hybrid learning will be the dominant forms of learning for the beginning of their 2020-2021 school year. The most ideal of schooling must consist of both safety and adequate education for the 2020-2021 school year with the coronavirus still being a prevalent threat, especially within the United States.