Return to School?
Friends, this year has been tough. For all of us. But, I think, most especially for parents. We have locked down, juggled everything with working from home, helping our kids finish the school year from home, slowly rolling back into life, an endless summer and struggling with even the idea of a return to school for our kids. Whatever we decide, that decision is one that we each have to make, for our own families, taking into consideration our own health – both mental and physical. There is no one size fits all answer. Each of us have to make the best decision, for our own families.
This post started as an idea for our next JugglingNormal Group Q&A. Actually, the idea for that came from Kristi, who posted an Instagram video asking her followers what they think about sending kids back to school in a month or so. Our little group discussion took several turns, and I decided to tackle this one as an independent post. So, should our kids return to school this fall in person, and how should that look?
Kristi’s concern was specifically related to their charter school, where her three kids would each be in bilingual classrooms (English in the morning and Mandarin in the afternoon) with 25 kids in each class – therefore 150 kids potentially exposed to each other every day, with masks optional. She and her husband were struggling with whether to send their kids in person, or keep them home for the first few months of the year and re-evaluate around Thanksgiving or the winter holidays. They have since decided to keep their kids home for at least the first few months of the year.
I am going to preface my perspective here with this: I completely believe in wearing masks and my family and I wear them when we’re out and about in public. I have made several for each of our family members, and will probably make more as the year progresses and we start to do more things inside when the weather changes (see All the Masks for pattern ideas).
That said, I do not think elementary age kids are going to keep them on for a full 8-hour school day, and I am glad that our governor has excluded children under 10 from his mask mandate for our state.
There are so many challenges as we all contemplate the return to school: having a mask requirement (or not), social distancing in the classroom, students going to multiple classrooms – not to mention the cafeteria and playground. Some school districts are talking about having different groups of kids on different schedules (A, B, and C groups going different days or different weeks). How will that work for parents?
I ran across this articulate piece in the New York Times: In the CoVID Economy, You Can Have Kids or a Career, but not Both. Let that sink in for a minute.
In the CoVID Economy, You Can Have Kids or a Career, but not Both.
Kristi has a great parental commentary as she reads this article in a “podcast” she posted on Instagram a few weeks ago.
All across the country, parents (and grandparents) have stepped up and stepped in to help their kids learn remotely. Those same parents still have their own commitments and have to earn a living – in addition to parenting and homeschooling, and doing all the things at home every day. Our society is full of single parents and two-income families, and not every parent is able to work from home. We’ve all juggled all the things and made it work, but is that model sustainable for another 4-6 months? A year?
In a word? Yes. Because, as parents, we do roll with whatever we have to do. We will continue to do whatever we need to in order to keep going. Things are constantly changing, and all of us will need to figure out a back-up plan for whatever decision we start with!
How do we move toward reopening our economy and moving forward in this new paradigm? People have to be able to work and feel comfortable raising their kids and making sure they are learning in the best way possible. I have the luxury to be home with my kids and help them if I need to, but most parents do not. We are all trying to figure out the best way forward – and it is a group discussion as a society, but also an individual decision for each family.
I am also very concerned about businesses. A good chunk of our economy runs on small businesses. How do those business owners keep going – and keep being good moms and dads – if we don’t move forward and jump back in to a more “normal” existence?
In our little town, we have only had a handful of CoVID cases here (our county has had 60-some cases, most of which have been in the county seat, 30 miles away from us). My husband has been traveling for work and coming home – wearing a mask everywhere he goes – since the first week in May. We are being careful, but we have also been doing things and getting out and about more. It sounds like our school board is planning for a return to school as close to normal as possible here – with the potential for some remote school here and there if and when there is an outbreak.
In our district, parents are making the choices now about whether to go in-person, completely online, or a hybrid model that will be the default if and when we have an outbreak here.
I think our school district did a fantastic job of moving to remote schooling last spring – nearly overnight. I was impressed with the Apps that were chosen (Google Classroom and SeeSaw), and my kids did fairly well with getting their work done and keeping up. By the end of those two months, they both absolutely hated it.
I also think there is a big difference between finishing the last two months of the year online, when the kids and teachers already have relationships and established routines, and starting a whole new year online – and I think the best thing for the kids is to go back in person. The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a report saying the same thing.
This study also mentions the downsides of remote schooling and the pandemic. What about the kids for whom home is not a safe place? Where they do not have internet – or enough food? A return to school is both the safest option and the best all-around option for those kids.
My youngest starts kindergarten this fall. I cannot imagine how kindergarten looks or works online. She is so ready! All of my kids are social, and I think it is important to recognize the benefits of the social aspects of school. A lot of what we learn in kindergarten (really, every year, but that first year especially) is how to work and play with others. She’s gotten some of that in preschool, but there is so much more that she would miss if she didn’t go to school in the fall! (I am not joking when I say that I would find a barn for her class to happen in if it came to that – and I suspect there are more mamas out there who feel the same).
There are so many reasons I think an in-person return to school is best for all of us – as much as we can make it happen – this fall. Not the least of which is that regular schedules, routine, and seeing friends every day are all good for our kids.
I came across another helpful New York Times article last week: Schools Beat Earlier Plagues with Outdoor Classes, We Should Too. There is no reason our schools can’t have outdoor classes as much as possible! This is a great answer to some of the concerns about gym classes especially. I think all gym classes should be outside this year! Getting fresh air and exercise outside is healthier and better for our kids anyway. We need creative solutions so some of these challenges.
Friends, I think there is value in teaching our kids to be more aware of themselves and their surroundings, to wash their hands regularly (with soap!), to not touch their faces, and to not share drinks or food. Our school district has an ozone sprayer that disinfects surfaces, and I am confident that they will regularly use it once classes resume.
There are also some new technologies that some districts are investing in, to try to improve ventilation systems in school buildings and on buses. This article about a private school in Vail, Colorado details one example of this. We need more of these ideas – and our schools should be looking for new ways to improve and streamline systems for disinfecting. This is not the only virus out there, and keeping ahead of the germs is always a good idea! Not every district can afford to do this overnight, but it is definitely something to add into the mix of options.
Schooling is mandatory for our children. We have built our society around school-age kids being there in person, and parents also have to work.
For parents who are more worried about exposure to the virus, homeschool might be the best option for those families this year. I have always said that I could homeschool my kids if I needed to – and this year has proved that. However, it is not my first option.
Jefferson County, Colorado – the second largest school district in the state – announced in June that elementary students would be back in school full time this fall, in response to a survey of parents that came back 90 percent in favor of in-person learning. The district announced their plan for how the whole district will operate last month. And announced another change two weeks ago, with a plan to start online for the first couple weeks of school and then go in person starting September 8.
Our plans are constantly changing, and we have all had to roll with the changes each week as we’ve learned new things. I think the online start that many of the larger districts have announced, with plans to still go in person after the first few weeks, is probably a good compromise.
Every family has to make the best choice for themselves. No matter which choice you make, there is no single “right answer.” Our school district is considerably smaller than Jefferson County, and we have had very few cases of the CoVID in our town.
I will be sending my kids back this fall. We will follow whatever rules we need to in order to make that happen. If we need to do some weeks of remote learning here and there, we will roll with that. We’ve already shown we can do it! I don’t think that is the best way my kids learn, and I will take the risks of in person school in order to give them the best learning environment for them.
Friends, this virus is scary. I won’t tell you it’s not. But, we all have to live. And I believe a return to school is best for our kids and our community/society as a whole.