Day 3:

Adapted for relevancy. Remember this article was from almost a year ago, new information and data have since been released. My opinion has since changed, no matter how significant. 

In Defense of Kids Staying Home

A new nationwide debate has been sparked by many politicians, media outlets, and parents regarding sending kids back to school in the fall.  Some state the problems with staying at home and how restarting classes are important to parents’ mental health, children’s development, and reviving the economy. Many think that the COVID-19 affects children minimally and doubt if they can become super spreaders. 

Though I agree that students should eventually go back to school, I insist that schools should have an organized safe method of getting children to classes. If every child goes to school this fall, they risk their own and others' health and may potentially cause the issue to become bigger than it already is. A much better and less problematic solution could be to start with online learning in places full of related COVID-19 cases and then do alternate days with proper social distancing and equipment.

Older staff members may suffer from COVID-19 in a building full of people; they will have to remain home in quarantine. This butterfly effect, a small change that may cause a massive difference, can cause the school to have a lack of employees causing improper sanitation, lack of teachers, and other workers.  Even most pro-school advocates agree that this issue should be brought up and that it must be considered when attempting to get schools up and running. The proposed solution of alternate days would also get rid of the butterfly effect.

Many people believe that children are not affected by COVID-19 making them want to send their child to school without knowing all the consequences. This is neither true nor confirmed, but what many people don't think about is if a child can become a super spreader. A super spreader for COVID-19 can transmit the virus to a large number of people. There hasn't been conclusive evidence whether kids are indeed super spreaders, but until there is it would be unwise to put kids back in school fully.

Recently there have been some very real issues surrounding online school. There will be a probable surge of household dysfunction and educational inequality according to many. Both of these genuine issues could be dealt with by simply transitioning into school by using an alternate day system; a safe, educational method could resolve these situations. I recognize that this would not prevent these issues entirely, but if teachers could help students open up about their personal life struggles it may help to take them to a professional. Another common argument is that there would be a major learning setback with the pandemic similar to what happens in the summer but much larger. If teachers would consistently enforce working and giving new problems and challenges it could help clear this setback.

To conclude, taking a safe approach to reopening schools for the economy, parent's work, and everybody's well-being should be planned carefully. New innovative systems such as the proposed alternate day after starting with an online school method could be a viable solution. The nation should not rush into school without knowing what to expect and all the possible consequences.