Stop Trying to Send Kids Back to School
In times of great struggle, societies show their real colors. The results are often horrifying in their ability to unleash humanity’s capacity for cruelty. When times get tough the vulnerable are persecuted to protect the dominant’s sense of worth. Sometimes though, societies rise to the challenge, band together, and prove that humanity is a triumph worth fighting for. The coronavirus pandemic is one of these great struggles, and I fear that it is proving that American society is not one worth saving.
From the moment it became apparent that Covid-19 would force us to hunker down and change the way we live, for the betterment and survival of ourselves and neighbors, Americans showed their true colors. This has nothing to do with political affiliation and everything to do with a society that values “me” over “you”. The few that are ardent about wearing a mask and avoiding crowds are doing their part. The much larger middle does so half-heartedly and only when it’s convenient. The most vile are the few that laugh in the face of these incredibly easy life-saving measures and wear their lack of empathy like a badge of honor. No matter where you fall on the COVID-19-prevention spectrum, everyone should understand the efficacy of these regulations, and many present to the outside world that they follow them diligently.
I have social media; I have eyes; I have some sense and most people occupy the middle ground that pretends to but isn’t holding up their end of the bargain. We as a society are literally incapable of doing the bare minimum to prevent the spread of a deadly virus and we want to talk about when can we go back to normal? We’ve been back to normal for months. We’re still the same self-centered inconsiderate idiots we’ve always been — just now, people are dying because of it. Even as the number of cases rises the same mental-midgets that have been hosting so-called socially distanced barbecues all summer want to know when their children, who they love more than anything, can go back to school.
Sending children back to school in the midst of a pandemic that we don’t have under control is the 21st century’s version of A Modest Proposal. People are literally pushing for us to risk the lives of children and educators to save an economic system that is so inherently unfair that it forces people into a position where they are willing to risk the lives of their own children. Are we as a society, really willing to risk the young to feed the old? As the cries, from all walks of life and the political spectrum, become louder for children to go back to school it sure feels like that’s the case.
The first question I have for anyone who wants children back at school is, what is the benefit? Yes, being in school, in the pre-pandemic fashion, is far better for a child’s education. That’s it, though, at least for the things people are freely willing to admit. The cold truth is that people don’t love being a parent as much as they let on. Across all forms of media, there are countless pieces about the difficulty of actually having your child within earshot during business hours. The “it’s so hard to homeschool” crowd have been quite vocal, but they’re not even homeschooling; they are simply present for their child’s education. I sympathize with parents who are struggling to balance life during a pandemic, but their struggles do not mean we should risk the health and well being of children.
The downside of sending children to school has been well documented. Teachers will die. Teachers will miss time only to be replaced by substitute teachers. Students will get sick, bring COVID back home, and spread it. Children that are under the age of eight will struggle to maintain social distance guidelines simply due to their cognitive development. High schoolers and middle schoolers, well, let’s not kid ourselves, they won’t be smart about it because everyone is an idiot from the ages of 11 to 18. That leaves students from 4th to 5th grade who might be able to function responsibly in a socially distanced school environment.
Some school districts are planning on having hybrid learning, a more practical idea, where small groups of students come to school a few times a week while also participating in at-home lessons. Not only is it still a risk, but the benefits are reduced as it far from mirrors an authentic school environment. The risk does not outweigh the reward unless all you’re really looking for is having your child out of the house. Let us not forget that, for many people, that means making ends meet.
In the CDC’s own words:
“The best strategies for preventing COVID-19 infection in youth and adults are to wear a mask in public places, stay at least 6 feet away from other people, frequently wash your hands, and avoid crowds and confined or poorly ventilated spaces.”
It is clear you cannot send children back to school while meeting the CDC’s best strategies for preventing COVID-19 infection. School buildings in the United States are notorious for their lack of ventilation. The collaboration and socializing that is the foundation of classrooms, from elementary school to high school, would be lost.
The most troubling part of the “let’s send our children back to school” clique is the mental gymnastics utilized to rationalize how COVID will affect their children’s health. Children appear to have less severe reactions to COVID-19 compared to adults. A risky situation for an adult is not nearly as risky for a child. Since when has that been an argument from parents? For years people have been so overprotective of their children that obesity and allergies have skyrocketed from a lack of outdoor time, and now, in the midst of a pandemic, they’re reversing course. This is not, and has never been, about the children. It’s about you. It’s about not wanting your children home. For some, it’s because they had children to achieve a life milestone, but for others, it’s much more desperate. They cannot stay at home and also work. They are acting this way because they have little choice.
The driving force behind America’s failure to deal with COVID-19 is our broken economy. The vast majority of Americans cannot be out of work for any real period of time and an incredible number of Americans work in an industry that requires them to go out into the pandemic to make a living. The Trump administration did not take proactive measures to deal with the pandemic which meant we were always playing catch-up. State governments were wary of shutting down their economies in the absence of cases, even though it was well known that COVID shows up silently a few weeks before people become sick. What incurred was the greatest national security debacle in our nation’s history.
A catastrophe that has incurred 200,000 deaths and counting could have been largely mitigated if we had sacrificed our economy for our people. Our society has shown its true colors and it is horrifying. We let the elderly die and will risk the lives of children so we can keep our nation’s economic engine humming. The most disheartening fact is that the people who are risking their lives to keep the economy moving are not the ones who will see any real benefit from it. Shareholders have made out splendidly amid all the layoffs, death, and suffering, while average Americans are facing an eviction crisis that could rival the housing market crash from over a decade ago.
The cries to send kids back to school are a symptom of a broken society — a reality that is frightening to watch. People are acting against their family’s best interests to prop up a system that exploits them at every chance. We want to move forward in our recovery, but we cannot even wear masks and avoid crowds. America has done everything in its power to save our economic system and what has it given us in return? Lives have been lost, businesses are gone forever, and now we want to gamble with the health of our children to see if that will appease the beast. Don’t send our children back to school. This society and economy are not worth saving. Let them die, so the children can live.
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