BY EDITORIAL BOARD
-Editorial-
On the one hand, virtual schooling across the board will reduce the number of COVID outbreaks as well as heavily reduce the risk of kids spreading and bringing home the virus.
With the uncertainty that’s still surrounding COVID-19 and opening public spaces, schools have had to deal with an interesting dilemma. Open schools with restrictions or continue with the online-only platform.
Local schools have started to come out with plans for reopening. Carlynton is going to have online classes for the first four-and-a-half weeks. Moon Area School District will also kick off the fall season with virtual only classes. While Montour is slated to reopen, with strict guidelines and constant sanitation, they are also offering online components.
The commentary from parents is a mixed bag. Some parents are not happy about virtual schooling, as it will conflict with their work schedules. Other parents see it as the only option, fearing that their child could bring home the virus.
Either way, there is no right or wrong. There are pros and cons to both that need to be taken into consideration.
On the one hand, virtual schooling across the board will reduce the number of COVID outbreaks as well as heavily reduce the risk of kids spreading and bringing home the virus.
This is important for children who live with more vulnerable individuals such as older people or parents with preexisting conditions. Virtual schooling, however, will likely result in a decline in enrollment as some parents opt for cyber charter schools that have been honing their online programs for years instead of newly instituted public school ones.
On the other hand, homeschooling kids is going to become a huge burden for working parents who might not have the option of staying home and overseeing their child's schoolwork. The lack of social contact with other kids will likely have an effect on home-schooled students’ brain development and mental health.
Teachers have mixed reactions to the differing plans as well. Some aren’t happy about the risks of opening up again, while some say wearing a mask for eight hours a day isn’t realistic.
Whichever way you stand, parent, teacher or child the best thing to do is to determine what is right for you and your family. What works for one will not work for another. We need to weigh all of the pros and cons.
The plan as it stands is to wait it out and hope for a vaccine so that we can return to a regular sense of normalcy and resume the school year before the end of the year. We can hope, right?