In mid-May I’m generally not thinking about the next school year.
Today is different. Suddenly, next year matters – a whole lot. The prospect of school starting (or not) in the fall impacts my family emotionally, financially, logistically and physically.
Every piece of uncertainty in my life gets easier if school starts as scheduled. That is, except one lingering question: Will a school day subject my children to a virus that has killed so many?
That’s heavy – no paycheck is worth a life.
Let’s face it – if the key to stopping the spread of COVID-19 lies in the ability to wash hands, play on only clean surfaces and stay a distance from friends, then our kids have no shot.
I can’t remember my kids staying 6 feet away from anything other than their toothbrush at bedtime or a serving of peas at dinner.
No shot.
I can’t recall my kids washing their hands willingly after doing anything – going to the bathroom included (gross, I know).
No shot.
But, alas, schools nationally are brainstorming innovative methods of protecting our children against their own terrible personal hygiene as we inch back toward normal.
Ideas floated by schools planning to open include:
- Staggered start times/schedules
- Wearing approved masks will be mandatory
- Inclusion of online learning to supplement in-class instruction
- Greater use of outdoor spaces to teach when possible
- Enforcement of social distancing
- Daily body temperature checks
- Limited use of (or partitioned) playgrounds
These measures seem like a prudent template to keep our little ones safely in adherence to the latest C.D.C. guidelines. They do, though, come with some downstream consequences for our under-paid teachers to solve (again).
Reopening will, without doubt, add to the job of our educators. Teachers will be novice distance monitors, hand-washing officers, managing the pace of multiple classes (in-person and online) simultaneously, playground referees and amateur medial assistants.
Oh, and teachers will be doing so while subjecting themselves to an elevated risk of virus exposure themselves. Those poor teachers, sigh.
Faced with such uncertainty and worry, I’m trying to resist the urge to reach for a cold one and, instead, take a long sip of suck-it-up-buttercup.
Fact: us parents can help.
No matter if school resumes, we should make sure that each kid will wear a mask without an epic battle to do so. Yes, it’s hot. Yes, it’s itchy. But, sorry sweetie, it’s mandatory.
No matter if school starts in the fall, all children should know how to (and the importance of) proper hand washing and sanitizing. Soap and water after the bathroom should be as natural as putting on a seat-belt in the minivan.
The concept of social distancing at 6 feet has to be practiced. At home, during the summer, give your kids visual examples of what a proper distance looks like. Explain to kids that keeping a distance does not mean that you can’t play, talk or like each other. Teach them to project their voices, that high-fives can wait and man-to-man defense can be relaxed on the basketball court for now.
Whether or not school starts, this summer practice is our new, parenting responsibility. If our kids are equipped to follow the rules laid out, we can regain some control of their health when we are (mercifully) apart again.
Not doing so will have us back to no shot – putting everyone at risk, taxing over-worked teachers and, likely, making us online teachers until a vaccination is available.
That cannot happen.
If there is one thing I’ve learned over the last three months, it is that there isn’t enough alcohol to sustain my elementary math teacher skills.
Parents, step up and teach your kids now – and again, and again over the summer. Because, let’s face it, we all want school to start and none of us want to fall back down.
Stay safe.
