Dear Principal, Educator, or Guardian of Future Learning,
I’m certain that you receive multiple
complaints, gripes, and other negative messages daily. I will strive to ensure
this is not one of them. This COVID-19 pandemic has seen the best, and the
worst of humanity come to the fore. Between worrying about how our economy will
survive businesses being closed, to listening to news and social media spread
conflicting information faster than the disease it’s about, America is at a
crossroads for how our future generations will look back upon this time.
As a parent of two boys who are both
high-risk, as well as having two high-risk adults living in our home, I worry
about how institutions across this great nation will proceed. I understand that
we have the choice of keeping our children home and using online tools for
their education. If it follows anything similar to how the last school year
ended, I fear my children’s success. Individual teachers acted as though their
class was the only one, and piled on one to two hours of work each day per
class. Even with three adults helping supplement the reading my children did
and trying to teach them the subjects that the online tools couldn’t, they
struggled. The biggest problem with online tools is that it offers little
opportunity for the students to ask for clarification, or to have something
rephrased.
I don’t want this to seem like a gripe
letter. Some teachers were excellent and contacted their students to work with
them via Zoom or other online tools. While this still left a significant burden
on parents who continued working, it was much appreciated. One on one training
like this isn’t sustainable in most situations, however.
With some parents complaining about
forcing their children to comply with state and local mandates to wear masks,
it puts everyone who attends the schools in person at risk. Faculty and Staff
will be forced to spend much of their time and effort either enforcing the
rules instead of educating their pupils, or putting themselves and other
students at risk as well as the families of students and teachers. I will
gladly fight and argue for people being allowed to make their own choices,
except when they are putting others at risk to exercise their freedoms. An
adult may drink alcohol to excess, and that is their choice. But the second
they get behind a wheel and decide to drive—again, their choice—they put
others’ lives at risk, whether they end up in an accident or not. People can
choose to wear a mask or not at home, but the second they leave and interact
with society, they are putting others at risk. The argument that they are
healthy, so why wear a mask, sounds the same as the drunk stating they are good
enough to drive. Their judgment is impaired by the aforementioned social media
and news spreading conflicting information.
I was raised never to present a
problem unless I had a possible solution. Schools can offer their classes
virtually. And educator can connect to a Zoom meeting—or whatever means the
school district dictates—and students can log in and listen to their teacher.
The technology is there that students can ask questions when they need, and
teachers can provide instant feedback. This method also allows for a digital
process of roll-taking. Chats can be incorporated, allowing for group
note-taking, should the teacher allow it. I acknowledge that this will create a
little more overhead for teachers, as they schedule their classes. But once set
up, it would be little different than how education proceeded for centuries.
The teacher stands and instructs, the students take notes, listen, or ask questions
as appropriate. Assignments can still be given out via email or your school’s
portal and turned in by the same method.
Teachers would still be able to
utilize their classrooms for instruction. They would spend the same amount of
time in their classrooms as they did before. There would be less trash and mess
to clean up at the end of the day. Books could be delivered digitally, cutting
back on waste. Even if a child is sick, they would still be able to attend
lessons. It would offer more opportunities for children NOT to miss school.
This method protects everyone, and no one would have to wear a mask.
I know that this would drastically
change our education system. Teachers would have to pay closer attention to
whose face is logged in at the other end. Parents will have to keep a closer
eye on what their children are doing during school hours to make sure they are
where they need to be.
I will admit that there will be
difficulties. Despite government efforts, broadband is not available
everywhere. Not everyone has a computer or smartphone to connect to classes.
These issues are a minority. School districts can work with these families to
provide a system for the student if they meet qualifications. If their access
to the internet is insufficient, I must ask how they finished the last school
year? I do not want to disparage their ability to learn, as a good education is
the best hope for everyone’s future. There are programs to get them the
internet access they need.
The only hurdle that cannot be overcome
with this method is the social engagements and interactions that students enjoy
during school. They could interact through the virtual class during appropriate
times, but they will miss the physical interactions. My best solution to this
is that parents of students that do not have a high-risk person in their home
could schedule “play dates.” Those that are high risk will not likely be
sending their children out to bring back a disease that, as of this writing,
has about a ~4% mortality rate in the nation. While some places boast of a
<1% mortality rate, I must ask at what number is any death justified because
of the discomfort of wearing a mask?
I ask that you consider the path of
teaching via virtual classrooms to ensure that the best education is offered to
our children, while simultaneously allowing people not to wear a mask, and
keeping our future generations safe.
Thank you,
A
Concerned Parent
