School Days in the Middle of a Pandemic

Coronavirus continues to shut down our country, and one of the issues of concern is should children return to school this fall?

I heard someone talking about how their child was becoming moody, irritable and overall didn’t seem really happy. Although the impact social distancing has on preschoolers is limited because they don’t always have a steady regiment of interaction with other children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that children learn more that just the lessons they are taught, there are emotional and social skills that are important for healthy growth.

Most of the schools have been shut down since the pandemic began, and students of all ages have been getting their education sitting in front of a computer screen.

The uncertainty of what the country will look like by the fall semester has many parents worried about how their children will be taught.

On line lessons will require parents to supervise, or hire someone to watch their children while they go to work, and kids often have short attention spans which means they will have to be monitored to make sure they are effectively listening and learning from what they are watching on a screen.

If the schools open there will be conduct codes that will have to be enforced, they might include wearing masks, washing your hands, temperature checks and social distancing.

There was a recommendation that teachers might move from classroom to classroom rather than have the students smarming through the hallways to their next class.

I believe kids will adapt to this far better than the parents, but until we have a safe effective vaccine to protect our children, faculty and staff, this is how our school systems will most likely operate.