So What About School…?
No one is really talking about it now, but there really aren’t any plans for Shane – and the rest of the county’s public school system – to return to school this fall.
They are assuming that kids will go back; everyone wants things to return to normal by September. The calendar is still posted. It’s still a matter under discussion.
But it doesn’t seem likely to me, as states – including ours – reopen. Coronavirus cases are spiking since Memorial Day all over the country. There’s a possible “side ailment” that affects kids, popping up in New York City, seemingly related to COVID.
Germany was the gold standard for what to do and how to do it, at least when the virus first started making its way around the world. But even Germany is having trouble since reopening – serious trouble. But their kids are testing themselves at home – imagine! – and proceeding to school without masks if they test negative.
And what about what happened in Korea? The country that did its best to track and trace, keeping folks healthy or home – until some guy went to a nightclub – suddenly had cases spike again. Korea opened cautiously, with social distancing and masks in place. And then hundreds of schools closed again, because their children were at risk.
So when my county executive sent an email claiming that we’re now starting phase two of reopening, I silently decided that we will not be going to the capacity-conscious swimming pools this summer. We won’t be shopping in our local malls. Nor will we be heading to our local movie theater, even though we’ll have two seats between our group and the next one. (What about the people coughing and sneezing directly behind us?)
We won’t be doing any indoor dining, either, no matter how limited the capacity. We won’t go to the beach, which seems like a great idea – but is overflowing with people already.
So what about school in two months? Will Shane be able to have a junior year? Will classes start on time? Will they be online? Will school buildings be open? Will Shane even meet his teachers in person?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
And I’m okay with that. I am in no hurry.