Should Children be Going Back to School During the Pandemic? #NoFilterFriday

Normally when September arrives, kids get very anxious about their first day back to school. Today, it isn't only the children that are anxious to go back, but every parent out there is now experiencing knots in their stomachs too.

Shutting down schools was an obvious response to the COVID-19 situation. Schools are packed with children who could be spreading the virus around. However, closing down schools also put a significant set-back on all of the students' educational development. Not only had the shut down affected everyone's emotional, social, and physical health, but there were other side effects such as increased anxiety, depression, and unfortunately higher suicide rates.

Now, do we think schools are ready to open up their doors? Yes and no. There are many factors to consider when answering this question because it depends on the school and its ability to maintain a safe and clean environment. How well can they keep kids apart from each other? How often will washrooms, cafeterias, and classrooms be sanitized? In Canada, each province has its own set of guidelines to follow for school re-opening, but in Alberta, there is still a lack of transparency as to how the federal government's $2B funding to help schools re-open will be used. According to one article, "No provincial funding has been provided to reduce class size" this statement alone is worrying enough. While in Ontario, teachers' unions are to file a labour board complaint over Ontario's school reopening plan. So, if teachers themselves don't feel like they are ready to open up their schools, why should they?

Online school is hard enough as it is, and for little children to make that transition is even harder, one mother expressed "The whole concept of virtual education for an eight-year-old was kind of silly..." It's also no doubt that the transition to virtual learning has also increased the stress levels of some parents. If we're talking about kids who are younger than 8, 9, or 10, they would need the help of their parents navigating through zoom or google classrooms and such, on top of working from home. So it's understandable (from this perspective) why it's necessary to open up schools again.

So if you want a simple yes or no answer, here it is. No, we don't think children should be going back to school. But, it's also important to consider how quarantine and virtual classes affect the growth and learning of kids who (mostly) are still in their formative years. Right now, the state of COVID-19 in Canada remains (relatively) under control. I think Canada has the potential to keep their students and staff safe, but in order for parents to feel comfortable, they have to be strict in enforcing wearing a mask, physical distancing, and proper hygiene rules. All of these steps are what has helped our country keep our case numbers down and if we want to move forward we have to keep following these rules.

This topic is very debatable and like all of our #NOFILTERFRIDAY posts we would appreciate it if everyone can keep their minds and hearts open to everyone's opinions. You do not need to force that your opinion is the right answer upon others. Especially in this situation there is no right answer because everybody's situations are different. Please let us know what you guys are doing come fall. Are you letting children go back to school? Is it too early? Do you think we are out of the woods?

xx

Team ME