Should schools reopen?

PopsnTuff

PopsnTuff

Well-known Member
Location
Virginia USA
An Iowa school district suspended its in-person summer school program this week after an outbreak of fevers. Fort Benning, an Army base in Georgia, had a coronavirus outbreak shortly after new recruits arrived. And multiple sports teams have had to halt practices after athletes or other employees got sick.

All of these recent cases make clear that reopening is not simply a matter of declaring it to be so.

The good news is that the experience in other countries suggests that it may be possible to reopen schools. Germany, Denmark and others have done so without causing big new virus outbreaks, as President Trump noted yesterday.
But those other countries have taken two steps that the U.S. has not.

One, they have first reduced the overall rate of new infections to low levels: Germany reported 35 new cases per million residents over the past week; the U.S. had almost 1,100. (The Times updates this map every day, tracking the virus around the world.)....read on.....
 

Schools are scheduled to reopen by the end of August around here. I'm hoping they can go back.
My granddaughters want so much to get back to school. They miss all their friends and teachers, and although they've been doing online schooling since March, it sure isn't the same.
 

Even though our state ordered schools to reopen in the fall, local school districts will be allowed to overrule that based on regional circumstances. If I had kids I'd seriously consider an online alternative such as Keystone.

One fly in the ointment: ICE just issued new guidelines stating that international students who take more than 3 credit hours online will lose their legal status and be deported. This at a time when colleges and universities are moving to virtual classrooms due to the pandemic. The students' only other options are to take a medical leave, drop their course load or transfer to another school that offers in-person classes - none of which is feasible for many students. I think that stinks.
 
Yes. We need to get the kids back in school. Better education in classrooms, teaches socialization, better nutrition for many (not all) and it allows parents that need to work, but have small children at home to be able to go to work. I also understand that some kids are fighting depression because of staying at home.

People under the age of 18 have a minimal risk (1.7%) of getting the virus and if they should get the virus, their symptoms are generally mild and the death rate is about .05%.

At some point, we are all going to have to learn to live with this virus until we get an effective vaccine. Proper sterilization and mitigation are two of the most important items we should have all been practicing and continuing to do so.

This is one of those questions where we each have to decide for ourselves what we believe to be best for the child and the family.
 
If there are significant virus cases in the area and schools nevertheless take the risk of reopening and exposing children to serious illness, they can look forward to plenty of lawsuits and litigation.

No matter what they sign, in most cases parents cannot sign away a minor's legal rights to sue. Plenty of school districts are consulting their lawyers right now. Not to mention their insurance policies.

The public school system's objective is to educate and help socialize students in a safe, healthy environment, not to serve as daycare centers.
 
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I side with both opinions for...yes...no.
I do feel that kids do need to attend school in their school institutions....interacting with friends, others, in general, teachers, and going out in the world they remember before Covid 19, but we all know it will not be the same, the kids will come to know that in their familiar surroundings, and to search again for their mentors.
I do feel there is such risk, in putting them back, to deal with maybe uncomfortable crowds.
As adults, parents, teachers, all want to protect them from a harming type of life.
So, as you can see, the fence is 50/50 for me.
Our school, here in town, so far is scheduled to open after the long weekend in September.....Pending.
All i hope for is what's best for all students, right from kindergarten, to university.
The BEST to All.
 
I think the idea of shoving kids back to school so that parents can get back to work is a pathetic reason to do this. Putting our kids at risk shouldn’t be an option no matter what. It’s better to live in a depression WITH your kids than toss them to the unexpected. Sure some are getting depressed. Some will always get depressed. Depression is common across the board for everyone.

Saying we should ALL just get used to it and get on with life is the ultimate in selfish and irresponsible. Lives matter. Whether they are young or old, everyone has the ability to spread this. Look how many snubbed their nose at this pandemic saying it was all just nonsense yet are now sick with the virus and many of them LEADERS!

People need to wonder what the intention is of some of the suggestions out there. Financial gain should never be placed higher than serious contagious health risks.
 
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911 said:
Yes. We need to get the kids back in school. Better education in classrooms, teaches socialization, better nutrition for many (not all) and it allows parents that need to work, but have small children at home to be able to go to work. I also understand that some kids are fighting depression because of staying at home.

People under the age of 18 have a minimal risk (1.7%) of getting the virus and if they should get the virus, their symptoms are generally mild and the death rate is about .05%.

At some point, we are all going to have to learn to live with this virus until we get an effective vaccine. Proper sterilization and mitigation are two of the most important items we should have all been practicing and continuing to do so.

This is one of those questions where we each have to decide for ourselves what we believe to be best for the child and the family.
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People under the age of 18 have a minimal risk (1.7%) of getting the virus and if they should get the virus, their symptoms are generally mild and the death rate is about .05%. . . There are many grandparents raising their grandchildren, many homes have a grandparent living with them. Many families who do shopping for elderly parents. The risk to them is more then 1.7%.
 
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I say send them to school and when a state's hospitals become overwhelmed with thousands of cases at once, ignore it and just keep the schools open. After all, school is such a clean, sterile environment right? Therefore it won't be the schools causing the problem. It'll be those older people with pre-existing conditions messing things up. Who needs them anyway.
 
I've seen no data that indicates that the virus cannot be carried by children back home, whether the virus actually makes the children very sick or not. Also there have been deaths among children, as well as damage to lungs, neurological damage, etc., that will last their lifetimes. I also don't think the data is clear enough on what the actual death rate is among children, or even among adults for that matter.

In addition, most children have been quarantined with their families for some time, so who knows that the real transmission/death rate would be among groups of children once they are back out among their peers. I don't think parents can count on children to observe safe practices (masks, hand washing, distancing) when they are back in school, either. I remember how hard it was to get kids to wash hands properly even at home.

I think it is a dangerous idea to open schools too early, especially now that cases are spiking in many states. If I still had children at home, I don't think I would send them back to school yet. Better they lose a year of in-class education that for them to lose the rest of their lives.
 
Butterfly said:
I've seen no data that indicates that the virus cannot be carried by children back home, whether the virus actually makes the children very sick or not. Also there have been deaths among children, as well as damage to lungs, neurological damage, etc., that will last their lifetimes. I also don't think the data is clear enough on what the actual death rate is among children, or even among adults for that matter.

In addition, most children have been quarantined with their families for some time, so who knows that the real transmission/death rate would be among groups of children once they are back out among their peers. I don't think parents can count on children to observe safe practices (masks, hand washing, distancing) when they are back in school, either. I remember how hard it was to get kids to wash hands properly even at home.

I think it is a dangerous idea to open schools too early, especially now that cases are spiking in many states. If I still had children at home, I don't think I would send them back to school yet. Better they lose a year of in-class education that for them to lose the rest of their lives.
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Plus people of any age can become carriers, even if they have no symptoms at all.
 
StarSong said:
Plenty of children, parents and school employees have underlying health conditions. Guess their health is an acceptable risk.
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SS: I fully understand what your concern is and I can’t deny that it is an issue that needs to be considered when (or if) the kids go back to school. What I thought was kind of questionable was that when teachers were surveyed, the majority of this particular survey agreed that it was time to return to school. However, when the teachers’ unions were surveyed, the consensus was to stay at home.

What do you make of this?
 
fmdog44 said:
It is more political than medical now.
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That sums it up perfectly, Fmdog. Just look through this thread and see which opinion which person comes down on.

Needless to say, my feeling right now is, hell, no. The numbers in my state have started to go up again. IMO, anybody who is more worried about jobs, money, the economy, etc. than about people's health and lives, is just plain nuts.

And yes, the disease is usually milder in children. But usually doesn't mean always. Children have died of it, or complications from it. And they can easily spread it to their parents and grandparents. I think Europe is being pretty premature in reopening also, but that is not my business.
 

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