The school year in the US is only weeks away after President Trump promised to reopen schools. Many, especially parents were not pleased by the news for fear of risking their children’s health safety. It at this time that the US is experiencing an upsurge in corona cases and the government plans to reopen schools.
Marina Avalos, a mother to a seven-year-old girl said she was uncertain of what to do. The lady was reluctant to permit her only daughter to go to school come August. Like most parents, Marina doesn’t comprehend why schools should open during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the total cases of corona in the United States are over three million and 130000 deaths.
In California, where Marina stays, up to 11694 people have corona. The 46-year-old mother says the current situation makes her feel nervous and unwilling to send her child back to school.
However, some parents can’t wait for their kids to resume their studies. Most of these parents also plan to return to their jobs. The major reason is parents fear their children’s education will deteriorate.
Government Plans to Reopen Schools, is it Political?
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump vowed to reopen schools in the country. His announcement received numerous responses from commentators. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, challenged his decision seeing face to face learning was putting the country in danger. He suggested it was not safe to do so since the cases of the corona were rising each day.
Avalos also stated that the reopening of schools wasn’t something to negotiate. Instead, she recommended the school districts as a body in charge of making decisions.
Nevertheless, Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the US, is making preparations in the classrooms for August learning. The county health director, Barbara, advised the heads of education in the country to advance and keep up with online learning.
Online learning might not favor everybody
Monika Zands, a mother of three children, believes in face to face teaching. She regards it as the most effective learning technique, mostly for slow learners. As such, not all learners might benefit from online education, especially the little ones who are still amateurs.
She says older kids are more advantaged since they are used to online learning. Some little ones also have a hard time concentrating for hours and doing online assignments. Monik said after her youngest daughter had finished attending her online learning sessions, she started complaining and crying that she had missed her friends.
“She’d be in tears, crying ‘I can’t see my friends, and I can’t do this and now you want me to sit and do homework all day long,” recalled Zands, whose children attend private schools.
Alternative to online learning
E-learning is accompanied with a variety of challenges, right from lack of clarifications for slow learners. Monika stated she would form a group with other parents and hire a tutor for their kinstates that way, the kids could learn in small groups more effectively.
Jena Lee, a child psychiatrist in Los Angeles, said that although tuition is a good alternative, not all kids are advantaged.
“I’m especially concerned about the risk of further polarization of learning between different socioeconomic groups,” Lee said.
Lee says as a result child from humble backgrounds are vulnerable to academic setbacks. She cautioned that failure to reopen could interfere with the health and social development of children. For example, Avalos has a child who suffers from attention disorder and usually gets help from a specialist in school.
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