There is no reason left to avoid in-person education.
Early on in the vaccine rollout, teachers were given prioritization across the country. Local decisions varied, but early reports indicate that most states placed teachers toward the top of the eligibility list. This was a logical move. Getting teachers protected and back in the classroom meant children could head back too. From every indication, younger people are the ones least likely to have a severe case of COVID-19, if they show signs of having it at all.
The existence of vaccines, early teacher vaccine eligibility, and a lower number of severe cases in the younger population make any current decision to avoid in-person education extremely maddening. There is simply no excuse to go that route beyond political gamesmanship. The most recent example of nonsense was seen in a battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools. After initially refusing to return to in-person schooling, the CTU came to an agreement with CPS, allowing students to return to their actual classrooms this week. Whether it’s the CTU or other teacher organizations, this foot-stomping is not supported by science.
The nation as a whole is far removed from the start of the pandemic, when uncertainty and few mitigation measures were the norm. The ideas floated by leaders in the CTU and other fearmongers seem to suggest that cases must stand at zero before children and teachers can feel safe in classrooms. Each one of us wishes to avoid sickness, whatever the illness. But sometimes it is unavoidable. Variants such as omicron might affect most, if not all, of us in some way, whether we’re vaccinated or not. But children should never be the ones to carry the majority of the burden. If adults let fear and not facts guide them, it is the children who will suffer.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in March 2021 showed a number of troubling signs after the increase in virtual learning. Of the parents surveyed, almost 25% indicated their child’s mental and emotional health had worsened, along with a decrease in physical activity and time among peers. Naturally, emotional and mental health directly affect the ability to learn and retain information, easily leading to educational disasters. Additionally, parents themselves were feeling stressed and burdened by the new format.
It will be some time before the impact of virtual learning in the age of the pandemic is fully known. For children such as my son, who began kindergarten last fall, in-person learning is essential. He requires therapy to address a speech delay. But almost better than that is the time he has spent around dozens of peers. His communication has rapidly improved just from that immersion. If my son is one example, there are sure to be thousands more.
Whether children need extra help or none at all, the absolute best scenario for them is in-person learning. Arguments made to the contrary were only valid before vaccines arrived. Those who fight against allowing children to return to the classroom are more of a problem for those children than the virus. We can’t hold children back because fearful adults possess a relentless desire to sow fear.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
