Jimmy Failla: Our kids need to go back to school – As a dad, I know I'm not making the grade as a teacher
It dawned on me last week that I’m just not cutting it as a Home School Spanish Teacher
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Trump pushed for the full reopening of schools during a roundtable discussion at the White House Tuesday, vowing to "very much put pressure" on governors to get them open in the fall. As the parent of an 11-year-old, I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve gone back and forth on the issue until it dawned on me last week that I’m just not cutting it as a Home School Spanish teacher. This epiphany occurred after my son Lincoln asked me what date we celebrate "Cinco De Mayo" on. Needless to say, it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting tenure on Zoom any time soon.
I’m hardly the only parent who’s not making the grade. New research suggests that by September, distance learning will have caused some students to lose the equivalent of a full school year’s worth of academic gains, as the vast majority have failed to consistently engage with remote assignments.
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The steepest drop-offs have occurred amongst black, Hispanic, and rural students, a decline attributed to disparities in access to computers and home internet connections. But even students with adequate resources are often hampered by parents who lack the tech skills to adequately help with homeschooling. Turns out they call it “distancing learning” because the results are far from good.
In short, keeping kids home is quickly becoming more dangerous than sending them back to class.
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So says the understandably risk-averse, American Association of Pediatrics, who stated during its surprising recommendation to resume in-person learning, “the academic, physical and mental upsides associated with reopening outweigh the risks, especially as evidence continues to mount that children may not be the super-spreaders medical experts initially assumed they were.”
We have an obligation to shield our kids from the horrors of adult life and give them back a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy in the safest manner possible. Opening schools this fall will go a long way towards doing it.
We’re all concerned by the recent surge in cases around the country but as Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar pointed out during Tuesday’s meeting, the U.S. mortality rate for coronavirus remains “among the lowest if not the lowest in the developed world.”
That’s especially good news given that 22 countries have reopened schools and shown “no discernible increase in cases,” as Kentucky Senator Dr. Rand Paul noted during last week’s Senate hearing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dr. Paul’s statement came during a heated exchange with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who threw his full support behind reopening, saying “I feel very strongly we need to do whatever we can to get the children back to school.”
No parent wants to put their child in harm’s way from Covid-19 but sadly, distance learning has exposed too many children to other threats, such as higher rates of sexual abuse, substance use, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
School closures make it much harder for teachers to effectively reach kids with learning disabilities and limit access to meals for students in low-income households.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since the lockdowns went into effect, researchers have also noted a major decrease in physical activity and if you don’t believe me, check the usage numbers on XBOX Live. I know glaciers that have moved more than my son this week.
That’s not to knock him or any other kid suffering from the lack of inertia that inevitably results from having nowhere to be for most of your waking moments.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A typical school day is 7 hours long. Lincoln's average home school this spring was two hours, three if you count the day drinking his mom and I did afterward.
I’m kidding, we’ve moved onto much stronger stuff than booze. But jokes aside, when you remove the stimulation that comes from daily social interaction, you have a recipe for lazy indifference that yields a Costco-size serving every time.
Look, folks, I’m no health expert. For most of my adult life, I didn’t even have health care, I had WEB MD. If somebody shot me you’d have to rush me to the nearest WIFI signal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I wish I was kidding but during my 30’s the only doctors I knew were Dre and Pepper.
That being said, I do know we have an obligation to shield our kids from the horrors of adult life and give them back a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy in the safest manner possible. Opening schools this fall will go a long way towards doing it.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For that reason, I say we go full steam ahead in September.
Keeping schools closed opens kids up to a host of other dangers. Even a third rate Spanish Teacher like me can tell you that’s “No Bueno.”