Disclaimer: This post is ALL over the place. It represents my mind. It represents where we are in the world right now. It represents the back and forth of the news, the information, the guidelines we are getting on a daily basis. And, I'm also (a little) sorry for my foul mouth... some of my colleagues, appraisers, former students, and nieces and nephews will read this. I have a feeling you won't mind! :)
In less than 10 days, I am supposed to make a decision for my children on which I have very little guidance. No parent or grandparent alive today has had to make this decision. People who don't have to make the choice are relieved they aren't the ones making it. I'm supposed to decide if I will send my three young children to school in August. I'm supposed to make this decision based on what exactly? The bare bones of a plan that can't be easily understood by any parent - including highly educated educators like myself? The guidelines keep changing, the data keeps changing, the requirements keep changing... we're at all-time highs for people testing positively for COVID-19, more people are hospitalized, more people are dying. But by all means, let's make parents decide if they want to send their kids out into the world in the hopes that they'll stay safe.
But kids don't really get this, we've been told.
Well, they could bring it home to their grown-ups.
Well, they could bring it home to their grown-ups.
But kids can get this, we've been told.
Well, they recover pretty quickly.
Well, they recover pretty quickly.
But kids can get really sick, we've been told.
Well, it's only a few; it is so rare that happens.
Well, it's only a few; it is so rare that happens.
But we don't really know the lasting effects, we've been told.
Well, that's true about staying home, too.
Well, that's true about staying home, too.
But, they're better off at school where they can get their social/emotional needs met, we've been told.
Well, not if they are so worried about getting sick.
Well, not if they are so worried about getting sick.
But, they'll fall so far behind if they don't go, we've been told.
Well, isn't their physical health more important than learning?
Well, isn't their physical health more important than learning?
But, kids don't really get this....
It's all a disaster of counter-opinions. Well, all the kids will wear masks. Or maybe they won't. Or maybe they'll try, but they're kids, so they'll put their hands all over their masks. They'll pick their noses, they'll sneeze all over each other, they'll cough and wipe boogers and trade sandwiches at lunch. Oh wait, they can't go to lunch... they'll eat at their desks? Okay, so they'll play at recess... but 6 feet apart. And they should spend as much time outside as they can, but only when the heat index is less than 95, which is never in Texas in August or September. So, they'll stay inside, which increases their chances of getting COVID. Well, at least they'll be 6 feet apart. Or maybe they won't. It depends on how many parents actually send their kids to school. Maybe more people will keep their kids home... and that will be great, so those who are left at school will have less people to actually interact with - the whole reason I wanted them to get out of the house in the first place - to be with peers. But, that will be good for the teachers if fewer kids come, since no one - NO ONE - has asked how they feel about going back to work in this pandemic. They're expected to work. And they should want kids to come, right?? I mean, that's how schools get funded. We should want kids to come? Or we shouldn't? I'm confused. Wait, if we all go back to the classrooms, then who is doing the virtual classrooms for kids who stay home? Do I even go to work? Do I stay home with kids that I might want to keep home? Or do I not have that option? What happens if I send them to school and someone in their class is sick - or the teacher gets sick? Do we shut that class down? The school?
It's too much and it's unfair to ask parents to make this decision. Oh, but that's what makes us the land of the free, right? Go ahead, start your damn political argument. Please. Please make this fucking PANDEMIC a political issue. The health and safety of our communities are definitely up for debate, apparently. Yes, we as parents ultimately have the final say no matter what. Before this pandemic, we were able to make these decisions for our kids - to send them to public school, to private school, to charter schools, to co-ops, to boarding schools, to homeschool. But, this? This is different. THIS is the superintendents and school boards not having a CLUE what they are doing... not because they aren't capable, but because they aren't getting the information THEY need from the commissioner. The education agencies can't pass anything along because they don't have a CLUE what to do, because they aren't getting what they need from the governor. And, the governor doesn't have a CLUE what to do, because he doesn't have what he needs from the fucking president. That's right. If the damn quack at the top would have handled this (or would START to handle this) like a G..D... leader, perhaps we would all be in a better place. No, no... don't get the wrong idea. I'M not trying to make this political. HE did that. HE made public health a political issue. He had the opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to be the miracle worker he thinks he is and turn this country around. He could have made mask wearing mandatory, could have told governors to shut it down tight for a month, could have followed the many countries who were affected long before we were, could have learned lessons from mistakes other leaders made, but no, now we are all in this fucking mess. Now parents all over the country are having to make this same decision for their kids, and they have NO CLUE how to do that.
So, because the top can't grow a pair and tell everyone how to get our shit together, everyone is scrambling, waiting, and passing the buck. Who does this affect? Yes, parents. But, more importantly, our kids, because we are blubbering messes at home trying to decide what the hell we are doing with their next several months if not longer. Do we pay that tuition for preschool, only to fight the 4-year-old on sitting still during Zoom lessons in November when they inevitably shut the school down? Do we give in to the rising first grader who wants to stay home from school because learning with Mommy is better and school is so boring? Or is that not really what this is about? Do we send the fourth grader because, even though he could get sick, our relationship suffers when Mom is the teacher and all I get is eyerolls, grunts, and attitude? Do I keep the boys home while I go to work, bring home whatever I've been around all day, and hope that Sam can manage a law practice, running for judge, and the kids while they're "learning?" Is this what it comes down to? We can either work or we can have kids? We can't have both anymore?
There are no easy answers. Well, there are. But no one wants to hear my 2 cents.
Oh, you do? Okay, well, if it really comes down to the agony so many of us are feeling as parents in making this decision, (and I realize many aren't... some have already made up their minds to either send or not send their kids), I think we'd all be willing to compromise a little. Why are we not sending kids for half a day? Let's say a teacher gets 22 kids in her class (that's about what a K-3 class has in Texas). 11 of those kids can opt or be assigned to come in the AM class (say 7:45-11:15), and the other 11 can opt or be assigned to the PM class (say 11:45-3:15). Specials could be every other day ... not ideal, but we definitely don't want to shaft music, art, and PE. Special services can still be given during these times, too.
Okay, not an easy answer, because no, I don't know how that would work for middle and high schools due to electives, but it would certainly make sense for elementary schools to work this way. I'd rather my kids get SOMETHING for a short bit than nothing. It would allow for meals to be given, it would allow for teachers, counselors, and administrators to check in on students' mental, physical, and emotional needs, and it would allow in-person instruction that kids were so desperately missing in March, April, and May. Parents are working? Well, that's a problem, I know. But, this is an option for people who are baffled by what to do. Perhaps some campuses could offer this middle ground.
FFS, there is a global pandemic going on. It's a crisis, an emergency situation. We need to be flexible and try new things. I just have such a problem with making this impactful decision for the tiny people I love more than anything in the world, especially when I have barely ANY information to go off of. I'm managing information coming from two different school districts right now, and neither of them outline what the day will REALLY look like for the kids - because they don't know, and they can't know. And, they can't make good decisions until we parents make ours. But we can't - because it's all vague and brings questions and can't really be clarified yet. And the irony of it all - it could change in an instant, and everything could close before we even get to Day 1.
Every day we as parents make decisions for our kids: can they stay up past bedtime, can they have that soda this one time, can they play Fortnite, should I call the derm about this rash, should I allow more screen time, do I send him to time-out for that, does he like soccer enough for me to reenroll him -- I mean he just stands there!, when IS the right time to get him his own phone, should we medicate or wait it out, should I walk him back to his bed or let him climb in mine? EVERY FUCKING DAY we have to choose between doing what is RIGHT and doing what is EASY. That's the hardest part of having kids. And, here we are, with yet another decision, only this time it affects the whole community. Do.I.Send.My.Kids.To.School?
Every day we as parents make decisions for our kids: can they stay up past bedtime, can they have that soda this one time, can they play Fortnite, should I call the derm about this rash, should I allow more screen time, do I send him to time-out for that, does he like soccer enough for me to reenroll him -- I mean he just stands there!, when IS the right time to get him his own phone, should we medicate or wait it out, should I walk him back to his bed or let him climb in mine? EVERY FUCKING DAY we have to choose between doing what is RIGHT and doing what is EASY. That's the hardest part of having kids. And, here we are, with yet another decision, only this time it affects the whole community. Do.I.Send.My.Kids.To.School?
