The Daily, the NYTimes daily podcast on current events, today discussed school re-openings, and gave examples from all over the world where this has been tried and the various results. The overwhelming consensus if you ask health experts (NOT politicians) is that, basically, if your community is under control, you can slowly and very carefully, in increments, open schools.
Examples:
- Best example: Norway and Denmark. They opened schools AFTER their infection rate started to plummet, and they did it with younger children first (due to their lower likelihood of spreading the virus, lower likelihood of being seriously ill from the virus, and their much more intense need to be in a structured learning environment due to their age), in groups of 12 students per 1 teacher, or "pods." This helped keep kids and teachers isolated, and this only works, again, if the community around the school is experiencing lower and lower infection rates. Once the younger kids are back in school, and the community is under control, you can talk about having older kids go back using a similar model.
- Worse example: Sweden and Israel. In the case of Israel, they re-opened too quickly and found infection rates in teachers and students shooting up, so they had to close down completely again, which most would agree is a huge waste of time and resources. In the case of Sweden, due to their misreading of how to handle the disease, schools, like their businesses, stayed open, but their mortality rate is extremely bad and the economic hit they took is also as bad as if they had closed. Now, they are looked at as an example of what "not" to do.
- By far the worst example: The U.S., on our current trajectory. The problem here is, school policy is left up to the states. Each state has a different set of circumstances, and on top of that, the federal government's response in providing support and guidance has been abysmal. This has allowed responses to the pandemic to be a mix between sensible and completely partisan. Now, because of all of the chaos surrounding even adhering to safety guidelines among the public, and because we have a growing infection rate in this country overall, the idea of having in-person schooling seems foolhardy and like we're asking for disaster. The podcast ends by pointing out that many school districts are now pulling back and re-thinking what they should do this fall.
Given all of the above, and given the rumblings coming out of conference meetings...I just don't see us having much of a football season this year, sorry to say.
Examples:
- Best example: Norway and Denmark. They opened schools AFTER their infection rate started to plummet, and they did it with younger children first (due to their lower likelihood of spreading the virus, lower likelihood of being seriously ill from the virus, and their much more intense need to be in a structured learning environment due to their age), in groups of 12 students per 1 teacher, or "pods." This helped keep kids and teachers isolated, and this only works, again, if the community around the school is experiencing lower and lower infection rates. Once the younger kids are back in school, and the community is under control, you can talk about having older kids go back using a similar model.
- Worse example: Sweden and Israel. In the case of Israel, they re-opened too quickly and found infection rates in teachers and students shooting up, so they had to close down completely again, which most would agree is a huge waste of time and resources. In the case of Sweden, due to their misreading of how to handle the disease, schools, like their businesses, stayed open, but their mortality rate is extremely bad and the economic hit they took is also as bad as if they had closed. Now, they are looked at as an example of what "not" to do.
- By far the worst example: The U.S., on our current trajectory. The problem here is, school policy is left up to the states. Each state has a different set of circumstances, and on top of that, the federal government's response in providing support and guidance has been abysmal. This has allowed responses to the pandemic to be a mix between sensible and completely partisan. Now, because of all of the chaos surrounding even adhering to safety guidelines among the public, and because we have a growing infection rate in this country overall, the idea of having in-person schooling seems foolhardy and like we're asking for disaster. The podcast ends by pointing out that many school districts are now pulling back and re-thinking what they should do this fall.
Given all of the above, and given the rumblings coming out of conference meetings...I just don't see us having much of a football season this year, sorry to say.