Sending Your Child To School Under a Pandemic Hits Different.

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Last year, I can vividly recall the excitement Maks and I had for Bear’s first year of kindergarten. I went to the Welcome Back social, met his teacher, took a tour of the school, and became a friendly acquaintance of the principal.

We bought his uniforms, made sure he was ready for his first day at a new school, and we were just so excited.

Then, COVID-19 happened.

Bear has been out of school since March 13th, but he completed his online training. He graduated from kindergarten and is officially a first-grader. Yet, the excitement going back to school is, well, kinda moot at this point.

I had high hopes, like many parents, I thought COVID would be under control and Bear could go back to school normally or as normal as possible. I don’t think anyone foresaw we’re still dealing with this – and it getting increasingly worse – come July.

And it brings a question – what about secondary education?

Many colleges have said they’re not going back to an in-person format anytime soon. Some private schools welcome in-person format because well, dollar signs and much smaller classes. But what about the others?

What about the rest of us?

Bear already goes to a small school; his school probably has an attendance of 200 on a good day. It’s an arts school, so that means Bear will be learning instruments, how to paint, do crafts, everything else that’s artsy.

The district proposed all schools be on a hybrid schedule – Mondays will be off for faculty and staff to train and do cleaning, while children will be divided up into two sections. Section A will be going to school Tuesday and Wednesday while Section B will be going to school Thursday and Friday. All students will be online learning for the remaining three days of the week. The two-day schooldays are half days.

Now, it’s not a bad idea. It’s far from ideal but we do what we have to at this point. But it does bring up some interesting questions:

What if a student gets sick with COVID?
- Will the student be penalized because they have to quarantine for 14 days?
What if a teacher gets sick with COVID?
- Will the students be penalized because they have to quarantine for 14 days?
Would the school be shut down if either occurred?
- If so, would the school safely reopen?
Would students expect to have their masks on the whole day?
How can teachers ensure students constantly wash their hands?
What about PE and recess?

None of these questions come to mind when we chose Bear’s school last year, but we also have to admit, we didn’t think pandemic, neither. It’s super unfair to have these questions presented this year.

Bear is a social child. He has a lot of friends. He misses having playdates. Bear is a child who needs schooling and needs to be around other children. Granted, he can do his homework and schoolwork in under an hour, but that also gives several more hours for Bear to do what, exactly?

What makes me irritated about the hasty re-openings is that no one considered the fact Bear, along with millions of other students, will be heading back to school. People were so butthurt about their haircuts and not being able to drink in a crowded bar, but they didn’t think – now what about all of these children who will be out of school coming August or September?

We haven’t updated Bear’s uniforms because we’re still not certain if that’s a need right now. We have workbooks that Bear uses but it doesn’t replace the social interaction with friends his age.

Honestly, there’s no right answer in this. Parents shouldn’t be faulted for not sending their children back. Parents shouldn’t be faulted for sending their children back. Different vibes for different tribes.

For now, Bear will be heading back to school on a limited schedule until further notice. To say I’m not worried is an understatement, but I also can’t live my life – or Bear’s life – in fear.

We just have to hope for the best and pray against the worst.