The Open and Shut Case of Schools

Have we failed this experiment?

Introduction

As the start of the 2020–2021 school year approached, the voices of parents, community leaders, business owners, and politicians became amplified. Some schools reopened because the volume became very intense. Now that students and teachers are being impacted by the corona virus, what will happen?

Many parents and school personnel argued against reopening school for in-person learning.

Safety concerns prevailed among a lot of people. Some of the recommendations from the medical community that advised schools to delay their traditional opening were adhered to. There were those who communicated their belief about the lack of evidence pertaining to the impact of the coronavirus on children and young people. Because of this, a lot of school leaders and decision-makers listened to these external voices.

Those who had the authority to decide what to do about opening schools again also listened to their internal voice of reason. They made the wise decision to keep schools closed a little longer to ensure the safety of students, faculty members, and their families. Online learning continued at home for these students and families.

Now There’s Troubling News

Powerful entities and strong advocates spoke. This resulted in schools reopening because of their rationale and agenda prevailed. According to these power brokers, highly engaged parents, and other proponents who pushed for what they wanted, their reasons were very clear:

• Students have the right to participate in all of the social experiences associated with attending a traditional brick and mortar school in person.
• Parents have the right to get their lives back without being confined to supervising their child’s learning at home.
• Schools have the obligation to provide childcare.
• Children and young people are at low risk for contracting the covid-19.
• Opening schools would produce positive benefits for the local, state, and national economy.
• Students cannot learn at home.
• Teachers do not provide real instruction if it is done virtually.

Once schools opened, some facilities rigorously enforced the adherence to safety guidelines that included wearing masks, social distancing, practicing good hand sanitation, and maintaining proper ventilation. Conversely, other schools did not. In fact, mask-wearing became a matter of choice in some schools. Images of crowded school halls filled with students who failed to socially distance themselves flooded social media.

Now, the United States is confronted with sad and unfortunate news. Many teachers, school leaders, and other employees along with students of all ages are testing positive for the corona virus at an alarming rate. Schools have been forced to close. The sad reality is that family members and many others are at high risk of being infected, too.

The question that I have is this. Will our national society recover from these spikes in covid-19 numbers that have been originating at schools?

Was This An Experiment?

The experimental method involves very, very technical scientific things like formulating a hypothesis, conducting research studies, defining the variables, analyzing data, measuring the validity and reliability of the quality of research, and determining conclusions.

There is a bottom line to all of this. The ultimate reality is that medical science performs research to make health-related conclusions about significant health-related events. It takes a very long time for this to happen.

Conclusion

Individuals who forced schools to open did so prematurely. Their desire to open the doors of schools was merely based upon their personal opinions, their personal desires, and their personal feelings. They did not possess any scientific knowledge about the full impact of the pandemic on students to make such a critical decision. These people were not qualified to do so. Instead, they simply superimposed their passion for our society to return to normal over the scientific and medical work that was needed to be completed. Instead, they developed their own conclusions.

Those who protested and argued for schools to open conducted this experiment. Their experiment failed. Now human suffering continues to grow.

Additional Resources

I have written many articles about the dangers of school reopening too soon. Here is a link to one of them.

In addition to my stories, I have also created videos pertaining to this topic on my “Ignite Family Engagement with Dr. Deborah M. Vereen” YouTube Channel such as the one that follows.

Here’s my golden ticket that helps me accomplish my mission.

Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1DPhBeA29UlybU9jzDkdQ .