The coronavirus pandemic led to some tough discussions about many different areas of our lives. The school system was one of the first that was affected and schools were among the first to close.
Many parents were left to deal with their children at home, while having to work from home at the same time. It’s not the easiest thing to do. Some were finishing their tasks late at night when their children were asleep, shortening their sleep time so they can be effective at work and at home too.
Many parents can’t wait to let their kids go back to school, but many are still wondering – is it the right thing to do, especially considering the latest development and the second wave (or is it still the first wave) of the coronavirus in the United States and the spike in cases in many areas.
After Republican Gov. Doug Ducey announced that he would like to reopen schools in Arizona from August 17, many educators raised their voices saying that this should wait until at least October, and they asked for increased funding for PPE. They even went to the streets to protest this.
Many people in the state and in the whole country have different opinions about this. Some understand and share the teachers’ concerns while others are accusing them of being irresponsible to the kids and to the taxpayers.
“Millions of us have continued to go into work every day during this time.”
“I guess its a good thing the essential workers didn’t throw a fit about having to go to work”
“I’m fine with them not teaching school as long as they’re not getting paid and property owners paying taxes get a refund.”
These are just three of the Facebook comments that we found on a post about the protest.
So, let’s think about this for a minute.
On the one hand you have people going to work and seating in front of a computer, having little to none communication with other coworkers, being able to have a mask on you the whole time, and knowing how to protect themselves. You have people working other types of jobs and also knowing how to protect themselves, knowing the consequences of their actions regarding Covid-19.
And – oh the other hand – you have children that want to communicate with their friends, that don’t fully understand the gravity of the situation, who can’t see that they can get the coronavirus, transmit to their grandparents and cause big problems, they don’t understand that their innocent game can led to someone’s death.
It’s not about the teachers.
It’s about our children.
It’s about our parents.
It’s about all of us.
Yes, we can’t be hostages sitting at home for years. Economies will collapse, people will starve… But also – we can’t be so irresponsible doing things without having a good discussion first, without listening to experts and having a really really good plan.
Listen to other people’s concerns.
Don’t dismiss anyone’s opinion.
Learn from others.
Don’t be stupid!