Readers speak out about back to school concerns
Wed, 08/05/2020 - 9:03am
admin
By:
Boots Gifford
The Daniel Island News asked readers to answer some questions about their back to school plans for their families, and about their biggest concerns as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our daily lives.
Can you share your biggest concern about your children going back to the classroom? (Below is a sampling of answers)
“E-learning last year was a disaster and a repeat of that would be worse than getting the virus. So I hope the school found some leadership over the summer.”
“We’re concerned that our children may be exposed to adults that have not taken proper precautions or have not followed advice and guidelines to stay home when sick. We’re also concerned that our children would be indoors for six hours every day.”
“Honestly, I have very little concerns about sending my two girls back. I know that there will be less kids in each class and that the school will take great measures to keep our kids safe.”
“I’ve had COVID and so has my daughter. We were sick and in quarantine for three weeks watching cases surge. They say the effect on kids is inconsequential, it is not. We had to call 911 for my daughter. She’s OK now but it was very physically and mentally exhausting. For both her tests, mine and the rest of the family, the test results took days. Unless and until our leaders mandate masks, make rapid tests available and do reliable contact tracing, more will die, 140,000 Americans have already. I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
“Staff and faculty safety is my biggest concern.”
“My only concern is with the ongoing media hype surrounding the virus. The fallout from that is getting worse than the virus itself.”
“We have high risk extended family members (grandparents) we wouldn’t be able to visit if our kids return to the classroom due to daily potential exposure. We are blessed I stay home and can homeschool our three kids (and I’m a certified teacher and very capable of a personalized instructional experience at home). There’s too much uncertainty with the virus and how classroom learning will now look to feel good about choosing to return to school while the pandemic is still raging on. The public virtual option sounds very time-consuming and difficult for our kids to endure. Our plan is to re-enroll when the local virus risk here is low, which could be the following school year.”