As schools reopen, parents and students should be thoughtful, not fearful

No one truly has a right answer on what to do about reopening schools. Tomorrow, my family will go to school to meet our kids’ teachers. We will all wear masks. We will do so as headlines swirl nationwide about mass outbreaks of the coronavirus in schools. We will hope it does not happen at our school.

We contemplated starting school online, but our school is not going month to month online. We either commit to the quarter online or the quarter in school. Our pediatrician encouraged us to send the kids to school. They need the social interaction. They need the in person learning. He is not wrong.

The stark reality is that as kids do go back to school, we are all only as safe as the least responsible members of our community. In one school in the Atlanta area, parents got their child a COVID-19 test, but the results had not come back before school opened so they sent the child to school. After one day in school, the test came back positive and a whole classroom had to be quarantined for two weeks.

If you know teachers, you have undoubtedly heard stories of parents giving their children medicine to mask symptoms so their kids can go to school. If a parent tries that now, they could be masking an infectious case of the virus that then spreads in the school. In Cherokee County, multiple schools have had to be closed because infectious kids came to school. Some of them were asymptomatic, but others were not.

At Lake Burton, a summer camp opened with overnight stays. Over 300 kids down to six years old got the virus. Three-quarters had symptoms and one-quarter were asymptomatic. There is no assessment on if they then spread it to their parents and grandparents. That actually gives some doctors a measure of hope. There are few studies showing transmission between elementary school students and parents. But, a few months ago we thought kids could not get the virus and now we know they can, though they tend to have less severe cases.

Many of the private schools that are opening in our area built their plans for reopening at a time when we presumed kids were not getting the virus. The data has changed, but the plans have not so far. Schools are going to need to be adaptable and flexible. Parents are going to need to be cautious and responsible.

What all of us need not be is fearful. Fear makes us behave in irrational ways. It lets us slip into conspiracy theory and nonsense. It makes us angry with our neighbors or government officials or even our school personnel. As we move forward still navigating this virus, we are all going to have to show an extra measure of grace to those around us.

School officials are doing their best. They are facing parents, half of whom think the virus is no big deal and the other half who think the virus is a really big deal. They are facing families with no medically vulnerable members of households who may let their guard down while sharing classes with those who have medical vulnerable members of households. Everyone is going to need to show some grace.

As we navigate this, I hope schools will abandon their silly annual award for perfect attendance. Get rid of an incentive for a sick kid to come to school. Also, wash your hands, wear masks, and don’t crowd the hallways in schools.

Erick Erickson hosts the Erick Erickson Show on News-Talk 940 WMAC