As the time approaches for back to school, many parents are having to make the difficult choice of whether to have their children learn online or in person. It’s a choice with no right answer.
Last weekend I received an email from our school district superintendent with a survey about how I want the school year to look - do I want online learning for my student? Or do I want in-person?
It’s a difficult choice for parents to make with no clear right or wrong answer.
This choice weighs heavily on me, but not for the reason you probably think. You see, I’m not worried about my kid. My daughter will be a senior in high school this school year. She is very academically driven, responsible, and very organized.
She has taken online classes in the past and excels at them. If she had to do the entire school year online, she would be okay. She has a few quarantine friends so she doesn’t miss out on socializing. Sure, she will miss out on things this year, but she understands that this is temporary and a small part of her life. How I got such a kid I will never know.
My daughter is also healthy with no known underlying health conditions. She is a rule follower so I know she would keep her mask on and wash her hands if in the classroom. If she returns to in-person classes, she would be fine.
So, if I’m not worried about my kid, then why is the decision so difficult?
Because I can’t stop thinking about other kids - the ones who have learning disabilities or other conditions that would make online learning a struggle; the ones who have health conditions, and would be in danger with in-person learning. I worry about those kids. I worry about the kids that I’ve worked with during my many years in education.
I can’t stop thinking about the parents out there who need their kids to return to school. The ones who have to work, the ones with younger kids that need their attention, the ones that need a break for their own sanity. The parents with kids who are vulnerable and filled with worry.
I can’t stop thinking about the teachers. Having worked in elementary education I have a lot of teacher friends. It’s probably accurate to say most of my friends are teachers. I worry about their workload, how much money they are having to dish out to feel safe and successful, the stress they carry, the risk they take if they return to the classroom (I know many teachers with health conditions.) Many of my teacher friends have kids of their own - so it’s a double whammy of worry and indecisiveness for them.
I can’t stop thinking and worrying about everyone involved in this.
I want to do what’s best for everyone.
It’s sad that we are at this point. It would be easy to simply blame the virus, but that blame is shared by the people in power who have done nothing to help. Instead of coming up with accurate and helpful guidelines, our leaders push the decisions and solutions to others. Instead of asking what is needed and making funds available, our leaders are threatening schools with defunding. Instead of helping to make this easier, they seem to be doing everything they can to make it more difficult.
I wish I was in a position to do more. The only thing I have are my words, so I will use them to tell our leaders to step up. I will use them to support teachers, no matter what school looks like this year. I will use them to reach out to others - teachers and parents. I will use them to encourage parents to reach out to each other, find ways to help each other.
I don’t only want to do what is best for my child, I want to do what’s best for everyone involved.
That is what makes this such a heavy burden.
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