By Eric Schoen
This week, parents of students in the Yonkers Public Schools will have to decide whether they want to send their children back to the classroom to learn or continue their education from home via computer. It’s a difficult decision for parents to make.
Let’s face it. Kids learn and socialize better (however much they can given restrictions) in the classroom. There is nothing like in person learning and let’s face it, students miss the in person contact with their teachers and vice versa. Some kids can learn using electronic devices, but many find it difficult. It was supposed to be the wave of the future before COVID-19 hit our shores, and one thing we have learned unfortunately under circumstances beyond our control is that at all age levels from Kindergarten through college their are difficulties learning on a computer.
But wait. My friends who send their children to religious schools in Connecticut and some public schools in Westchester and Connecticut have been sending their kids for in-person learning since September. They haven’t been plagued with major Covid-19 outbreaks, and when situations did occur they were handled professionally with the goal of reopening schools when the situations are remedied. They look at what is going on in districts in Westchester including Yonkers and think that it is criminal (their words not mine) that kids are not learning in classrooms in school buildings.
Parents are making decisions this week as things in the Covid world are changing by the minute. Two announcements from the medical professionals deserve particular attention. You have the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stating that there is no significant risk for getting Covid from touching surfaces or objects. This has not been their position before as we all wipe down every surface we are about to touch or come in contact with.
I don’t know about you but before I use a shopping cart in the store I wipe it down with particular attention to the parts I will come in contact with. Some people go nuts wiping down every package or envelope delivered to their house. I haven’t gotten that meshugah, but I have been careful with envelopes and packages I open since the anthrax scare oh so many years ago.
We are also learning that cases of the coronavirus are occurring more frequently in younger children and adults ages 10-29. This is why many states including our own are opening vaccine distribution to those aged 16 and over, some starting this week. Does it really make sense when so many people in older age groups, those considered most vulnerable are having difficulty scheduling appointments for vaccination to open it up to increasingly younger age groups? The scientists and doctors must have some reason to be doing this, maybe as it pertains to obtaining herd immunity faster.
But many of the school children you will be sending back to class next week fall into the 10-18 age range, so there certainly is some concern. The constant mention of the term variants and there affects on the younger age groups is also of concern. Just when many of us received our vaccination there is talk of booster shots for the so called variants we may need.
So what should a parent do? My mom believed that I belonged in school learning unless maybe I woke up and my ear came off (only joking) or my fever was above the normal range. We have found that Covid rates in public school settings are very low, so maybe it is better to have kids learning in school than out and about in the community where their chance of picking up the virus is much greater.
Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent Edwin Quezada, a man I have known for 20 years has laid out a pretty extensive 3 page plan that is impressive in its depth so that parents know what to expect when they send their children back to school. Parents need to go over the plan with their children so the kids know what to do and expect as I doubt that parents will be allowed in school buildings like my mother who volunteered in the school office would certainly be given the circumstances.
I did ask the Superintendent for the percentage of staff who had received vaccination, a number that New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio released. If I was a parent I would feel better knowing that a large percentage had been inoculated. The decision to get the vaccine is one the staff member should makes without any influence from anyone in the school administration. But let’s face it, if a parent heard that 60% of staff were fully vaccinated, they would be more comfortable sending their child to school.
Parents and it’s easy for me to say as I had a stay at home mom need to take a very active role in their child’s return to the classroom. They must read the Superintendent’s report and ask pointed questions if anything is unclear.
Concerns they have must work up the chain of command starting with the classroom Teacher, building Principal, Central Office Staff member responsible for the particular issue, the Superintendent of Schools and then the Trustees of the Board of Education. We hope that the issues can get resolved at the lower levels closer to where what is going on is happening.
You have to keep in mind that during our lifetimes we have never experienced anything like we are going through now. Every decision is made with the best scientific evidence we have by the best medical professionals in our country and abroad. The tasks at hand make for a very busy classroom for the teacher, support staff and administration.
Sadly everything being done during the pandemic is an experiment. We hope for the best and fear the worse. But as they say the only thing worse than a bad decision is no decision at all. I see people in stores without masks properly covering their face. Over the weekend at a socially distanced visit with friends we talked about how you have to find a mask that covers your nose and your mouth completely. Not every mask works for every kind of face.
Since we will probably be masked for a while it’s not to late to find a mask that works. Medical masks should be pinched at the nose to fit properly. I’m noticing people not standing in line at a 6 foot distance in the grocery store and the local markets and bodegas. And counter people not wearing masks when they are serving food. Hand washing, remember it’s 20 seconds under warm water. Encourage the places you do business with to have fresh paper towels available. Those blowing hand dryers though environmentally friendly are not suited to hand drying at this time.
Things are opening up. Bars, bowling alleys, restaurants, movie theaters all staying open later. But if we aren’t careful and follow the rules, their hours will be cut back again. Make sure you are getting fresh air everyday. There are plenty of places to go and exercise until you are fully inoculated and can socially head back to the gym.
I know they are hard to find but get vaccinated. And don’t forget to show up for your second shot and wait 2 mores weeks for the vaccines to fully kick in. Even when they kick in you have to follow all the rules. Don’t get scared at the reactions a very few people are having to the vaccines. Most people feel tired for a day and have a sore arm. I heard something very interesting from a doctor on television. The dose of the vaccine like most vaccines is not calibrated to your body weight. So a 200 pound person is getting the same dose as a 125 pound person. So the vaccine is bound to affect people in different ways.
I am certainly no doctor so please discuss everything including sending your child back to school with yours. We are called on to make difficult decisions that require the best medical knowledge. Thank you to all the medical professionals out there that assist us in making tough decisions.
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
