The Looming School Reopening Nightmare

Kids who don’t like going to school in California – and there are plenty of them – are going to be absolutely miserable when schools reopen in 3 or so months. According to Governor Gavin Newsom’s just released general guidelines, students will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures taken upon entering the school, then sit in classrooms where desks will be spaced six feet apart. Lunch offers no respite, as kids will be forced to eat in the classroom. (Interestingly, no mention was made as to how to eat or drink with a mask covering one’s mouth.) More specific guidance will be released by the state shortly.

The Los Angeles County guidelines, also released last week, contain other restrictions, including one-way hallways, 16 kids maximum in a class, and a staggered school day which would include at-home learning, with students coming to school in shifts. To give the kiddos a break, they will each be given a ball which they can play with at recess…by themselves. Congregating on an athletic field is most definitely a no-no.

It’s worth noting that while the state and county have issued guidelines, it is up to the individual school district which, if any, to adopt. As such, the California Teachers Association is prepping for war. As Mike Antonucci notes, any school district modifications will only happen via collective bargaining with the local teachers union.

It would be best for all concerned to shun the guidelines. Can you imagine a group of squirrely kindergartners actually wearing masks for several hours, sitting meekly in a classroom six feet apart, day-in and day-out? A few may adapt, but for many it will be traumatic. In fact, it is abusive and totally unnecessary. According to CDC data, as of May 28th, there have been 11 deaths of 5-14 year-olds due to Covid-19. Light stuff compared the number of children who die in traffic deaths. In 2017, 675 children 12 years old and younger died in motor vehicle crashes, and nearly 116,000 were injured. Other than wearing a seat belt, there have been no proposed draconian guidelines to keep children safe.

Also, per the Wall Street Journal, “The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity projects that children under 15 are 6.83 to 20.07 times more likely to die of the flu or pneumonia than coronavirus—assuming 150,000 Covid-19 fatalities in the U.S. this year—and 128 times more likely to die of an accident.”

Additionally, between 2007 and 2017 the suicide rate for 10-14 year-olds nearly tripled, according to the CDC. Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College, finds that suicides are related to the school calendar, especially for boys, who kill themselves 95 percent more during the school year than in the summer. Gray suggests that increased stress over school is the cause. With all the new mandates – masks, social distancing, no play – what little joy there was in institutional schooling will evaporate. As such, the suicide rate will most likely increase.

The good news is that many families have discovered the joy of spending more time together. Seagal Hagege, a mother of three in Irvine, said her kids, ages 8, 7 and 4, “have become better behaved, kinder to one another and more independent” since the quarantine began. She’s hardly an outlier. A Real Clear Opinion Research poll showed that 40 percent of families are more likely to homeschool or virtual school after experiencing the lockdown. Also, an EdChoice survey found that 52 percent of parents have a more favorable opinion of homeschooling since their child’s school was shuttered.

While homeschooling is probably the best scenario, if kids are to go to a public school, they should be able to do so with a minimum of restrictions. The prevalence of child-to-adult transmission is debatable, but either way, young and otherwise healthy teachers should have no fear. Older teachers and those with certain pulmonary conditions may need to go on leave, retire, or work with students digitally. What we need to do is constantly track data, and use a scalpel to tweak policy when necessary. The current sledgehammer method is harmful to all stakeholders. But then again, if the heavy-handed state and county mandates are convincing more parents to homeschool, maybe the education establishment should keep on pounding away.

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UK: 'ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY' Ex chief inspector of schools criticizes  ministers for failing kids – and says some could have to repeat a YEAR

ENGLAND'S former chief inspector of schools has blasted the Government's approach to schools and education as an "absolute tragedy".

Sir Michael Wilshaw lashed out at ministers for failing kids who desperately need to return to school or face missing months of education which could set them back years.

Parents and politicians have hit out after the Government announced not all primary school kids would go into class until September

It came after the Government said yesterday that kids wouldn't go in for a month of school before the summer, but that zoos and theme parks would be able to open.

Sir Michael told Good Morning Britain: "I think it's a mess, and it's a shambles. "What's happened over the last few weeks and months has been an absolute tragedy.

"And it's been a tragedy for those youngsters who need school, need the structure of school, need the routine of school, need teachers who will be working with them, to support them when they get very little support at home."

He said: "I just don't know how we've made such a mess of it, because headteachers, and I know lots of headteachers, will have been saying to the Department for Education, you've got this wrong.

"If you're going to insist on social distancing and a maximum of 15 in a class we will need double the amount of space, we will need double the amount of teachers and we've got to make sure we have that. "There hasn't been a plan up until now."

Ministers haven't yet come up with an answer of how to get more kids in the classrooms but still sticking to social distancing rules.

It came as:

Furious parents lashed out as theme parks and zoos are set to open but schools may be shut until September

Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield has now accused ministers of "furloughing childhood", while parents lined up to voice their anger at the plans

A top MP warned 700,000 disadvantaged kids are NOT doing home work and don’t have access to computers

New figures revealed pupils are more likely to be hit by lightning than die of coronavirus

Sir Michael told the BBC's Radio 4 today that summer catch up classes were vital to make sure kids wouldn't lose out - and urged the Department for Education to look at providing extra cash.

"Schools will have to put into place recovery programmes," he said. "Youngsters will have missed out on a whole terms education."

He said it was "extraordinary" that the Government had made an announcement for all kids to go back for a month without figuring out how it was going to work. "It smacks of poor organisation," he said.

"The Government needs to get its act together on this one - learn from the mistakes that have already been made, and make sure there is adequate planning for September."

He said that Government should be seriously looking at whether to ask kids to repeat a year.

"They have one chance of a good education," he stressed. "They deserve the same sort of provision and quality that others have received in previous year groups."

Today the Chancellor Rishi Sunak insisted the Government was making “good progress” on schools. He said:  "I personally think every day our children are not at school is a tragedy.

"It's obviously going to have an impact on their futures.  "That's why I'm so glad that as part of our measured and deliberate plan, we were able to reopen schools on 1 June for a number of pupils, especially our youngest children.

"We can't do it all in one go, we have to take careful and measured and deliberate steps to do it, but that's what we're doing.

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Chinese international students defend Australia as a 'safe' educational destination

Chinese international students have defended Australia as a "safe" destination for study, despite a travel warning issued by the Chinese Government urging students to reconsider.

In a statement published on Tuesday, China's Ministry of Education cited both the risk of COVID-19 and "racist incidents targeting Asians" in Australia.

Anti-discrimination groups have reported a rise in anti-Asian racism during the pandemic, and media outlets, including the ABC, have covered cases where people of Asian appearance were targeted due to the coronavirus.

Chinese international student Mr Zheng, who did not want his first name used, told the ABC that Chinese people in Australia — including international students and Chinese-Australians — were having a hard time as the diplomatic tension between China and Australia escalated.

The 28-year-old, who is studying a masters degree in biomedicine at the University of Adelaide, said he felt safe in Australia over the last four years, and felt the warning was more of a Canberra-Beijing spat than a genuine concern for the safety of millions of students in China.

"The first warning [over the weekend] for travellers was not even necessary, and this one for students has gone too far," Mr Zheng said. "It's not even truly protecting its citizens, but a political debate in the guise of addressing racism."

Mr Zheng said he believed students in China should continue to be entitled to choose their destination to study abroad, and told the ABC that he still recommended Australia as a good place for interested Chinese students.

"I hope Chinese students who had an intention to study overseas would make their decisions based on their own career and life-planning," he said. "I hope they won't prioritise the authorities' warning for where they are going."

One of Mr Zheng's friends, 28-year-old Chinese student Primo Pan, who is currently studying a PhD in the University of Adelaide, told the ABC the warning was "over the top", even though he had been subject to racism a few times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There was an increase in racism targeting Chinese people in Australia, but it’s still a safe place where your personal security is not threatened," Mr Pan said.

"Ordinary Chinese people are caught up in the crossfire between Australia and China." 'I don't believe this allegation has any sort of solid ground'

"Finally education needs to give way to politics," Weibo user Zhenningyue said.

"The political sense is way more meaningful than the actually scenario. I live in Australia and I feel very well," another Weibo user said.

But Dr He-Ling Shi, an associate professor in economics at Monash University, told the ABC Beijing's allegation was unfair.

"I don't believe this allegation has any sort of solid ground. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Australian universities have taken various measures and tried to help overseas students ... and also facilitated their studies in Australia," he said.

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