CDC guidelines for school reopening during Covid-19 encourage older children to wear masks.
We have a choice. Either schools don’t reopen at all, or we find a way to send kids back to school in the coronavirus pandemic. There’s nothing easy about this, but the experts at the CDC have put out guidance to help us. So how has a document where every other word is “if feasible” created such a stir?
Social media is flooded with misleading versions of the guidelines issued by the CDC for school reopening. And honestly, if you take those at face value, school next year sounds pretty stark. Yet, these postings seem intentionally designed to upset people by leaving out key phrases from the original. Phrases like “when appropriate” and “as feasible.”
The document starts with a simple breakdown of risk. It’s pretty basic stuff. “The more people a student or staff member interacts with, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of Covid-19 spread,” explains the guideline.
Then the guideline goes through levels of risk based on different ways of doing school. The lowest risk? E-learning only. “More risk” comes into play when school’s have small, in-person classes and take precautions. And schools take on the highest risk if they go back to school as usual, with full-sized classes and business as usual.
It’s the “more risk” category that everyone is freaking out about. The idea is that keeping kids in smaller groups with with same teacher helps avoid the elaborate web of spread we’ve seen with Covid-19 when groups mix. It also makes sense that the virus will spread less if kids stay six feet apart, wear masks and do not share objects.
Of course, many schools in the U.S. are packed full and there is simply no way to space desks six feet apart. That’s when hybrid virtual and in-person class structures can be useful. Or perhaps a staggered or rotating schedule for school attendance to keep classes smaller, the guideline suggests.
And because crowded hallways and cafeterias could be an issue, the CDC offered the solution of eating lunch in the classrooms. Also, staff or students who are sick should stay home, and the schools will need to have forgiving leave policies.
If that sounds terrible, remember this: “Covid-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is thought that the virus may spread to hands from a contaminated surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing infection.” Hmmm. Maybe our kids keeping away from each other a bit isn’t such a bad idea.
Why are we so upset about school reopening with safety precautions?
The thought of my kids not being out on the playground with their friends makes my heart hurt. Then again, since they only get 15 minutes of recess a day, maybe that’s not such an issue. And it’s hard to imagine how middle schools and high schools are going to manage. Their entire structure works by moving to different classrooms and teachers. Nevermind how funny it sounds to pretend that kindergarteners will actually keep their masks on or stop climbing on each other.
And how are we going to go to work if the kids are at home half the days to accommodate rotating schedules?
But is that really why we are so upset? Consider how much more upset we would be if the CDC had simply said “stay with e-learning.” Or even worse, what if we were going back to school without doing anything to avoid getting coronavirus? No, when we think about it, we have to do something. It may be hard and disappointing, but we have to make it work.
It’s grief.
For so long, we were given messages that suggested it might just be two more weeks before things got better. The scientists and doctors knew that could not be true, but political leaders kept holding out that hope.
Few things make it clearer just how bad the coronavirus pandemic really is then imagining our kids in masks sitting with desks six feet apart (possibly with sneeze guards between them). How sad is that?
If the problem is grief, then we know what to do.
Grief can be managed. In fact, it’s a very productive process. Grieving means accepting our loss and how we feel about it until our head clears. That’s when we bounce back and find solutions. Maybe it’s time to stop freaking out about the school reopening guidelines, and start thinking about what is feasible.
