Not all states closed schools in the same month, but the Kansas Governor announced on April 18 that the state schools would be closed. Children missed less than two months of school so far, and they wouldn't have attended during the summer, anyway.
So why the rush to get kids back in school before the school year generally even begins? Why not wait until the particular state has less than 5% coronavirus deaths, or other evidence that the virus is contained, over several weeks or even months? I cannot believe children will have lasting emotional problems because they could not attend in-school classes. As a parent, I hope I would have expressed to my children on a daily basis how grateful I was to have them safe, and alive, instead of sending them back to a dangerous school environment. It would have been my job to support their emotional needs and reassure them things would get better if everyone stayed at home.
I substitute taught through the month of March. There is nothing that could persuade me to go back until statistics showed it was absolutely safe. I have a great grandson in Florida whose parents are terrified he will have no choice but to head back to school soon. We all know how safe anyone is in Florida!
The twitter, "OPEN THE SCHOOLS," haunts my dreams.
