SHS holds back virus spread; still room for improvements

SHS holds back virus spread; still room for improvements

Staff editorial

Over the course of a couple months, COVID-19 has impacted nearly everyone’s life. As a teacher, a student or a parent, life has changed drastically. If you are like Scottsburg High, going solely online was not an option. Due to regulations, all public schools need in person schooling to stay open.

As a public school, we need the funds provided by the federal and state government to continue to be a public school. Through a worldwide pandemic, schools were forced to open back up, disregarding all the red flags COVID-19 has thrown up. With that being said, what precautions can a school take that would really make the school “safe”?

Walking into SHS, you will be greeted with a thermometer and masked smiles. Wearing masks throughout the day is just one of the many requirements to even enter the school. Every person before entering the building must have their temperature checked. While this is an essential key to determining whether someone should be at school or not, how efficient are these devices that determine whether a student has a temperature (a big indicator for COVID-19) or not? Readings like 80 degrees, 180 degrees and even 33 degrees have been horrifyingly heard but not reported. With this being said, are students who may have a fever getting a “free pass” being let into the school becauseof the fluctuating thermometer readings? You can go to page 6 for more information on that topic.

With masks being a mandatory mandate and while social distancing cannot be practiced at all times in the classroom due to class sizes, masks have to be worn most everywhere in SHS. Some classrooms have desks or tables that can be placed six feet apart, which means students can take off their masks.

When masks cannot be taken off because desks or tables are too close, some teachers allow students to take a five-minute break or more with their masks off for a breather (which is well needed), allowingonly a certain number of students (distanced) at a time. However, when masks are off for those few students and the teacher says switch, there becomes a time frame where a lot of the students have their masks off all at one time.

While working in groups, students can only be together for 15 minutes even with masks on. However, students can be shoulder to shoulder for the entire class period in some classes. Whether in these situations for a few seconds or for the entire class period, germs can still spread with contradictions existing throughout these guidelines that are put in place to keep students safe.

To end on a different note, Scott County District 2 has been doing a lot better than most schools. As a staff, we agreed that yes, there are some faults and flaws, however, we are doing the best we can do as a district. That’s what’s most important. As students, we all need to do our part to make sure we can stay open for as long as possible. Whether that means staying home or wearing a mask properly (covering your nose as well) to Walmart, we need to do our part.