2 minute read
Opinion: In person learning dangerous to students and staff
By Skylar Saragusa
After three weeks of hybrid learning, schools were shut down after cases spread like wild-fire throughout Olathe. With Christmas break coming and the end of the semester creeping up, administrators are struggling to decide what school should look like after break, and whether or not to return to hybrid learning.
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Returning to inperson school is a disaster waiting to happen, which is why schools should remain closed and online learning should prevail. The number of COVID-19 cases and lack of control in lessening these numbers in the United States is enough to show why staying home is necessary, but Olathe schools have done plenty to show why remote learning is the only safe option.
One of the main reasons Olathe schools were forced to close was due to staffing issues. Many teachers were absent after being exposed to COVID-19. Once exposed, students and staff in Olathe schools must quarantine for 14 days. This meant that schools had to try and find substitutes that would be willing to teach until the teacher could come back to school. During a regular school year it’s hard enough to find teachers to cover classes for a day, let alone finding substitutes to cover for two weeks. I don’t blame these substitutes either, as it seems risky to come into contact with a group of students you’ve never seen before.
It’s hard to know if every student is following the COVID-19 guidelines outside of school, and whether or not the students have been exposed. We can’t expect this issue to change, regardless of whether or not the number of cases start to lessen and Olathe is no longer in the red zone. It’s too soon to expect substitutes to be willing to step in for teachers who are absent. Plus, unless substitutes are being tested before being allowed to step-in, we don’t know if that substitute has been exposed or not as well.
Another problem with in-person learning is Olathe schools’ lack of regulation in regards to COVID-19. Some stores, such as Walmart, are taking steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by taking employees’ temperatures when they report for work, according to Walmart Corporate. While this is not always an accurate way to determine whether or not a person has COVID-19, as there are asymptomatic carriers and other types of symptoms, it is a precaution that should still be taken in schools.
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