2020 brought us many unfortunate things… the fires in Australia, the terrible explosion in Lebanon, and the global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus that has claimed thousands of lives, all over the world. And, with the school year slowly approaching, you might be wondering – is my child returning to the learning facilities, and are the professors willing to return to in-person classes?
Naturally, there was a wide range of researches, polls, and studies conducted, which is exactly what we will be discussing in this article today. The text below is going to feature information on the different surveys and researches conducted by various companies and organization, so let’s take a closer look:
1. Organization: NPR/Ipsos
Based on NPR research, approximately 82% of K-12 educators are quite worried about going back and teaching in-person during the fall. And, two-thirds do like the idea of holding their classes remotely, meaning that they would prefer utilizing an online classroom strategy. Hence, the professors do have the same opinion as both the general public and most parents.
Recently, they have conducted another poll that came to the conclusion that over two-thirds of participants think that the education year should be started remotely, including over sixty-two parents of kids that are under 18-years old. However, the teachers are not only worried about the health of their students, but their own health as well.
In fact, over 77 percent of them are worried that they would be risking their own health if they returned to work this fall. There were actually a few instances where tutors quit their jobs because they had various health conditions, meaning that they would be prone to contracting the Coronavirus.
2. Organization: Fishbowl
According to Fishbowl that surveyed 5.673 teachers, they strongly oppose the decision to reopen institutions in some states. Generally speaking, seventy-three percent of participants do not want them reopened in their states. During the study, this organization concluded that there is one state that actually supports the in-person classes – North Dakota.
Participants from this state, more specifically, 51.35% of them are supportive of returning back to the classrooms for the beginning of the new academic year. Some other states that are strongly for in-person schooling are West Virginia and Oklahoma, with 39.33 and 44.38 percent in the polls.
In the capital. Washington DC, professors are not willing to go pack to teaching in-person with 88.68 percent. Additionally, 86.05 percent in Florida and 83.96 percent in Maryland are also against returning to usual and normal classes during the new season that starts less than a month from now.
3. Organization: The American Federation of Teachers
Based on the research conducted by the American Federation of Teachers, 42 percent of professors were in favor of educating by a hybrid example, 29 percent love the idea about online classes, and 21% stated that they would not have any problems with in-person teaching.
When it comes to college and high school professors, 54% of them would prefer the hybrid example, 30% of them are for the choice of online learning, and only 7 percent of professors are actually interested in getting back to their university and high school classrooms.
The study also asked participants about the security and well-being rules that were most meaningful to them, and it concluded that over 76% of them would go back to teaching if specific requirements were met, including intense cleaning every day and additional protection to teachers and staff.
The Reasons Why it Might Not Be Wise to Return Back to School
There are various reasons why it might not be wise for children, teenagers, adults, and teachers to go back to school. Besides the obvious reason that they can contract the COVID-19 virus, there are other reasons which might make you realize that it is quite dangerous to be among people. Those reasons are:
1. The Flu Season is Coming
Although the Coronavirus does not impact children and teenagers in the same way as adults, think about mixing one virus with the seasonal flu? And the flu is something that can extremely dangerous for kids, especially since they can die from it. Additionally, scientists still do not know how the two illnesses would mix, hence, you might want to avoid going back to school until the situation gets less severe.
2. Children Can Transmit The Virus
Although it might not influence children as much, they can still transmit the virus to other kids, but to adults as well. Additionally, parents should think about elderly people in their homes such as grandparents since children can get the virus at school and bring it back home where they can transmit it to other family members.
3. Difficulties With The Regulations
As you already know, it is difficult to make children do anything. Imagine how difficult it would be to make a kindergartner wear a mask during the entire day. It would be impossible, right? Additionally, educators will need to wear masks, ensure that the kids’ hands are washed, as well as ensure that there is a distance between all the students, which again is extremely difficult.
4. Some Schools Might Not Be Able to Follow Regulations
There are various regulations that schools would need to follow if they opened their doors again, including cleaning and sanitizing the facilities every day, getting the necessary tables in order for all the student to be separated, creating an area where all students can eat while being further from one another, and so. All of this is expensive, hence, some facilities might not be able to follow the regulations imposed by the government.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a wide range of surveys that were conducted recently, all of which concluded that teachers all over the United States do not think it is a really good idea to return back to the classrooms, which is quite logical when you think about everything that is happening.
So, now that you know that there a lot of teachers might not be willing to return back to teach in-person classes, you can start thinking about whether or not you should get your child or children ready for the new school season. After all, even if you purchase what they might need for school, it won’t go to waste and they’ll still be able to use it later on.
