Following on the heels of last year’s school calendar ending with a rushed and emergency distance learning set-up (locally, our kids were forced to online learning in March to finish out the school year), this year school officials (in Maryland) have already announced that the upcoming school year will start out (on August 31^st, 2020) with distance learning (no onsite presence) until the COVID-19 situation can be assessed and reviewed.

This, of course, has received mixed reviews from local parents (and Facebook – not surprisingly – is home to some of the craziest comments I have ever seen).

Look, I totally understand some people’s point of view.  Some households have two parents that have to work to make ends meet, and staying home with their young kids in order to make sure they are supervised while getting their remote lessons completed puts added strain on their household budgets and patience.  Also, in my neck of the woods – not everyone has reliable internet access.  Let’s face it, parenting is not an easy job (nor is teaching, for that matter), and toss in a Mom or Dad (or both) who are also trying to work to make a living (if they are even able to work due to other pandemic restrictions), and the stress meter – as they say in the movie ’Spinal Tap’ – “goes to eleven.”

It’s not the most ideal learning model, but I think our local Board of Education is trying to make the best of a bad situation.  My understanding is that this year’s curriculum will be much more structured (as teachers at least have had time to prepare in advance for this year’s remote learning), so where last year’s final marking period often turned into a bit of a free-for-all, I think you’ll find that this year’s plan will be much more regimented and disciplined.  My respect for the men and women who have chosen the education field as a profession is immense, for they have had to adapt quickly to an ever-changing environment and still are in there punching, trying to provide the best education and learning experience they can for our kids.  It’s by no means a cake walk.  These days, not only does a teacher have to know his or her class material, but they also have to be part drill instructor/cruise director to get kids engaged – now add in technology specialist.

Of course, there are always detractors.  “Wal-Mart is open – why can’t the schools be?”  Well, for one thing, I’m not standing in Wal-Mart for eight hours at a pop, trying to control twenty-five 8-year olds and teach them basic math in the Sporting Goods section.  Honestly, do you think anyone under ten is going to keep a mask on at school all day?  Most kids that age can’t keep their fingers out of their nose, their mouth, or their pants for thirty seconds (on a good day).  Now tell them they can’t do these things and see what happens.  If grown adults throw a fit about wearing a mask to get their groceries, what do you expect from little Tommy or Tina in a classroom?

Secondly, why would you want to risk the health of your kids (and secondarily, yourself)?  The schoolhouse is already a petri dish of every germ, cold, and disease that finds its way into the system.  Ever been to a school where pink eye reared its ugly head?  How about head lice?  Whew, once one kid gets it, you might as well say they are all getting it – and once they get it at school, guess where they bring it next?  That’s right, back home – where the whole family can also take part in the fun.  While COVID-19 may not be taking a severe toll on the youngest in our population (yet), they can be carriers – and this virus kills both parents and grandparents.

My daughter is also not happy about the distance learning situation, as this was to be her senior year, so she feels she’s being “cheated” out of her final year experiences (such as Homecoming, Prom, etc.).  I have a strong feeling that there will be no high school sports being played this year anyway, so while she’ll be missing out on the social aspects of her last year of high school (at least to start),  unless she is on the Homecoming or Prom Court, is she really missing out on anything?  Does it help on a job or college application?  After thirty-five years, is she really going to care?  Probably not (I certainly didn’t), but when you’re seventeen, everything is amplified and the world seems like an unfair place.

On the bright side, at least she’s not paying $50,000 for a semester of online learning at college (wow, Harvard, you really know how to kick a student when they are down).  You know, I can learn Calculus online thru “Khan Academy” – and that’s free.  The only difference is I don’t get a nice, frameable document with script lettering that says “Harvard” on it at the end (that only really matters on the first job interview) and a student loan payment of $300 a month for the next twenty years.  At least Towson (my oldest daughter’s college) is allowing its student population to live onsite this semester, so part of her college experience will still remain intact (and she is itching to get back to campus and away from Mom, Dad, and her younger sister/nemesis as it is).

Will things change during the school year?  Multiple times, most likely.  Let’s hope it turns out for the better, or else its going to be a looooooooooong winter.