By: Noor Qureshi, Elements Writer
Early March of this year, the term online schooling emerged out of nowhere. Middle and high schoolers were left with mixed feelings such as confusion, discouragement, or relief. A couple of chaotic months later, schools began to welcome their students, even when the COVID-19 cases continued to increase. For several reasons school-environments seem unstable and cause struggles for many teens.
For some students, their struggles began when schools closed, and they were offered to learn online. For some low-income families, Wifi and computers remained a luxury, and with the health and economic outcomes they must have faced, attending online classes would have ranked low on their priority list. Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, said that the work needed to be done to catch students up academically and socially is “huge”. He also said that unfinished learning is a serious issue that can have implications for years. (Goldstein et al.) Getting sufficient grades and passing classes had become even more stressful with a whole new way of learning.
The biggest risk for some students lies in getting to school as they rely on public transport and travel during peak hours, when the probability of spreading the virus is pretty high. Despite not being at high risk for severe symptoms of the coronavirus, many young people worry that they might infect a more vulnerable person, like their elderly grandparents.
While many schools have claimed that they are taking great measures to prevent the spread of the virus, like keeping desks 1,5 meters apart, students still have their concerns such as how it would be possible to maintain distance during periods between classes. Lateshia Beachum, from The Washington Post, reported that 9 people at a school were tested positive for the virus after this picture of a fully packed hallway in the school went viral.
Beyond that, some schools still haven’t addressed poor ventilation systems. Scientists say that COVID-19 usually spreads through particles that an infected person breathes out. The moisture in the air can carry these particles to other people. It is possible that once the particles dry out, they can be aerosolized and travel long distances. The World Health Organization says that the risk of airborne transmission is small but not zero. The fact that most COVID-19 spread has been indoors suggests that some of it may have been via aerosols. (Bozikovic) The need for more clean air in offices and schools is at its highest but many schools have not yet addressed the ventilation issue.
Schools reopening can, therefore, be a major cause of increased stress for teenagers. Sudenur Kozan, a high school student in The Netherlands expressed her concern about the contamination of surfaces by saying, “The school management expects the tables to be clean after a single wipe”. Her classmate, Micha Verwey said that he thinks it’s strange that schools are reopening when the corona cases in his area are on a rise.
Sources:
Beachum, Lateshia. “Georgia School with Photos of Packed Hallways Will Curb In-Person Classes after Coronavirus Outbreak.” Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2feducation%2f2020%2f08%2f13%2fgeorgia-covid-school-reopening%2f.
Bozikovic, Alex. “School Ventilation Could Spread COVID-19. Why Aren’t We Talking about It?” The Globe and Mail, 13 Aug. 2020, www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-ventilation-could-spread-covid-19-why-arent-we-talking-about.
Goldstein, Dana, et al. “As School Moves Online, Many Students Stay Logged Out.” The New York Times, 8 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/coronavirus-schools-attendance-absent.html.