COURTNEY McCLURE

While I realize this opinion is very controversial, I still stand firm in my belief that kids going back to school next month is a very bad idea. One of the major reasons I believe elementary schools should continue on an online basis is, although Canada has made good progress in reducing the spread of Covid-19, children are still likely to be carriers of the disease. Although kids are less likely to become terminally ill with the virus, I think schools should not only be considering the students, they should also take the staff members into consideration. Elementary school teachers and other adult staff members are more susceptible to catching Covid-19. And, statistically, as kids are more likely to spread the disease to staff members they could even bring it home to their families. I do not think kids will follow social distancing measures within the classroom, and I strongly believe they will definitely not follow the six feet apart “rule” out in the schoolyard. As younger kids, are not as developed as adults are supposed to be in the area of impulse control, they especially, could ignore social distancing measures and other precautions the local health department will most likely set into place. School boards should consider the possibility, kids won’t follow all or any of the precautions set because of the virus. The pandemic has also opened the world’s eyes to work online and working from home. In saying this, I believe elementary schools will offer more online course options in the future, especially high schools. If public schools continue to teach the majority or all of the school courses online, the students are more likely to become used to online schooling and be more prepared for future education. Continuing to host elementary schools online can also broaden the student’s horizon when it comes to colleges and universities. During the college program I attended, we did a lot of work online and I wasn’t very prepared for the amount of online work, since my elementary and high school did not offer online courses when I attended them. Although I believe schooling for both elementary and high schools in the region should continue to work from a remote basis, I realize the decision to continue working from home and strictly online is a tough decision for the Durham District School Board to make. Some kids cannot learn online, especially kids with severe or even mild learning disabilities. Even kids who do not have a learning disability may have a hard time learning certain school subjects from an online basis. Unless those childrens’ parents could be trained to assist the teaching at home, in a manner their own child needs. It will also be difficult for teachers and other staff members to manage multiple classes and teaching from home. Despite these difficulties, I think it is a good idea for elementary and high schools to continue Durham students’ education from an online basis.