As a retired teacher, I've been watching the pandemic school situation unravel all around me. As I consider the many points of view that exist, I believe the following priorities are most important.
Health and Safety
Health and safety has to come first. For too long, too many schools have been overcrowded and neglected. That's why so many educators do not want to return to the classroom during a pandemic. What many outside of education don't understand is that school is not a teacher standing six-feet away from a large group of passive, seated students--that's not what happens. First of all, no group of happy, healthy children passively sit for hours without interacting with each other, moving around, and needing assistance in all kinds of ways, and no good teacher can teach effectively as a lecturer placed six feet away from students. That's simply not good learning, good teaching, or natural in any way. Only those distanced from a school setting would think that's possible or positive.
Further, the poor ventilation and overcrowding that most schools face make it a tough place to distance yourself from one another. Plus many schools have poor bathroom facilities, lunch rooms, and hallway space. Schools, in most places, are not set up for safe distancing.
Further, many keep pointing to reports that there has been little spread in schools without acknowledging that most children in poorly ventilated, overcrowded schools have not returned to school full time at full capacity so the data available is misleading. Teachers know that.
A first priority has to be health and safety. One possible way to do that is to divvy up all students and all teachers into small teacher-student pods located in single rooms all over the combined education landscape. Those one-room-school-houses may create a end-of-year camp-like intimate experience of earning including lots of reading, writing, and math indoors and outdoors in meaningful ways. That could possibly work in safe, healthy ways. There may be the need to use local, unused office buildings, church halls, and summer camps to ensure enough space.
Vaccinating educators asap is essential too.
Meaningful learning
Too many advising schools are not up to date with what it means to teach and learn in modern, child-friendly, positive ways. Few to none are talking about meaningful learning, while most are mainly concerned with childcare to support the needs of big-money corporate leaders. Those not familiar with modern up-to-date reasearch about what it means to effectively learn should step aside and let the educators lead this effort. Educators' voices have been left out of the pandemic school conversation too often and this is a problem.
Give parents a break
Most parents want the best for their children. Think about how schools can support parents' needs and desires for their children to do well. Keep the home schedule simple with lots of reading, writing, and meaningful math practice and engagement. Don't layer on the homework, and find ways to work with parents to foster meaningful, enriching learning activities.
I am sorry to see how the pandemic school conversations and efforts have rolled out. Society has to recognize that if they want a healthy, well-educated population, they have to invest in that effort. Too many educators and students have suffered in underfunded, ineffective efforts for too long. Teachers choose that profession because they want to do a good job for children, and society has to treat that desire with respect and support. It's time to reframe how we lead and support education in the United States.