Coronavirus Chronicles: School's out for summer
On Day 32 of the lockdown, the hammer fell on the school year.
Many other states had called off school for the rest of the spring, but Utah had only shut it down until May 4. We were holding out hope that maybe in-person classes would resume for the last month of the school year, but as the days passed and the pandemic worsened, that seemed less and less likely.
Utah's governor made it official for the state's public schools this afternoon, and the diocese followed suit this evening: The kids won't be returning.
The news rolled off Michael, but we're having trouble reading Ben. Eighth grade at his school is a big deal, and we don't know what will happen with graduation, the eighth-grade dance, and everything else that makes the end of the kids' journey (and Ben's journey at the Open Classroom began in kindergarten) special. Yet, he seemed to take the news in stride. We've been preparing the boys for this possibility, and I think they might have been resigned that it they were done for the year.
All over Facebook and in the comments on news stories, parents are lamenting the inevitable cancellation. It needed to be done. If the kids went back too soon, asymptomatic students with the virus would spread it to their classmates, who would bring it home to their parents, who would spread it even more. Colds and stomach bugs zip through classes a few times a year -- Michael's basketball team got sick twice in a month during the winter. And most parents have experienced getting sick every September, right after school begins. With COVID-19, the stakes are too high to chance a another outbreak.
The kids who are losing things -- graduations, proms, sports seasons, that finish line -- have a right to be bummed, but I'm sensing Generation Z is resilient. I think they know that although this sucks, their sacrifice is saving lives. Years from now, I hope they'll look back on the pandemic and not be sad they missed out on something that ultimately helped the world.
Parents seem more upset, and they're rightfully mourning. We want our kids to experience everything we feel makes childhood memorable -- what we fondly remember about our childhoods. The pandemic is derailing a few of those experiences.
Yet, our children are safe. Wars and other catastrophes have interrupted American childhoods before, but they weren't ruined by what they missed. Be sad for the special things our kids might be losing in the next two months, but be grateful for the years of memories they'll still take with them into their next journey.
The other lesson to take from the school cancellation is simple, and one I hope parents of younger kids take to heart: Never take any little school event, any chance to help with homework, any rec baseball or soccer game, or any dropoff or pickup for granted. The little things matter -- and should be as memorable -- as much as every major milestone.
Many other states had called off school for the rest of the spring, but Utah had only shut it down until May 4. We were holding out hope that maybe in-person classes would resume for the last month of the school year, but as the days passed and the pandemic worsened, that seemed less and less likely.
The news rolled off Michael, but we're having trouble reading Ben. Eighth grade at his school is a big deal, and we don't know what will happen with graduation, the eighth-grade dance, and everything else that makes the end of the kids' journey (and Ben's journey at the Open Classroom began in kindergarten) special. Yet, he seemed to take the news in stride. We've been preparing the boys for this possibility, and I think they might have been resigned that it they were done for the year.
All over Facebook and in the comments on news stories, parents are lamenting the inevitable cancellation. It needed to be done. If the kids went back too soon, asymptomatic students with the virus would spread it to their classmates, who would bring it home to their parents, who would spread it even more. Colds and stomach bugs zip through classes a few times a year -- Michael's basketball team got sick twice in a month during the winter. And most parents have experienced getting sick every September, right after school begins. With COVID-19, the stakes are too high to chance a another outbreak.
The kids who are losing things -- graduations, proms, sports seasons, that finish line -- have a right to be bummed, but I'm sensing Generation Z is resilient. I think they know that although this sucks, their sacrifice is saving lives. Years from now, I hope they'll look back on the pandemic and not be sad they missed out on something that ultimately helped the world.
Parents seem more upset, and they're rightfully mourning. We want our kids to experience everything we feel makes childhood memorable -- what we fondly remember about our childhoods. The pandemic is derailing a few of those experiences.
Yet, our children are safe. Wars and other catastrophes have interrupted American childhoods before, but they weren't ruined by what they missed. Be sad for the special things our kids might be losing in the next two months, but be grateful for the years of memories they'll still take with them into their next journey.
The other lesson to take from the school cancellation is simple, and one I hope parents of younger kids take to heart: Never take any little school event, any chance to help with homework, any rec baseball or soccer game, or any dropoff or pickup for granted. The little things matter -- and should be as memorable -- as much as every major milestone.
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