Today, with a summer surge across much of the country, the reality is settling in the coronavirus will be with us well into next year, even if the aggressive development of a vaccine is completed this winter.
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Back in mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic was wreaking havoc across the country, it made sense the top priority would be arresting the spread before restarting the economy. At that point, a quick recovery still seemed in the cards. Yes, schools and many businesses would be shut down to prevent the virus’ spread, but the thinking was the self-induced economic coma would only last until the initial threat passed.
Today, with a summer surge across much of the country, the reality is settling in the coronavirus will be with us well into next year, even if the aggressive development of a vaccine is completed this winter. Companies like Google have already announced plans to keep their workforces socially distant until summer 2021, and even local organizations like the EcoTarium, Worcester’s science museum, have closed for the rest of 2020. The idea of a full economic and societal reopening – no matter how deliberate and science-based – is a lost cause for anytime in the near future. For now, we are left to grapple with which institutions should take greater priority.
As we make those evaluations of which non-critical operations should open, and which should be lower priority, one institution should take precedence over all others: our public schools. In the initial phases of the pandemic, reopening schools shifted to the back burner, as Massachusetts districts adopted remote learning and seemed to be accomplishing their goal of educating, despite the significant challenges. Now, we are getting a much better understanding of how ineffective remote learning was, particularly in urban systems where students had limited technological resources at home and for younger children in need of hands-on instruction. Moreover, with children having no place to go during the day, their parents had to step back from the workforce, either by being less-effective employees or leaving their workplaces. This is not a sustainable model – or even a temporary one – for proper education and workforce productivity.
However, in order to safely open schools, the pandemic needs to be under control, and a comprehensive testing, tracing and quarantining program must be put in place so those who do get sick can be properly managed. This set up doesn’t exist right now in America. Since Massachusetts is more than two months past its peak in new cases, our state appears to be better positioned than most states to smartly reopen in-person schooling, although we have yet to see the impact of entering Phase Three of Gov. Charlie Baker’s economic reopening. Fitness centers and museums reopened, and gatherings of up to 100 people are now possible. If this leads to a spike in cases, Massachusetts should pull back on Phase Three and consider other closures, such as Phase Two efforts like indoor dining at restaurants.
The fallout from the pandemic will be felt for at least a generation, and now is the time to choose what is most important. We can’t compromise the intellectual capital of the future by shortchanging our children’s education. Learning builds upon itself, and we can’t go a whole school year of remote education with limited effectiveness. If we have to be more aggressive managing business closings, so be it. More sacrifices lie ahead.
