Coronavirus has been ruining the lives of thousands for the last couple of months. It went from an irrelevant virus that caused disease in animals to a pandemic that is keeping everyone stuck in their homes. After only one month of the virus arriving to the U.S, over 123,000 public and private schools have been closed “until further notice” in order to keep everyone safe, leaving only 4 states with in-person classes still in session. According to The Washington Post, “there were a dozen states plus the Northern Marianas Islands in the Pacific that had ordered or recommended that all schools stay closed.” as of April 3rd, meaning that as long as Coronavirus continues to expand across the U.S, the amount of states that agree to canceling the remainder of the school year will grow. Governors all across the country are making quarantine a top priority. Governor Baker issued a "a stay at home advisory" meaning residents should not leave their houses unless it is necessary, and although recent surveys have shown that 74% of the United States’s registered voters either somewhat or strongly agree with social distancing, the number of confirmed cases has gone up by more than 454,000 since the beginning of March. About a week ago, a virtual conference call with area officials and a local scientist took place, where a “crucial question” surfaced. Should schools in Massachusetts stay closed for the rest of the year? The Mayor of Somerville, Joseph Curtatone, thought the answer was “very clear''. Mayor Curtatone said, “That is the most prudent and ... logical step to ensure that we don’t spike a new wave of transmission.". Slowly, governors will start making decisions on what to do with what's left of the school year, keeping the warnings scientists are giving them in mind. We can all agree that this pandemic has taken a toll on our social lives, but if you want a good summer and want to help get rid of this virus quicker, just facetime your friends and practice social distancing.
What is gained and lost by closing for the year?
How will this affect you and your family personally?
If we do close, it means we will not have a graduation ceremony, how do you feel about that?
What do you think the Government should do in order to help lower the amount of cases the U.S is getting daily?
If schools were to close for the year, the spread of the coronavirus would continue to plateau. On the downside, students will not be at the same pace of learning as they would be in class. Students in high school or college might have to take courses over the summer to earn their credits. Slowing the spread of the coronavirus outweighs the setback in schools having to convert to online learning. Without a vaccine, schools aren’t safe to open back up as it would be hard to social distance and sanitize in schools. There are some setbacks to closing schools for the year, but putting our best efforts into containing the coronavirus should be our number one priority.
ReplyDeleteWithout having to go to school, I spend a lot more time inside my house. I will be able to spend a lot more time with my family, but I might develop some cabin fever from all the time indoors. Knowing other people are going through the same challenges, I will not be as upset because staying at home is necessary for the sake of our health. In fact, “closures have canceled classes for at least 123,000 U.S. public and private schools” (Kennedy). Ironically, staying out of school will eventually get us back in school quicker.
The thought of not having a graduation ceremony is sad, but if we’re doing everything virtually, like classes, assignments, and ordering food, I am sure we will be able to have virtual graduation. Understanding that there are 489,000 cases of coronavirus in the U.S, I wouldn’t want graduation without a vaccine. Hopefully, we can find alternative ways to celebrate our progress over the year.
To help prevent the number of U.S coronavirus cases from increasing, the government should shut down schools in all states and order to stay in place. All in all, the government should do its best to limit non-essential traffic.
1. Something that would be gained by closing the remainder of the school year would be that less kids would get the virus and give it to other members of their family. This would ultimately flatten the curve which would result in normal life returning. One of the downsides to this is that students would miss out on a lot of very special moments in their life like graduation and prom. Furthermore, there would be many student athletes who wouldn’t be able to finish their seasons. In addition to this another downside would be that students are not going to get the same educational experience that they would at school but it is all part of keeping everybody as safe as possible
ReplyDelete2. Because school is now online I am with my family a lot more than usual. Even though I am spending more time with my family which can be nice sometimes I am also getting a little bit sick of having nothing to do. Even though this process is not very fun for me and everybody else I realize that it is critical to keeping people safe even if it means more time inside.
3. I agree with Rhys that not being able to have graduation is disappointing but it is a necessary step in flattening the curve. I also agree with Rhys that if there was a graduation that wasn’t safe I wouldn’t want to contract the virus and then give it to one of my parents. It would be great if there is another to have graduation that would still be fun.
4. To prevent the further spread of the virus the government should shut down all the schools and essential businesses temporarily. Even though shutting down businesses will slow the spread they can’t be closed for too long or else the U.S’s economy will take an even greater hit than it has already taken.
Closing school for the rest of the year would limit the spread of the virus and ensure the safety of the students remained. However, online learning does not mimic the same school environment that kids are used to. Virtual learning is not the solution to everything, college and highschool students aren't able to take the courses and tests that they assumed would be in their future. Although there would be major setbacks towards the education of students, the spreading of the virus is crucial if we want to get back to some form of normalcy.
ReplyDeleteWith the absence of school, I have been spending a lot more time with my family then I am used to. Without any activities to occupy our time, our household has become very boring. If schools closed for the rest of the year, staying occupied would definitely be a struggle. However, I understand how important it is to continue social distancing and the big component it plays in preventing this virus.
I agree with both Rhys and Nick that not being able to attend our 8th grade graduation would definitely be disappointing. Next year starts a new chapter in our lives, and not having time to say goodbye to everyone who has helped us throughout our middle school journey would be very sad. However, I agree with Nick that this is a necessary step in preventing the virus, as we would not want to spread it even more.
In order to reduce the amount of infectected citizens and contain the virus, the government should take more precautions. One that starts with strictly advising people to stay inside their homes on a bigger scale. Although the government has already attempted this people are still unaware of the severity of this virus, and are roaming around the streets.
1. If schools remain closed for the remainder of this school year, it will definitely contribute to getting the country through this pandemic. While we are safe from the Corona virus, we are also limited by the virtual classrooms which is not ideal for any student but its going to be affecting the students applying for Schools and Colleges. Being stuck inside for the rest of the school year could also take a toll of some people's mental health as well.
ReplyDelete2. Usually, my family and I would return to China once year during the summer to see family and friends but with the ongoing pandemic that has yet to show signs of slowing down, that might be something thats not possible for us this year.
3. If BB&N does end up closing this year, I would feel like I'm being rushed into the high school. We basically just had a single semester and then the rest has been canceled by the COVID-19. I feel like I am losing time preparing myself for the high school which I know won't be easy.
4. Even though I do want to go back to school, I agree with Rhys that the government should end school because of the risk at hand. Even though most students are young and healthy, the corona virus has different symptoms on different people and has been known to kill a few young male and females.
1. If schools are closed for the rest of the year the spread of the virus would be limited and the infection rate would slow. However, like Sophia said, online learning creates a different environment than the one that students are used to. There is a social aspect of school that is an important part of the experience that isn't replicated through online learning. That being said, it is more important to flatten the curve and to stop the coronavirus, and going back to school increases our chances of getting sick and infecting others.
ReplyDelete2. Now that we have online school and we are at home most of the time I have gotten to spend a lot more time with my family. Staying at home all day is a little bit weird because we usually go to events during the spring but we can't now. Sometimes it feels like there is nothing to do but I don't mind being stuck at home as much because I know that it's important to keep myself and others safe.
3. If the school year is ended early and we don't get to have graduation I wouldn't feel as prepared for high school. Missing out on graduation will be disappointing but it is worth it to stop the coronavirus. Schools go against the social distancing guidelines about how many people should congregate in an area.
4. The most responsible thing for the government to do is to close all schools through the end of the year. There should also be a stronger national response to the coronavirus. Since there is no national lockdown many people are ignoring social distancing guidelines. While I would like to go back to school it is more important to make sure everyone is safe and the virus isn't spread.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA benefit to ending school early this year would be that the spread of the coronavirus would slow down quicker, and eventually would come to a halt. Students wouldn’t be physically interacting with one another at school, and therefore wouldn’t spread the disease around. This also protects the families of students, as students would not be able to bring the virus home to their families if they never need to leave their house. A downside to not resuming school this year would be that we wouldn’t get the same quality of education that we would if we were physically in school, and we may not be prepared for next year. In our case, we would be jumping straight to the high school, which is a pretty big leap compared to where we are at now. Another issue is that many people would be unable to graduate, such as high school seniors or college grads. Although this may not seem like a big deal, it is to the people graduating as it symbolizes a major transition in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThis quarantine has been affecting my family in both positive and negative ways, and we are somewhat coping with the situation at hand. I’ve spent a ton of time with my family for the past month, as there's nothing else to do. Without school or activities, I have been stuck with my family 24/7, which isn’t exactly the most desirable thing ever. Although it is pretty boring to be with the same people for what seems like forever, I have grown closer to my family and I’ve created stronger connections among my siblings and parents.
I agree with Paul that a graduation would have been nice, as we could say goodbye to everyone who has helped us out at the middle school, but I don’t think it is necessary considering the circumstances that have arisen recently. Personally, I’m not hung up about not having a graduation ceremony, but I am concerned about graduating from the middle school and moving up into the high school. The gap between the middle school and the high school is a pretty large one, and I am not looking forward to crossing that gap without preparation.
I believe that the government should continue to advise everybody to stay home, although at this point they probably should be enforcing it to a larger scale. I’m not saying that it should be illegal to go outside, but they should definitely take more measures to prevent people from going outside without an extremely good reason. I also believe that non essential businesses should be temporarily shut down, as the quicker we get rid of this virus, the quicker we can get back to normal.
1.By closing schools for the rest of the year, fewer people will be spreading the virus, which will help life get back to normal. However, like Nick said, a lot of important moments like graduations are canceled. Also, things that you can only do in person like sports can’t be done. And some of the virtual environment is not the harder to learn with and might prevent people from taking the courses that they wanted or learning everything that they need to know.
ReplyDelete2.Without school, I have been spending a lot more time with my family than before. Without anything to really take us out of the house, it has become pretty dull. Since we will probably be staying home for the rest of the year, staying busy and never getting out will definitely be hard. But it is important to practice social distancing and shelter in place.
3.I am obviously sad that we will not be able to have graduation. However, I think that there will be a makeshift virtual graduation at the end of the year. But even though we will have some sort of ceremony it won’t be the same because we won’t really be able to say our thanks to all of the teachers, because we won’t be seeing them next year in the upper school.
4.I think that the President needs to take an actual stance on the coronavirus because right now he is changing his opinions daily and the government can’t really do anything until he decides what he actually thinks about the virus. Also, a lot of people follow his lead, so if he continues to not take this seriously by not standing six feet apart from people and not wearing masks, some people won’t either. I think that because he is the face of the government as long as he continues to say that people need to get back to work and doesn’t realize the severity of this pandemic other people won’t either and will keep getting infected, so by showing that this is a very serious thing other people will realize this and take more precautions and fewer people will keep getting infected
1. If the schools were to close for the rest of the year the would slow the spread of the virus, and help the pandemic stop spreading. Though this would help a lot of people's lives we would lose a lot of moments and it would be very difficult for students to learn as much as they would if we were to resume school. Students would also lose the ability for real life interactions with friends and teachers. Even though there are downsides I think the smart decision is to cancel school to slow the spread of the disease.
ReplyDelete2. Without having to spend most of my time at school I get to have a lot of time with my family. This virus is forcing everyone to stay at home so the things to do seem to run out quickly. Overall it has been difficult to be stuck at home, but It is the right thing to do when people's lives are in danger.
3. Having a graduation ceremony is the very end of my middle school years so it will be sad not to have one. My mom and Dad both remember there middle school graduations so it will be weird not to have one to remember. Although this is true I think that if not having a graduation ceremony will help people avoid the virus then we should do it. I agree with Rhys that we should find a different way to celebrate the end of the year.
4. I believe that to truly stop the spread of this disease the government should cancel schools for the rest of the year, and pay for people who are working at non-essential jobs to stay at home. They should also invest as much time and energy into find a cure as possible.
1. Something that would be gained if schools closed for the rest of the year would is that the spread of this virus would definitely slow down and hopefully help fully stop it. Less kids would be able to get the virus and soon enough spread it to their family members as Nick said. Although kids wouldn't be in a huge group together, many teenagers won't care about the virus and go and make plans with friends anyway. They will take this closing of schools as an advantage. Many things will also be lost for people, mostly focusing on Seniors. They won't get to have their prom, or spring sports, or even graduation and be able to walk across the stage. The closing of schools for the rest of the year can make a big impact o kids as you can see in two different ways.
ReplyDelete2. Staying home has helped me regain the closeness me and my brother had before I transferred schools. We have spent a lot more time together and it has helped build our relationship with each other. Although I have him, I get sick of staying indoors all the time. I never realized how much my life would change if we couldn't go anywhere until now. It's hard not being able to see friends and my grandparents especially because we can't risk anything.
3. If we don't have a graduation ceremony I would be very disappointed, but also happy that I wouldn't be putting anyone else at risk. Like Nick and Rhys said, it would be very dangerous to have a big group of us together during these times. It's sad to know that I wouldn't be able to say one last goodbye before the summer to all the people who have helped me this year.
4. I feel like the government should keep issuing people to stay home and close schools. Also that if people have the ability to work from home then to do it. It will help all of us if we keep social distancing.
1. I agree with Sophia that there are good things and bad things that’ll come with closing the school for the rest of the year. Of course, naturally, less people would get sick from Covid-19 because school has many people in an area and that can allow the virus to easily spread. Shutting down schools could help lessen the spread of Covid-19. A bad thing that would result from schools getting shut down is that students don’t get the same learning experience online as they do in person. It is much easier to learn while in school.
ReplyDelete2. This situation will affect me by causing me to stay home and making the only way for me to interact with friends by phone or video games instead of actually being able to hang out with them. This is also going to affect my family because the majority of my family lives in Spain and Spain has the second most amount of cases confirmed, behind the USA. I do believe that my family will be fine during this time because we’re all well prepared and take this very seriously.
3. I agree with Rhys that not having a graduation would be sad and all but it wouldn’t be worth risking. If this situation does not get resolved before graduation then I would not risk anything because first off, that’s a huge group of people which would allow the virus to spread easily. If a vaccine is not made before graduation, then I believe it’s correct not to have one.
4. I believe that the government should enforce social distancing more seriously because many people don’t take it as seriously as they should so the virus gets spread easily. If people started practicing social distancing more seriously, then I believe the USA wouldn’t have this many cases of Covid-19.
By closing school for the rest of the year, students will obviously lose a part of their education. Even with online school, they're learning a lot less due to it's inconvenience. While it is an important measure to take, it doesn't mean that it is necessarily good for education.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I, for the most part, aren't affected as much by the actual sickness as the panic it has caused. It's generally a bad idea to go to the supermarket to get food, so we're trying to eat less. I've caught up on some sleep, and that seems to be one of the only upsides of this whole thing.
To be completely honest, I really don't care if we don't have a graduation ceremony. It's extremely illogical, especially in such a dire time, to have a bunch of people all near each other. However, it would be in the interest of the sentimental people that we find another way to celebrate, as Rhys suggested.
It's difficult for the government to lower the amount of cases in the United States due to it's lack of power over people's freedom. In other countries, where people don't have as much freedom, it is easier to enforce a lockdown. However, I think that the US government has handled it decently so far. There is definitely room for improvement, but I'm not one to complain.
1. By closing schools I don't think the virus will be spread as easily, but other than that I can't think of anything else gained. We are losing education and also not getting to see any friends. We can't go anywhere. Also things like sports are also canceled. Plus we have to adjust to online school.
ReplyDelete2. It affects me because I get to spend more time with my family which is not a bad thing but can be annoying. We are learning online and were not leaving our houses. I'm getting more sleep most of the time also. But staying home leaves me and my family with nothing much to do, so it's been pretty boring.
3. I agree with Rhys that its sad that we can't have our end of the year ceremony and celebrate moving on, but through this time everyones health is the priority and if having that ceremony risks that then I think it wouldn't be the smartest idea. We should just do whats best for everyone so there isn't any further problems. But it is disappointing.
4. If they didn't I think the government should have all schools closed no matter what. I also thing, like Juan said, that they should enforce social distancing more so people stay home. People need to take it more seriously because being out of their house is the only way it spreads. And also there are delivery people who have spread the virus, so there should be a better and cleaner way somehow to drop off packages.
1. If schooling systems are closed for the remainder of the year, the Coronavirus won't spread as quickly, and we will be able to prevent people from getting sick. Besides that, I think that our learning enviorment has been turned upside down, due to the idea that we have switched to online classes. If we continue to do this for the rest of our school year, it will be hard for schools to fully adjust to zoom.
ReplyDelete2. Like Thomas said, the CoronaVirus is allowing to spend more time with my family, and do more things with them. Although this is good, sometimes I would prefer to be out with friends, or just as school instead of stuck inside. Along with spending time with my family, I have gotten way more sleep than usual, which is a crucial factor to me being able to get on zoom everyday.
3. If closing the school means no graduation, I would definetely be dissapointed in not being able to celebrate my succession with my classmates. Graduation is one thing we have all looked forward to, and I would be very sad if this were to happen. But, if not having graduation means our health is in better hands, I will understand.
4. I think that to help, the government should make stricter rules regarding social distancing. For example, people should not be able to see anyone outside of immediate family because this is a crucial reason why the virus is spreading so rapidly. Contact with other people should be limited as much as possible, and delivery as well.
1. It’s much more safe for schools to close for the year. School is a very social place and it’s very easy to transmit viruses. Obviously it’s harder to learn remotely, but the health of families and children is more important. It’s still possible to learn the basics remotely, and we’re very lucky that we live in this era where we can learn like this.
ReplyDelete2. My family is affected because usually I take the MBTA to school. Now, like Rhys said, with online school, I spend most time inside my house. I don’t have to travel to school, which means I have more time during the day. However, I feel like I’m better able to learn while at school. I’d rather be able to travel to school because I want to be most prepared for 9th grade.
3. I wouldn’t be that sad if we didn’t have a graduation ceremony, because it’s only a formality. As long as we learn enough to be able to go into 9th grade, I feel like it’s okay. It’s nice to be able to officially graduate but we’re in such an unusual time that it’s not very important. Many gatherings like this have been canceled because of coronavirus, and while many are tragedies, some like this aren’t as important.
4. The government should keep the economy and all gatherings shut down. This should be until cases go down by a large amount. While this will be damaging to the economy, it’s more important to keep people safe. This is just like the situation with school. The health of the American people is more important than the American economy.