Today’s debate is opening of schools
All while the epidemic rages on
They must be opened, stated Trump the fool
But scared are parents feeling put upon
Our kids need educating, there’s no doubt
And learning on the internet’s a bane
It’s boring how the teachers go about
Presenting class materials; it’s a pain
But dangerous a classroom full of kids
A danger to their teachers, moms, and dads
A stuffy classroom hours there to sit
While breathing virus laden air is bad
But classrooms can be relatively safe
The CDC had drafted guidelines how
Pres. Trump suppressed their issue to the states
Each district, on its own, must work it out
And on-line education need not be
Conducted as if kids were back in class
Home-schooling software programs one might see
As how to bridge the gap ‘till danger’s past
As Autumn comes and schooling must begin
A true conundrum while we face this pox
Where standard thinking really doesn’t win
Solutions truly lie outside the box
7/14/20
Well put.
As much as I do not care for the current secretary of education, she suggested in a CNN interview that the LA County school board meet with the CDC to work out a reasonable solution. The CNN personality just hounded her for the best solution and she continued to suggest collaboration between the school board and the CDC since they are the experts. I thought this was reasonable but the CNN personality was not interested in a reasonable solution, she just wanted to embarrass the secretary. Children are suffering psychologically and parents who have no money cannot return to work if they educate children at home and therefore lose their healthcare benefits and some become homeless. This is also a gigantic issue that affects lives of innocent people. The risk of the Covid pandemic versus the risk of economic collapse and loss of healthcare benefits Requires collaboration between experts on education, healthcare and economists and others to find a reasonable compromise to find the least risky overall solution. There is no solilution that is without risk.
Obviously our president is not capable in leading this effort so we have to rely on Governors and mayors to provide the leadership until we have a new president. It would also help if our press would be less biased in their reporting. In my opinion, the 24/7 news networks and politicians are fueling the growing divisiveness in our country and need to focus more on how to unite the country.
Thanks, Rich for your comments. What you say of CNN and that interview I agree with; however, I would not generalize that behavior to all of the cable-news outlets. The point of my poem was that we need creative thinking. For example, for large companies that employ many on-sight workers, they could provide a room or two in their building for the worker’s children to do home-style computer learning with a teacher/monitor similar to some charter schools in the education system. Dale taught at such a school. I have been impressed with the mayors more than many of the governors, and, in particular, I’m negatively impressed with Gov. Ducey. Arizonan’s haphazard approach to the pandemic manifests in the absurdly high state pandemic statistics. During summer months Arizona is not a tourist state, university students are on vacation, snow birds will not arrive until fall and winter and yet we are among the three worst states in the nation when it comes to the pandemic.