Columnists
The most dangerous time of the year
Remember the commercial “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, with moms gleefully pushing a shopping cart full of back-to-school supplies followed by her sadfaced children, dragging their feet. That commercial, and similar, used to run on television at this time of the year. I haven’t seen any back-toschool commercials this summer. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because retailers and advertisers know it really shouldn’t be happening. Ontario is not ready to send the Province’s children back to school. I know. I know. If you have school-aged children, it isn’t easy to have children at home when you, as a parent or caregiver, really need to get back to work. I get it. But this return to school shouldn’t be driven by the economy. It should be about putting the health and safety of our children and of educators and support workers first. While the Premier and the Minister of Education have a piein- the-sky plan on paper, educators and support workers are ill-prepared for what will happen the day after Labour Day. It’s just not right to think if it’s written in a document, it’s going to work. Anyone who is a planner knows where the proof lies. Even a COVID-19 vaccine has to be beta-tested before it’s rolled out the the general public.
LOML and I no longer have school-aged children. We do have a few school-aged grandchildren and grandfriends. We worry about our “littles” heading back to school when we know, deep down, educators and support workers are not, and have not been, prepared for what could happen. If any amongst you have ever been a “new” teacher, you know that special feeling when three or four of your primary and junior elementary students bring a batch of cooties to class. Little kids do that, they are very efficient germ spreaders. They haven’t learned about social boundaries and tend get up close and personal with everything and everyone. And, a lot of those really young students haven’t developed a “public school” immune system. By the end of the first month, almost every kid in class has been infected with something or another, and most of the new teachers are wondering if they made the right career decision. Little kids pick their noses and smear the goods wherever. They sneeze into their hands, onto their desks and into the faces of anyone close by. They cough without covering their mouths and when they get a laugh, they do all of all over again. And, while I’m on the topic, have you ever seen a little kid wash their hands after sneezing, coughing or using the toilet without being reminded? Once, when I was supply teaching in an elementary class, a little one came up to my desk, sneezed in his hands, wiped his hands on his pants and reached over to smear the remainder of his boogers across the day book. He laughed so hard that he peed his pants and laughed about that, too. With the help of an office staffer, we got him sorted out, but he wasn’t too happy when the hand washing (with soap) had to happen, and he sure as snot-on-the-desk wasn’t interested in using a tissue for his next outburst. I think he actually ate the tissue. I don’t know what made me feel queasier. Ten days later, you got it, I’m sneezing and coughing—but not laughing. By the time I’m stuffed up, I’ve already brought the goods home to my family. Little kids, eh!
So, the suggestion to send the littles back to “classes as near to provincial average size as possible” and “as small as possible,” is ludicrous. And, what the heck does that even mean? Pack ‘em in tight so it doesn’t look like there’s as many of them. The Provincial government wants to send the vast majority of those kids back to schools that were built over fifty years ago, which lack modern ventilation systems—including windows that actually open? Primary kids will attend classes five days a week and stay together as a group/cohort throughout the day, including recesses and in-classroom lunches. Okay, that makes sense. The problem is, I truly can’t see where the teacher and support staff (if there actually is any support staff) get a break from the little stinkers. Apparently the Ford government expects staff and students to self-screen every day before attending school. How? The clock is ticking, where are the guidelines for that? And then what? Parents and caregivers are supposed to screen their little darlings every morning before they head to school. Geeez! When LOML and I had kids in school, we barely had time to get them to the bus stop, make sure they had their lunches and books and then get to work on time. Why not throw another task for the parents to perform into their already busy morning? Who trains the parents? What do you think will happen if their kids don’t pass muster? Does the whole family stay home and quarantine? And I don’t believe for one minute there will be funding in the Board’s budget to allow for extra staff to encourage and facilitate safe distances, proper hand-washing and effective booger-wiping, not to mention the pee-pee pants and other accidents. And in the next four weeks, when will educational staff and support workers actually get suitable training to recognize and to handle COVID-19 situations? Classrooms are already overcrowded. Now let’s keep them that way but let’s add a deadly virus situation into the mix. COVID-19 is the “devil we know”. It’s not head lice or warts or a cold. Heck it isn’t even chicken pox. Currently, the proposed funding for many Boards only amounts to $16,000 per school for PPE, training and support. How will funds roll out to schools in this notoriously stingy Board of Education?
This could be the dangerous undertow bringing on a wave of infections, all of which will be heaped upon people who are not prepared to cope with it. I, personally, think September 2020 will be the “most dangerous time of the year”.
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