What would you do?....

As the cases of Coronavirus continue to increase across the country, including Iowa, the governor declared last Friday that schools in the state “must conduct at least half of instruction in-person.” This comes after she had earlier required school district officials to submit their plans for reopening to the Iowa Department of Education by July 1, 2020.

So districts went to work on plans to make education available to all students in their districts. With Reynolds' proclamation all of the work and planning was effectively thrown out the window even though DOE had approved the plans.

With about one month before most schools start it’s back to the drawing board for districts across the state. As Reynolds changes the plan on school attendance can she still maintain her earlier statement that “(we) must do it in a safe and responsible manner.”

So why the change in attitude? Could it be the president’s demand that schools must start? Does she not think the Coronavirus is dangerous to all involved in the education process? What does she have to gain by her change in plans

So I ask…. What would you do?

If you were a parent of school age children, what would you do? If someone in your family had conditions that made them more susceptible to the virus, what would you do? If you were a staff member at a school in Iowa, what would you do? If you were a teacher for an Iowa school, what would you do?

I’m of the opinion that the leaders of the Des Moines School District considered all of these questions as they created a plan for Des Moines schools to reopen. They provided options for parents and students to consider and select the best one for their situation.

No one believes K-12 students are best served by distance learning but then neither are they best served with the worry of being infected or a carrier of a killer virus.

As someone who spent 26 years in the classroom and another 12 years offering online courses I can speak to the value of face to face learning. I know the challenges of online learning but what I have no experience in is being asked to stand in a classroom, wearing a mask and socially distanced, trying to assist the learning of students.

So I am constantly asking myself if I hadn’t retired, “what would I do?”